Which lens to take?

[Kiwiprincess76]

Ok guys, first world problem, but I'm going to Hawaii in Sept/Oct and wonder which lens I should take. I have the 18-135mm the 35mm and the 56mm. I'm going with my husband and three children, and my sister who is also a photographer.

My 18-135mm isn't the sharpest best lens in the world but it is great for travel and firing off fast shots of the scene, especially when travelling with some non-photographers, and it is WR. It also has a wide angle and a zoom, so I'm fully covered. So I'm definitely taking that, as well as a tripod.

But do I take just one prime or both? I'm guessing the 35mm would be more versatile but the 56mm is great for portraits of my kids and is a stellar lens. The 35mm however would get more of the beach scene in, otherwise I might as well be taking the photos at home. it is also a bit smaller. Or do I just take all three and have the option, just more weight!

Any thoughts.

 

[Giuseppe D'Agata]

This is the processed image from the RAW file using Fuji RAW converter. with more saturated colors (I have used sunset preset).

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ciao
Giuseppe

Maybe a good example as to what you can do with this file, if you could provide the RAW file by dropbox or similar? The above example looks to me that the mouse had been used over-creatively ...

Would be interesting to see what people here could get out of that file ... always a fund thing to do I think.

Deed

Try this link and let me know.

Loading…

onedrive.live.com

--
ciao
Giuseppe

 

[Vic Chapman]

Oh Vic, you are right. This is a bit scary. All that money and it distorts. I know it can be fixed in Lightroom but hey, do I want to be doing that all the time. I have seen some pretty great stuff with the 16mm though including this article

http://thedigitaltrekker.com/2015/04/views-of-kenya-with-the-fujinon-xf-16mm-f1-4-wr/

This is the kind of stuff I'd love to do, so why I was leaning towards it! Can you still achieve the same effect with the 14mm in documentary photography. That is my big question!

The 14mm is pretty much distortion-free. I use it for street, often from around waist height at f4/f5.6 and focus at 6 feet which gives good focus from around 3ft to inf. It still gives good DoF at f2.8 and AF is superfast. You won't get the same shallow DoF effects that the 16mm f1.4 supplies (unless really close-up) - only you know how often you would want that facility. Certainly the 14mm would do the sort of environmental pictures shown in that blog although on my trips to Kenya I found the 35mm and 85mm (on FF) were most used for individuals but also a 24mm for inside.

I don't have experience of the Fuji 16mm apart from images I've seen and maybe these aren't typical - perhaps the sensor plane was not vertical or it is a bad example of the lens. I can vouch for the 14mm which spends more time on one of my cameras than any other lens. I think you'll need to try both to see what suits you best and view more images taken with them.

 

[Kiwiprincess76]

Deeds, that's what I mean, the 12mm Sangyang would be stuck on a tripod for extra special shots only. I will probably wait a while before getting that and stick with the 16mm first.

 

[Stacey_K]

This is not a project, it is a family holiday. I don't need all my gear!!!!!!

EXACTLY! That said, I would take the zoom and the 35. You can probably figure out before you leave which is the right lens choice for the events you plan to be at before you return to your condo, i.e. use the zoom during the day, take the 35 out for night shooting. Or, if you are like me, the 35 will fit in your purse and have no need to carry a large camera bag. Less is more in situations like this. With the gear I have, I would probably take my 18 and 35 combo.

 

[FauxMho]

I have the 12mm Rokinon/Samyang and it's one of my favorite walk-around (hike-around, actually) lenses on my X-T1. While I originally got it for it's advantage in Milky Way shots, I've found it my goto lens for landscape and portrait-in-context uses. One key trick is the 1:8 rule: set the focus ring on 1-meter and the aperture at f/8 and everything from half-meter to infinity is in focus. I find I shoot much faster this way than autofocus - shooting defined to include bringing the camera up to your eye, framing, and taking the shot. When I want to close-up the DOF by shooting at F2, focus peaking on the X-T1 EVF is superb - reminds me so much of my manual focus SLR days.

