[CrazyNuts]

Hello,

First of all, welcome to Canada! I am from Vancouver myself, and when I visited Vancouver Island (stayed in Nanaimo and drove down to Victoria on a day trip), I used my K 30mm f/2.8 lens almost exclusively. I had brought a 10-20mm f/4-5.6 as well, but I don't think I once pulled it out of my bag because it was heavy. One time when I was hiking in West Vancouver, I saw a spotted owl, and my F 70-210mm came in very handy. I ran into a black bear cub once too, but I only had my 30mm then. I think you're fairly well covered.

Great, that means my PKA-28mm might get some use where the 10-20mm is just not enough reach. Not the sharpest lens wide open but landscape photography is usually shot at f/8 and it's very sharp at that apperture.

You might want a 50mm get any manual focus one. As for the kids and hiking. Get a GPS and go geocaching. It gets the kids involved, and also gives them a sense of mission. Needless to point out you can download the track data and geotag your images too

I have a PKA-50mm in my possession as well. Might as well take it I guess although I much prefer the DA 70mm. Thanks for the geocaching idea. I already have a GPS with Canada City Navigator NT (Garmin). Where can I download some geocaches for Canda?

For me it's always to walk a bit nearer if need be, I don't do backwards walking very well, I tend to fall over.

Have a great trip, I'm really quite envious.

Thanks, looking forwards to it. It's not going to be cheap but it is a trip of a lifetime afterall.

[JenniferLeigh]

Your kit sounds good to me I'd like to try out the 10-20mm one day. I find my most used lens for landscapes is the DA 16-45, I also have a 55-300 for more reach and wildlife. Sometimes it's hard not to go wide in the Rockies, so make sure you mix it up!

You may want to check out the ebook series, How to photograph the Canadian Rockies by Darwin Wiggett. These don't talk a lot about equipment but rather is a photographic to iconic and lesser known locations. Each location includes gps data and are all very accessible without a lot of hiking (if any). I purchased the series last year, and I think it's a great guide for travelling photographers to the Rockies.

If you had an iPad, Check out the Stuck on Earth app. I love this app for checking out images and getting a feel for the location. If you don't have an iPad, then you could try google earth - same idea.

Enjoy your trip, if you have any question feel free to ask, this is my backyard

[JenniferLeigh]

I have a PKA-50mm in my possession as well. Might as well take it I guess although I much prefer the DA 70mm. Thanks for the geocaching idea. I already have a GPS with Canada City Navigator NT (Garmin). Where can I download some geocaches for Canda?

Try geocaching.com

[mgvh]

I think you'll get lots of use from the Sigma, especially in the 16-20mm range.
Given the lenses you have, a fairly inexpensive option you might consider is getting the marvelous F 35-70. It's small, fairly cheap, sharp, covers that gap between your lenses, and gives you a nice pseudo-macro. In similar outings, almost half my pics were in the 10-20mm range. About a quarter or more were in that 35-70mm range.
My solution is the Sigma 10-20 (though I have the older model) and the Pentax DA 18-135. Those two lenses cover almost 95% of my travel pics.

[atekant]

I am thinking you might end up wishing for something longer than 200. The thing is, out by the rockies, the more interesting the animal you want to shoot, the faster they run, and you sure don't want to get closer to the family of grizzlies or the moose crossing the road any more than you have to.

A local shop in Vancouver is renting the Bigma (50-500) for $120/week. (you would need a support for it, which you can buy or rent as well). So you wouldn't even have to buy it or carry it on the flights.

[jpyykonen]

I have older Sigma 10-20 and I find it nice for landscapes. I used to take landscapes with 18mm when I had only kit lens and I almost always needed wider. 10mm may be too wide but that's why the zoom is nice to have so you can find the proper focal length in every situation

Geocaching is actually very good hobby to combine with photography. It makes you find interesting places that you wouldn't visit otherwise. We are actually planning two week trip to Norway at the moment with my fiancee for gecaching and photography. I will most likely take Sigma 10-20, DA*16-50,DA55-300 and A*300/4+1.7AFA.

[Canada_Rockies]

You will surely enjoy your trip to my end of the continent. If you are wandering on Highway 3 to the Alberta border, email ahead of time. The tea and coffee are always free!

[CrazyNuts]

Thank you everyone for your input. Very much appreciated.

If anything, I think I might purchase a 1.4x teleconverter for my 70-200mm just for the extra reach. I think the lens options I have basically cover everything. I'll be taking two dSLR's with me anyway (K20D and K-5).

By the way, what's the easiest way of geotagging photos? I'd imagine the GPS units mounted on the hotshoe?

[Lowell Goudge]

Thanks for the geocaching idea. I already have a GPS with Canada City Navigator NT (Garmin). Where can I download some geocaches for Canada

try Geocaching - The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site. It is well worth joining, which is free

[CrazyNuts]

Thanks Lowell...

I already joined that website 2 days ago