Which Two Lenses From Three?

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Lawsyd

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Towards the end of October we are having a week in Nerja, Southern Spain, with the in-laws. The holiday is specifically not a photographic jolly (of the four of us, I'm the only one remotely interested in photographic technique), although my brother in law & I are reasonably serious bird watchers, so we would hope to spend some time looking for rarities. We have a decent hold & hand luggage allowance, but I don't think I can take all three lenses as well as my travel monopod. So here is the question, for a Canon EOS 70d body (& allowing for the fact that photography isn't the main purpose of the holiday) which two lenses (one on the camera body & one in hand luggage) from these three would you take:-

10-18 mm
18-55 mm
70-300 mm

Thanks, in advance, for any opinions.
 
You are going to get a load of different answers and none will answer your question! Personally I would take the 10-18 and 18-55. Travel light or take a small tripod in lieu of the 70-300. You're more likely to shoot landscape stuff than birds in a coastal resort plus it's a bit short (70-300)for birds unless they are huge like buzzards etc. Just my two cents. :whistle:
 
Mintchocs said:
You are going to get a load of different answers and none will answer your question! Personally I would take the 10-18 and 18-55. Travel light or take a small tripod in lieu of the 70-300. You're more likely to shoot landscape stuff than birds in a coastal resort plus it's a bit short (70-300)for birds unless they are huge like buzzards etc. Just my two cents. :whistle:
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Yes, but I often take pictures with the intention of doing a heavy crop maybe to 100% which is fine for screen viewing or even printing and if the op is happy with that prospect a 300mm on Canon APS-C x1.6 crop might be useful especially if the bird isn't a speck in the distance to begin with.

I'd go for the 18-55 and 70-300mm.
 
If you have an interest in birds, then the 70-300 is a must. The 18-55 is the jack of all trades lens. I'd take that as well.
I found that for me, I only really used my wide angle a few times on holiday. 18mm is wide enough for a lot of landscape stuff and if not I would just do a stitched panorama (easy to do even with free software like Hugin). 6+ shots will get you a wider higher-resolution shot.

I did have a 10-20mm on my 60D, but now I'm on full frame, my widest lens is 24mm, which is equivalent of 15mm on a crop sensor. I don't feel I miss out.

From what I remember of my trip to Nerja, the town is lots of nice small streets, there are plenty of hills around for landscapes, particularly the view to the east of the beach plus a very old aquaduct which would be good in the right light. If you happen to get a hire car, there are some pretty villages and good views up in the hills.

One suggestion I will make is to swap the monopod for a tripod. Your 70-300 isn't heavy enough to need a monopod, but if you take a tripod you can do long exposures (nightshots, swirling seas), not to mention a nice group shot with the self timer.
Also make sure to take a Polariser to a) make the sky bluer and b) to cut down on reflections from the sea.
 
The 10-18 is so light it's make no difference to your hand luggage if you took it or not
I'd find a way to take them all....you know there'll be that landscape the Mrs wants a picture of
 
THB if it was a choice between tripod/monopod & a lens then I'd leave the 'pod behind. Sunlight is usually pretty strong in Spain, even at this time of year.
 
18-55 and 70-300 (and "Oops! I seem to have left the 10-18 in the bag as well...")
 
I would robably look at the bag of SLR kit, and know that I would probably mostly use the 18-55, so that would be the first choice. I would deliberate over the 10-18, knowing that I would likely rue not having the extra wide, trying to get shots of buildings, insides of buildings and big beaches and 'stuff' walking about.. being 'nagged' to stop holding very one up taking photo's, but ugh... I know that the 70-300 would likely be least used ad least useful, but similarly trying to get annoying photos of the o/h in a bikini a hundred yards out in the sea, where they think thy are 'safe' from the camera (he-he!) I'd probably rue it's lack, and for the opportunity of the 'odd' bird shot? (Not that I'm a twitcher!) It probably wouldn't be worth it, and trying to fit with companions schedules and must be at the restaurant for 7 instructions, I wouldn't 'really' be able to exploit it., so much, so just extra stuff to lug and fret about.
A-N-D the ultimate dilemma would be whether to take the camera bag at all, or to stuff the compact in my pocket and just make the best of... that has worked pretty well when out and about with family and not dong explicit photo-expeditions for the last twenty years... and exploiting a bit of know how to get the best from a humble compact, using a white t-shirt as impromptu reflector or a little fill in flash, using a scrunched up towel and a picnic table as a tripod and the self timer instead of a cable release in low light, 'improvisation' to get the best fro the camera, rather than trying to lug oh-so-much gear about to faff with, has generally resulted in far more photo's I 'now' appreciate and on reflection are probably 'better' for having to work that bit harder to get them, than ones I have taken to 'do feaux-tog-raffy'.... with all the gear and an idea I 'have' to use it!
But then, knowing me, in a peek of perverse... I'd probably decide to put the digi-compact back on the side cos of batteries... and reach for one of the old compact 'film' cameras like my trusty old olly XA2!!!! Worked well eough for me for a decade before I discovered SLR's! So what the heck!
 
