A alround lens.

mikergj

mikergj

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Mike
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Hi all,

As I have previously mentioned, wildlife photography is what I would like to pursue, but for now I am very much in the learning stages of just getting to grips with the dslr, and how to use the manual modes.

Some one recently lent me a 75-300 lens to have a little play and I have realized that when the time comes to purchase a lens for wildlife I will want something a bit longer.

At present I only have the kit lens, (18-55mm). I do realize that dependent on what you want to shoot (portraits, landscapes etc ) determines what lens you should use. But I would like to know TP users preferences on a general lens.

I am going to Snowden for a day next weekend for a stroll up the mountain and will only be taking my 18-55 mm lens as thats all I have, I would not take the longer lens I have been lent incase I damage it. But my question is this , your going out for the day for a stroll and you have no idea what you might see or what you want to shoot, which lens would you take as a general all rounder . Would you even limit yourself to the one lens.

I would be interested to know.
 
you seemed to have answered your own question....


a stroll up the mountain....not a dedicated photo day out then......:shrug:
and will only be taking my 18-55 mm lens as that's all I have,

seems the right one then....:D
 
I think this is the tricky part and downside to owning a DSLR system. I will often go out and have this 'what lens shall I take' dilemma. I just take the one for what ever I have decided to shoot. I know that I can often be heard to say, 'damn I've got the wrong lens!!' but I suppose that I can always come back another time. That is of course tricky if you see a rare wildlife sight, and only have a kit lens (or similar length), but that is a compromise that I am personally willing to take. There are some who will take a whole lot of alternative lens's, biut I can't be doing with that. I have just purchased a decent compact, so I can have that for wider stuff in my pocket if I've got the telephoto lens on.

Sorry if that's not much help, but it's a compromise between being willing to carry the kit or not.
 
As you say John, not a dedicated photo day out then.It is not a dedicated photo day out, I am going with two friends who are not in to photography, and this is something we have done even before I bought a dslr. I dont quite see how I answered my own question, I told you what I was doing next weekend, that was all, my question was to TP users as a whole, how could I answer that myself. There must be days when TP users are going out not for a dedicated photo day, but would like to take there camera, what lens would you take. I am assuming as its not a dedicated photo day you would not want to lug loads of kit, so would you have a lens you prefer for all round general photography. I didnt think it was a hard question John.
 
I suppose a good compromise lens is something like the 18-200 range, giving you hopefully enough for most standard things - but the best is to decide what you're willing to carry, honestly my 18-105 is most of the time good enough as a walkabout. Honestly if I was Canon I think I'd be tempted by the 100-400 if I could afford it.
 
Thankyou for your answer Gemma, the 18-200 range makes sense as a walkabout now you say it. I am still getting to grip with all these lenses that are on the market. They all cost money and when you dont have a lot of that ,you want to make the right decisions. Most of what I am learning at the moment is from reading threads on here, and from what I can gather as I progress my kit lens will become redundent.

Sara can I ask what compact you recently bought.
 
I just bought an LX5. It fits in my pocket when I take the dog out and is a real go anywhere camera. I was finding that I often didn't take the DSLR as I just couldn't be doing with the 'what lens' stuff. I have found that I take the compact with me where ever I go and then return with something more suitable if something takes my fancy. What I do like about this way of working, is that I can see the pics when I get home and decide that in actual fact a telephoto lens may work better etc.

I'd love to find the one lens for all situations, there are a couple that are close - The 28-300L and the 35-350L (I think that's the right way around!!). They are not cheap though and one went on here for about £1500. Also, I imagine that it would be mighty heavy. The compact is my compromise.
 
For Snowdon, you wont need much longer than your kit lens anyway, I would think. Last time I went up there, you could barely see your hand in front of your face.

For a general all rounder, then something in the 18-200 range would do, but it wont be great quality. Trying to get that range in a lens is hard work, so comprimises have to be made to fit it all in.
 
I'm in a similar situation to you in that I don't have a lot of lenses to choose from. I have the 18-55 kit lens and 55-200 zoom (both Nikon). I use the 55-200 for almost everything so that would be my walkabout lens - it is obviously more versatile than the kit lens.

I would like a longer zoom but the more lenses I buy the more I can see it being a problem picking what to take on a non photography specific day out.

I think an 18-200 would be a good buy as a walkabout lens - not huge but can cover a good range of shots.
 
I have plenty to choose from and the most useful ones live in the bag and go with me when I take the camera for a walk.

8mm fisheye
12-24 Sigma
24-70 Sigma
70-300 Nikkor VR.

Covers pretty much every eventuality and I've also been known to take the Sigma 150-500 OS as well as the above - possibly with a D70 if I'm expecting lots of tele opportunities.

If I'm going light, I'll just have the 24-70 f/2.8 on the camera and hope I don't need anything else. (Often regret not having other options though.)
 
I made a decision 6 months ago, only use a basic lens, along the lines, some togs choose a 50mm prime or a 20mm in the case of GF1. I went for an 18-70mm on the Nikon DSLR and a 14-45 on the G1.

