Best Single Lens for month in Australia

Dave Smith

Dave Smith

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Hi All,

Can i get some advise of you guys on the best single lens to take on a trip to Australia. I have a Canon 450d Camera and currently have a Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens. Is there something else i should be looking out for? Im still a beginner but im trying to take it more seriously.

Thanks again
Dave
 
I'd say the 18-200 is great for a do it all travel lens (I'd bring a travel tripod though for evening / night stuff if you have the room as its not fast!). A UWA is a good idea sometimes, but you might not use it as much as you'd think. In vast open country, a UWA will look flat and devoid of subject, whereas in a tight city (such as NY and Hong Kong) it comes into its own! I think Australia will be mostly the former.
 
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oldandintheway said:
Big country.....needs a big W/A IMO
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Have you tried using an UWA in big sky country? - it's extremely hard to use effectively and single purpose with next to no general purpose capabilities.

I'd consider supplementing your current lens with a 30/35/45mm prime to add low light and shallow DOF capabilities to your kit.
 
Get yourself a decent 35mm or 50mm and do panos! Stitch together then you can shoot most things with a great lens
 
Single lens for a month in Australia... I'd get a bigger bag and take more than one, certainly if your trip is one of those "once in a lifetime" things. As mentioned above an UWA will come in handy, not necessarily just for landscapes, really handy in cities for architecture etc.

Simon
 
If you are limiting yourself to just one lens.. I wouldn't put a DSLR at the back of it otherwise you're dragging all of the disadvantages of a DSLR (bulk, weight) for not the slightest of advantages over a much smaller fixed-lens compact - DP2M/DP3M or X-100 series.

See "what compact for travelling.." threads ad nauseum.. ..
 
I certainly wouldn't go all the way to Oz with one lens but if I "had" to pick one of the three that are in my bag (10-22, 15-85, 100-400) it would have to be the 15-85 and most definitely not the 10-22. In reality of course I would take them all and perhaps buy a fast prime as well.
 
Or add a 24mm 2.8 stm pancake lens to your bag, new for <£200 and barely take up any room. Then take that and the 18-200?
 
Jackwow said:
I certainly wouldn't go all the way to Oz with one lens but if I "had" to pick one of the three that are in my bag (10-22, 15-85, 100-400) it would have to be the 15-85 and most definitely not the 10-22. In reality of course I would take them all and perhaps buy a fast prime as well.
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Completely agree IF you can only take one lens. I am a Nikon user and would take my 18-105 if I had to choose. Enjoy your trip and take some photos, don't make it all about your camera!
 
OK, different suggestion, how about buying a good quality Bridge Camera. The Canon SX60 covers wide angle to super long zoom (3.8 – 247.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 21 – 1365 mm)) and built in Wi-Fi to upload to Facebook, etc.OK i accept it will be a bit of a loss of Quality over a DSLR but a Bridge has all the Controls of a DSLR, M/Av/Tv/P (with some limitations, caused by small Sensor) and it will be ready for action immediatly, no fiddling changing Lens etc, leaving you more time to enjoy your Holiday.
http://www.canon.co.uk/for_home/product_finder/cameras/digital_camera/powershot/powershot_sx60_hs/

I believe Panasonic ant others do some really good Models.

Or this little beauty, slips into your pocket, Olympus SH-2
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympus-SH-...8&qid=1439103546&sr=8-1&keywords=Olympus+SH-2

.

Now sitting back and waiting for the DSLR Police to arrive and give me earache,
 
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stryvya said:
OK, different suggestion, how about buying a good quality Bridge Camera. The Canon SX60 covers wide angle to super long zoom (3.8 – 247.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 21 – 1365 mm)) and built in Wi-Fi to upload to Facebook, etc.OK i accept it will be a bit of a loss of Quality over a DSLR but a Bridge has all the Controls of a DSLR, M/Av/Tv/P (with some limitations, caused by small Sensor) and it will be ready for action immediatly, no fiddling changing Lens etc, leaving you more time to enjoy your Holiday.

I believe Panasonic ant others do some really good Models.

Now sitting back and waiting for the DSLR Police to arrive and give me earache,
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I second this. A good super zoom can deliver good results for a high percentage of general photography requirements. Worth considering.
 
stryvya said:
OK, different suggestion, how about buying a good quality Bridge Camera. The Canon SX60 covers wide angle to super long zoom (3.8 – 247.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 21 – 1365 mm)) and built in Wi-Fi to upload to Facebook, etc.OK i accept it will be a bit of a loss of Quality over a DSLR but a Bridge has all the Controls of a DSLR, M/Av/Tv/P (with some limitations, caused by small Sensor) and it will be ready for action immediatly, no fiddling changing Lens etc, leaving you more time to enjoy your Holiday.
http://www.canon.co.uk/for_home/product_finder/cameras/digital_camera/powershot/powershot_sx60_hs/

I believe Panasonic ant others do some really good Models.

