Travelling to Germany, What lens and What bag?

rigzz

rigzz

Active member
Allright M&A. I'm visiting my sister in germany during the march break and we will be visiting a TON of place (We are in Hanover, but will surely take the train everywhere we can) Things is, I went from my little nikon D40 to a Nikon D80, and all I have for lenses right now is a 35 f1.8, and a 18-55mm which might get sold soon but not for much.

I THINK I should had another to my lens quiver. because having simply a 35mm when visiting country might not be the best. I wanna have something I can play with have fun and keep for later on also.

So first, my ideas were to save up and buy a Tokina 11-16mm, but appart from video comment, i've never heard anything about them photo wise, and I don't know if it's the best idea to bring a wide-angle when shooting scenery and building and stuff.

Second, Borrow my dads 18-135 f/3.6 or something. Problem with that lens is stability, it was the kit lens that came with his D80 and there is no VR and I don't really like the idea of having this huge bulk of lens in my backpack.

Also I will be traveling a lot and I'll need to haul around my camera plus some clothes, so what do you recommend that won't be hard on the body during long days of walking.

Tl;Dr: Traveling to Germany, Need help choosing a lens, debating on Tokina 11-16mm or my dads 18-135 f3.6 or something for photo. Need a backpack also for long walking days and train ride.
 
No one can help me a little since it's photo and nikon wise? I guess every one on here is all about video and canon eh? Please people, I need some help! Thank you.
 
I would say take your dads lens. The 11-16 won't give you much of a range and you'll definitely want the ability to shoot longer than 35. The kit lens isnt top of the line quality but it will get the job done and you'll get the extra reach you need. As long as you're outside I wouldn't worry about stability, it might be an issue shooting at longer focal lengths indoors or in darker areas but it shouldn't be too big of an issue.
 
In terms of backpacks, you have tons of options. Lowepro makes good ones, fstop will be a little more expensive but more rugged, or even dakine or ogio make photo packs if you're looking for one you can use skiing too
 
I don't really shoot skiing, and it's more about the travelling side of things, I know lowepro makes good one, but they have GAZILLIONS bags, I have no store around who has any photo bag so I can't really see them in real life.
 
I went to Italy with 4 lenses; the Tokina 11-16, the Nikon midrange I will describe, a nikon 50mm 1.8 and a nikon 135mm 2.8. I would say that my breakdown of use was 40% / 40% / 10% / 10%. Although we went to a lot of churches, visiting churches was a big reason for going.

The Tokina is the best UWA you can buy for a crop sensor camera, for photo or video. There's literally no better option.

Buy one of those up if you can.... They are great for the interior of buildings and whatnot, especially dark churches and cathedrals.

Since buying that will leave you strapped for cash, the other lens I would suggest is this:

afg2880.jpg


Nikon 28-80 f3.3-5.6. You can pick it up for less than 100 bucks, check craigslist and ebay.

Before you laugh:

That's a shitty old kit lens from the days of the d70 / d50. However the only thing that's shitty about it is the aperture range (doesn't do low light) and the build quality (which is fine as long as you don't drop it)

It has very little distortion, almost no abberation, no haloing or flaring, and it's REALLY sharp. Just a testament to how well nikon makes lenses (The 18-55 you had is actually a really sharp and contrasty lens to, but it has distortion issues.) added bonus for travel - it's VERY light. it weighs about as much as the 50mm 1.8

There's a shot of Giray Dadali in SBC skier with that lens. you can also check my slowly updated (the photos in it now are just the first three days) Italy photoset on flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11084378@N05/sets/72157628073357053/

As for a bag:

I don't know how it is in Germany, but if you're carrying a backpack into churches and landmarks in Italy, they will ask you to check them. I carried this man-purse looking Domke bag (which is nohomo in EU, all the dudes have them)

http://www.tiffen.com/displayproduct.html?tablename=domke&itemnum=701-82S

Since everyone has them, they allowed me to take it (With all my gear) into places I might not have been able to take a backpack (like St. Peter's Basilica).

Also, since they are on your side, it's harder for pickpockets to get into them without you noticing (almost impossible) and people who might try to steal your shit if they noticed a camera bag won't be as keen on it. I had people try to get into my bag a couple times while I was traveling.
 
Also - I did 21 days in Italy with a carryon size bag and my domke camera bag. You can do it too, so don't worry about hauling around a ton of stuff.

Pack really light. count on wearing each item of clothing twice before you wash it, try to only do one wash the whole trip so you don't waste time. Buy backpacking socks that wick moisture and smell and are anti-microbial, pack tight. Bring your best pair of jeans, they don't need to be washed anyways. swim trunks or shorts only if you're swimming. All your really need is your camera gear (which should all fit in the domke), clothing, money, a sketcbook or journal if you please, and maybe an Ipod. Don't wear athletic shoes (you stand out as a tourist) but wear comfortable shoes with good inserts in them.
 
Actually had that lens before on the D40, and I hated the fact that I had to AF and sometimes I couldn't focus fast enough and the picture was gone (sports wise and people wise they were always moving) So I traded the lens for my 18-55mm VR which might get sold before I go. And if it's not sold, I might just bring it with me. If I manage to scope a tokina, that's all I'm bringing, if not Might borrow my dads lens.

For the men purse, Does it fit the camera with a lens and a battery-grip fine? how big would you say it is, because I really like this idea of having it on my side protected from pick-pockets and not having to get searched everytime I enter somewhere.
 
mine was smaller, but if you're only carrying one or two lenses and a body in there, it should fit fine. All the dimensions of the bag are on the website, so you can measure everything and find out if it will fit.

Seriously dude, don't go without a mid-range zoom. Either keep the 18-50, or take the better route and sell it to buy the lens I mentioned. Like I said, I used that lens nearly half of the shots while I was there. It will only set you back 60 bucks or so, and it's worth it to have. The Tokina is ONLY UWA.... 16mm is still really really wide, you don't want that to be your only lens.

You're going to be very happy with the Tokina's performance inside, most all of those interior cathedral shots were 2.8, ISO 500 ish and between 1/10 and 1/15 handheld, it works wonderfully. You couldn't do that with a smaller aperture / field of view.
 
These are all super classy, and still amazing camera bag's. F-stop's are legit. A bag like the shibata would be good if your only carrying the body and two lenses. If you need more space there is a bigger satchel, and then a few small sling/backpacks. These at least less like a camera bag so you'll attract less attention. Carrying around a big camera bag if your going to have to check it to get into museums and other places probably isn't a good idea.

http://fstopgear.com/en/product/millar

As for lenses I don't know much about nikon models, but your gonna want some range. I don't think an 11-16 (Again, best UWA for crop DSLR's) and a 35mm will be enough, the lens Trevor recommended sounded pretty good for the price.
 
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