My travel kit is the 12mm Rokinon, XF18-55, and XF55-200. Very compact and covers a wide range of shooting conditions without duplication. I looked long and hard at the XF14 and XF16, but the bang-for-buck ratio on the 12mm won out.

 

[Jerry-astro]

Thanks Lena. Great advice. I think I will take the one lens but slip my very small 35mm in the corner of my bag for night time. I have a macro extension tube so will slip that in as well for flower shots if I need it and I'm investing in a polariser and an ND filter to get creamy water.

I'm from NZ so know about the sea. We have some of the wildest oceans in the world here!

Well, no wonder, they're upside down for heaven's sake.

Sensible kit, BTW. That should cover just about everything. We've been going to Hawaii for 20+ years and just love it. Use my kit 18-55 for most everything, though the 55-200 has come in handy once in a while for the odd wildlife opportunity (such as whale watching). But if that isn't part of your plan, you can easily leave the longer lens home. I do occasionally use my UWA (12mm Zeiss) but to be honest, in most cases it's for a landscape photo that could also be taken as a pano with a standard prime or zoom.

 

[deednets]

Deeds, that's what I mean, the 12mm Sangyang would be stuck on a tripod for extra special shots only. I will probably wait a while before getting that and stick with the 16mm first.

You might find this interesting:

14mm f/2.8 vs. 16mm f/1.4 vs. 18mm f/2 — Fuji vs. Fuji

Fuji XF 14mm F/2.8 vs. XF 16mm F/1.4 WR vs. XF 18mm F/2 An in depth comparison of Fuji’s 3 widest angle primes, the FUJINON XF14mm F2.8 R, the FUJINON XF16mm F1.4 R WR, and the FUJINON XF18mmF2 R.

www.fujivsfuji.com

Deed

 

[Kiwiprincess76]

Thanks guys, seems my lens choices for Hawaii are bang on!

 

[Kiwiprincess76]

Thanks so much for this info. I'm wondering about the quality of the 12mm Samyang. It must be fairly good and I'm loving the price. I can get it for $485 NZ on one site over here. Cheap compared to Fuji lenses! I don't mind manual focus as I had an old film camera and loved manual focus!

Can you give me a link to any images taken with the Samyang? so I can have a wee look?

Question is, if I bought the Samyang, would I even need the 16mm seeing I have my zoom goes to 18mm (although slow, but fine on a tripod) and I have the 35mm F1.4. I can imagine my kit would almost be complete. The only reason for the 16mm would be for documentary photography maybe, which I really want to get into. Although my 35mm may suffice for that! the 16mm lens has stellar quality images, but do I need it for my kit?

 

[Kiwiprincess76]

Ok, this post has solved two problems of mine. Which lens to take and also which wide angle to buy. I am getting the Samyang 12mm F2 manual focus lens. I've looked at the reviews and for the price it will be a much better thing for me than paying all that money for the 16mm F1.4. I am quite excited now as I'm saving over $1000 NZ and get an even wider lens for forest shots, astro photography, etc etc. I am going to stick with my 18-135mm zoom and my 35mm F1.4 for documentary photography. I can do all I want with those two! Woo hoo! Happy!

I can always by the 16mm down the track if the other lens don't work for me! I think I'll finally be over my gear acquisition disorder and will have everything I need for the camera now!

 

[Vic Chapman]

Ok, this post has solved two problems of mine. Which lens to take and also which wide angle to buy. I am getting the Samyang 12mm F2 manual focus lens. I've looked at the reviews and for the price it will be a much better thing for me than paying all that money for the 16mm F1.4. I am quite excited now as I'm saving over $1000 NZ and get an even wider lens for forest shots, astro photography, etc etc. I am going to stick with my 18-135mm zoom and my 35mm F1.4 for documentary photography. I can do all I want with those two! Woo hoo! Happy!

I can always by the 16mm down the track if the other lens don't work for me! I think I'll finally be over my gear acquisition disorder and will have everything I need for the camera now!

