Travel With One Prime Only? Italy Approaches.

ahsanford

Particular Member
Aug 16, 2012
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ethanz said:
neuroanatomist said:
Maybe I should get a Sony so I can push the black sky back up to a nice blue color? ;)

I couldn't find the like button, so I'll just say yes, you should get a far superior Sony. Canon will be dead in two years anyways.

I go on vacation and come back to no like button.

This is why we can't have nice things, people.

- A
 
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Jun 25, 2012
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Using primes solely would annoy me.

I'm heading to Germany, Switzerland, and Italy in about two weeks time and I'm taking the 11-24 and the 24-70 f/2.8 II. I wish I could take my 70-200 as well, but alas I won't have room.

While I love primes, they just don't offer that much versatility while travelling around. You have to be satisfied just getting specific kinds of shots with them.

To each their own, though. :)
 
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Even if Sony is "far superior" I'd rather stick with inferior than go through a learning curve. Already familiar with Canon so Canon wins. Reminds me of when I used to race motorcycles against guys with every performance modification possible. I had none other than precision maintenance and just an aftermarket reed valve (just because no one didn't not have one). I came in 1st place in one national event and top 10 in several others and 2nd in the overall Amateur Nationals in 1991 in horribly inferior gear.
Thank goodness that's over. No idea what I was thinking at the time, but it did directly lead to a career (in year 26) in orthopaedic sales and marrying an orthopaedic nurse. My final performance drove my femur out the back of my a**. Was so awesome. Being an optimist I first asked the medical personnel if it was a bad sprain and passed out at some point in the ER even before medication was administered.
Wife still hot.
 
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Mar 25, 2011
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ahsanford said:
ethanz said:
neuroanatomist said:
Maybe I should get a Sony so I can push the black sky back up to a nice blue color? ;)

I couldn't find the like button, so I'll just say yes, you should get a far superior Sony. Canon will be dead in two years anyways.

I go on vacation and come back to no like button.

This is why we can't have nice things, people.

- A

I'm guessing (don't know) that the like button is incompatible with the new forum software and was removed for the transfer of data from old to new. That kind of detail can trip up a data transfer. There will have to be lots of hair pulling to get all the data moved and in the right format. We may see more things shut off if they conflict with the transfer.
 
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May 11, 2017
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Cory said:
Thanks for all the info. It's been enormously helpful.
I think that my ideal scenario would be to ditch the 35 for a 16-35 4.0 IS, but bringing the 35-only wouldn't be tragic. Might add my 135 2.0 to the mix in a small case (I have the perfect Think Tank Slim Changer).
A 70-300L is on the wish list and a 24-70 is very attractive, but I think I might prefer a 16-35/50mm combo long-term.

8) :-* :)

Very interesting and informative discussion. My preference is for the 16-35 over the 35, although ahsandford lays out the case for the 35 very well. Handheld stitching is an option. I like the 85 over the 50. There just isn't all that much difference between 35 and 50, and cropping is always an option. Thanks for getting this discussion started
 
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Jan 29, 2011
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Here is my general travel kit.

It all fits in the ThinkTank Retrospective 10 including the iPad I took the picture with. The pouch holds my chargers and all the cables I need including a TC-80N3 remote. I sometimes augment this with a small battery powered Canon CP printer to give away small prints.

For more involved travel work where I know I need the 17 or 11-24 I take a ThinkTank Urban Disguise and swap the small tripod for a Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 and Acratech GP head.

This has worked for me for several years now and, for me, beats the hell out of carrying three f2.8 zooms!

P.S. Sent whilst traveling on a sailboat in the Caribbean.
 

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Nov 3, 2012
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Why just one lens? If this to self-impose creativity on a trip, I think that is an error. Do that in your own backyard. Adding a second prime dramatically increases options.
I'm having a similar question with a 2 1/2 week trip at the end of the month to Moscow, St Petersburg, Tallinn and Stockholm. I'm thinking of a 6D plus 35/2 and 85/1.8 or M3 plus 11-22 and 55-200. My brain is saying the M3 wins with flexibility and smaller size (less risk in eastern Europe) but my heart knows how much I love images shot with the primes on FF, especially wide open. Plus the built-in GPS helps locate photos afterwards.
 
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Frodo said:
Why just one lens? If this to self-impose creativity on a trip, I think that is an error.
To keep it light and it rarely goes well when trying to slow down and work on photography with the family in tow. I need total concentration and focus and they tend to bust ba**s.
My 135 will likely tag along and I think I might like to go with a 16-35 4.0 even if rented.
The family already said that they'll cut me a break this time, but I still don't want to push it.
 
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YuengLinger

Print the ones you love.
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Dec 20, 2012
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Cory said:
Thanks again for the responses. The final call is my 35 and 135.
In reading through your responses I put an 11-24 and 70-300L on my wish list to round things out in my general collection. Not a word about $4000 in lenses to my wife, but someone else will pay for them anyway with a sports event gig that I have.

And even if you had to pay for the lenses yourself, you could mix them in with all the trip expenses on your credit card statements!
 
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Cory said:
Since my last post I stepped it up a bit with a Canon 6D. We also changed our upcoming 6 days in Cinque Terre to 3 in Cinque Terre, 3 in Florence and 1 in Lake Como.
In the name of traveling light and keeping it simple might a 6D/35 2.0 IS work well most of the time? I'm considering replacing that with a 16-35 or 24-70, but maybe not.
Thanks for your insight and experience.
A 35mm will work much of the time, but I like to travel with a good ultrawide zoom and a fast prime. On my last trip to the UK, I took a 17-40 and
a 35F2IS. I like the 35 for dark interiors, like cathedrals, museums, and exterior use as well. Spaces are much tighter in Italy, especially in
Florence. I have been to Florence, Padua, Rome, and San Marino. You should have an ultrawide in Florence.
Personally, I always travel with two lenses. I once broke a lens in an accident in Rome. I was left with a 50 mm macro on a crop body then. I found
it was too narrow a view for my needs. If I make another trip to Italy, I will be taking a 35 and a wide zoom, either an ultrawide or a 24-105 IS.
A friend of mine lost his AF on his only lens while on a trip to Ireland. One lens is never enough when overseas. Overlap in focal lengths is not a problem here.
The "correct" choice in focal lengths depends on what you want to photograph. I would not bother with a fast telephoto prime on a trip to Italy, but that is my
preference. A fast prime, like a fast 50 or 85 could work in some instance, but subject matter is the key here, along with distances and lighting.
A good pocket camera can be useful for going out at night, when you don't want to carry too much camera.
 
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