Hawaii travel advice

[lux]

Going to Hawaii, big island and Oahu. It is a family trip. I will not get time to set up a tripod and take long exposure photos of stars or volcanoes etc because I will be chasing a 4 yo...among others. I will be trying to take a lot of pictures of my family all over the islands.

I will use a 6D
My gut reaction is to take the 24-70 and use that almost exclusively.

Then I thought I might want something a little wider like the 17-40...or even use it as an excuse to purchase the new 16-35 F4. Then I thought I could use the 14 2.8 samyang if I happenned to be seeing a great sunset. Then I thought what If I'm tryin to take pictures in really low light the 50 1.4 would be usefull. Of course for outdoor portraits my go to lens has been the 70-200 2.8 ii which I love so I shouldn't leave that behind. Alternatively maybe I should rent a 70-200 f4 for weight. I do have the 1.4 extender. Should I rent/buy macro?

Oh and at pearl harbor you aren't allowed any bags so I can only have one lens. Do I need a superzoom for that day...what should I get?

Lastly, I do have the tamzooka ordered...though who knows when that will arrive.

Mostly I want to take great photos of my kids in Hawaii.

any thoughts?

Gear: 6d 2ti. 14 2.8 Samyang, 17-40l, 24-70ii, 40 2.8, 50 1.4, 70-200ii, 1.4x, 55-250

 

[Dylan777]

6D + 24-70 II + BR strap = done.

Enjoy ur vacation and spend more times with ur kids. Most important of all, share some photos with CR

 

[arcanej]

I'm going back to the Big Island this August. I second the 24-70, it's what I will use 90%-plus of the time. You might consider the 14mm, especially if you make it up to Mauna Kea as you can capture some amazing pictures of the Milky Way.

 

[tiger82]

24-70 with the 6D. Bring your tripod and shoot nightscapes and the blue hour after your kids have gone to be. Hawaii gives you both ocean sunsets and sunrises!

 

[Orangutan]

I agree that 24-70 will do most of what you need. Go ahead and take one or two extra lenses and a tripod, but know that you may not get to use them. As for lens choices, unless you have a WA fetish, you might think about a long zoom for birds or flowers, if those interest you.

 

[tayassu]

I would take the 24-70 to Pearl Harbor, but for the whole trip I would add a tripod, the 70-200 and the 17-40(although, you could go ahead and buy the much better new 16-35 ). Have a nice trip!!

 

[Vivid Color]

I have a similar question as I will be going to Oahu and Kauai for the first time in August. Although I'll be meeting up with friends and spending some days and all evenings with them, I'll have about 5 days in Honolulu when I'll be on my own as they will be attending a conference. We'll be staying in a high-rise in Honolulu at the end of Waikiki across from the zoo and in a condo on a beach in Kauai. My room in Waikiki will have a balcony so I'm hoping to get some great city- or sea-scapes from there.

I love doing city- and landscapes and macro flower photography so I'm planning to take my 6D, 24-105L, 100L macro, tripod, and various filters for sure.

I'm thinking of taking my T1i as a second body for when I'll be on a day-long photographic tour in Honolulu and Kauai (with the 100L on the T1i for macro, extra reach, and to avoid switching lenses) and maybe the shorty-forty since it weighs almost nothing.

My questions are whether I should take my Samyang 14mm and/or 70-300L. Realistically, I'm not sure I'll have time to do a lot of photography at night--my friends are not as into photography as I am--so that calls into question the need for the 14mm for stars. Also, I'm not that into birds or surfers--they're great, just not tops on my priority list--so I'm wondering about the need for the 70-300L. What am I missing? I'd like to keep the weight down but I don't want to regret not bringing a lens if I'll use it a lot. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Vivid

 

[3events]

I wouldn't go to Hawaii (or any other place) with a 4 yr old without my 70-200 f2.8II. I think you'd be struggling with reach and chasing all the time trying to get closer. At least that's been my experience.

the 24-70 would also be in my bag for sunsets/landscapes.

