Which lenses would you take?

Here's the senario:

You are going on a cruise into the Caribbean w/5 Ports of Call. You are taking your K100.

You have room in your bag for 2 lenses. You own the 2 kit zooms (18-55 & 50-200) and a 50mm MF A lens.

Which lens gets left behind?

If this sounds like a real dilema it's because it is, I leave on Friday. Majority rules, my photos are in your hands fellow photogs, HELP PLEASE......

Dan

My advice - get a new bag that will hold all three lenses. The two kits will give you the range you'll need (unless you don't use either the wide or the tele end of the two lenses) and the 50 will be fast for low light situations. I took five lenses with me on my most recent trip, and wouldn't have been happy with less than four of them (18-55, 50-200, 10-17 FE and the 50/1.4) I only used the 100 macro because I forced myself to use it a couple times since I had it with me.
--
Betsy
http://www.pbase.com/betsypdx/photo_a_day

BTW, the 50mm is a fast f1.4 manual focus

betsypdx said:

My advice - get a new bag that will hold all three lenses.

Click to expand...

I agree completely. You would be missing something with only two.

If you can't get another bag in time, put the smallest one in your pocket.

Remove before swimming.

Cheers,

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-- TimM
http://www.pbase.com/compadre_chuma

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Ah, now Sharpening.....as if exposure, lighting, colour, composition and focus weren't enough to worry about....the journey continues.

For my style of shooting, the 18-55 and a fast 50mm lens would be more useful than the 50-200, but I agree with the others: get a slightly larger bag and carry all three. They're none of them that heavy or large.

Godfrey

PentaxDan said:

Here's the senario:

You are going on a cruise into the Caribbean w/5 Ports of Call. You
are taking your K100.

You have room in your bag for 2 lenses. You own the 2 kit zooms
(18-55 & 50-200) and a 50mm MF A lens.

Which lens gets left behind?

If this sounds like a real dilema it's because it is, I leave on
Friday. Majority rules, my photos are in your hands fellow photogs,
HELP PLEASE......

Dan

Click to expand...

The beauty of Pentax lenses is that they tend to be pretty small. The 50 shouldn't be a problem to fit in a small bag.

Again. All 3.
--
Vinsant

Different Shades of a Different Colour Ellicit Different Behaviours to a Different Photographer

http://www.differentshades.org

PentaxDan said:

You have room in your bag for 2 lenses. You own the 2 kit zooms
(18-55 & 50-200) and a 50mm MF A lens.

Which lens gets left behind?

Click to expand...

No wonder you are asking for a decision - this one is an impossible one. I agree with the concensus - find a way to take all three.

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Cheers

Gordon
Perth, Western Australia

Take all three, and you don't need a new bigger bag, just put the 50mm lens (along with a lens case if you have one) in your pocket or anywhere in your backpack

Enjoy the trip!
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Frank
GMT+8hours

I was in a similar pickle a few months ago before my trip to Portugal. I wanted to take all four of my lenses and my bag, while small, was a bit too tight. I picked up a Tamarc Velocity7 ( http://www.tamrac.com ) and its great. Fairly decent size. Fits all 5 of my lens (DA18-55, DA50-200, FA77ltd, FA50 and my DA10-17 Fisheye very comfortably! Tinly little compartments within the bag can be moved around to whatever configuration you want. I have two lenses on each side, one in the middle below the camera with one lens mounted. Plus all the extra pockets are perfect to fit in other stuff (cards, cable release, spare AA's, lens cloth, etc...). The best $60cdn I ever spent on a bag! Check it out.

Oh...and I also suggest all three. I wasn't going to take my 50/1.4 but I was so glad I did!

Good luck!

--

Joseph
You can't depend on your eyes if your imagination is out of focus.
-Mark Twain

All three

The 1.4 would be handy for shot inside as well as night. The other two just don't cut it when light level is low.

--
Retired commercial photog - enjoying shooting for myself again.
Hoping to see/shoot as much as I can before the eyes and legs gives way

I have that bag too, I never even think about getting another bag.

