Lens suggestions for 3 weeks trip to Egypt and Jordan

[minim2]

Hi All,

I have been following canonrumors for few years now but first time registered today and my first post.

We are planning a 3 weeks trip to Egypt + Jordan (other than usual highlights like pyramids, luxor, petra etc... I am hoping for few days in desert too. both in egypt and in jordan).

I was rebel user (550D + 15-85 + some other lenses listed below), and recently upgraded myself to 5D II and currently own below lenses (550D and EFS lenses are sold)

24-105 (I bought it with 5DII as kit)
24 1.4 II
40 2.8 STM
50 1.4
85 1.8
70-300 L
+ I am hoping to add one ultra wide angle but haven't decided which one

430 EX II + Yonguno trigger (I will carry this)

I am thoroughly confused about which lenses to carry... when I look at my china travel trip with 550D, most of pics were around 15mm.. so logically I may be using 24 mm more but not sure if it will enough for egypt/jordan too (on wide side + I never had anything wider than 15 mm on rebel).

I am currently confusing myself with below thoughts

1) sell my 24 1.4 II + 24-105 to fund 24-70 II.... carry it with 50 1.4
2) get 17-40 + 24 1.4 II and 85 1.8
3) 17-40, 24 1.4 II, 24-105

I am travelling with one small kid too... so dont want to carry more than 2-3 lenses + I assume egypt and jordan will be on bit dusty side.

I think I will gift one decent point and shoot (S110 or similar) to my wife before our trip anyways... so not sure if 24-105 will make sense or not.
Actually, so far I am not that impressed with 24-105... its good but not as good as my 15-85 which I sold (not 100% sure if it is consumer level camera settings which set default saturation etc more aggressive than model's like 5D II...I increased saturation level of my 5D II today, will spend few days and see how it works).

I know no-one can decide for me but your thoughts, comments and opinions will surely help me making up my mind.

Thanks,
Sid

PS: 70-300 L is a beautiful lens but with current state of affiar in egypt.. i will rather not carry any attention grabbing lens.

 

[IIIHobbs]

Egypt will offer a variety of venues both wide and narrow. The 24-105 is a great all purpose lens, the kind of lens, if you only carry one, its the one to have.

I am surprised by your comments that the 15-85 on the Rebel performed better than the 24-105 on the 5DII. Technically speaking, this shouldn't be the case as the 24-105 is sharper. Focus adjust or lens adjust may be needed.

That being said, the 17-40 performs similarly to the 24-105, but with quite a bit more vingeting on a FF body. Remember, the 18-85mm on your Rebel gave you an effective focal length of 28-135mm; the 24 should be plenty wide for what you are use to.

If you prefer to travel light and focus time with your family, take just the 24-105 and leave it on your camera (no dust). You could include the 50 1.4 for low light situations (interior/evening) as needed! but, the 50 1.4 is not weather sealed like the zoom. A good clear filter (like the B&W with MRC) for the 24-105 is worthwhile for added protection from the elements.

 

[RC]

Don't sell any of your lens, get the 17-40 in a heartbeat or consider the 16-35 if you got the bucks. AFMA your 24-105 or send it in to Canon.

...Remember, the 18-85mm on your Rebel gave you an effective focal length of 28-135mm; the 24 should be plenty wide for what you are use to....

15-85 is 24-136 FF equivalent. You will love widening out to 17 or 16 from your current limit of 24. Enjoy, stay safe.

 

[candyman]

Besides focal length think about weatherconditions. I would take weather sealed/resistent lenses. There is a lot of sanddust (it can appear fast). Next to the sea you will have saltwater in the wind.

 

[RC]

Besides focal length think about weatherconditions. I would take weather sealed/resistent lenses. There is a lot of sanddust (it can appear fast). Next to the sea you will have saltwater in the wind.

Excellent point. Both the 17-40 and 16-35 require a filter to complete the weather sealing.

 

[sanj]

Same as Mr. Hobbs. Ditto.

 

[minim2]

Thanks All for your replies.

First time I asked for suggestions on forum and I can say (at least in my case), it helps a lot...
After reading your comments, suddenly I stopped even thinking about 24-70 II..... that's one pricey lens after all !!!

On my 550D, I use to love my 15-85 a lot...and I am expecting similar or better performance from 24-105... I dropped it to canon service today along with 5D II.

Now, I am thinking to keep an eye on good deal for used 17-40 or 16-35 II ..

Thanks,
Sid

 

[Imagination_landB]

Now, I am thinking to keep an eye on good deal for used 17-40 or 16-35 II ..

There's a used 16-35 on BH or Canon store carry refurbished ones. At least there were some today.

 

[Ew]

There is also the wonderful Tokina 11-16 2.8, which on a FF will work as a 15-16mm - effectively providing a relatively low cost fast UWA prime.

 

[Tjarko]

After my experience in Egypt i would take at least the 24 and 50 1.4 prime lenses. in the monuments they don't allow u to use flash. and the fast lenses will help u a lot.

 

[Rob]

Take your 24-105 & either the 50 or 85. I would probably take the 85 for some candid portraits of the locals with some nice bokeh!

 

[wickidwombat]

my 2c

since I love the 16-35L II (last time i was in china i think 90% of my shots were with this lens
I say get that, it is considerably better than the 17-40 IMO and the extra stop is usefull inside lots of the buildings take the 50 f1.4
and take the 70-300L along in case you want it ie from a balloon ride over the valley of the kings or shooting while cruising down the nile (i highly recomend this tour BTW) its light and relatively compact.

with those lenses you will have everything covered but the 16-35 or 50 will be your most used lenses
and the few times you want the reach of the 70-300 you will be glad its there just keep it in the bag until you need it then its not grabbing much attention.

