Robert Sparrow
New member
Wales & Lake district definitely, wouldn't recommend going to Scotland unless you enjoy being eaten alive by midges.
Trip to UK for Photos
- Thread starter Anjin San
- Start date
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Thanks Andy, lots of research here!
We wont get to them all this time.
Appreciate the suggestion re A84 too!
OK, I'm back for another question about our upcoming trip to the UK…getting into the details planning at this point. We'll be spending a week in London and another week each in Yorkshire Dales and Lakes District afterwards and I'm going back and forth on which lenses to take. I'll have the Z9 and Z7II and want to be able to cover London walking around with a smaller kit as well as landscapes, waterfalls, flowers, travel photos, and wildlife in the last couple of weeks. This isn't a dedicated wildlife or photography trip…the first week in London is a choral tour my wife is taking part in and the last 2 weeks are vacation to someplace we haven't been before.
Lenses available are all Zs at 14-30, 24-70, 24-200, 70-200, 100-400, and 400/4.5 and both TCs…and I'll probably only take 3 or 4 of those and the TCs. Wife will have her Z50 2 lens kit as well.
My original thought was to take the 400/4.5 for distant wildlife since it's better IQ than the 100-400…but the flexibility of the latter is an attractive plus. Along with that I would take the 70-200 in case I needed the faster speed, the 14-30 for wide angle stuff, and probably the 24-200 for walking around in London so I wouldn't need but a single lens. The drawback with this plan is that the 24-200 just isn't as good as the other lenses are…it's good but not excellent.
My second thought was to take the 14-30, 100-400, and 24-200 for walking around which lowers what I'm taking…the drawback there is again the 24-200.
I thought about taking the 24-70 instead of the 24-200 but then walking around is sort of limited in reach…unless I carried the zoom along as well which I could do fairly easily.
The 400 is a bit lighter than the 100-400 and better overall IQ-wise…but considering the loss of flexibility by not having the 100-400 and based on earlier discussions in the thread the relatively low wildlife requiring the longer lens…but the 70-200/TC combo still covers from 70-280…and if there aren't going to be a whole bunch of distant wildlife needing the 400 and TC to reach then maybe the 14-30, 24-70 and 100-400 is a better overall combination…or perhaps the 70-200 instead of the 100-400.
Obviously I'm a big boy and need to make my own decision…but being always interested in varied opinions it can't hurt to get a bunch of smart people to make suggestions…so have at it.
Lenses available are all Zs at 14-30, 24-70, 24-200, 70-200, 100-400, and 400/4.5 and both TCs…and I'll probably only take 3 or 4 of those and the TCs. Wife will have her Z50 2 lens kit as well.
My original thought was to take the 400/4.5 for distant wildlife since it's better IQ than the 100-400…but the flexibility of the latter is an attractive plus. Along with that I would take the 70-200 in case I needed the faster speed, the 14-30 for wide angle stuff, and probably the 24-200 for walking around in London so I wouldn't need but a single lens. The drawback with this plan is that the 24-200 just isn't as good as the other lenses are…it's good but not excellent.
My second thought was to take the 14-30, 100-400, and 24-200 for walking around which lowers what I'm taking…the drawback there is again the 24-200.
I thought about taking the 24-70 instead of the 24-200 but then walking around is sort of limited in reach…unless I carried the zoom along as well which I could do fairly easily.
The 400 is a bit lighter than the 100-400 and better overall IQ-wise…but considering the loss of flexibility by not having the 100-400 and based on earlier discussions in the thread the relatively low wildlife requiring the longer lens…but the 70-200/TC combo still covers from 70-280…and if there aren't going to be a whole bunch of distant wildlife needing the 400 and TC to reach then maybe the 14-30, 24-70 and 100-400 is a better overall combination…or perhaps the 70-200 instead of the 100-400.
Obviously I'm a big boy and need to make my own decision…but being always interested in varied opinions it can't hurt to get a bunch of smart people to make suggestions…so have at it.
Just some quick thoughts.....
I'm guessing that realistically there won't be a lot of opportunities to get close enough to wildlife to get decent shots? If so, then I'd leave the 400 f4.5 home. The 1.4 on the 100-400 gets you very good images to about 560mm.....and up to 800 mm of good quality reach with the 2X. PLUS, the 100-400 telephoto lens covers a great range.
70-200 f2.8? I wouldn't take it just for low light. NR is too good these days. I'd leave it at home and use the 100-400.
14-30 - Oh YEAH!
I'd take the 24-70 with covers the gat from 30mm to 100mm very nicely. The other lens I would consider if it were available is the 24-120.
