travel lenses

[paolo_pescia]

<p>Hello, I going to start a long travel around the world next winter, I like lanscapes, street,flowers and trees photography.<br>

Please, What lenses do you suggest to bring with me? to have an idea in what i need to consider to buy or borrow<br>

thanks so much for the answears</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>And the camera(s) you are using is ...?</p>

[paolo_pescia]

<p>sorry, I use a nikon d40 and nikon d300s</p>

[hans_janssen]

<p>What do you use at home for these subjects? They are nearly the same on the WWW.</p>

[paolo_pescia]

<p>i use a af-s nikkor 18-135mm- i consider to buy a tamron 90 mm macro</p>

[andrewg_ny]

<p>What are you looking to improve on vs. what you have now? In a general sense, your 18-135 is well-suited for the purpose. If you're looking to spend a lot of money and carry much heavier gear I'm sure folks here can make lots of recommendations.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>The 18-135 DX is now discontinued. I think its main problem is not having VR. Generally speaking, for DX bodies, the 18-200mm/f3.5-5.6 AF-S VRII DX is the altermate "travel lens" because that one lens can serve many purposes. You should find VR handy and somewhat better construction quality compared to the plastic mount on the 18-135.</p>

<p>The long end of the 18-200 is a bit soft and f5.6 will be somewhat challenging indoors. You might want to add a 35mm/f1.8 AF-S DX for indoor, available-light photography.</p>

<p>Does the Tamron macro lens have an AF motor built-in? If not, there will be no AF on the D40. That is probably acceptable for macro work, which usually requires manual focus anyway.</p>

[luis_g]

<p> A 16-85 would serve you well, if you can live with the longer end. Add a 35/1.8 for low light, and a Nikon (no off brands) Close-up lens, and that could work for you.</p>

[samuel_lipoff]

<p>I don't like the 18-200mm lens, but if you had to bring only one lens for DX, I might seriously consider it. The 35/1.8 would be the perfect complement to keep on the other body.</p>

<p>Another two lens option might be the new 24-120 f/4 VR lens with the 12-24 f/4 for the very wide, and/or the 35/1.8 for a smaller, lighter package, especially at night.</p>

<p>As for me, when I travel with my D700, I typically take along the 28/1.4, 85/1.4 and recently a 180/2.8 or the Voigtländer 180/4. Sometimes I'll throw in Olympus 50/1.2 or my Nikon 60/2.8 macro lens. I use the 28mm and 85mm lenses almost exclusively.</p>

<p>If you wanted to go with a set of primes, the 35/1.8 is a good one if you like the focal length. On DX I would use the 24mm f/1.4 lens. A fast 50mm lens is a nice portrait lens on DX, and even the $100 50/1.8 will autofocus on your D300s, but not the D40. You might find an 85mm or 90mm lens too long but yet not long enough on DX, although a 90mm macro could be useful. I love the 180mm f/2.8 AF-D lens now, but a slow 70-300mm zoom with VR might be more flexible. For the very wide, you might prefer the 10.5mm fisheye to an ultra-wide zoom like the 12-24, since it's smaller, lighter, faster and more durable. If 16mm is wide enough, the 16-35 f/4 seems like a nice travel companion as well.</p>

<p>If you have room for even a small tripod, I would definitely take that!</p>

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>I don't shoot with my 18-200 when I'm close to home or can carry a bunch of lenses much anymore, but recently I had to take two "day trips" where I needed to pack really light and it was nice to have the 18-200 and my 35mm f1.8 (which I used for all of one picture, btw) with me. The 18-200 is just awesome when you have to travel really light.</p>

<p>It is soft at the long end, but still yields great photos for on-screen, 4 x 6 or 5 x 7s. 8 x 10s at the long end only if you are really careful</p>

[waltflanagan]

<p>When I travel I take my D90, 12-24 DX, 18-70 DX, 70-300 VR, and 35 f2 for low light. Usually I only carry 2 lenses because I know the type of subject matter I am shooting for the day. If I were buying lenses today I'd probably get the newer 10-24 DX, 16-85, the same 70-300 VR, and the 35 f1.8 DX. Sometimes I take a closeup filter instead of a dedicated macro lens.</p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>the best lens for travel is the one you bring with you. the 18-135 should be fine for most situations, except perhaps low-light. i'd consider adding a 35/1.8 for available-light shots and maybe a 70-300 VR for telephoto. if you like wide-angle shots, the sigma 10-20 or nikkor 10-24 are both good options for your set-up, since both will AF on both your d40 and d300.</p>

