Single lens for D80 for Europe trip to travel compact and light.

[peterd]

Hey all, I am about to embark on a trip and I want to grab a lot of good pics. I am thinking about just taking one lens

on this trip, my 18-200VR I picked up in January. I also have a nice 50mm I am thinking of throwing in the bag, but

given the range of the other, I am toying with the idea of only taking the one lens and some filters to really minimize

my size and weight of my setup. I see no reason this is not a good idea given I shoot for pleasure and this lens is

pretty versatile. Thoughts on that? The idea of a single small camera bag slung to my shoulder as I go zipping about

is really appealing to me. Peter

 

Trip:

 

Seattle To Prague for 5 days

While in Prague we are taking a train for 2 days to Vienna

 

Prague to SE Poland for 8 days

We will visit Ukraine

 

Poland to Northern Spain to see the festivals in the beginning of Sept. Since on border with France float back and

forth.

 

Then rent a car and drive through Spain and maybe Portugal ending up in Madrid. ~ 10days.

[illusive dreams]

Aww man, Im jealous. Got any room in one of your bags for me?

 

Well, I would probably suggest the 18-200 and filters. But the 50mm is small enough you could probably fit that one too....but thats just me.

[victorwei]

The 18-200mm would likely do the job for you on this trip as you would want to travel light. I take this lens in

my walkabout as it seems to be able to capture a variety of perspectives of what I see as interesting. Have

fun with your trip and please post some images for us to see.

[james_symington1]

What about Italy?

 

PS The 18-200mm is fine.

[tpernal]

The 18-200VR will give you just about everything you need. I went to the Mayan Riviera in December and used my 18-200 for about 90+% of my shots. For outdoors in the day, be sure one of your filters is a circular polarizer.<div></div>

[ShunCheung]

If you have space, I would take a 2nd lens along just in case your one lens malfunctions, you have sort of a backup. Of course, you can make the same argument about the camera bodies also.

[ronald_moravec1]

Thats what the 18/200 is made for. Not the worlds greatest, but versatile.

 

It`s kinda slow, so if you are a lower light night person, maybe the 50 also.

[liljuddakalilknyttphotogra]

I can't say it enough.....

 

When my friend was here for a visit for a week I worked with the 18-200VR as that was her only lens. I worked with it as I was teaching her the D80 she had just bought with the 18-200VR. I needed to see how well this lens can & will do.

 

I therefore humbly offer these galleries of mine http://lilknytt.zenfolio.com/f200314254/ with all shots taken with the 18-200VR, except for the Sanderling shots taken at Venice Beach.

 

The lens is made for this trip for you. This is what it's made for. But I agree with Shun.... I'd bring a 50mm f/1.8 if you have one for low light stuff & in case you run into lens problems....

 

JMHO

 

Lil :-)

[peterd]

Thanks for the info. I love the photos that were offered because it really lets me see what it can do and that is great. My 50mm is actually a f1.4 so I will toss that in the luggage though it may not go out on foot with me. I definately have a polarizer on my shopping list, along with the remote for the D80 for taking pics from in front of the camera (GF demands it ;)). My goal is to travel with a small single camera bag with the lens mounted so it is small and unobtrusive and I will get a small strong plastic tripod to strap to it.

 

Jason: I would totally pack you in the luggage but the weight limits wont allow it. I really dont think you want me to cut you up into 4 pieces to make it so. :)

 

James: Italy is totally on my list but I dont have the time this year to dedicate it the time I want. I did also want to get back to St Petersburg but I am limited by this little work problem, namely that I have to.

 

Tom: Thanks for the pic sample. I love the color a polarizer adds. However a lot of people say shoot neutral and then PS the pics. Anyone have an opinion on that?

 

Lil: The pics are great and what I really like is that your friend is where I am, in the stages of exploration of a camera I am learning to use. I never did much with my N80 because I would go out all day, blow a lot of film, and end up with a bunch of expensive crappy pics. The digital pretty much reinvented the experience and I am again excited to shoot pictures where before I was ambivalent about it.

