Which prime lens + 16-80 for Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand

Hi Victor,

I‘m in a very similar situation to you. Like you, I‘m traveling through Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. Like you, I‘m bringing an IBIS body (X-T4 in my case), the 16-80mm, and a prime.

Two weeks ago, I had to decide which lenses to pack. I had the XF 10-24mm, XF 16-80mm, XF 70-300mm, Viltrox 13mm, Viltrox 23mm, Sigma 30mm and Sigma 56mm to choose from.

In the end, I went with the 30mm. The bright F1.4 aperture gives you a substantial low-light/DOF advantage over the F4 zoom. It‘s wide enough for street photography but narrow enough for some portraits (although I‘d love to have the 56mm with me as well).

I‘m two weeks in now, have done Hanoi, Ha Long, Sa Pa, and Ninh Binh already and am currently in Hoi An. To be honest, I don‘t really miss focal lengths wider than 16mm (or 24mm FF equiv.) at all — but that‘s mostly because my phone has an acceptable 13mm equiv. wide-angle camera. Sure, the Viltrox 13mm (20mm equiv.) would have been a nice-to-have in some situations but keep in mind that this is also a heavier lens.

I‘d argue I actually most regret having left the 70-300mm at home — not for street shooting, obviously; but, like you suspected, in Ha Long/Ninh Binh it could have given me some shots the 16-80mm simply can‘t do. I do think an XC 50-230mm would have been narrow enough (have never used that lens though).

My recommendation: Go with a bright prime in the 23-35mm range. I‘m happy with the 30mm but if you like to shoot a little wider, a 23mm will do as well.

You might be able to pull off an 18mm but you‘ll most likely have to crop for portraits; also keep in mind that modern phones have a similar FOV and take decent pictures in low light nowadays. Finally, most life is out on the street here anyway, so indoor photography is likely less important than in other places

Next time, I personally will just bite the bullet/weight of adding in the 70-300mm, and maybe even the 10-24mm as well…

Best,

Bear