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Going to China lens advice

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fti

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Heya Folks,

I'm going to China for a biz trip. My arsenal currently consists of:

D70, AF 50mm 1.4, AF 35-70 2.8 D, and AF 28-200 3.5-5.6 D.

I can't make up my mind what to take with me. To take all 3 lenses seems over kill. The 28-200 D I just recently got from a friend of mine (together with a F70) for FREE!!! But I just haven't gotten around to testing this lens yet to see what it can/can't do for me. I won't be bringing an external flash.

I have a day planned to see the forbidden city and great wall.

Any thoughts or opinions are appreciated.

rgds,

fti
 
Hi

I would have thought, not been there, the wider the better !?

Could you not borrow a 20mm from somewhere and take the 35-70 & 50mm ?

1-20 or 12-24mm would be nice !!

Have a great trip !

Al
 
You need a wide angle zoom.
Check out Nikon 12-24,18-70,17-55 and 18-35.
They are all very good lenses, see what fits your wallet.
The 12-24 and 17-55 would be the best of this group.
Richard
 
Drop the 50 and the telephoto and get either the 12-24DX or a Sigma 10-20.

Thanks, Rich
 
thanks...

It seems I'm missing a very important group in my arsenal ... wides... The thing is that I've got so many hobbies going on, I often end up spending my money on other things than my photographic paraphernalia. New guitar, new amp, new pool cue, new car... when does it all end :P

Ok my next one will be a new lens.

But for now I think I'll take the 50mm and 35-70.
 
The sigma 10-20 would be the cheapest to get...around $400 used.

Rich
 
fti said:
It seems I'm missing a very important group in my arsenal ...
wides... The thing is that I've got so many hobbies going on, I often
end up spending my money on other things than my photographic
paraphernalia. New guitar, new amp, new pool cue, new car... when
does it all end :P
Ok my next one will be a new lens.
Click to expand...
Come on, you can certainly afford a 18-70DX then. It is not going to cost you a lot of Guilders.
fti said:
But for now I think I'll take the 50mm and 35-70.
Click to expand...
It's not good not having your wide end covered. I am sure you know how it feels using a 12W amp in a large listening room. Now you also have the opportunity to find out how it feels driving a large car through a "hutong" ; )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutong
 
fti said:
Heya Folks,
I'm going to China for a biz trip. My arsenal currently consists of:
D70, AF 50mm 1.4, AF 35-70 2.8 D, and AF 28-200 3.5-5.6 D.
I can't make up my mind what to take with me. To take all 3 lenses
seems over kill. The 28-200 D I just recently got from a friend of
mine (together with a F70) for FREE!!! But I just haven't gotten
around to testing this lens yet to see what it can/can't do for me. I
won't be bringing an external flash.
Click to expand...
fti said:
I have a day planned to see the forbidden city and great wall.
Click to expand...
NOT ENOUGH TIME! One day at each would be bare minimum - Forbidden City has 6,000 rooms and its a 2-3 hour walk just through the various open courtyards
fti said:
Any thoughts or opinions are appreciated.
Click to expand...
Having spent 7-days in China last March, I'd suggest, if possible, an 18-200VR and maybe your 50 1.4.

I took over 5,500 images - 95+% with my 18-70 DX; a few hundred with my FZ30 and only a few with my 70-300/35 f2 -- (see my SmugMug China galleries) To me, the ideal lens would be the 18-200 VR and a fast 35-50mm lens if you're not going to have a SB600/SB800 flash. Pano stitching software can make up for the wider shots that the 18 end doesn't quite make...

Highly recommend the No-Jet-Lag tablets at Magellans and the OpTech elastic bino harness at BHPhoto...

I posted some additional trip info at--

http://www.nikonians.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&forum=DCForumID231&om=536

--
Telecorder (Dave)
FZee30+RD-S+OlyTC1.7X
Dee50+Nikon 35mm F2.0D-AF+Nikkor18-70DX+Tam70-300L+BIGMA 50-500 EX HSM
My Image Galleries --

http://www.nikonians-images.com/galleries/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=121399&password=

http://Telecorder.smugmug.com/

 
If you aren't planning to invest in anything else, take the 28-200 for sure!!! maybe not as good as your other lenses but definitely more adapted!!

You will still be lacking a wider angle, but 28mm is much better than 35. The long end of the zoom will also be nice for isolating details. The places you mention are worth for architecture/landscape, but they are full of tourists so you probably won't have much opportunities for street-portraits and won't need the F2.8 so much.

The 50mm is small and light, so no point in not taking it for the evening.

If you have money to spend :
  • the best for your trip would probably be the 18-200 + a fast prime, but that lens will make ur 28-200 useless so maybe it's not so smart if you consider long term and money.
  • the best complement for what you have, would be some 17-55 F2.8 (or sigma/tamron/tokina version which are far more affordable), or some real wide angle (but for travelling, you need some overlap and be able to adapt quickly to opportunities).
The part of the great wall you'll probably visit in such trip is the super touristic "renovated" one, "Badaling"
fti said:
Heya Folks,

I'm going to China for a biz trip. My arsenal currently consists of:

D70, AF 50mm 1.4, AF 35-70 2.8 D, and AF 28-200 3.5-5.6 D.

