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Travel Lens?

N

Nonchalance

Weaksauce
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Joined
Apr 28, 2010
Messages
112
Backpacking then studying abroad in Europe next semester, and I'm looking to buy another lens for my D80 for just traveling. Currently I have a 35mm f/1.8, but it's definitely a bit limiting.

I'm leaning towards a 18-105/135/200mm lens, just so I only have to carry one thing around. But at the same time, I do love a good prime... Or should I go into the 17-55mm f/2.8 range? Would have to go third party for that though.
 
If you want just one, the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II is excellent.
Sure it doesn't have a constant aperture, and it's not as fast as other glass, but with it you'll cover a wide range of focal length. You'll be able to pack light, and you'll never have to worry about which lens you need for the job.

If you have plenty of cash and want to buy more than one lens you can buy a couple, but I think the single lens solution is probably best for this application.
 
When you take photos in your mind do you visualize with a wide field of view or do you tend to pick a subject a distance out and want to frame your photo around that?

Do you feel your photography style will change once you get to Europe?

When you take photos right now where are your aperture values falling? Another way to phrase this questions might be, "Do you use the 35mm at 1.8 a lot?". If you take most of your photos in the 1.8 - 2.8 range than it makes sense to get a 17-55mm or other fast glass, but if you are often stopping down than it doesn't make sense.

A simple and cheap lens to consider would be the kit 18-55mm VR. Both wider and longer than your 35mm, but is also light and small which would be good for travel. The VR would be nice also. I rented the Nikon 17-55 once, I wouldn't want to take it backpacking.

You could even do something crazy like try and buy the D3200 with kit lens, and you'd have a pretty wicked light small camera setup. You'd get all the ISO improvements of the newer cameras. High megapixels. 1080P video. You do lose many buttons.
 
If you had a Canon I would say the 24-105 hands down... but for the Nikon system, I would prob go with the 18-200 VR....

Or if you have some time... look into the new lens that Tamron just released.. the 24-70VR...... That looks like a decent lens.

If you are a baller.... then the D800 would be a great camera for traveling.....(I mean what I would use)
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. I didn't really think about size/weight of these lenses before, looks like I'm getting the 10-200mm if I can find one at a decent price!

Would love to get the D800 but would have to drop out of school to afford that beast :)
 
Honestly for European cities what I would use is something like a 17-50 f2.8 as a walk-around lens. That focal range should be enough in a city environment and the large aperture should come in handy at dusk and night. You might also appreciate the shallow DOF for some things like street portraits.

The second lens for Europe would be a wide-ish and fast prime for museums, castles and churches/cathedrals:

1. Fast because inside flash photography will often be forbidden and so will be tripods....so to keep the shutter speeds fast(handheld) and iso low you need a fast lens 1.8 at minimum - IS will also be your friend here.

2. Wide because inside you'll find that space is at a premium (often small and crowded) and cannot back away far enough to frame the full subject. Your 35mm on a crop aps-c sensor might be a bit too narrow.

As far as camera bodies go the d3200 MN Scout mentioned seems to be an amazing bargain since it's most likely using the excellent sensor found in the nex7 at half the price.

The d800 darktiger mentioned offers insane performance but it is not cheap - if you can afford it just get it no question.

I would also like to add that since size/weight will be important issues you might want to look into a mirrorless system. The weight gains should be significant over a DSLR setup
 
3200 will trump D80 in almost every way possible. However, given your lens situation, I would invest in getting more glass before upgrading the camera. Just a personal preference.
 
Maybe too late to be helpful, but my travel-with-only-one-lens lens is the Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4 OS. It's fairly lightweight, OS makes it useful at night and the dark, f4 is reasonable fast, and it's very affordable. It also gives you a bit more reach than a 50mm lens, which is nice if you'll use it. I've got lots of samples if you're interested!
 
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