<p>i'd actually pass on the 16-85 as it's a little better optically than your kit lens, but not so much that it justifies its relatively high price for a variable-aperture zoom.</p>

<p>you may want to consider a canon 500d close-up lens, which should work fine on your nikon glass.</p>

<p>the tamron 90 is an excellent macro lens and i believe they now make a version with a built-in motor. you might also want to consider the nikon 85mm/3.5 VR AF-S macro which might be better for handheld shots.</p>

[ilkka_nissila]

<p>Since you're considering a macro lens, the 105 VR AF-S is a good general-purpose short tele that can also do macro, alternatively consider a 60mm AF-S which would be excellent for flowers and also portraits of people. Which focal length is better depends on visual preferences of individuals, how much background you want to show and how close / far away you want to shoot from. Try them out at a store to get a feeling for their use. The 85mm DX VR Micro-Nikkor is a new, very compact alternative for DX cameras that might be attractive for travel, but I have not tested it. </p>

[CvhKaar]

<p>apart from all the lens advise, maybe a spare battery for each cam. and something to make sure you can use your battery-charger(s) anywhere you need too ?<br>

Memory cards...<br>

Spare lens caps if you decide on more than one lens per cam...</p>

<p>etc.</p>

[tim_knight]

<p>I took my Tamron 17-50/2.8 with me on a trip along with the Nikon 70-300/AFS. I couldn't believe how much I used my Tamron, 95% of the time. I took indoor pictures wide open with no flash and stopped it down for my outdoor pictures. Have a good trip.</p>

[mark_drutz]

<p>If I want to travel light I'd carry the D90 with a superzoom like the 18-200 VR and a Nikon 35mm f/1.8 and/or compact SB-400 flash. The next thing I'd add is an ultrawide zoom like the Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6. If the 18-200 VR is too expensive you can substitute an 18-105 VR, Sigma 18-125 OS, Sigma 18-200 OS, Sigma 18-250 OS, or Tamron 18-270 VC.</p>

<p>If weight is not an issue, I'd bring an ultrawide zoom, a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 VC, a Nikon 70-300 VR or new 55-300 VR, and an SB-600 or 900 flash.</p>

<p>There are so many combinations that would be good it becomes a personal choice.</p>

<p>Almost forgot, I'd also bring a P&S.</p>

[bourboncowboy]

<p>I'll echo some of the ideas previously posted.</p>

<p>First, I'd take care of the long and wide ends. A Sigma 10-20 would be a good choice, and it's cheaper than the Nikon version. For the long end, I'd choose the 70-300VR. It's reasonably light and offers good image quality. If weight is a concern, you can go with the 55-200VR. IQ is almost as good, and it weighs quite a bit less.</p>

<p>You're original post didn't say that you wanted a macro lens. But if you do, look into the Tamron 90mm 2.8 macro. It's a fantastic lens and a tremendous value.</p>

<p>The Nikon 35 1.8 would also be a great choice for a low light "normal" lens on DX. It's also small and very light.</p>

<p>For a wide-to-normal zoom, either the 18-55 or 18-70 offers great image quality in a relatively inexpensive package.</p>

<p>But here's the secret to keeping multiple small lenses in one bag. Get yourself <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/583451-REG/OP_TECH_USA_1101221_Double_Lens_Mount_Cap.html">one of these gizmos </a>and attach two lenses together. It will save room in your bag and protect them from scratching each other. I've got a couple, and love them.</p>

[paolo_pescia]

<p>Thank you very much to all the people who answeared!!!! I can say I have an idea now about wich lense to bring and wich to buy, I had the confirmation about the 35 mm 1.8.<br>

All the answear were helpful. Thanks</p>

[bmm]

<p>Can I suggest another item which is an accessory not a lens. The gorillapod focus. I do most of my shooting while on travels and while I had bigger tripods to be honest they either stayed home or were brough on trips only to live in the hotel room. The gorillapod focus may not be the technically best tripod by a long shot, but its the only one that is convenient enough to be in the bag every time. To me its a great travel tool.</p>