Hello,
I'm aware that there are already lots of "Which lens do I need" type of topics, even for Iceland specifically, I could find some, but nevertheless, each one's (gear, preference and constraints) is difference, plus I enjoy doing this exercise so, here it is, another "Which lenses to bring to Iceland"
So finally I managed to persuade my wife to have a week in Iceland end of April. Not so much time, I know, plus we have a 2.5 years old little girl to take care of, so on one hand, I may not have too much time to do photography and exploring stuffs, but on the other hand, I need to prepare and be as efficient as possible once I'm there.
We have only hand luggage, almost haft of them is dedicated for toddler's stuffs, so I have to go absolutely light and compact. I have a small Lowepro sling-bag, and she will only accept what I can manage to put inside that bag, plus a very small tripod. With that bag, during some of our previous trips, I can pack the KP + 1 zoom + 3-4 primes (only 3 slots for lenses with 1 big slot that 2-3 small primes can stay together) + a spare battery, a polarizer filter, and a cleaner.
Now come to my lenses collection:
- Primes: DA 15mm, DA 21mm, DA 40mm, DA 70mm, F 50mm 1.7, and some old manual legacy: K24, A28, Helios 58, K55
- Zoom: DA 18-50, DA 20-40, DA 16-50 (recently acquired for a very cheap price), DAL 50-200, and a 55-300 PLM will arrive this week.
Generally, the 15, 21, 40, 70 and 20-40 go with me, but with the arrival of the 16-50, 55-300, and the possibly new experience in Iceland (I've never been in such place with such kind of unpredictable weather), the equation needs some tweaks, and here is my plan (and dilemma) so far:
- The 55-300 PLM, although new, will go with me, because it's the only telephoto lens I have (except for the 50-200 but it's not WR and much less rated)
- The 70 always goes with me so far because it's portrait is very pleasing, and it's the longest lens I have not counting the not very stellar 50-200
- The 40 normally goes with me because it's very compact. But to be honest I haven't used it a lot, although I always bring it. Nevertheless whether to bring it doesn't change much the overall compactness/weight.
- Now there is only place for 1 zoom and 1 primes, or no zoom and 2 primes. A lot of people say the landscape in Iceland is so huge that you should bring the widest lens you have. In my case it's the 15. Also if I bring the 15, the 20-40 would complement it very well, and I like the handling and rendering of the 20-40 a lot. However, I will miss the 21, it deliver stellar images and starburst for night shots. Also, I'm thinking, if I get caught in a rain a lot, the 16-50 might be better because of longer range and faster aperture. In that case, can the 16-50 @16mm replace the 15? Both the 15 and 21 are not WR. But for sure I will miss the Limiteds. Bringing both 20-40 and 16-50 would be overkill, and I will have to leave out the 70 to make space. Or should I? Can the 55-300 handle the occasional portrait shot for the 70?
- Or replace the 16-50 with the 16-85, so I will have an all-around zoom for all kind of weather, complement it by a fast prime (50 or 40), and the 55-300? This is one of the reason I started the recent thread to ask whether I should look for trading my 16-50 for 16-85.
- For you who have already been there, will I need WR and wide that much?
Thanks
Last edited by Bui; 01-31-2018 at 06:44 AM.
Reason: Some typos