I've found airlines pretty decent about allowing camera backpacks on board even if they are heavier than the allowed allowance, provided you aren't making it look like heavy. Monopod/travel tripod goes into the suitcase in the hold, camera backpack as carry on with all your lenses. You'll need the wide on the crop body. Shouldn't be an issue, apart from having to watch those muppets who decide to try to bring large suitcases as carry ons and ram them in next to/on top of your backpack in the cabin locker!
 
Thanks for the replies so far. My query is less an issue of weight (as I said, we have plenty enough hold / hand luggage allowance for a week in the sun) & more to do with me choosing to limit the number of lens options so as not to constantly delay three non-photographers with lens changes.
 
Id have to take the 18-55 and 70-300 as there the only ones i have :( and i need to learn a lot more;)
 
Take all three - it's not as if you are carrying thee L-series lenses is it? pockets were designed for additional lenses.
 
Lawsyd said:
Thanks for the replies so far. My query is less an issue of weight (as I said, we have plenty enough hold / hand luggage allowance for a week in the sun) & more to do with me choosing to limit the number of lens options so as not to constantly delay three non-photographers with lens changes.
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Easy enough to decide which lens(es) to carry on any excursions. A city trip will probably be the 2 wider angles while the countryside would probably be the longer options.

Another option (if budget allows) could be a superzoom 18-300. It'll be a slight compromise in terms of ultimate image quality but extremely versatile. Or even a bridge camera.
 
Lawsyd said:
Thanks for the replies so far. My query is less an issue of weight (as I said, we have plenty enough hold / hand luggage allowance for a week in the sun) & more to do with me choosing to limit the number of lens options so as not to constantly delay three non-photographers with lens changes.
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If you are worried about delaying the non-photographers in the group, you can get around that by making the most of the times when they are sitting doing nothing.
If they are sitting having a coffee in the town, just say "I'm going to take a look around while you enjoy your coffee". Talk a walk round the immediate streets for 5-10min, take a few pictures and then go back.
So long as you're not gone for too long, they shouldn't mind too much.
I'm not much of a beach person/sunbather, so while my wife is sunbathing, I will take a walk along the beach looking for compositions. She doesn't mind because she's left in peace for a bit and I get to satisfy the photography itch without dragging her along.
Pick your moments wisely though.
It's your holiday too and if that's how you want to enjoy it, then just let them know.
 
Rereading the original post, there seems to be an "Oh! Bu99er! I seem to have packed another lens instead of my spotting scope." option.

Actually, Alistair's suggestions are just as good. I sometimes leave Mrs Nod Sun worshipping while I go off for a wander on my own. (Not with a telephoto on the beach!)
 
Out of your selection I would take the 18-55 and 70-300 - that gives you a bit of variety.

I was away last week and in my hand luggage I had 5Dc body with batt grip, EOS-M body & ef adaptor, 22mm EF-M, 10-18 EF-S, 50mm 1.8, 85mm 1.8, Tamron 70-300 VC and a Manfrotto Pixi - as well as the usual tablet, book, sweets, etc

I only left my Tamron 17-50 at home as the 10-18 was new to me and I wanted to play with UWA.

I used all of my gear over the holiday, but tended to use the EOS-M with 22mm as I always had it with me.

I used the 70-300 the least, but I think that was just down to me concentrating on wider shots most of the holiday.

As for swapping lenses, I have the same issue - my partner is very patient, but ultimately it's a holiday and I do feel like i'm breaking the mood a little when I keep faffing about! With that in mind, I tended to stick with one lens for the day and make the best of it - only swapping if I really felt the need, or if going for a specific photo.

Personally, i'd take all three but that's not an option!! Hope you enjoy your holiday :)
 
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