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Nikon Lens Recommendation for Trip to S.America

Mr.Gale

Member
It has been a little slow here so I thought I would ask you opinion. In May I'm going on an organized tour to the locations listed below. I will be taking my D800e and my only two lenses, 24-120mm and 70-200mm. I have not been to any of there locations so I'm wondering if besides these two lenses if there are others you would recommend? I was thinking maybe a WA such as the Samyang 14mm that a lot of you seem to like or? One of the problems I have is I'm restricted on the weight of my luggage both checked and carry on.

Here is a list of the major locations I will be visiting:

La Paz, Bolivia
Valley of the Moon
Lake Titicaca

Lima Peru
Sacred Valley
Machu Picchu

Quito, Ecuador
Galapagos Islands

Thanks for any and all feedback.
Mr.Gale
 

Magic

New member
Hello,

which lenses do you have/own/are available ?

IMHO a 14-24 and 24-70 would be enough, although the 200 mm might be useful with animals on the Galapagos.

Greetings, Jurgen
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
When I travel, I rarely find need for the 70-200 unless I plan specifically on photographing people, or land/city-scapes from some distance. I almost always take the 24-120 because of it's versatility, then add either my 17-35 or Sammy 14 and a fast "street prime" like a 35 or 50 f1.4. If I carry two bodies, then I bring all 4 of those lenses; if I want to go really light, it's one body, the 24-120 and either the 50/1.4, 28/1.8 or 14 depending on location.

Since noise and high ISO are so well behaved on the D800, an f1.8 or f2 prime is adequate for street type shooting and the cost in dollars of adding one or even two small primes in lieu of a zoom is not significant compared to the cost of the trip, and the weights of the primes are usually similar or less than the zoom they replace. If I carried two street primes, say the 28/1.8 and the 50 1.4 or 1.8, I would not bring the 17-35, but then might also pack the Samyang 14.

My .02,
 

Shashin

Well-known member
Your lenses should be fine, especially if you are happy with them. If you want wider, shoot a series of images to stitch later. Having too much stuff just gets in the way. I wouldn't want to be trying to figure out how a new lens sees on a trip.

There really is no lens for a particular place. The lens is an extension of how you see.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
The Samyang14 would be fun to have it is kind of light in weight but it is a extra lens in the bag. Which I agree can be a pain having to much gear. I have the new 70-200 F4 lens and that is a nice travel lens if you need the length but I also agree with Jack that I don't usually need long on travel stuff. Obviously this depends on how serious you want to be when traveling too. I know when I'm with my family I do very little if any photography but if I'm by myself that maybe all I do is shoot, in that case I take a lot.

Now I'm going to LA this week with my wife and on to Santa Barbara but I am after a shot that I need for a poster so I will take both my 24-70 and my 70-200 since these are my versatile lenses and still not bad to walk around with
 

thedruid

New member
I bring the same kit on all my travels which is 17-35/24-120VR/70-200VR F4...you could replace the middle range with a 50 F1.8G for a light kit but you lose a lot of the versatility. Travel is always a trade off.
 

Mr.Gale

Member
Thanks everyone for the excellent recommendations. One thing I found out that is very interesting is that at Machu Picchu, you can not use a tripod, monopod or a lens longer than 200mm. They think that if you are using any of these items you're a professional and they want to charge a substantial fee.
I think I'll just take the 24-120 and 70-200. The 70-200 is heavy but I might need the reach on the Galapagos.
Tomorrow it's off to Yosemite for another try at Horsetail Falls, wish me luck!
Thanks again,
Mr.Gale
 

Lars

Active member
Heh, tripod was not a problem when I was at Machu Picchu but that was some 14 years ago.

Anyways, obviously your going to high altitude, staying in Cusco I presume, 3400 meters. Puno and Titicaca, 3800 meters. Until you're used to the altitude, creative aspects such as composition can be a problem. As is weight. Leave the 70-200 at home.
Bring a 50/1.8. 24-120 is also a great idea. And a 70-300 is useful for capturing details when you cannot be close.
 
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