Originally posted by gfonso Thanks for the latest replies. I finally went out this morning and bought the DA 15m Ltd and the DA 35 Macro Ltd. I haven't had the chance to play around much with them (I will tomorrow) but so far they look promising.
I seriously considered the DA* 16-50 but its size and weight finally put me off. Only time will tell if I made the right choice.
As it stands, my lens lineup for this trip is:
- DA 15mm F4 Ltd
- DA 35mm F2.8 Macro Ltd
- DA 50-200mm F4-5.6 WR
- ?DA 18-55mm F3.5-5-6 WR? (to be decided; might come due to its WR)
I am no expert photographer, but in this trip I aim to continue learning and hopefully bring back a few photographs worthy of your attention.
Thanks again for the advice!
I'm a bit late to this thread, so here is my small suggestion.
I've had both the DA35 Macro and 2 versions of the DA 18-55 (-L and -II). Both are great all-around lenses. However, the focal-lengths are a bit redundant; the DA18-55 lenses are strongest in the middle range (good between 20~40mm and best at ~35mm). So, if I carry one of these 2 options, then I won't carry the other.
The DA35 is a 1.3 stops brighter (f/2.8 vs f/4.5), but when I really need brighter, then f/2.8 isn't a huge difference. The DA35 does go to 1:1 but because of working-distances it's hard to get closer than ~1:2. Since both the 18-55 and 50-200mm lenses close-focus to 1:3, they don't give up much in magnification.
(Of course, the DA35 is optically superior than the kit zooms at f/2.8~f/4 and at macro-distances but it sounds like those are not priority for your kind of trip.)
The DA15 is a perfect complement to either the DA35 or DA18-55, so that's a great choice. It's small and easy to carry.
The 50-200 lenses supposedly are best at ~135mm, weakest at 50mm and 200mm. (I don't have this lens, so can't confirm.)
So, this would be my optimized lightweight:versatile kit:
DA15
DA18-55WR
A50/1/.7 _or_ A50/2.8 Macro (both small lenses, one gives you a low-light option the other gives a true macro option)
DA50-200WR
Gorillapod (or other small tripod)
Close-Up lens
Polarizer