 

To everyone else, thanks in advance. I am thrilled for the feedback. Anyone got a suggestion on an inexpensive but decent flash or should I just roll with the built in for now?

[liljuddakalilknyttphotogra]

Peter,

 

in regards to a polarizer, there's no way to get the the effect of a polarizer in pp. There's nothing like a great polarizer used correctly. They're amazing & so much fun. Invest in a good circular polarizer. A graduated ND can be a great help as well.

 

My friend learned a lot during her week with me & I feel I sent her off with a great start towards what she wants to be able to do. Add to that - - I got a chance to learn & make friends with my 18-200VR which I'd only tested & not actually used for regular shots. Now I feel I have it down.

 

In regards to flash... How much of a flash do you need? There's the cheap Gary Fong "Puffer" which works with your built in flash & does a great job. Cheap & light to carry with you. You just thread it into the camera's hotshoe & it will do fine for certain things....

 

Good luck

 

Lil :-)

[peterd]

Lil, I saw at B&H that there was a kit with a UV, polarizer and warming which looked interesting. I already have the

UV but wonder if its worth it to consider something like that or whether to just always buy separate. Also, what is

your opinion of the different brands? I have Tiffen and a few others but there is also the BH\Adorama house brands

not to mention so many other brands. Any recommendations and things to avoid there? Good to know whats junk

early.

 

As to the flash, I dont mind spending a little cash but I dont want to be that dumbass with the most expensive rig

shooting point and click if you get my meaning. I am not very advanced and I just need some decent low light

shooting for things I cant catch normally such as buildings with lighting, people etc. I know that a flash is a

necessary investment, the question is how much flash do I really need? Probably not as much as the camera sales

guy would tell me for sure. My friend recommended an SB-400 as a good entry level but solid flash.

 

Thanks again for the input. Still working through your pics. You've got the touch. Peter

[ShunCheung]

Since you have a D80, the most logical choices for a simple flash are the SB-600 or SB-400 from Nikon.

The SB-600 has more power and a bit more versatile as it can tilt in both the horizontal and vertical orientations, and you can use your pop-up flash to wirelessly control an SB-600 as a remote flash.

The SB-600 takes 4 AA batteries. I think it is the better choice.

 

The SB-400 is smaller, uses only 2 AA batteries, has less power and cannot tilt vertically for bounce flash. The SB-400 may be better if you are a very casual flash user.

[liljuddakalilknyttphotogra]

Pete,

 

I only recommend (as you will see if you do a search here) a few brands of filters. I recommend Nikon, Singh Ray & B+W. Those are brands I've worked with & like. I've used others & not been too happy - - so I only recommend what I use & like. They may cost a little more, but through eBay, Amazon.com & other order companies online, you can get them at fairly good deals. I always recommend buying for your largest size lens & then to use step up rings. Makes things hard with the hoods, but with the polarizer the hood is a pain anyhow.

 

You can easily order a nice B+W Circular polarizer & have one you'll be happy with for a long time. No need to pay for Singh Ray.

 

My suggestion - - buy separate & buy high quality. You don't want to put a cheap filter in front of your lens in my humble opinion. I'd stay away from Promaster.

 

I'm not the one to ask about flashes, I have two SB-800s & they're great, but expensive & they do require some work to get right. There are far better people here to advise you on buying a flash. Do a search here & see what you come up with. There are many times I wish I just had a simple, no frills flash to use. My friend has the SB800 for her D80 - - but I'm going to defer to the people who know better than I on this.

 

Thanks for kind words on my photographs Peter - most kind. I do shoot a lot. ;-)

 

Lil :-)

[peterd]

That is great to hear. So you have no opinion on Tiffen or Hoya? I see those pushed a lot. I agree on the flash. I actually like Shuns idea of the 600 bc I can tilt. Since its 200 new I am sure I can find one used and if not, a good piece of gear lasts a lot longer than a crappy one.

[ShunCheung]

Peter, I probably should not refer to the SB-600 as a simple flash. Its controls are not very intuitive and you need to study the manual a bit. I do think it is the better choice.