 

[mdmphoto]

I've been to at least Oahu every year for the last 10 and I use my 24-105 mostly, along with a tokina 16-28, sigma 150-500, and 70-200 f/2.8L IS I, cp and nd filters; but then that's how I roll. I would take the 24-70, maybe the 17-40 and a tripod. Once there, If I discovered any other needs I would go to these guys on Oahu:
http://www.hawaiicamera.com/
Hawaii Camera Rental always has anything I need - I tried out several lenses by renting from them before buying them. The staff is knowledgeable, friendly, and accommodating. They can give you great location advice, too...

 

[lux]

OK when I get home from work I'm going to do some weight checks and see what I can fit into my amazon low budget backpack. It's small but I have a 13lb weight limit on the inter island flight or else it has to go into checked baggage. That means the expensive stuff 6D/24-70ii/70-200ii/ipad would all have to fit and be less than 13lb. so we'll see what I can fit in that bag.

I do a lot more portrait and environmental portraits of the kids than anything else. I don't use a lot of ultrawide. Essentially the 24-70 is my inside lens and the 70-200 is my outside lens.

How about flash. I have a Nissin 866 which works well but I was wondering what people thought of the small canon flashes...i'm thinking as a tool for fill flash. maybe the 270? any good for that?

I also wonder if it is time to buy a black rapid...I've never used one but people talk about it a lot and I saw a wedding photographer the other day with what I think was two of them, two cameras and other stuff and I have to say she rocked...and did a fabulous job. It would be great when at pearl harbor.

 

[TM]

I just got back from Oahu a few weeks ago. I just took my 16-35mm and 24-70mm. Didn't miss leaving my other lenses at home and could have easily gotten by with just the 24-70mm. There was no need for my 70-200mm lens and I was glad I left that lens behind.
The last I wanted was to worry about lugging around a huge backpack of gear in the sand, water, rain, airports, etc. Keep it simple and have a great time.

 

[FTb-n]

This all depends upon what you normally shoot when sight seeing. For me, the 70-200 f2.8 II is my most used lens with the short zoom (24-105 or 24-70) a distant second. Granted, Hawaii means more scenery and more wider shots, still, especially with the family along, the 70-200 on full frame would be my first choice.

My dilemma would be between the 24-105 with IS or the faster 24-70 without. For scenery, I like a polarizer and smaller apertures. Image stabilization can be an asset. But, the 24-70, which is relatively new to my kit, is winning me over and would likely be my second lens.

It's 16 years since I visited Hawaii and I took two AE1 bodies, an FD 70-210 f4, an FD 35-70 f3.5-4.5, an FD 50 f1.8, polarizers, a Sunpak flash, and a tripod. Fastest film was ASA 400. I have four poster-sized prints on the wall, two from each zoom. The tripod was an asset for one of them. Polarizers helped with each of them. The flash and the 50mm got very little use (if any).

So, I think I would feel quite comfortable with the 70-200 f2.8 II and the 24-70 f2.8. But, I couldn't travel that far to a photogenically rich land like Hawaii without both zooms. (I would also bring two FF bodies.)

 

[that1guyy]

Take that new Tamron superzoom that was announced and a fast prime for lowlight.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1029393-REG/tamron_28_300mm_f_3_5_6_3_di_vc.html

 

[mdmphoto]

Another thought:
Take extension tubes for macro ( I use generic tubes I bought from adorama), and a tc ( I use a kenko 1.4) or two. The 24-70 should be able to handle a canon 2x nicely - which, once again, you can rent the most recent iteration of from the camera rental store I mentioned in my earlier post. I'm not shilling for them, per se; I've used Lens Rentals quite a bit also for stuff I'm going to use around home base, but Hawaii Camera being local alleviates travel weight concerns and their prices are good. With the extension tubes and tc's you're covered macro to tele with just one or two lenses at most. I only use my-tele-zooms for birds and such; they seem even more skittish on the islands than in Chicagoland. The rest of the time my 24-105 is what is most needed: it's hard to not find "scenic points" and "photo ops" anywhere I've been on the islands, and being able to provide some context is invaluable. They are a photographic paradise...

 

[mdmphoto]

Oh, and -

 

[lux]

thanks for all the advice everyone. I should add that I have a pentax waterproof camera that is very nice with good light and wide angle…(F2.8). However, the tele is not so good.

What do people think about for small fill flash on a 6D? I'd rather not have my Nissin di866 with me at all times. could I buy a 270 and be happy with it?