Pack the primes or go with a decent tele? Travel quandary...

[JDMvW]

Without reading all of the above good suggestions in full, I went to India a year ago and found my 24-105mm indispensable. I also carried a 100-400mm, but had much more opportunity for the shorter zoom.

I did find a shift and tilt lens useful for architectural work as at Agra. Fortunately, we were traveling where the big bag could be left on the transport (guarded, of course) so the stress was reduced.

 

Air quality, by the bye, is terrible. After a week our group sounded like a tubercular ward.

view on first day in Delhi from the diplomatic enclave

[John Di Leo]

I would go light and go simple. If I only had one lens to take--and that is a serious option for convenience if nothing else, it would be my 16-35 f4 zoom. Next I would add something maybe in the 55-80 range that could focus close. That would be it. No tripod, but maybe a beanbag-the poor man's tripod. No telephoto. You will be mostly shooting in close quarters so thnking wide is key, I think. It will be hot and dusty, likely, in many places and you want to carry as little as possible and not swapping lenses. I was in Kathmandu a while back and I would go out with only one lens and shoot that one, switching the lens at the hotel, but only shooting one at a time. I did not feel hampered.

If you decide to stick with just your current primes I'd say the 24 is a given first choice, then either the 50 or the 85, and I'd lean to the 85. You're going to get amazing shots no matter what you take.

Edited April 30, 2017 by John Di Leo

[hapien]

I find 24mm somewhat difficult focal lenght with film or fullframe digital. I have shot one frame with f100 and I have seen and experienced the appeal of the film kit against modern day standard 27mm equivalent smartphone. 50mm is more familiar to me and I have made some small travels with only 50mm equivalent lenses. 85mm makes human and landscape targets to stand out.

 

The travel certainly can be done with Your current lenses or then adding a normal zoom is a possibility. There are number of currently inexpensive zoom lenses that should fit busy India, specifications could read like AF Zoom Nikkor 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5D or anything in that direction. More recent lens could be 28-100mm f/3.5-5.6G that once was marketed as lightweight lens for travel and pr. Older 35-70mm f/3.3-4.5 Ai-S can have nice touch for manual focusing and costs very little.

 

I have never been in India but in internet I have seen documentaries of colorful country. My guess would be that ISO100 slide film fits the ticket. I have heard of crap streets, be vary of those.

[Gary Naka]

hapien

A 24 does take some time to get used to, and some never do. For them the 28 is easier to use.

You have to careful to level the camera or you have the converging lines problem.

I only used a 24 because, when I shot 35mm film, I was often in places where I could not backup any more. So the only alternative was a wider lens.