 

On the SB-400, you can rotate the flash head up for bounce flash, but only in the horizontal orientation. It is a relatively weak flash so that its bounce power is quite limited.

 

There are of course the more advanced SB-800 and SB-900, but those are likely be overkill for you.

[ronald_moravec1]

Tiffin are fine if you don`t mind photoshoping the green cast out. Leica or B+W .

 

All three of my Tiffins are green, but I use them on digi raw ONLY so I don`t care. They would be a disaster in my darkroom

[nolan_ross]

The thing about a high quality circular polarizer is that they are expensive. Tiffen (made in USA) has a high transmission digital filter. Very thin to prevent vignetting, multi coated to prevent flaring and to improve light transmission. Anti glare metel ring. But it's crazy expensive.

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/533237-REG/Tiffen_72HTCP_72mm_Digital_HT_High.html

 

Hoya will also have a multi coated digital filter in the same price range. There are also many Brand name cheap filters without multicoating around.

[liljuddakalilknyttphotogra]

Peter,

 

I've heard many bad things about Tiffen as Ronald points out. Hoya, I think I had one way back when, back in my early film days. I know I fast graduated to B+W which were considered some of the best in Europe at that time. So I don't want to comment on filters I've not used for over 25 years give or take....

 

In between photo.net's For Sale forum, Nikonians, FredMiranda.com & NikonCafe I'm sure you can find one. There's also eBay, but a tad riskier.... Unless you buy from Cameta Camera, I'd be careful.

 

Oh, I've had people tell me the SB800 is easier to use than the SB600 - -but please don't quote me on that one.

 

Lil :-)

[diane_madura]

Hi Peter. Nikon brand polarizer is what I recommend.

[andrew_dodson]

tokina 11-16 2.8

[eric_arnold]

shun is right that the sb-600 is the "better" flash, meaning more full-featured, but let's be realistic here. you're probably not going to need much more than the sb-400. the main consideration with travel is light weight. since you can control features like rear curtain sync and dialing down output power from the camera, and you're probably not going to need to use it as a commander with other flashes, the only thing the sb-600 gives you is a bit more power and vertical bounce option. but that's at a tradeoff of weight and bulk. i have an sb-600, but i would get an sb-400 just for traveling. OTOH, if you want to look like a professional photojournalist, go ahead and get the sb-600. it does work well with a d80, but the sb-400 will be easier to use and far more portable, especially if you will be carrying the camera around your neck for more than 30 minutes at a stretch.

[eric_arnold]

ps nice shot, tom!

[ifti]

1: 18-200 VR I have not missed other lenses on a trip except when I see a bird that's beyond the reach of 200mm. If the goal is to carry a single lens thats what I will do.

2: 50 mm is a very sharp lens. You have it in your 18-200 may not that sharp but it is there in the range pretty decent.

[rosenmj]

I just got back from a 2 week trip to Italy including one week on a bike. I brought the 18-200 VR, 50 1.8, D300, and SB-800.

I also brought an OM-4T and 85mm lens.

 

I used the SB-800 only once. as for the lenses, I used the 50 once (in a very dark church) the rest of the time the 18-200 VR

 

If I had to do it again, I'd still take both lenses but leave the flash at home. (I'd also probably leave the OM-4T at home too)

 

I also brought a Dawntech GPS which tags the pictures with GPS coordinates (much easier to sort out later) and finally a

Hyperdrive Colorspace O - for backing up my images nightly

 

I packed it all in a LowePro Slingshot 200 which is a great-great small camera bag, although a little geeky, but what the hell, with all my toys , I wasn't going to pass as an Italian anyway :-)

[Peter_in_PA]

I took every single photo I found to be a "keeper" when I made my trip to Alaska with my 18-200. It'll be fine. I had my

50mm f1.8 in the bag... I used it I think once.

 

But I was on another short trip later that I had just those two lenses, and I got one shot I LOVE with my 50 that I could

NOT have gotten with the other lens. I'd stick the 50 in my luggage somewhere.

 

And a flash.