I can't make up my mind what to take with me. To take all 3 lenses
seems over kill. The 28-200 D I just recently got from a friend of
mine (together with a F70) for FREE!!! But I just haven't gotten
around to testing this lens yet to see what it can/can't do for me. I
won't be bringing an external flash.

I have a day planned to see the forbidden city and great wall.

Any thoughts or opinions are appreciated.

rgds,

fti
Click to expand...
--
French living in China,
Sony R1
Nikon D200 (tamron 17-50 / sigma 50-150 / SB600)
 
I come here frequently on business and have honed my kit to three primary lenses: 12-24 Tokina, 18-70 Nikon, and 180 f2.8 Nikon. Sometimes I will also throw in the 35 f2. The 12-24 is very handy for the narrow alleys of old town areas, the 18-70 is a great all purpose lens and the 180 is exceptional for candids, architectural details etc.
 
If your China trip is a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you need your wide angle area covered. Now, if you have one of the wider angle point-and-shoots, this may work too. At least, consider a (relatively cheap) film point-and-shoot with a 28mm lens to get some wide work in. The 35-70 (based on my own experiences using a 35-105 in Europe -- though fortunately I had other wide gear) won't cut it in places like the Forbidden City and at the Great Wall.

Either way though, have fun.

--
'Nice pen, bet you write good stories with it.'
 
Unlike many of the people who so strongly insist you spend more money on much wider glass, I think your 35-70 is sufficient for virtually all situations. Of course, I'm not much of a wide-angle nut, so I'm biased.

In China for 1 month, I recall using a 28mm lens (on 35mm film) about 3 times, and the rest of the time I used a 50mm. No issues really.

Of course, an 18-70 or 18-135 would be a very versatile setup for your dslr, but you could probably find plenty of decent shots in China with nothing but a 135mm prime.

Going wide could be nice, but it's nowhere near as critical as some people claim it is.
--
Robert.
Idealism is precious.
 
Xiaomage said:
Going wide could be nice, but it's nowhere near as critical as some
people claim it is
Click to expand...
The lens that he currently owns are excellent for a film camera. He is however using a D70 with a crop factor of 1.5X. So even with the 28-200 at its widest, I dare say there are many occasions that it is insufficient.
Xiaomage said:
Xiaomage said:
My arsenal currently consists of:
D70, AF 50mm 1.4, AF 35-70 2.8 D, and AF 28-200 3.5-5.6 D.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I dont know about you but I dont like walking around with a big camera bag carrying several lenses. For 1 walk around lens on a DX camera you need a 17/18-xx lens. No it's not a 10mm but for most great wall and forbidden city shots I think 17 or 18mm is wide enough.

Good options would be the 18-200VR, 18-135, 18-70, Tamron 17-50/2.8. I would probably go with the 18-135 myself. It does have reach but I think it's rare you need 200mm. I would also carry around your small 50/1.4 for indoor/evening so VR is not important for middle of the day tourist shots.
That's what I would do but there is more than one solution.
--
Jake
 
Thanks for all the responses. I recall selling my 18-70 DX in order to save up for a 17-55. Ended buying a new guitar instead :)

Seriously tho, I've got no choice but to do something with what I already have. Perhaps the lack of choice will force me to be more creative. Anyhow, I am going to a conference for 5 days and 1 day for sight seeing. I'll probably end up with as much indoor portrait shots as one day trigger happy shooting sights. If I like Bejing, can;t think of any reason why I wouldn't, I'll definetely go back there with my family. Sight seeing during my biz trips is nothing without the loved ones being there if you know wht I mean.

thanks again for your views.

rgds,

fti
 
fti said:
I recall selling my 18-70 DX in order to save up for a 17-55. Ended buying a new guitar instead :)
Click to expand...
Well, at least you have one hobby to entertain your family. My family doesn't appreciate my hobbies too much. : )
fti said:
Seriously tho, I've got no choice but to do something with what I already have.
Click to expand...
Since you are so determined, I would suggest taking the 35-70 with you.
Have a good trip.
 
If you have not been to China before, it is hard to appreciate how large and crowded everything is. A wide angle is pretty important. That said, here is what I would suggest:

Bring your 28-200 as a walk-around lens. It is the widest lens you've got, so there is little choice. Plus, the long end will help you to isolate individual subjects in crowded areas. Test the lens on your D70 - some lenses that were good on film cameras don't perform as well on digital.

On a D70, the crop factor gives this lens a FOV equivalent of 42-300 which is not very wide, but you can make panoramas by stitching two or three pics to simulate what you could get with a wider lens. This is a good trick for situations where you need a wider lens that you have, but it takes practice to do it well. Practice, practice.

I agree with an earlier poster that one day is not enough time to see both the great wall and the forbidden city
--
pschatz100
It's not how many pixels you have... but how you use them.
 
I took my on China trip:
Sigma 10-20 mm (10% use)
Sigma 30 mm 1.4 (25% use)
Nikon 18-135 mm (65% use)

See some examples below.

I would certainly take a zoom lens and a wide angle zoom for the forbidden city and the great wall. Take your 50 mm lens in case you want to do some low-light photography.

regards, Ron.

Sigma 10-20 mm



Sigma 30 mm 1.4



Nikon 18-135 mm

 
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