FWIW - We are doing a December River Cruise (photo specific) in Europe with 3 days in Prague, so I will be making similar choices. I'll be taking: 14-24 f2.8, 24-70 f2.8, 100-400. Probably both the 1.4 and 2X tele although the 2X might stay home. Two Z9's.....
I'm guessing that realistically there won't be a lot of opportunities to get close enough to wildlife to get decent shots? If so, then I'd leave the 400 f4.5 home. The 1.4 on the 100-400 gets you very good images to about 560mm.....and up to 800 mm of good quality reach with the 2X. PLUS, the 100-400 telephoto lens covers a great range.
70-200 f2.8? I wouldn't take it just for low light. NR is too good these days. I'd leave it at home and use the 100-400.
14-30 - Oh YEAH!
I'd take the 24-70 with covers the gat from 30mm to 100mm very nicely. The other lens I would consider if it were available is the 24-120.
FWIW - We are doing a December River Cruise (photo specific) in Europe with 3 days in Prague, so I will be making similar choices. I'll be taking: 14-24 f2.8, 24-70 f2.8, 100-400. Probably both the 1.4 and 2X tele although the 2X might stay home. Two Z9's.....
You’re probably right on the wildlife close shots…and the 100-400 flexibility is nice as well as the IQ out to 560 and 800 in a pinch, it’s just not as good as the 400 prime is…and realistically the two short zooms are probably all I will need in London…I can always feet zoom if I need to or to back to a location with the longer one…she’s got 3 or 4 rehearsals so I’ll have lots of free time to wander about. I’ve thought about the 24-120…and might eventually end up with one of those for walking around and street shots…but I haven’t done one of those in awhile and the 14-70 range and crop since both bodies are 45MP ought to do the trick. I’m quite sure that I’m overthinking it.
Ah... over-thinking it is something I can relate to! LOL!
There are two things about the 24-120 that appeal to me. One - it is HALF the weight of my 24-70 f2.8 and a constant f4. Two - the focal range. In prior years, my average used focal length around cities was 80-85mm. That little extra reach was nice then and may mean in the future that I won't have to switch lenses to the 100-400! LOL! So, I will probably purchase the 24-120 before my trip....... At least that is how I am rationalizing buying another lens...................
The 24-120 is just an epic lens. Great zoom range and fantastically sharp and excellent contrast means you can crop ridiculously tight if you wish on your bodies. Partnered with the 100-400… just fine!
Shame you’re not coming to Scotland but there we are
Shame you’re not coming to Scotland but there we are
The best place to stay when visiting The Mac Loop is Ty’n y Cornel Hotel which is the hotel located on the banks of Tal-y-Lyn which is the lake you see in most Mac Loop videos.
The food is great, rooms really comfortable & you have a choice of having a room with a terrace overlooking the lake which is amazing especially in the mornings.
The lake has some varied water fowl, but if you’re really lucky as we were you might get to see the resident Otters.
It also makes for a great base to explore The Snowdonia National Park.
Another vote for the z24-120mm f4
in London, streets, buildings etc, a 50mm or so prime is all you need, but there’s the river with awesome views, and some big parks, and drives like The Mall leafing to Buckingham Palace….you’ll wish you had something longer and creative. Thus, the 24-120 on a z6 or z7 .. even a z50 offers you loads of potential without worrying about another lens.
in London, streets, buildings etc, a 50mm or so prime is all you need, but there’s the river with awesome views, and some big parks, and drives like The Mall leafing to Buckingham Palace….you’ll wish you had something longer and creative. Thus, the 24-120 on a z6 or z7 .. even a z50 offers you loads of potential without worrying about another lens.
Ok, resurrecting my old thread to add a non photo question. We have our AT&T phones setup for the international plan which is $10 a day and that will be $200 total for us because of the billing rules if we use our US numbers…so looking at other options. We can get an Airalo eSIM for our iPhones for $22 each fo4 10GB of data and local UK number and can be topped up if needed from the iPhone app…that should be enough data. Conversely…Amazon has 40GB Vodaphone prepaid physical SIMs for $35…both of which are far better than the $200 total for AT&T. Any real reason to choose one of these options over the other. Swapping physical SIMs is easy and we have a currently unused eSIM on both of our iPhone Xs’s…they’ll get upgraded to 15s in the fall and the latter are eSIM only but that won’t be until after the trip.
We are just back from 2 weeks in the UK. We got 10GB physical sims from any WH Smith outlet (in the airport and all over UK). valid for 30 days. I couldnt find them advertised anywhere but where great value at UKP20 each.
Thanks…if we decide to do the physical SIM that’s an easy solution…essentially the same deal as the eSiM and that might be a tad easier than swapping the physical ones…and we need to get used to eSIMs anyway as physical ones are going away in most phones these days…iPhones have been 3 only for a couple years IIRC.