Canon lens selection for 6 month RTW on a budget

[reid_henderson]

<p>Hi all. <br>

My wife and I are heading on a six-month trip around the world (rough itinerary <a href="dyanneandreid.blogspot.com">here</a>). We are going to be backpacking with ~35L bags, so size/weight is a definite factor. Our plan includes places like Angkor Wat, Halong Bay, Victoria Falls, Istanbul, and safari in Tanzania plus innumerable street scenes in strange cities. <br>

I currently have a canon 20D and an Elan 7 with a 50/1.8 and a 28-105mm. I found those two lenses were perfect on the film body, but too narrow with the crop factor. My goal is to put together a decent travel kit for a 20D with a budget of about $1000.<br>

A few configurations I have been considering:<br>

- (Canon 18-200/Tamron 18-270) vs. Canon 17-85 EFS + Canon 70-200mm 4L<br>

- Wide angle zoom (canon 10-22 or sigma 10-20) + existing 28-105mm + 70-200 4L<br>

For a telephoto, considering size/weight/budget (and possible safaris), would I be better off with a 70-300 IS than the 70-200 4L? <br>

I know a lot of this is a matter of personal taste. I apologize in advance for yet another "which lens?" topic, but I've spent days reading other posts and the more I read the more confused I seem to get. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>

[john_a5]

<p>What do you normally shoot? That to me is the basic question always. I shoot almost always, for personal work, pretty wide lenses when I am walking around. So, if weight were an issue, I would just take my 16-35mm and be done with it.</p>

<p>I don't know how many times I have walked around with(in my bag) my 70-200 and 24-70 but end up never using them. The 70-200 now stays in the car (didn't even take on last trip to Big Bend) and now leave my 24-70 in car most of the time. You aren't going to change your normal patterns because you are traveling. Better to provide for what you will do than what you might do--just sayin'....</p>

[evan_c1]

<p>That's quite the journey. I've been to many of those places but never on the same trip. If I were you I would also hit up northern Morocco, Seville, central Scandinavia, Tibet, New Zealand, Scotland and Ireland among other places, though some are a bit out of the way...<br>

I noted that you want to get handmade suits in Vietnam. I'd save that for Hong Kong. In my experience they are cheaper there and it is easier to find a tailor that can make what you are expecting, if you just want run of the mill American style business suits. Jewelry, however, is very cheap in Vietnam.<br>

When you are in Munich, the Hofbräuhaus is fun, and the BMW museum is great if you are into cars. (On a related note, there is also a great Volvo museum in Gothenburg, Sweden...)<br>

As far as cameras, I used a 20D with a 17-85 for 3 weeks backpacking around Scandinavia and was happy. I've since switched to Nikon and have about 4 lenses that I plan on using on my next trip.</p>

[luis_g]

<p> It's impossible to make recommends for a thing like this, but you know that....I would buy a second Canon digi body (for the wife) with the 18-55 IS, and take one personal lens (the zoom or prime you would use the most) each, and one or two lenses to share, like the Canon 10-22 and/or a longer zoom. Every ounce matters when you're backpacking.I would Fed Ex the Safari lens ahead, and Fed Ex it back home. I doubt you'll need or want to haul that kind of glass around through your whole trip.</p>

<p> </p>

[reid_henderson]

<p>Thanks for your responses :) I tend to prefer shooting on the wide end, with the occasional zoom for candid street portraits. On a FF body, the 17-40 4L and the 28-105mm served my needs perfectly (the very well loved 17-40 fell victim to a thief). On digital, I found that the 17-40 was frustratingly bland (not wide enough) and lacked reach on the long end. The 28-105 was similarly not wide enough for normal street scenes. <br>

That leads me towards the 17-85 as a what I understand to be a good 1.6x body equivalent to the 28-135 as my walk around lens. Then the question is what to use the remaining ~$750 to augment that with - a true wide-angle, a low-light prime, or a telephoto for things like safari. </p>

[reid_henderson]

<p>Excellent tip on shipping the safari lens! I think I might be able to use that to move it "off budget," and have a friend resell it...</p>

[john_a5]

<p>Reid, I was going to mention shipping the lens, but you better look into duty fees and such! I am not sure how you can avoid them, even if you are going to return ship the lens. I paid over $200 in duties just to ship my portfolio to London because I didn't mark it "marketing material" but put a value on it! Need to do research on something like that, including the shipping costs--might be cheaper to buy it there (seriously!)</p>

[collin_ong1]

<p>if you like wide, maybe you should consider moving to a used 5D instead. it is too bad you don't still have the 17-40L though. </p>

<p>On a recent trip to Aust. and NZ, I found using 16-35 on a 5D Mark II was comfortably wide enough most of the time but sometimes not wide enough even.</p>

[j_traveller]

<p>I used to have the 17-85mm lens and used in in many of the places you are going. II wasn't happy with the lens. For me, it just wasn't sharp enough. I now travel wth a 24-70mm, 10-22mm, and a 200mm and it works for me. Enjoy the trip!!</p>

[awahlster]

<p>In the traveling we have done in the US and Europe I have found almost no need for a lens longer then 4X std. Be that a 200mm on full frame 35mm or 135mm on a 1.6 crop sensor. On the wide end I have made very good use of a 24mm on full frame and 14mm on a 1.6 crop.<br>

I think if I was going to try to do this with one lens I would look into the EF-S 15-85mm f3.5/5.6 IS USM (list price $800.00) for your 20D</p>

<p>That would give you as compared to full frame 35mm a 24 to 135mm in a single lens with Image stablization. Granted it is said to be a heavy lens by some people but that can be very relative.<br>

Might be an option to check out.</p>

[dthew]

<p>I second the 15-85 choice, and then spend the change on renting a 500 f/4 for Tanzania.<br>

<a href="http://www.lensprotogo.com/index.php?pr=Super_Telephoto">This website</a> will charge $260 per week (incl. insurance) and organise the lens to be sent to you and returned to them. </p>

<p>Here's a quote from the Luminous Landscape about his Tanzanian safari:</p>

<blockquote>

<p> </p>

<p >Having a long enough lens is also a critical consideration. 400mm is the minimum need for the type of images that are seen on this page. I used my 500mm lens 95% of the time, and with a 1.4X at least half the time. On a full-frame camera like the Canon 1Ds this is 700mm, and even then I often would have to crop the frame by 30-40% to isolate the important part of the subject.</p>

<p >Even with a reduced frame DSLR I would urge anyone going on a photo safari to consider the purchase or rental of a 500mm lens, and a fast one if at all possible. There's no point of traveling half way round the world and spending a couple of weeks of ones time and many thousands of dollars on a trip like this, and then not having a long enough lens.</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p> </p>

<p >You can find the full text of his Tanzanian safari <a href="http://www.luminous-landscape.com/locations/tanzania.shtml">here</a></p>