18-135mm or 50mm f1.8 II for holiday?

[daredevil123]

Agreed. But often I find it challenging to find a nice/interesting composition within an extremely limited timeframe then to setup the tripod to take the shot. Probably more practice is needed.

Yup. Some forethought is also needed. Walk faster ahead if the view is not that great, come to a good view, you get to set up and shoot. Dinner time, sunrise, sunset, free and easy time... lots of opps. I rather be short of time to shoot, than caught with no tripod, when I do and the scene requires one.

 

[derrickder]

If it is a choice then I'd pick the 18-135 for versatility. Sometimes it is not possible to position yourself such that you'll get your shots at that fixed focal length (e.g in a constrained environment). The 50 would be a good choice in low light, but usually in tours seldom you'll find yourself in such a position.

If possible, bring both. The 50 is extremely lightweight and almost negligible in presence. ^^

 

[daredevil123]

If it is a choice then I'd pick the 18-135 for versatility. Sometimes it is not possible to position yourself such that you'll get your shots at that fixed focal length (e.g in a constrained environment). The 50 would be a good choice in low light, but usually in tours seldom you'll find yourself in such a position.

If possible, bring both. The 50 is extremely lightweight and almost negligible in presence. ^^

I disagree. On tours, the 50mm is great for portrait shots.

 

[Octarine]

Agreed. But often I find it challenging to find a nice/interesting composition within an extremely limited timeframe then to setup the tripod to take the shot. Probably more practice is needed.

Don't pack too much things into the schedule. I have seen many times bus loads of tourists being rushed from spot to spot, 30min walk around the bus, snap-snap and off they go again. But yeah, they have been there... For such trips a tripod is redundant. Get a tourist guide, read up about interesting places, figure out ahead what is recommended - and sometimes skip it and walk along the unbeaten tracks Skip the prearranged trips (or only take a few), check for local guides who can take all the time for the things you want to see. Visit less spots, see more

 

[SkyStrike]

Don't pack too much things into the schedule. I have seen many times bus loads of tourists being rushed from spot to spot, 30min walk around the bus, snap-snap and off they go again. But yeah, they have been there... For such trips a tripod is redundant. Get a tourist guide, read up about interesting places, figure out ahead what is recommended - and sometimes skip it and walk along the unbeaten tracks Skip the prearranged trips (or only take a few), check for local guides who can take all the time for the things you want to see. Visit less spots, see more

Too late for me

Went for a 13 day trip (in fact only 10 days minus the air flights). One of the worst thing that can happen is when you are already short of time due to sardine packed events and lots of pple waiting to take the 1 shot with the statue or monument and right after those shots you will have to depart from that place (not much time to re-shoot).

 

[Octarine]

Went for a 13 day trip (in fact only 10 days minus the air flights). One of the worst thing that can happen is when you are already short of time due to sardine packed events and lots of pple waiting to take the 1 shot with the statue or monument and right after those shots you will have to depart from that place (not much time to re-shoot).

Lesson learned. If you want to take more than the standard snapshots then avoid package trips by all means. Get the flight and accommodation, do the rest once you are there. Depending on the location and timing you could get better accommodation deals also on the spot. The best trips I ever had worked exactly this way

 

[SkyStrike]

Lesson learned. If you want to take more than the standard snapshots then avoid package trips by all means. Get the flight and accommodation, do the rest once you are there. Depending on the location and timing you could get better accommodation deals also on the spot. The best trips I ever had worked exactly this way

Learnt the lesson hard. Thou it was rush work, but it's fun. Learnt some other lessons thru the trip also.

 

[Octarine]

Learnt the lesson hard. Thou it was rush work, but it's fun. Learnt some other lessons thru the trip also.

Glad to hear you did not miss the fun. Let us see some pics

 

[SkyStrike]

Glad to hear you did not miss the fun. Let us see some pics

I scared paiseh, so nv upload alot to CS. Uploaded to my Flickr instead (since lesser pple see over there). http://www.flickr.com/photos/yukuang/sets/72157626699164567/ The ones uploaded here are my so-called favorite shots. Still, C&C are always welcomed

 

[CameraNut]

Hello guys. I am currently using a 550D with the 18-135mm kit lens. Intending to get the 50mm f1.8 II

I may be going to Korea/Japan this coming June. Need advise on which lens to bring.
Most probably just gonna enjoy myself there, shoot some things which catches my eye. Most probably the scenery, food, places, things etc..

Which lens would be a better choice? Thx in advance

If you bring the kit lens just shoot at f8 - f11 and you'll get good results. Not saying there aren't great pics at a bigger fstop, just my opinion after having used kit lenses on other systems.

 

[Cowseye]

F8-F11 might be quite hard to shoot without a tripod. Without flash, you need to shoot at pretty low shutter speed or pretty high ISO.

 

[bonrya]

If you find that bringing two lenses are heavy and will potentially weigh you down, you'll be glad to know that the 50mm is cheap enough to get rid of I.e. Dump into the ocean at anytime along the way. :bsmilie: so no worries!

 

[daredevil123]

F8-F11 might be quite hard to shoot without a tripod. Without flash, you need to shoot at pretty low shutter speed or pretty high ISO.

It is very doable if it is bright and sunny. But landscape photos during that timing is not as breathtaking as those during golden light.

 

[SkyStrike]

It is very doable if it is bright and sunny. But landscape photos during that timing is not as breathtaking as those during golden light.

landscape photos can turn out quite well if the sky is real blue...but probably may not be as breathtaking lar...

 

[beebeeice]

Wow.. I didnt know my thread could receive so many replies
Well, I do have a tripod aldr, a lousy one albeit.

I just came back from a photography shoot at a garden/park this morning. Find that I didn't really need a tripod as it was bright and sunny.

Most shots were taken between ISO 100-400.

 

[daredevil123]

Wow.. I didnt know my thread could receive so many replies
Well, I do have a tripod aldr, a lousy one albeit.

I just came back from a photography shoot at a garden/park this morning. Find that I didn't really need a tripod as it was bright and sunny.

Most shots were taken between ISO 100-400.

Did you shoot the sunrise?

 

[beebeeice]

Did you shoot the sunrise?

Couldn't. It was very cloudy today.

 

[Cowseye]

It is very doable if it is bright and sunny. But landscape photos during that timing is not as breathtaking as those during golden light.

Exactly

 

[desertstrike]

Wow.. I didnt know my thread could receive so many replies
Well, I do have a tripod aldr, a lousy one albeit.

I just came back from a photography shoot at a garden/park this morning. Find that I didn't really need a tripod as it was bright and sunny.

Most shots were taken between ISO 100-400.

Hmm... are u shooting at flowers or scenery? and whats your aperture?
I think a tripod is quite a necessity for really sharp pictures.

 

[beebeeice]

Hmm... are u shooting at flowers or scenery? and whats your aperture?
I think a tripod is quite a necessity for really sharp pictures.

I will post a link to a thread of what I took this morning.