Lens for trave

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Dummy said:
Gentlemen and Ladies enquiring as to what lens would you take eg 24-70 Etc
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It is important to know what size sensor you are using before you talk about focal lengths!

I used to use the NIKKOR 28-300 on my full-frame D750 and was happy with it as an "all around" lens that would cover off most of my needs. This is not the sharpest lens out there, but its versatility is really nice. When I moved to a Nikon Z6 (also full-frame), I got the NIKKOR Z 24-200. It is a much better quality lens with very little focus breathing and quite sharp (sharper than the 28-300). I got a bit wider at the wide end which is nice. I lost 100mm on the long end, which is a shame, but still - this is a nice "all around" lens. I find it covers of about 90% of all my landscape/street/architectural photography. My other lenses are a 105 macro and an 18-35. Again - on a full-frame sensor.
 
AlexY said:
When I can take but one lens, I take my Tamron 18-400; It has such a wide range.
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Exactly what I bought for my wife to go on her D7500 and take on road trips, it is a nice combo but the auto-focus gets a little flaky at times. I usually have a Super-tele zoom on my D850 also
 
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I find that as I age, weight becomes a decidedly important consideration. For light weight, I have had good experience with the older 18-70 mm Nikon lens, and my 24-85 gives very good service on my DX body. The 18-140 VR is heavier, but is a go-to lens now. The zooms are more versatile than my 50 mm f/1.8...but it's light, and fast! My 70-300 m AF P is definitely a "specialty" lens now, for air shows, race track, and zoos.

Lately, I have been considering a 24-120 mm zoom, but have heard that older versions have some concerns regarding IQ. How can you tell which is the less-recommended model, and are they really less good, if not buying new?
 
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Flyboy said:
Lately, I have been considering a 24-120 mm zoom, but have heard that older versions have some concerns regarding IQ. How can you tell which is the less-recommended model, and are they really less good, if not buying new?
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The older version of the 24-120 is variable aperture and generally considered to be the weaker version. I've not heard many complain about the constant f/4 model.

I returned mine to Nikon earlier this year when the VR stopped working when zoomed beyond 50mm. They gave it a full service as well as repairing the fault and that has improved the speed of focusing - which was perfectly okay beforehand - and reduced the amount of focus adjust I needed on my D750.
 
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Dummy said:
Gentlemen and Ladies enquiring as to what lens would you take eg 24-70 Etc
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When traveling my go-to lens is the new Z 24-200 on my Z6. The quality comes close enough to the Z 24-70 f/4 S for all travel needs (including in the pack on my bicycle). If I carry a second lens it's the Z 14-30 f/4 S. Together they are light, small and cover a wide range.
 
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Pete said:
When traveling my go-to lens is the new Z 24-200 on my Z6. The quality comes close enough to the Z 24-70 f/4 S for all travel needs (including in the pack on my bicycle). If I carry a second lens it's the Z 14-30 f/4 S. Together they are light, small and cover a wide range.
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I too like the NIKKOR Z 24-200. My only complaint is that it is not the fastest lens around and when you zoom in, it quite quickly hits the f/6.3 aperture. Generally, the resulting slower shutter speeds are not a problem for me, but it does increase the depth-of-field, so it impacts somewhat my ability to get shallow depth-of-field and can change a treatment of a subject.
 
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Depends on where you're traveling to. Steve's Costa Rica trip required at least a BIG lens. For The Galapagos - one lens 24~70. If you're not sure or cannot decide, a 28~300; that'll take care of just about everything.
 
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If I need to travel light then I take a Sony RX100 with its f/1.8~2.8 zoom equivalent of a FX 24-70mm lens. If taking a DSLR then it depends entirely on where I am going and what I plan to photograph. For city photography I take the 28-300mm and the 24-70mm f/2.8 as my bare minimum kit. The 28-300mm is an f/5.6 lens at a 100mm or greater zoom and this makes it good only when there is plenty of light. The 24-70mm at f/2.8 provides 4x the light for the autofocus sensors and of course much better image quality.

The 70-200mm is not a favorite for travel unless using it for landscape panos. In city use it is too large and people tense up when it is pointed in their general direction. Something of a moot point in that it will be a couple of years before Americans are welcome in other countries, and for good reason.

I bought a 24-120mm lens and from 24mm to 70mm it was markedly inferior to my Nikon 24-70mm lens and so I returned the 24-120mm and bought the Sigma 24-105mm f/4. The Sigma is fine in terms of IQ but it is impossible to use it in manual focus mode and the rotation is the opposite of Nikon lenses so I use it a lot less than I had planned to do when I bought it.

For wide angle the Nikon 18-35mm f/3.5G is a very sharp lens, noticeably sharper than the 16-35mm f/4 when I tested both lenses against my 14-24mm f/2.8 lens.
 
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Generally I would

  1. For Light Fast plain hopping trips ( No Luggage), I use a 50mm 1.8 Nikon, Under AUD $200, feather light sharp, fast, excellent low light performance, I would Be a photographer and challenge myself as I have done often, take two steps back for 35mm 2 steps forward for 70mm……and rely on the D850 for cropping ability.
2) Slower longer trips, 28-300 covers everything, has VR, good colour, acceptably sharp used well, proven track record as the ultimate all-rounder, and keep the 50mm 1.8 in my pocket for lower light needs.
 
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Etching House said:
Generally I would

  1. For Light Fast plain hopping trips ( No Luggage), I use a 50mm 1.8 Nikon, Under AUD $200, feather light sharp, fast, excellent low light performance, I would Be a photographer and challenge myself as I have done often, take two steps back for 35mm 2 steps forward for 70mm……and rely on the D850 for cropping ability.
2) Slower longer trips, 28-300 covers everything, has VR, good colour, acceptably sharp used well, proven track record as the ultimate all-rounder, and keep the 50mm 1.8 in my pocket for lower light needs.
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Thankyou for the advice much appreciated
 
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Tamron 30-150 is going to the zoo today. Great lens, great build, and great images but it is a bit heavy. I have a theory on heavy. If you weigh 200 pounds and a 6 pounds camera and lens is heavy, your total weight is 206 pounds. Why not loose 10 pounds rendering your total to 196. There, you have mathematically fit the 6 pound camera into your travel.
Ps. since the Pandemic started I have lost 21 pounds, hmmm some of my gear still seems heavy.
 
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It depends on the travel.

If it’s family travel to theme parks or other places where photography is more snapshot oriented, I’ll grab my Fuji X-E2 with 18-55 lens. The Fuji X series is small and light and makes is great for travel snapshots.

If the travel is to a place where I feel I can take some time for photography, I’ll bring the Z7 with the 14-30 and 24-70, maybe a longer lens but these usually handle 80%+ of the subjects when traveling. I recently acquired a 24-200 lens for the Z7 hoping it is as good as I’ve read. If it is, this will make a great one lens day trip/travel kit.

Sometimes, I won’t even bring a camera and just use my iPhone because I know there will be little opportunity for photographs and/or carrying the gear is impractical.
 
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It just occurred to me - better late than never - that the answer to the 'best' travel lens would depend on the size of the camera's sensor, which wasn't mentioned....
 
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Regardless of which lens I use for general purposes on my DX camera bodies (usually the 16-80), I always take a 70-300 zoom for situations that lend themselves to birding. I prefer the FX version, but the DX versions are also very good. For temples in Japan, I also brought a wide fast lens for interiors.
 
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24-200S on Z6 or Z7, excellent lens. Z7, 24-200 @ 24mm, f8 @ 10", 100 ISO Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco.
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