[marc121]

Hello everyone, I need your advice on what lens kit I should bring with me during my two months trip through


-United Arab Emirates (Dubai & Abu Dhabi)
-India for three weeks
-Thailand
-Vietnam


Here are the four lenses I currently own:


-18-55mm WR DAL
-FA 50mm F1.4
-Vivitar 100mm (with the marcro adapter)
-Sigma 50-500mm aka Bigma




Obviously both UAE and India will be pretty dusty and probably so will the coast of vietnam and thailand as well as having some pouring rain. It is probably wise that I get WR lenses for this trip. I do have a limited budget but if needed I might sold my Bigma as I don't use it so much and it's way too big and heavy to bring in a backpacking trip. I don't want to bring too many lenses or too expensive ones as there is a clear chance we might get robbed in those countries (especially India). I thought of maybe getting one or two additional old primes (I.E. 35mm, 50mm, maybe 18mm?)


So basically I need to be:


-Not too heavy
-Not too many lenses
-Covering a lot of different ranges
-WR if possible.




-I maybe thought of getting a 18-250mm WR which would cover most of the range and be WR plus maybe two primes. I don't know about the image quality of the 18-250mm though?
-Otherwise maybe the 18-55mmWR even if it's not a great lens and buy the 55-300mm WR and get a prime lens


Do you have any other suggestion of lens kit I should bring for this trip?

[Rimfiredude]

Decisions, decisions, they can be difficult. Out of my arsenal, I would take 17-70 Sigma, 28-200 Sigma and my 50mm f2 Ricoh just in case I came across the one in a lifetime Picture.

[AquaDome]

The DA 18-250 is fairly compact for what it is, which is a whole lot of lens.
You are considering selling the BigMa. How much do you use the longer focal lengths?
18-250 might be more super-zoom than you require. The DA 18-135 might suit you.
What camera are you taking? This sounds like a mission for a K-50.

[audiobomber]

Here are the four lenses I currently own:


-18-55mm WR DAL
-FA 50mm F1.4
-Vivitar 100mm (with the marcro adapter)
-Sigma 50-500mm aka Bigma


-I maybe thought of getting a 18-250mm WR which would cover most of the range and be WR plus maybe two primes. I don't know about the image quality of the 18-250mm though?
-Otherwise maybe the 18-55mmWR even if it's not a great lens and buy the 55-300mm WR and get a prime lens

There's no such thing as an 18-250 WR. The 18-250 and 18-270 are not weather-resistant.

The DA 55-300mm WR seems a great match for your needs. You can't get better IQ and range in a smaller package, let alone with weather-resistance. Choices to cover standard range in order of ascending IQ are; DA 18-55 WR, 18-135 WR, 16-85 WR and DA*16-50mm. You could carry the two zooms, add a fast normal and call it a day (DA 35mm f2.4 or FA 35mm f2 would be my choices.

My preference for a standard zoom would be the new DA 16-85mm for minimum lens changes, extra wide FOV and expectedly good IQ, but it's not inexpensive. The 35mm f2.4 is inexpensive and good, and the 55-300 is a must-have for me.

[jrpower10]

I had the DA 18-250 for awhile and it's a good lens, but not WR. I've been to India and UAE, and I think you're right, WR to cut down on dust is a great idea. If you want to keep it simple, maybe the 18-135 WR and the 55-300 WR. Both good, relatively inexpensive, compact lenses, and the overlap will mean fewer lens swaps, which will be your biggest risk. You might get away with just the 18-135 depending on what you're planning to do. When I went to India we went on a tiger safari, and I wanted extra reach for that. In that scenario you might as well sell the 18-55 as well.

P.S., the 16-85 might be a good option as well, but I don't think it's shipping yet, and no one knows what the IQ will be till it's out.

[JohnX]

+1 for the 55-300 WR. Not the fastest lens, but has a good rep and not at all expensive.

