Lens To Bring For Convocation and Sight Seeing.

[cikguyan]

Dear Moderators and friends,
I would like to go to Sydney on October this year to attend my son's convocation and sight seeing at Blue Mountain. I am using Nikon D300s camera. My lenses are Nikon 18-200mm VR 1, Nikon 35mm f/1.8G, Nikon 50mm f/1.8D, Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC Hsm macro, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 . Please kindly advise me what are the lenses that I should bring. I thank you.

 

[Octarine]

Best to bring a convocation lens and a sight seeing lens. But, hold on... Does Nikon label their lenses this way? Did you ever see a wedding lens, holiday lens, children birthday party lens?
Jokes aside, nobody can tell you what lenses are required to which occasion, there are simply too many factors that we don't know. So let's look at your gear: 18-200 would cover everything best, coupled with the 11-16 there's nothing you would miss in this wide range. Add the 35 and 50 if you still have space in your luggage. If not, leave them at home. Holidays are best when you relax instead of doing camera stunts with prime lenses.

 

[SilentSeth]

Looking at the post history, around April 2010 TS asked similar thing

 

[pcool]

I attended a convocation recently and was upset with myself for not carrying an extra zoom len and seated at the wrong spot as was not allowed to leave the seat. Sharing my humble amateur 1st time experiences below.
1. Are you allow to walk to the front of the convocation hall to have a close-up shot of your son receiving the award? If this is allow, then your Sigma 18-50 f2.8 or 35mm f1.8 is good. If flash is allow, good to use it as backfill.
2. If you are not allow to move to the front and remain seated, then you need to bring your 18-200mm. Even with this len, you need to be seated near the front and also select a seat with clear view to the physical spot of the award of receiving and handshaking moment. Also, as your 18-200mm is not f2.8 and lower, you will need a powerful flash as setting too high ISO on a D300s will have some noises.
3. If you are seated too far from the front stage, your 18-200mm won't be able to reach and better to buy the photo from the assigned photographers.

Good luck and enjoy your trip.

 

[cikguyan]

Thanks tp pcool. Normally we are not allowed to move about during the ceremony.

 

[cikguyan]

Thanks to Octarine for your sharing.

 

[catchlights]

Dear Moderators and friends,
I would like to go to Sydney on October this year to attend my son's convocation and sight seeing at Blue Mountain. I am using Nikon D300s camera. My lenses are Nikon 18-200mm VR 1, Nikon 35mm f/1.8G, Nikon 50mm f/1.8D, Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC Hsm macro, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 . Please kindly advise me what are the lenses that I should bring. I thank you.

There will be official photographers and photos of candidates receiving cert available for sales.
so you want decent and nice photos of your son receiving cert, just buy the official photos, and take whatever photos of your son with mother or family members after the ceremony.

if you want to keep it simply during holiday, just bring the 18-200, and an ultra wide, unless you have time, very unlikely you will want to change lenses on the go.

I attended a convocation recently and was upset with myself for not carrying an extra zoom len and seated at the wrong spot as was not allowed to leave the seat. Sharing my humble amateur 1st time experiences below.
1. Are you allow to walk to the front of the convocation hall to have a close-up shot of your son receiving the award? If this is allow, then your Sigma 18-50 f2.8 or 35mm f1.8 is good. If flash is allow, good to use it as backfill.
2. If you are not allow to move to the front and remain seated, then you need to bring your 18-200mm. Even with this len, you need to be seated near the front and also select a seat with clear view to the physical spot of the award of receiving and handshaking moment. Also, as your 18-200mm is not f2.8 and lower, you will need a powerful flash as setting too high ISO on a D300s will have some noises.
3. If you are seated too far from the front stage, your 18-200mm won't be able to reach and better to buy the photo from the assigned photographers.

Good luck and enjoy your trip.

it is not a kindergarten concert cum graduation ceremony,
very unlikely anyone can move forward to take photos during the ceremony, you will be pinned down on your seat to shoot whatever you can, beside, there are official photographers around, the last thing the organizer will want to see is all the official photographs are screwed up by overenthusiastic guests taking photos with ipone ipad compact and whatever things they bring.

 

[Blur Shadow]

Just bring the 18-200mm VR and be done with it.

 

[cikguyan]

Thank you to all senior members and friends.

 

[macVince]

Dear Moderators and friends, I would like to go to Sydney on October this year to attend my son's convocation and sight seeing at Blue Mountain. I am using Nikon D300s camera. My lenses are Nikon 18-200mm VR 1, Nikon 35mm f/1.8G, Nikon 50mm f/1.8D, Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC Hsm macro, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 . Please kindly advise me what are the lenses that I should bring. I thank you.

The 18-200 would be good for the graduation ceremony since with your DX, you can have 300mm equivalent or so. That will allow you several good shots if you're not seated nearer the stage which is often the case where parents are seated or standing at the side. Last year I had an 18-135 & the reach wasn't optimum. This year end I'm going back with at least the 55-250 or longer for better reach. Outside of the ceremony, the 35mm or 18-50 will be just nice for individual or small group candid shots.

You could enjoy Blue Mountains with just the 18-200 I am sure but since the 11-16 is small & light, bring it if the bag has space for the wide landscapes.

Congrats on your son's graduation.