Compared with the original walk about kit; Nikon DSLR + a Nikon 18-200mm, phew the weight after an hour or two:bang: and the obvious compromise the super zoom suffers . . . the 18-70 is a peach, and the Panny 14-45 is no slouch either, makes my walk abouts much more comfortable. I really dont miss that extra reach:thumbs:

CJS
 
I would love a walkabout solution, well I sort of have one, 24-70 and 70-700 on 2 boddies and they go most places with me if I'm out shooting. If I want to save weight then its the 24-70 I just need a bag to take it out in that doesn't streach so much.

I did buy an 18-200 sigma to see how it performed and its about as good as the kit lens compared to the other 2 lenses I prefer to use.
 
If you go up there you will need a seriously wide angle lens. The YETI are rather large.
 
My walk about kit is 7D + 300mm F4 IS (or 400mm F5.6) and my GF1 + 20mm.
Fairly lightweight and caters for wildlife and landscapes at the same time.
 
mikergj said:
Thankyou for your answer Gemma, the 18-200 range makes sense as a walkabout now you say it. I am still getting to grip with all these lenses that are on the market. They all cost money and when you dont have a lot of that ,you want to make the right decisions. Most of what I am learning at the moment is from reading threads on here, and from what I can gather as I progress my kit lens will become redundent.

Sara can I ask what compact you recently bought.
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I think this is wrong. For most people on general walkabout, the kit lens is what they will use most. It will make a decent fist of most things - landscapes, portraits, buildings etc. I have several lenses, and have owned many more that I hardly used, now sold. I use a 24-105L for about 75% of everything I take - it's actually sold as the kit lens on a 5D2, with a similar range to yours on full frame.

In the unlikely event of me hiking up Snowden, given a completely free choice I think a 500D and kit zoom would be close to the top of the list. It will do the job, and is very light. The novelty of humping a full DSLR outfit everywhere soon wears off, unless you know you will have a specific need.
 
These days we pretty much know the type of subject we are going to encounter when we go out as we can look up the place on the net first.

I would just pack accordingly.

For Snowden I would have an ultra wide zoom and a nifty in my pocket.

If it was mainly street then just the nifty on the camera

If there was the chance of wildlife a 70-300 on cam and the nifty in my pocket.

Yep I know, the nifty in my pocket.. why? cos its so light and so useful
 
Thank you for all your replies on that one, I found it interesting to hear all your views on what you use for a walk about. But for now I am afraid I only have my kit lens, as soon as my finances allow I am sure I will expand on that.

Thanks again all,:love::love:
 
Depends on what you were shooting or likely to shoot...

30mm or 50mm f1.4 - portraits and things, fast and good for a variety of subjects
Wide (11-16 tokina or 10-20 sigma) for getting big things in like landscapes, buildings, cars etc without needing to move back further...
Zoom/tele - 80-400 tokina/tamron or maybe 50-500 sigma or a decent 300 (not the 100ukp one) incase of wildlife or birds
Macro - 105mm (1:1 macro) nikon, 90mm tamron or whichever gives 1:1 possibly plus tubes for the wildlife (bugs) or plants

So for a casual walkabout I'd say exercise with all lenses ;) just incase :)


I started with an 18-200 but when I got the 105mm it was very very much better and crisper I stopped using the 18-200. Upgraded to 11-16 (ultra wide) and followed that with the 50mm f1.4d (the cheaper of the two 50mm f1.4) and now swapped the 18-200 for a 30mm sigma f1.4. Your kit lens should be enough mostly, but if there are bits you cannot capture, note them down as that will be the lens you want to get. Lower the f# the fast and more expensive, but in most cases the better the picture. Play with some lenses if you can and look for review sites or ask on here. Flickr also has pictures that you can sometimes find by the lens. Enjoy your walk :)
 
HoppyUK said:
I think this is wrong. For most people on general walkabout, the kit lens is what they will use most. It will make a decent fist of most things - landscapes, portraits, buildings etc. I have several lenses, and have owned many more that I hardly used, now sold. I use a 24-105L for about 75% of everything I take - it's actually sold as the kit lens on a 5D2, with a similar range to yours on full frame.

In the unlikely event of me hiking up Snowden, given a completely free choice I think a 500D and kit zoom would be close to the top of the list. It will do the job, and is very light. The novelty of humping a full DSLR outfit everywhere soon wears off, unless you know you will have a specific need.
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Whoo That's what I have
 
I've just joined the DSLR ranks myself with 20D and nifty fifty, thinking of investing into Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 (non VC) as a walkabout lens. From what I hear it's a cracking piece of kit for the money, thoughts?
 
If you are happy running two lenses, the 55-250mm IS lens is a cracker and complements the kit lens well. However, if you want just one lens as a walkaround and save the 55-250mm for wildlife days, then I think that the 18-135mm IS is also a good one as it has a useful range and is not too heavy and not too soft (both failings of the 18-200).