Haha, Only a person of the female persuasion could ask which of her current lenses to take on holiday - end up buying another lens - and then claim they just saved $1000! I wonder if I should try that on my wife!

Have a great time in Hawaii.

 

[jrk]

If it were me and I was going to Hawaii I would simply take all the lenses, especially if I wasn't going to be back to Hawaii for a long while. All 3 lenses have their merits so why not take them all. If you are like most travelers, after you decide what clothes you are taking put 1/2 of them back in the closet because you won't need them, makes more room for the extra lenses!

 

[Kung Pao Panda]

If it were me and I was going to Hawaii I would simply take all the lenses, especially if I wasn't going to be back to Hawaii for a long while. All 3 lenses have their merits so why not take them all. If you are like most travelers, after you decide what clothes you are taking put 1/2 of them back in the closet because you won't need them, makes more room for the extra lenses!

Hello,

Good advice about removing your clothes. Thong Bikini, shorts, tee shirts, and flip flops all the clothing one needs for a pleasure trip to Hawaiian Islands.

Just curious, when you've been to the Hawaiian Islands, how do you carry and protect your camera(s) and lenses when you're sitting or walking on the beach, or when doing water activities like being on the water in a outrigger canoe, catamaran, or taking pictures near the ocean?

What is your advice for protecting camera and lenses from the sand, salt water, humidity, and hot sun?

So, what camera bag(s) you recommend to use on beach and water? Im always looking for a bag that is easy to take the camera to take out and shoot, and put back in the bag without getting sand or salt water on the gear. In my younger days, I use to carry my cameras and lenses in an old vinyl Kodak cooler, or a cheap styrofoam cooler to the beach. But they were bulky.mand prone to tip over.

remember this?



Lena

 

[ryan2007]

Ok guys, first world problem, but I'm going to Hawaii in Sept/Oct and wonder which lens I should take. I have the 18-135mm the 35mm and the 56mm. I'm going with my husband and three children, and my sister who is also a photographer.

My 18-135mm isn't the sharpest best lens in the world but it is great for travel and firing off fast shots of the scene, especially when travelling with some non-photographers, and it is WR. It also has a wide angle and a zoom, so I'm fully covered. So I'm definitely taking that, as well as a tripod.

But do I take just one prime or both? I'm guessing the 35mm would be more versatile but the 56mm is great for portraits of my kids and is a stellar lens. The 35mm however would get more of the beach scene in, otherwise I might as well be taking the photos at home. it is also a bit smaller. Or do I just take all three and have the option, just more weight!

Any thoughts.

I like this video on what to take.

The short version is you should take the Fuji 23 mm prime

I would take the Fuji 10-24 and 16-55 and maybe get the 90 mm prime.

 

[pandionutv]

Ok guys, first world problem, but I'm going to Hawaii in Sept/Oct and wonder which lens I should take. I have the 18-135mm the 35mm and the 56mm.

I will also be going to Hawaii (from Sweden - far away!) in October and am buying a 18-135 mm zoom as a convenient travel lens, although I'm already fully covered from 10 mm to 200 mm with the usual zooms. Perhaps I could leave the 18-55 mm zoom at home, but the optical quality of this lens is compelling ...

Had an absolutely wonderful visit to NZ a few years ago - including a brief hospitalization in Wellington and a 45 m/s hurricane ... !

 

[Kiwiprincess76]

;-)

 

[Kiwiprincess76]

Ryan sorry to hear of your hospitalisation. And everyone else, I'm taking two bikinis, one dress, one skirt, two singlets and a shirt to throw over the top, jandals (not flip flops, I'm from NZ remember) and that's about it probably!

As for the gear. My husband has a fit when I buy new lens even though it is my own money. So I have to justify everything! Don't ask me why! I bet some of you blokes have to do that too! I want to turn pro eventually with lots of practice and slowly getting into it, so NEED these lens, that's my excuse!