Joseph D said:

I was in a similar pickle a few months ago before my trip to
Portugal. I wanted to take all four of my lenses and my bag, while
small, was a bit too tight. I picked up a Tamarc Velocity7
( http://www.tamrac.com ) and its great. Fairly decent size. Fits
all 5 of my lens (DA18-55, DA50-200, FA77ltd, FA50 and my DA10-17
Fisheye very comfortably! Tinly little compartments within the bag
can be moved around to whatever configuration you want. I have two
lenses on each side, one in the middle below the camera with one
lens mounted. Plus all the extra pockets are perfect to fit in
other stuff (cards, cable release, spare AA's, lens cloth, etc...).
The best $60cdn I ever spent on a bag! Check it out.

Oh...and I also suggest all three. I wasn't going to take my
50/1.4 but I was so glad I did!

Good luck!

--

Joseph
You can't depend on your eyes if your imagination is out of focus.
-Mark Twain

Click to expand...

--



Kristian Farren
http://kf3.net

I have the Tamrac Velocity 5. It's a great bag. I can get a similar kit to what the OP wants to carry--18-55, Tokina 28-105, and the F50. Holds all three lens, my cleaning kit, and some extra batteries. The trip I'm currently on, I'm using the DA40, Tokina, and the Z.

If you have to leave one lens, it would be very reluctantly the 50. In your situation, I think you can get by with the kit zooms and have a nice trip.

None of those are big lenses so find room and enjoy but if you really had to I'd leave the 50mm.
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Barry

Hi DW...I don't totall agree that the 50-200 doesn't cut it. Here's a link to a thread that I started on how impressed I was with the 50-200 in low light.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=19789554

I have a DS and therefore no SR and I thought the lens performed rather well. Either I had practiced my breathing exercises before hand or I was lucky but in general I was pleased with its performance. Anyhow...just a different point of view.

Just in case...do take the 50/1.4! (grin!). More of a reason to splurge on a new bag. (I should clarify. I have the 5747 model. It's slick. Never looked at another bag again. Unless I get one of those big gun lenses like the 300 or something. )

Joseph

D W said:

The 1.4 would be handy for shot inside as well as night. The other
two just don't cut it when light level is low.

Click to expand...

--

Joseph
You can't depend on your eyes if your imagination is out of focus.
-Mark Twain

Find a way to take all three. If only two, then leave the telezoom.

--
Steven
GMT -8

My comment was about the 3 stop slower max apreature of the 50-200 rather than the optical low light performance. There are time when you need the fast 35f2 or 50f1.4.

I have night skyline shots of cities that I have visited and found the 50-200 a great travel lens and the great LBA bargain.

--
Retired commercial photog - enjoying shooting for myself again.
Hoping to see/shoot as much as I can before the eyes and legs gives way

You WILL need wider than 50 so kit stays.

50-200 is expendable but ...... you know you will curse not having more reach.
--
***********************************************
Please visit my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti

from Lowepro and get all 3 in no worries. 'tis a small bag.
--
***********************************************
Please visit my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti

I might be different from most photographers on this forum, but I prefer zoom lenses to fixed focal length prime lenses. I know the prime lenses usually have better IQ but I really like the flexibility that zoom lenses give. If it's a Pentax zoom then you're still getting good IQ anyway. The prime lens is great if you have the time and flexibility to zoom in and out with your feet, but too often you don't.

I just returned from a cruise a few days ago. The wide angle zoom is great for photos onboard the ship. Lots of tight spaces inside the ship where a wide angle is a must. The long end of the telephoto zoom was handy when photographing performers on stage during the entertainment shows. I like the WA effect also when you're topside when you want to show a WA perspective to emphasize the wide open space of the ocean with parts of the ship as foreground such as a long shot looking over the side of the ship looking forward from the aft end or vice versa.

Or the long end of a telephoto zoom to capture a moonrise on the horizon.

I hired a boat taxi to take a tour of one of the harbors amongst some great rock formations. The boat was constantly moving around with a myriad of different perspectives of the rocks. There's no way I could have changed lenses fast enough. I would have missed a lot of photos. Sometimes a WA focal lenght was critical and other times I really needed to zoom in.

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Allan Plucinik
Colorado Springs, CO

OK, I am convinced. I just went out and bought the Lowepro REZO 160 AW and now the bod and all 3 lenses fit. Kinda tight, but OK. Only need one lens hood for both zooms. Hoooooray!!!!!!!

Dan