Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
03-05-2016, 08:31 AM   #1
Senior Member




Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 137
Lenses for Hawaii trip

Planning a trip to Maui and starting to think about packing and which lenses to take. And whether or not I should rent one.

50 1.8
35 2.4
HD 55-300
18-135
Sigma 10-20
18-55
50-200
I've got a circular polarizing filter and a
2-10 stop variable ND filter which I haven't practiced with much.
Tripod?
K30 and/or K3

Will my gear fog up like it does in Florida?

03-05-2016, 08:34 AM   #2
Veteran Member
bertwert's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Golden, BC
Posts: 15,173
If I were you I'd probably take all you listed except the kit lenses.
03-05-2016, 08:46 AM   #3
Pentaxian
mikeSF's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: East Bay Area, CA
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 6,611
wow, what a great trip. Take the whole kit and maybe divide it into two easy to carry bags so you can get to your location and leave a few things in the trunk.
Watch out for the car thieves, especially the parking lot at Wai'anapnapa State Beach. Polarizer will be great for the waterfalls and greenery.
03-05-2016, 09:10 AM   #4
Pentaxian




Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: NY
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 6,042
Maybe you could use a 1.4 Pentax TC with your 55-300 or rent a 500 mm lens for super telephoto. I don't know what your plans are for shooting, but thought I would mention those options.

03-05-2016, 09:11 AM - 2 Likes   #5
Senior Member




Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 137
Original Poster
I think the whole kit weighs more than I do Mike!
03-05-2016, 09:16 AM   #6
Pentaxian




Join Date: Mar 2015
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 6,381
Is your 18-55 the WR version? If so, out of the equipment you have named I would take that and the 55-300 and the filters and the K3 and leave everything else at home (MAYBE take the DA50 for low light work). If it's not WR, take the 18-135 in its place.
03-05-2016, 09:24 AM   #7
Veteran Member
LensBeginner's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2014
Photos: Albums
Posts: 4,696
55-300 and 50-200, 18-55 and 18-135: pick one and one.
I'd leave the 18-55 behind and bring the better, more versatile 18-135, and maybe leave home the 50-200 as well in favor of the 55-300.

03-05-2016, 09:50 AM   #8
Junior Member




Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
Posts: 43
I think I agree with LensBeginner. Although the 50-200 is a great travel lens (nice and compact).

It looks like you've got everything pretty well covered. The only thing missing might be a macro lens - if you're into that.

If you're trying to take a small kit - I'd probably go with the Sigma 10-20mm, 50mm 1.8, 18-135mm, and the 55-300mm.

Enjoy your trip!

Last edited by jaremart; 03-05-2016 at 09:56 AM.
03-05-2016, 09:58 AM   #9
Veteran Member
amoringello's Avatar

Join Date: May 2008
Location: Virginia, USA
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 1,562
Without knowing what you're planning to shoot it is hard to say what to bring.
Are you sticking to the roads and driving to where you expect to be, or hiking.
What sort or trip is this? Do you know what you're going to shoot, or just going as a tourist?

If you'll be doing a lot of walking. Pack light. L'm with LensBeginner.
I used my 16-50 DA* and 50-135 DA* when I went out to take photos that might end up on my wall.
I took the 18-135 as a walk around lens. The 18-135 is not a bad lens, but it can be frustrating for lower light or if you want more shallow DOF, of course.
It was great on bus tours or when I would otherwise need to swap lenses repeatedly and hurriedly.

A lightweight tripod is never a bad thing to bring. I take the MeFoto A1350 in my carryon luggage. (it separates into a mono pod as well)
If you have the luxury of caring a heavy weight tripod, do it.

All of this fit in a small pack and I could take that every where I went so I had what I needed when necessary.

The temps in Hawaii are very consistent and usually under 90 degrees. I never had a problem with condensation.
But if you're going form a cold hotel to shoot outdoors where it is warm and humid, you always have some potential for condensation.
03-05-2016, 10:00 AM   #10
Pentaxian




Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 2,962
QuoteOriginally posted by mikeSF Quote
Watch out for the car thieves
Make that anywhere. Do not leave your stuff in the car. Period.

