Lens to bring for travel

[scorpioh]

Any advice of what lens is good for travel. I am making a trip to central japan this june. Will be going places like mount fuji, disneyland etc. Is a wide angle lens more suited for the sceneries. I am also interested in taking some night city scenes in Tokyo. I am considering getting a tamron 17-50 2.8, or will a FA 50 1.4/DA 40 2.8 suffice? Just thinking of bringing one lens over. Thanks.

[NoMoney]

Perhaps the 17-50 f2.8 would be better since it give you more range.

[hjbyeo]

DA 40mm f2.8 isn't too heavy to carry along with your 17-50mm.. Just bring it along for a sudden special occasion in Japan (like a special dinner where you won't want to carry a f2.8 zoom).

[ilario]

i say 17-50. Your 50mm would be too much that you may not be ableto capture a wonderful breathtaking wide scenery which the 17mm of ur 17-50 would able to capture wonderfully Of course you could bring 50mm too to make some special shots but well your 17-50mm has 50mm anyway, more flexibility so it would be wiser to bring the zoom. Its bright and good enough anyway!

edit: agree to bring the DA 40 as well, c'mon it can fit in a pocket haha!

[creampuff]

On Pentaxforums a few have posted about some issues with the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8, namely focusing errors and soft edges. So if you're going to buy, make sure you test it thoroughly.

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/p...-shipping.html

Frankly if you're shooting wide angles, I see little advantage for f/2.8, and the focal range of the Tamron is no better than the Pentax kit lens. I think a more versatile lens is the Sigma 17-70mm or the DA 16-45mm. One goes longer while the other goes wider in coverage. Both lenses can be found in the B&S section and make an excellent cost effective choice.

The other all-in-one solution is the DA 18-250/Tamron 18-250 superzoom. Great zoom range but not as fast aperture wise. Personally I would go with a 2 lens combo, something wide to normal and a tele/macro.

[kayster]

your 17-50 would give you enough range.. especially if you going Mt Fuji and Disney.. landscape and closeup with the disney characters would be fun... I often travel with only my 16-50... and of course a flash would be handy if you want to take some indoor shoot...tripod for night....

[istDeS]

If you are thinking of bringing just one lens. I would go with the tamron 17-50. If you are going to buy this lens. Like creampuff mentioned, test it thoroughly.

[scorpioh]

Thanks for all the advices. Just wondering, how do I check the tamron? Heh. It's not yet available in sg rite?

[otc]

Originally Posted by scorpioh Any advice of what lens is good for travel. I am making a trip to central japan this june. Will be going places like mount fuji, disneyland etc. Is a wide angle lens more suited for the sceneries. I am also interested in taking some night city scenes in Tokyo. I am considering getting a tamron 17-50 2.8, or will a FA 50 1.4/DA 40 2.8 suffice? Just thinking of bringing one lens over. Thanks.

Tamron 17-50 f2.8/ sigma 18-50 f2.8 or sigma 17-70mm, any one is good as mentioned above, as walk about lens. Mount Fuji, probable need a longer focal length like DA 200, of FA200. I brought along my vivitar 105 last december together with a vivitar converter and the result is quite good ie able to bring much closer the view, which otherwise would be near impossible with other kits lens

otc

[scorpioh]

Originally Posted by otc Tamron 17-50 f2.8/ sigma 18-50 f2.8 or sigma 17-70mm, any one is good as mentioned above, as walk about lens. Mount Fuji, probable need a longer focal length like DA 200, of FA200. I brought along my vivitar 105 last december together with a vivitar converter and the result is quite good ie able to bring much closer the view, which otherwise would be near impossible with other kits lens otc

True, really depends on where one is taking the pic.

[airconvent]

Bro, if its family snapshots you want, the 18-250 is all you need.
I brought an additonal 30 f1.4 along and did not actually use it at all except for one moment in the hotel when I decided to use it at least once! The 18-250 is super versatile, enabling you to shoot from wide 18mm to long zoom 250mm. Best is its not a heavy lens, serves the whole range, so you do not need to bring any other lens or CCD cleaner too as the lens stays in all the time.

[gigahz]

18-250 and 50mm 1.4 will be suitable for travel

[airconvent]

Originally Posted by gigahz 18-250 and 50mm 1.4 will be suitable for travel

True. I did consider the 50 f/1.4 too but decided the 30mm view of the sigma 30 f/1.4 was more usable. In the end, the 18-250 will do both 30mm and 50mm, so the unless the f/1.4 is really critical, I don't think it will see any use at all as is my case.
For the night scenes, a tripod will solve he problem of smaller aperture anyway...

[night86mare]

bring a zoom, i had enough pain as it is with my 10-20 during recent trip with relatively limited compositions/styles due to the generally wide perspective

it's really hard to say what you need for sure though, my advice is to bring the lens you are most comfortable working with - the one you find yourself using all the time more often than not.. would make shooting more relaxed and you can enjoy the trip instead of just sweating about the photos you're going to get.. i think even if you bring an entire arsenal.. you won't use some of them.. still need to stress whether you will lose/damage the lenses.. better to enjoy the trip i say.

whatever the case, whatever you bring, you travel to get more than just photographs.. just keep that in mind, and even if you see something where you don't have the correct range/lens.. say you need a telephoto but it's not there.. why stress? you couldn't have done it after all.

it also depends on the main objective of your trip i suppose, if you're going with family/friends then bring less, if it is going to be a photography-orientated trip, then you can afford to bring more, etc.

[fengwei]

To be honest, for travel, the Sigma 1770 is a better solution than those 17/18-50 options. That's my experience. The extra 20mm does make a difference. During travel, fast speed isn't really a big deal, but a wider focal range does matter.

Of course there is a DA18-250 as well, althogh I do find out that I don't use tele lens that often when I'm traveling. But sometimes a long lens does come in handy. And you do need a tele lens for landscapes, especially please like Fuji Mountain. I think the best Fuji Mountain photos I've ever seen were mostly taken by tele lenses.

Good luck.

[scorpioh]

Thanks for the advices. I am just thinking if the Tamron/Sigma 18-200 is a good choice. Seems affordable at ~$600.

[creampuff]

Originally Posted by scorpioh Thanks for the advices. I am just thinking if the Tamron/Sigma 18-200 is a good choice. Seems affordable at ~$600.

The Tamron 18-250mm performs better and is around the same amount. Better yet, get the Pentax version with SMC coating.

[scorpioh]

Thanks for all the helpful advices once again. I think I would go with a sigma 1770 after reading the good reviews. Somehow, sharpness is still on my priority. Don't feel to comfortable sacrificing optical quality for range.

[night86mare]

Originally Posted by scorpioh Thanks for all the helpful advices once again. I think I would go with a sigma 1770 after reading the good reviews. Somehow, sharpness is still on my priority. Don't feel to comfortable sacrificing optical quality for range.

depends on whether you want to make large prints or just small prints and display websize

in any case, composition is much more important than sharpness, if you ask me. some of the most famous photos are not sharp, but the sharpness of the concept behind them is undeniable

whatever the case, i'm sure you'll defintiely have something to shoot.