I know a lot of people like the 24-105L but I do not think that it is wide enough on a crop sensor as a general walkabout. You'll start wanting the 10-22 lens as well.

The only downside of the 18-55mm mated with the 55-250mm is that you may be swapping lenses frequently for mid-distance landscapes as they seem to require 45-65mm focal lengths - or at least that is what I found in the USA last summer. Hence the 18-135mm has a useful overlap without going totally crazy. Again it is offered as a kit lens for the 7d so I guess it cannot be that bad a lens.
 
I would be happy having two lenses for walkabout graham, but at present I am treating changing lenses as a surgical operation. At this early stage I would not be confident being out and about and changing lenses. Its this bloody dust thing again,:lol::lol:. I am sure I will get over that one soon.

There must be a good procedure or practice to adhere to when changing lenses.I understand the basics, like keep the camera pointing down.
 
In temperate areas (Europe) if is not windy then dust should not be a problem. My issue in the USA was changing lenses around Arches NP where the wind picks up a bit and can be quite dusty from the rocks. That said, my 40d did not actually pick up any dust.

Tip number 1 is turn the camera off a good few seconds (or preferably more than a minute) before you change lenses as this allows the static on the sensor to drop so that dust is not attracted to it.

Some people say to take a pillowcase or similar as a changing bag - but that is just as likely to trap dust as prevent it.
 
well - the first 15 years of photography I did in the hills were pretty much all shot on either a 50mm or 28mm lens and 35mm film camera. If i'm out for a long days walking in the hills with a couple of mates, I generally just take the 450D and kit lens. If I'm out for a days walking on my own, then depending on the mileage/up/downhill amounts, then I'll substitute the 17-40L for the kit lens, and maybe add the 55-250 along with a reasonably light tripod. If I'm out to take a particular set of shots, then I'll have an idea of the appropriate kit i'll need - but would probably drop all 3 L's in (17-40, 24-105 and 70-200) along with ND's, Grads, maybe the EOS-3 35mm film body and all the rest of the gubbins. I wouldn't be yomping 20K plus with all that in the pack, as well as normal autumn/winter walking kit though.
 
i have the canon 18-200mm ef-s is lens and i use that for days out and while on holiday
 
grahamsewelluk said:
If you are happy running two lenses, the 55-250mm IS lens is a cracker and complements the kit lens well. However, if you want just one lens as a walkaround and save the 55-250mm for wildlife days, then I think that the 18-135mm IS is also a good one as it has a useful range and is not too heavy and not too soft (both failings of the 18-200).

I know a lot of people like the 24-105L but I do not think that it is wide enough on a crop sensor as a general walkabout. You'll start wanting the 10-22 lens as well.

The only downside of the 18-55mm mated with the 55-250mm is that you may be swapping lenses frequently for mid-distance landscapes as they seem to require 45-65mm focal lengths - or at least that is what I found in the USA last summer. Hence the 18-135mm has a useful overlap without going totally crazy. Again it is offered as a kit lens for the 7d so I guess it cannot be that bad a lens.
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The 18-135 IS is one of Canons secret gems! The early reviews criticising it were way off the mark (saying its soft in the corners and suffers from CA - not on my copy!). Its sharp, the IS is the best I've used, easily worth 4 stops and the colour rendering is very nice indeed. Combine that with nice smooth bokeh and the lens is a winner as far as I'm concerned! My perfect walkabout, love it.
 
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Having gone from a panasonic bridge camera with a good Leica 28-500mm lens to a canon 40D I know how you feel.
My 17-85mm is my general walkabout and I got a 70-300mm a few moths ago which does fit into my backpack for walks.
Snowdon should be fine with your kit lens for landscapes, as there's too many people about for wildlife to show itself.
If you are feeling flush and into weightlifting the Canon do an L lens, 28-300mm!
 
I was up Snowdon on Friday myself, took the 18-55mm kit lens with my 50D. I had a 55-250mm as well but left it in the car. Given the weather I was only ever going to take one lens up with me tbh, last thing I wanted to do was to be faffing around with lens swaps up there. It did the trick for me anyway :)
 
Mark, have you any shots you can post, would be interested to see them
 
mikergj said:
Mark, have you any shots you can post, would be interested to see them
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Snowdon Pyg Track by Moskiman, on Flickr
With apologies if this is the wrong place to post images - I'm new :D

Didn't take many in the end, took a few on the Pyg track, but the weather was really grim at the top, 70mph winds at the summit. I'd wrapped the camera up and hidden it in the rucksack long before we hit the summit! But £2500 raised for the deaf/blind charity SENSE so all in all a good day. I'll pop a few more on my flickr stream I'm sure
 
i would usually take a shoulder bag and have my d200 with my 11-18mm on the body and my 17-50mm in my bag, normally the 11-18 stays on my camera 99% of the time, taking one extra lens in my shoulder bag isnt going to make the slightest bit of difference to me, not exactly the heaviest of lenses!
 
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