 

[Marsu42]

and the few times you want the reach of the 70-300 you will be glad its there just keep it in the bag until you need it then its not grabbing much attention.

I taped mine w/ black tape, looks way cheaper now and less white, you might want to do the same - and it protects the white paint from scratches as an added bonus.

It's just as it been said before - usually you'll want an ultrawide (standing inside a temple or close in front of a pyramid , tight-spaced local markets) and a tele for far-in-between shots. I'd say the 17-40 + 70-300 + the 50/1.4 for very low light indoor shots. Then you can just choose one zoom according to the occasion and mostly stick to it, you don't want to switch lenses in dusty or crowded places. And bring a sensor cleaning kit! And a mini travel-tripod.

We are planning a 3 weeks trip to Egypt + Jordan (other than usual highlights like pyramids, luxor, petra etc... I am hoping for few days in desert too. both in egypt and in jordan).

If you're going not now but next summer you might think about giving your wife a Rebel instead of a p&s so you can share lenses and - most important - you have an eos backup if one fails. This happened to me in the middle of my Egypt trip in Assuan, it's just been too hot, the camera couldn't take it - very frustrating experience.

I would probably take the 85 for some candid portraits of the locals with some nice bokeh!

And remember to have enough $$$ around for baksish, the locals won't understand if someone with a big camera isn't giving away lots of tips, that's the tradition and the local social security system! Personally, I found taking portraits extremely annoying, so I preferred sticking to columns and temples that don't bug you to buy a talisman.

 

[AmbientLight]

Doing portraits of locals in Egypt may be a really weird endeavour, because in case you are a tourist visiting tourist areas only, you will only see people working in the tourism industry, but no normal folk at all.

You will need to get away from those tightly secured, separated tourist areas and then oh wonder, people will suddenly not be eager to sell you any souvenirs.

You better stick to taking photos of temples unless you want to completely jump out of the touristic routine to see the other and quite large part of Egypt.

My lens suggestions would be:
8-15mm fisheye zoom, 14mm f2.8 prime, 24mm f1.4 prime, 16-35 f2.8 zoom

The previous recommendation for fast lenses is quite important. You will definitely need a low-light wide angle combination.

Ah and when I am at it: When in Egypt, you should rent a sailing boat for a cruise on the Nile, at best in the evening and with some authentic food.

 

[Marsu42]

You will need to get away from those tightly secured, separated tourist areas and then oh wonder, people will suddenly not be eager to sell you any souvenirs.

That's true - they might want to tell you their strong opinion about America and criticism of their prophet in a very close and personal way. Arguing that official western policy is not necessarily what you think won't do you any good.

I know people who grew up in Egypt and still have western as well as local friends there - even they wouldn't want to take a lucky hike into really local areas right now, manners have changed when terrorism started about 5 years ago and the Egyptian state reinforced oppression, resulting in the recent uprisings.

 

[albron00]

I guess you should make a place in your gear bag for Kalashnikov as well 8)

 

[Cosk]

You need something very wide, and very fast... inside the temples and tombs, things are very big, there isn't much space, and there are a lot of people. If you have the widest lens in the tomb, you get to step in front of everyone and get a shot without any other people, while everyone else with a point and shoot is fighting to back up as much as possible.

Also flashes are not allowed... so you want fast

I spent a month in Jordan and Egypt, with a sigma 12-24mm f4.5-5.6 on a full-frame, and that focal length worked like a dream. I did wish it was faster... and I wasn't happy with the build.

I no longer have that Sigma, and replaced it with the 17-40... which is tougher but not nearly as wide... and every mm of width matters when you're in a tomb. If I were to do that trip again, I would personally be debating between the 16-35 and the 14/2.8 prime, or even getting that sigma lens again.

 

[Marsu42]

Also flashes are not allowed... so you want fast

But even then, a f2.8 lens (w/o IS) might not be enough for handheld shots because some tombs are *really* dark for the same reason no flashes are allowed. When I was in Egypt it wasn't so crowded and I often had time to do shots with my mini-tropod or simply put the camera onto a towel on some railing or something else. This way, you can also do hdr shots if the lighting is very uneven so the dynamic range of one shot is not enough.

I guess you should make a place in your gear bag for Kalashnikov as well 8)

Absolutely - the locals might put it to good use after they mugged the op !

But really, since the op was asking about real life advice here, I'd like to point out that this a serious matter and taking a stroll with his family (including the woman, maybe in non-compliant clothes) with the camera gear into unprotected, local suburbs to get good shots of real life imho is an extremely stupid idea.

 

[willis]

I would personally take:
-Wide angle (16-35L II or 17-40L)
-Telezoom (70-200L II or 70-300L)
-Walk-around (24-105L)

 

[ender78]

I took the Mark II and 24-105 and 17-40 with me when I visited Egypt two years ago. The 24-105 was likely used for almost all my shots save a few taken with the 17-40. If you decide to take a camel ride around the pyramids, dont even think of bringing the SLR. The walk of the camel is about as stable as that of the back of a bucking bronco and you need to need to hold on the the saddle to protect your um .. equipment.

Dust can be really bad. We had a sandstorm hit at Sakkara so I was glad to not have the camera with me.

It is very dark in the temples as stated by others. You'll want to push the ISO as far as you're comfortable and then push it another stop or two. Failure to comply with flash or tripod regulations may result in confiscation of equipment [and dont expect to get it back, the guard may not actually turn it in but just keep it].