Or this little beauty, slips into your pocket, Olympus SH-2
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympus-SH-...8&qid=1439103546&sr=8-1&keywords=Olympus+SH-2

.

Now sitting back and waiting for the DSLR Police to arrive and give me earache,
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You might even be better off with a larger sensor'd compact such as the Sony RX100, LUMIX LX100, Canon g7x etc, as you'll get better IQ from the larger sensor and probably a faster lens (a lot of enthusiast compacts normally have fast f/1.8 lenses, at least on wide angle).

They are also a lot smaller and lighter.

The trade off would be lens reach, the good ones normally fall into the 28-100 (35mm equiv') in order to retain IQ.

That said, most wouldn't need a x65 zoom for normal / travelling use.
 
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I am there now and have a compact, a csc plus 3 lenses and my dslr plus 2 lenses to cover all eventualities... If I had to just pick one, it would be the csc as I get from wide to 600mm equivalent... Back soon...
 
Chipper said:
I am there now and have a compact, a csc plus 3 lenses and my dslr plus 2 lenses to cover all eventualities... If I had to just pick one, it would be the csc as I get from wide to 600mm equivalent... Back soon...
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Are you on a holiday or photography expedition?
 
Re: the post from Stryvya 7 up (sorry, I can't work out how to do the quotes thing yet)
If I'm going somewhere where space and weight are in issue, I take my Panasonic FZ200 bridge camera. 21-600mm equivalent Leica lens. Battery lasts all day. Cracking images, but not brilliant at high ISO settings. I bought my wife an FZ150 for her birthday and was so impressed by it I bought the newer version to use as my cockpit camera. Have done a few holidays with it as its so small. Even smaller is my Panasonic TZ60, which is not as capable as the FZ (although it does have a longer zoom range!)
 
Zanshin999 said:
I bought the newer version to use as my cockpit camera.
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Cool!!!!!!!!!!! :cool:

Zanshin999 said:
sorry, I can't work out how to do the quotes thing yet
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You can either just press the `quote` button to the right in the post (which copies the whole post) or, copy/highlight part of the text & it gives you the `quote` option. (y)
 
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I would just keep the 18-200, but buy a very small mid-range compact camera for the times when the SLR is too heavy and slow to use.
Some of the better compacts with larger sensor and RAW will run your 450D close anyway.
In fact I wouldn't bother taking it but understand why you might.
 
Jackwow said:
I certainly wouldn't go all the way to Oz with one lens but if I "had" to pick one of the three that are in my bag (10-22, 15-85, 100-400) it would have to be the 15-85 and most definitely not the 10-22. In reality of course I would take them all and perhaps buy a fast prime as well.
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:agree: A UWA is nice to have but a mid range zoom is much more useful.
 
I'd take a Canon 17-55mm or similar.

If you need more reach, move closer...
 
canon 40mm pancake cheap but great quality for the money
 
Me too. But get the image stabilised sigma 18-200 (or 300) not the earlier unstabilised version.
 
Zanshin999 said:
Me too. But get the image stabilised sigma 18-200 (or 300) not the earlier unstabilised version.
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Why? He already has a Canon 18-200 IS?
 
Dave Smith said:
Hi All,

Can i get some advise of you guys on the best single lens to take on a trip to Australia. I have a Canon 450d Camera and currently have a Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens. Is there something else i should be looking out for? Im still a beginner but im trying to take it more seriously.

Thanks again
Dave
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Hi Dave

1st - have a great time...

2nd - are you finding the 18-200 lens a problem or are you happy with it and the results you get from it ???

I'm not a great fan of the 'all in one' lenses, but I do see there appeal and can appreciate the benefit they can give, especially if you are going on a holiday, rather than carrying lots of equipment round. If you are happy with your 18-200 lens, then I would say go with it and enjoy yourself - otherwise it'll start to cost you money (and probably quite a bit) to get something else...although it could also be a good excuse to buy a new lens :rolleyes:.
 
Last year on our trip to Aus and NZ, I took a 10-20mm, 70-200 Sigma, 15-85mm Canon. Vast majority of my shots were with the 15-85mm, but the other lenses came in handy too at times. I also took a Reged travel tripod. There were a few times when I really missed my Sigma 300mm f/2.8 which I left at home due to carry-on weight limits. I've since traded the 70-200 and 300 against a 100-400 MkII, but that's another story.

I think that given you already have the 18-200mm, you will cover pretty much everything. Having a UWA in your pocket could come in handy for urban landscape, but will probably be too wide for the great outdoors. The 200mm end will be too short at times, but there is no magic lens to cover everything.

Enjoy your trip and if you are going out to Uluru, get a head net to keep the flies off.
 
Have you thought about going for something really oddball, like a Samyang 8mm F3.5 AS UMC Fisheye CS II ?
It could give you a different perspective in your shots, in more ways than one. :)
 
A 35mm prime is always my choice. Wide enough for landscapes but long enough to take the odd portrait! No sodding around carrying camera bags or annoying friends or family with changing kit rather than enjoying the break! + You get to move your feet a bit more! ;-)
 
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