[asahi67]

Hi,
This summer I travelled Northern Thailand, Lao, Viet Nam, Cambodia and Burma. In my day pack I carried a K3 with battery grip and the following lenses:

10-17 for temples, buildings etc.
18-135WR
50mm 1.2 for low light
35mm 2.4
100mmWR macro for floral/bug shots
55-300WR for more reach

I gathered 2000+ images and estimate that 90% of them were captured on the 18-135WR. I have since aquired a 15mm LTD and really wish I had that lens for this past trip. In hindsight my revised kit would be the 15MMLTD, 18-135WR and the 55-300WR
The only dusty conditions we experienced was along some sections of Viet Nam's main highway which is undergoing a major rebuild and some sections of roads in Cambodia,

Enjoy your trip

[Moropo]

18-135 WR and 55-300 WR

(as mentioned, the 18-250 is not WR)

[schnitzer79]

I gathered 2000+ images and estimate that 90% of them were captured on the 18-135WR

your answer is here. get the 18-135 and you wont regret it.its light, compact, WR, sharp...what more could you ask? also take the FA50mm with you. you can sell the bigma if you want, as well as the 18-55 as you wont be needing it anymore after you get the 18-135. from both the bigma and the kit lens, im certain that you can buy the 18-135, 15mm ltd (SMC version) and 35mm ltd macro. that would be my choice

[bdery]

I'd say the best way to approach this is to consider what focal lengths you enjoy using. If you mostly use your 18-55 and 100, then you could replace the 100 with a Pentax DFA 100 macro WR, bring that and your 18-55. If you feel the kit lens is limiting and if you don't do a lot of macro, the 18-55 is an obvious choice. If you want a lot of reach and keep things compact and inexpensive, the 55-300 is of course a wide decision.

My own WR kit (for the moment) is made of the 18-55, DFA 100 WR and 60-250. The 20-40 limited calls to me so it might one day replace the 18-55 with a shorter reach but better IQ.

[formercanuck]

As many have mentioned... for your primary day-to-day use (esp in dusty/wet areas), the DA 18-135mm WR would probably be your best / most used lens.

When I have typically gone mobile (not quite backpacking), I've typically tried to 'travel light'. I've tried to stick to 3 lenses, and typically 1 stays on the camera +90% of the time.

If I was going backpackings 'specifically to shoot landscape/wildlife' then I would be bringing something like a 15mm and a 55-300mm WR for those times that I would want to shoot longer and wider. If you're planning to shoot indoors, then I'd recommend bringing something wide enough/fast enough... the 15mm will be wide enough, as would 18-135mm WR, just maybe a little on the 'slow' side.

[frogoutofwater]

My frogoutofwater and I went to Borneo and Singapore for 3 weeks last spring. A big focus of the trip was wildlife, although we also did some street photography and landscape photography. We both shoot Pentax. We brought more lenses, but I would say that 95% of the time, I had either the WR 18-135 or the WR 55-300 on my camera. Mr frogoutofwater used the Sigma 18-250 most of the time. A few times, we pulled out a prime (the 50mm 1.8 or 77mm 1.8) - usually at night. But we could have done without them if we wanted to pack really light. Except when I was shooting into a dark jungle and from a distance, I got great photos out of the two lenses I used. And I did better with my lenses than Mr frogoutofwater did with his 18-250 (the extra reach from the 55-300 was really helpful). We didn't encounter a lot of rain (unusual for the season) but I'm glad I had the WR lenses.

[marc121]

your answer is here. get the 18-135 and you wont regret it.its light, compact, WR, sharp...what more could you ask? also take the FA50mm with you. you can sell the bigma if you want, as well as the 18-55 as you wont be needing it anymore after you get the 18-135. from both the bigma and the kit lens, im certain that you can buy the 18-135, 15mm ltd (SMC version) and 35mm ltd macro. that would be my choice

Thank you everyone! I think I've made my decision on the 18-135mm WR and 55-300MM WR. I still want the extra reach the 55-300mm offers as I will probably go on a tiger safari and will probably be returning in Africa next Year. I will bring along a fast prime but I haven't set my mind on which one yet (maybe two they are usually very light)


AquaDome: I do not use the full reach of the Bigma as often as I thought I would. My camera is effectively a K-50, well guessed!
Audiobomber: Thank you for the clarification, I was sure that lens was weather resistant. Could you image I had bought one without knowing that!


I post picture of that trip when I get back for you guys


Thank you again!

[schnitzer79]

good choices.i have both lenses and im very satisfied with them.have a great trip and dont forget to post a few photos when u get back

[johan kruger]

it all depends on the kind of photos you like to shoot. But the 18-135 and the 18-250 would be good lenses to get depending on your budget.