Lens Recommendation

phoenix833

Hi,

First time poster in this thread looking for advice on what lenses you would suggest for an upcoming trip.

I'm relatively new to photography but have a decent dslr and a GoPRo Hero 7 so just want to make sure my lens choices would be enough to cover me. And also that I'm not bringing too much. Or too little!

The trip will be to Florida & Galapagos Islands in February. We'll be doing all the hikes/treks etc in the Galapagos staying on land and moving between islands on a boat. While in Florida we intend spending some time in Miami (South Beach or Key West) but heading to Orlando for Disneyland/Universal with a visit to Visit Kennedy Space Centre.

There also happens to be a night shuttle launch scheduled while we're there.

I am thinking of bringing the below but I wanted to know based on experience am I going OTT or covering all bases.

Canon 18-55mm Kit Lens
Yongnuo 50mm F/1.8 Prime Lens

Canon 70-300mm F/4-5.6 IS II USM
Canon EF-S 10-18mm F/4.5-5.6

I own only the top two at the minute but had intended buying the latter two soon but wanted a second opinion from people who know what they are talking about first!

Alanstrainor

As with any lens purchase it all depends on what you want to shoot. There's no point having a very long lens if your shooting doesn't require it and similar for a very wide.

Both the latest 70-300mm and the 10-18mm are very well regarded, so they would be good purchases if you feel you want to use them. There are probably cheaper alternatives to the 70-300mm if money is tight.

magicbastarder

i wouldn't worry too much about getting a long lens for the launch - if it's at night, you'll be dealing with low light levels in a situation you've got very little scope to practice for.
also, it's probably going to be a little big if portability on holidays is important.

Heebie

There hasn't been a shuttle launch since 2011. =o
How are you getting one now?

There GoPro is probably all you need at Disney/other theme parks. It'll be mostly quick snapshots you want, and lugging camera gear around times and attractions isn't much fun.

The launch (I'm guessing just a regular rocket) tends to need seriously looking lenses to get much detail. 200mm probably won't be enough, and if you start putting 2x adapters etc between the lens and the camera, you life a lot of light.
It sounds like you'll be reasonable well covered in Galapagos. It's a good idea to know what kind of distances you'll have beforehand, and put the lens you want on before you leave the hotel if it's really humid. Don't want that dang humidity in the camera.
Good luck and safe travels!

phoenix833

Heebie wrote: »

There hasn't been a shuttle launch since 2011. =o
How are you getting one now?

There GoPro is probably all you need at Disney/other theme parks. It'll be mostly quick snapshots you want, and lugging camera gear around times and attractions isn't much fun.

The launch (I'm guessing just a regular rocket) tends to need seriously looking lenses to get much detail. 200mm probably won't be enough, and if you start putting 2x adapters etc between the lens and the camera, you life a lot of light.
It sounds like you'll be reasonable well covered in Galapagos. It's a good idea to know what kind of distances you'll have beforehand, and put the lens you want on before you leave the hotel if it's really humid. Don't want that dang humidity in the camera.
Good luck and safe travels!

Sorry should've specified it's a probe launch - I'm referring to is a rocket as there's some rockets and to make it sound more exciting

I’ve been messing a bit with long exposure shots so I was intending using the wide angle to try get a streak shot of the rocket takeoff, not a zoom photo. And I read the scale of some things on display in Kennedy Space centre warrants a wide angle and I like landscape shots so I think I’ll definitely get that one.

70-300 I’m less sure about. I guess in the Galapagos is where I’ll be using the camera the most. The fortunate thing is you can get quite close to the wildlife so I don’t think I’d need a 300mm but i would think only having to 55mm isn’t long enough either?

I was getting the 70-300mm mostly as it covered a large range and wasn’t out of my price range. Would you have any other mid range recommendations that might be a decent substitute?

Heebie

There are some nice 70-200mm f2.8 lenses out there. They're not small, they're not cheap, but if you can get up-close, they're likely to give you a very nice image.

phoenix833

Thanks for the comments so far.

Would I be better off just getting a fixed wide angle lens around 12/14/20mm (if such a thing exists) or is the zoom lens the best choice considering the range it covers?

Smiles35

phoenix833 wrote: »

Thanks for the comments so far.

Would I be better off just getting a fixed wide angle lens around 12/14/20mm (if such a thing exists) or is the zoom lens the best choice considering the range it covers?

Well I have a very wide angle lens 7/14 mm for my Panasonic G7. There inst a huge noticeable difference between the 7 to 14. I just do filming. The very rare times when I do some photography I'd love a zoom. Honestly, the lens that came with your camera sounds great. And for expanded zoom your probably right in looking at the 200mm/300mm ones.