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first trip to England any recommendations ?

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Creek28

Oct 27, 2012
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#1
Hi, Im going on my first trip to England in just over a month and i want to take photos of castles and buildings so i'm taking my 5D mark iii and as far as lenses go I'm thinking i will take my 24-70L ii and 70-200 Lis ii but i want to get a wider lens, so I'm thinking i might go the 17mm tse.

Does anyone have any recommendations on this lens?
 
#3
I haven't used it, but I imagine it would be very handy over there. I've typically taken a 17-40 (or 10-22) when visiting the country formerly known as Great Britain. Often these are used at the wider end and I up with buildings that are leaning backwards. While this can be corrected in software, doing this cuts off large parts of the image, often destroying the impact of the photo. A tilt shift woud save a lot of hassle and lead to better pictures.
 
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#8
Don't know if you're an iPad user but an excellent app I discovered is "stuck on earth". a photography/travel app to check out other pics people have taken that might be of interest. You can make travel lists to save your findings. It's almost like your traveling there to recon what you want to photograph. I've used it on several excursions already to scout out places to shoot.
 
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#9
Creek28 said:
Hi, Im going on my first trip to England in just over a month and i want to take photos of castles and buildings so i'm taking my 5D mark iii and as far as lenses go I'm thinking i will take my 24-70L ii and 70-200 Lis ii but i want to get a wider lens, so I'm thinking i might go the 17mm tse.

Does anyone have any recommendations on this lens?
Click to expand...

Hi Creek, do you have destinations in mind yet? I'm presuming London/Edinburgh...but do you need suggestions for things slightly more out of the way? (How long are you here-& are you driving? There are some great things to see that are more out of the way, if you're not so bound to public transport).

I agree with the 17 tse. In the cities, a lot of the buildings don't quite have the room around to stand back too far....you'll do a lot of looking UP at them, so tse is definitely a plan.
Otherwise, yes the two zooms are perfect. Just be prepared to up the iso at the moment (if you're handholding rather than tripod)...the weather is very overcast a good chunk of the time, and I can't see that changing too much in a month.
 
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#10
As even selling off my vinyl hasn’t yet raised enough money to upgrade my 50D to a 5D Mark 3 and I don’t have any decent wide angle or Tilt and Shift lenses, I’m afraid I have nothing useful to contribute to this thread on matters photographic.

However the OP did mention that photographing castles was a main reason for the trip to Britain. I live in the south of the country of Wales (Wales being one of the several countries that make up the sovereign state of the United Kingdom) in a location between the towns of Monmouth and Abergavenny in the county of Monmouthshire that I believe to be the most heavily ‘castled’ area in Britain and, therefore, probably, the world. The following castles are all within a twenty five mile radius, exact distances from this location (Wernrheolydd) are given in miles in brackets with each listing:- Raglan (4), White Castle (4), Dingestow (5), Abergavenny (7 ), Monmouth (7), Usk (12), Grosmont (12), Crickhowell (14), Skenfrith (14), Kilpeck (16), Tretower (17), Chepstow (18), Caerphilly (20), Newport (20) Goodrich (22).

Most of the above are still in good condition and largely intact. I’ve probably forgotten one or two. This website gives more details http://www.castlewales.com/home.html

Enjoy your trip Creek28 and I hope you get lots of stunning images to take home!
 
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#15
If you want castles, then you want to go to wales. The best ones are: Beaumaris, Conway, Caernarfon, Denbigh. These are all fairly big castles. There are a few good ones in England like Beeston but I'v visited the welsh ones more. The attached images are of Conway, the castle is big and well preserved and you can walk around the original town wall too.
 

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#16
Creek28 said:
Hi, Im going on my first trip to England in just over a month and i want to take photos of castles and buildings so i'm taking my 5D mark iii and as far as lenses go I'm thinking i will take my 24-70L ii and 70-200 Lis ii but i want to get a wider lens, so I'm thinking i might go the 17mm tse.

Does anyone have any recommendations on this lens?
Click to expand...
How do you plan on sightseeing in UK? I mean are you going to use Big Bus tours / Coaches etc? ... when I went to UK, I mostly used the Big Bus (hop-on hop off bus service that takes you around the "must see" places in big cities like London, Edinburgh, etc) and I used all day coaches in Scotland to see places like the Highlands, Lochness, etc.
Anyway, if you are doing something similar, you will soon realise that carrying more than one lens is going to be a major pain in the a55 ... you are better off with 24-105 f/4 L IS or your existing 24-70L II.
But if you plan to do sightseeing at your leisure (with plenty of time) than you will have enough time to change lenses and get the shot you want. But if you are on a short visit you must know that there is a LOT of walking to do in UK, especailly in London and every additional lens you carry with you is going to add to your misery of having to carry it with you all day long .. I had carried my 24-105, 70-200 IS II and the 16-35 L II ... it was hell lugging them around all day long ... after 3 days of carrying those lenses, I ended up taking only 24-105 (mounted on my 7D) for the remainder of the trip.
 
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#18
in London
go see the greenwich location ...on a boat trip...
Harrison clock etc.. day trip.. I like the thames river trips...

and the british museum 2 days?....if you like that stuff
I forget ...but I believe no tripods no flashes.. just fast lenses

I did like the TOWER trip also...

and I am not usually a tourist ...not usually

maybe one good DRIVE thru the countryside... if that is a handy thing to do...like a friend with a car...
Marlow and surrounding countryside was nice...

St James Park...giant park next to where the big hats change the guard ...you know where people try to distract the soldier at attention

I spend 2 days sitting on the benches there in St James playing my guitar...not busking...
just watching the vastness of it... people....need good weather...
walk along the river both sides... all near the 'eye' wheel

Edinbourough was fun at Tattoo time..
but Scotland is a big $$ and time addition... I went because of work...

I would have a city lens W I D E ....and museum lens FAST and maybe I.S. ...
possible long lens... less important

an expensive place for sure
I thought the English were quite nice and I felt welcomed always...
if it works ....an overnight to Paris ($$) ..under the channel (chunnel) is great..fast train
I believe you can make a day trip...but that is too short to SEE stuff...
Paris and musuems takes at least 2 days min to know you were somewhere and stopped to look

I enjoyed ONCE up on top of a double decker bus in London with a camera...and just to see a long loop around the tourist spots.. so you can see things and relax... westminster ..all that
again near the park ...buckingham etc...

I send you some good luck ..for good weather.. for all that

it has been a while ...so ask someone about the photo rules

travel safe.....

TOM
 
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#20
Atonegro said:
Watch out ! They drive at the wrong side of the road !
Click to expand...

No, We drive on the correct side of the road.... ;D

If you look around the castles outlined by johnb, then you also have the Brecon Beacons for some superb landscape photos as well.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/picture/2013/feb/20/eyewitness-brecon-beacons

I wish I'd taken this!

article-2281026-17AC8A70000005DC-753_964x669.jpg
 
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