Need a little lens advice

[SandyD]

I'm off to Bali next month and I'm stuck on which lenses to get. I've been doing a lot of thread searching and there is so much good advice on here but I'm still not sure.
I am after a few cheapie lenses for now so that I still have some spending money for the trip and if I lose one it wont be the end of the world .
I have a Canon 7d and was wondering what you thought about these lenses.....

For landscape - Sigma 10-20mm f/4 5.6 (approx $440)
For people - Canon 50mm f/1.8 (approx @120)
For a little zoom - Canon 75-300mm f/4 5.6 ( approx $ 220)

Any advice appreciated

[andylo]

If you are using 7D, I think the EF-S 55-250 IS is a better choice (should be similarly priced) than the 75-300 but that's just my opinion.

[SandyD]

Just had a look at some of the reviews and it looks like it is a better choice, so Thank you for your opinion
Oh and my husband thanks you too as it's about $60 cheaper

[Arg]

I agree with andylo, the 55-250 IS is cheaper, lighter, better optically and has image stabilisation. Huh!


re the nifty fifty, I have one too, no problems with the lens. Just note that, for people photos, it is well suited to portraits but not really wide enough for groups. It can even be a bit tight for full length single person shots, especially indoors.

[SandyD]

So do you think I could get away with taking my 18-135mm instead of 50mm?

[AdamR]

I would take bare minimum. You will get by with whatever you take. You may just have to think harder. I've travelled with only an ultrawide for a month. I got shots of wildlife and landscapes I wouldnt have considered if I had a wider range of lenses.

[SandyD]

I would take bare minimum. You will get by with whatever you take. You may just have to think harder. I've travelled with only an ultrawide for a month. I got shots of wildlife and landscapes I wouldnt have considered if I had a wider range of lenses.

You've given me something to think about, I might take a few lenses away with me but just take one out for the day and see what I can come up with. Thanks

[roastman]

I went to Germany and Italy with a 17-40, 24-105 and 70-200. The 24-105 hardly left my camera, to be replaced by the 17-40 rarely. The 70-200 was not used (used my feet instead), but it did weigh me down for a few days. Of course, your needs may be different, depending on WHAT you want to photograph.

[SandyD]

I went to Germany and Italy with a 17-40, 24-105 and 70-200. The 24-105 hardly left my camera, to be replaced by the 17-40 rarely. The 70-200 was not used (used my feet instead), but it did weigh me down for a few days. Of course, your needs may be different, depending on WHAT you want to photograph.

I'm not too sure on what to expect over there. I know we are going to the monkey forrest in Ubud, not sure how close I want to get to the bigger monkeys so I thought I'd better take something with a bit of zoom.

[roastman]

True.... There were not a lot of monkeys in Germany!

[SandyD]

True.... There were not a lot of monkeys in Germany!

[Bennymiata]

I could tell you about a very ugly story about monkeys in Germany, in the Frankfurt Zoo.................................

However, this is a mixed forum, so I won't.

[William W]

Our lightweight, inconspicuous, small, inexpensive, uninsured, amateur use travel lenses for an APS-C camera are:

The two super cheap and value for money zooms:
EF-S 18 to 55 “Kit Lens” – scenes and daytime walkabout lens
EF-S 55 to 250 IS – telephoto candid daytime portraiture and etc

And the most used lens -
EF35/2–Snub and Small / Discreet / Light Weight / Fast Prime / Available Light / ShallowDoF / Portrait Lens / Standard Lens

For a compact and inexpensive and inconspicuous travel kit, your 18 to 135 would suffice for me, and I would add the 35/2.
I would take a back up camera: we use a Canon PS SX40 HS and that doubles with Video Capacity.

WW

[William W]

I went to Germany and Italy with a 17-40, 24-105 and 70-200. The 24-105 hardly left my camera, to be replaced by the 17-40 rarely.

Yes, but your profile states that you use a 5DMkII and if that was so on this trip - the camera format must be taken into consideration.

WW

[roastman]

The point I was trying to make was that my "walk around" lens (for me the 24-105) rarely left my camera body. In the instance of the OP, the 18-135 already in the bag is a good "Walk around" as well, so probably would end up being used a lot of the time.

When you do the numbers, that lens equates roughly to a 28-148 on my body, which is not a huge stretch from what I was using and is a really useful range. But it really does depend on what you want to shoot. I certainly would not try to shoot monkeys with the 24-105 (regardless of which body it was sitting on). You need to pack the gear you need for YOUR subjects, not mine. It turns out that I overpacked, but I took the attitude it was best to have it there in case I needed it. Turns out I didn't, but as we had a few kg's to spare in the luggage, it really didn't matter.

I also took a lot of filters and a CF tripod with me. The tripod got used everywhere, the filters did not come out of the bag. The weather was so dismal that I wanted the absolute minimum of light loss, so filters were just an added burden (apart from a protective filter on each lens).

I don't know a lot about the quality of the 18-135, so I am not qualified to suggest whether it is a good walk around lens, but the range is certain useful.

[GTP 290]

I just came back from thailand a few weeks ago. I wanted to challenge myself so all I took was my 50D with grip (for extra battery life) a sigma 10-20 and a 50mm F1.4. I never felt like I was missing out on any photo opportunity with the selection.

[KeeFy]

I'm not too sure on what to expect over there. I know we are going to the monkey forrest in Ubud, not sure how close I want to get to the bigger monkeys so I thought I'd better take something with a bit of zoom.

You can get close... REALLY CLOSE. I was there with a 500D and a 18-55 about 8 days after i just got the dslr.

Quite a crappy image but just to show you how close you can get.

[Arg]

...I know we are going to the monkey forrest in Ubud, not sure how close I want to get to the bigger monkeys so I thought I'd better take something with a bit of zoom.

I haven't been there yet (maybe next month), but the stories I hear say that cameras can draw excessive unwanted attention from the monkeys. Hmm. Maybe a long lens is the last thing you'll need?

[SandyD]

You can get close... REALLY CLOSE. I was there with a 500D and a 18-55 about 8 days after i just got the dslr.

Quite a crappy image but just to show you how close you can get.

That is close. They don't seem to mind the attention.

[SandyD]

I haven't been there yet (maybe next month), but the stories I hear say that cameras can draw excessive unwanted attention from the monkeys. Hmm. Maybe a long lens is the last thing you'll need?

No touching my 7D, might have to rub banana the hubby to keep the monkeys busy