I lived in Hawaii for about 4 years so it all depends on what you want to shoot. If you are going out to try and shoot surf you will need to find a spot to shoot from and a long enough lens. 300mm is barely long enough for some situations you find there as in shooting the surf from land.

A friend of mine that I did an interview with a while back for the forum likes to use the wide angle lenses.

Sean Davey Exclusive Interview - Photography | PentaxForums.com

It all depends on what kind of shots you want to take. My main suggestion is to shoot early or shoot late. 4am to 7am.... or late until dark or even after.

In Hawaii you have so many different options on what to take it's just stupid.

As for camera gear be mindful of which side of the island you are on (windward or leeward) and how far you are from the beach. Heavy winds will blow a fine mist of salt water that you don't even notice onto everything. The lenses won't fog up so much unless you drive around with the AC on full blast. The cold to hot transitions causes fogging.

Hawaii though is not very hot. It's about 80 degrees all year long.

I think you can over do it with gear, but then again you can make use of anything you take over there. A good tripod might help, especially for those dusk shots.

---------- Post added 03-05-16 at 11:04 AM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by allexinwonderland Quote
50 1.8
35 2.4
HD 55-300
18-135
Sigma 10-20

Take those and a small tripod and you will be more than good. 18-135 will probably get the most use.

---------- Post added 03-05-16 at 11:07 AM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by C_Jones Quote
Maybe you could... rent a 500 mm lens for super telephoto.
If you can rent the 560mm lens you will be glad you did. That will open up worlds of options for yourself.
03-05-2016, 10:10 AM   #11
Senior Member




Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 137
Original Poster
It will be a family trip with hopes of enough patience from them for me to get some landscapes. Definitely a tourist trip. Probably not much hiking
03-05-2016, 10:28 AM   #12
Pentaxian
SpecialK's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: So California
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 16,479
QuoteOriginally posted by allexinwonderland Quote
Planning a trip to Maui and starting to think about packing and which lenses to take. And whether or not I should rent one.
18-135
Sigma 10-20
03-05-2016, 11:22 AM   #13
Pentaxian
ChatMechant's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Matsuyama
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 1,284
QuoteQuote:
It will be a family trip with hopes of enough patience from them for me to get some landscapes. Definitely a tourist trip. Probably not much hiking
QuoteQuote:
18-135
Sigma 10-20
These and your two bodies. Hand one to a family member that likes to take photos. I wouldn't want to be too encumbered on a trip like that.
03-05-2016, 11:47 AM   #14
Veteran Member




Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Michigan
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 419
First of all, congratulations on your pending trip. I've been to the islands a couple of times and it's one of my favorite destinations. I do a fair amount of travel with a focus on photography and the key factor for me is how much equipment I'm willing to carry. I generally end up with one body, 3-5 lenses and a tripod. I have the Sigma 10-20 and I'd definitely recommend taking that unless you are happy to create wide angle shots by combining shots later. I think the 18-135 would work well for the mid-range shots, but the 35 mm is quite small, light and probably much sharper so you might want that one as well. I owned the 55-300 but it wasn't sharp enough for my tastes and desire for enlargements. But to go faster / sharper on the long end you are talking about a significantly bigger lens like the 60-250 or a 70-200 2.8 lens. But the 55-300 is very convenient for travel. I'd recommend a travel tripod, especially with your ND filter. For years I went without a tripod on trips and I balanced my camera on some firm object and used the timer, but when I found a travel tripod less than 3 pounds and about 16 inches long I bought one and it's been very helpful. When I'm traveling with family I will go out solo around sunrise to get early pictures with the best light. And there may be other times during the day when I separate from them for a little while to get some shots that take time. Have a great trip and I hope you get some rewarding shots.
03-05-2016, 11:48 AM   #15
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
Alex645's Avatar

Join Date: May 2015
Location: Kaneohe, HI
Photos: Albums
Posts: 3,526
My highest recommendation is to take your primes and WR zooms only and keep it as light as possible. Maui has every climate from dry lava fields to humid rainforests and in the same day you could find yourself on the warm humid ocean or on the summit of Haleakala at 10,000 feet and 40 degrees colder bone dry air.

Although Haleakala is dormant, the earth's crust is relatively thin and a lot of the iron red rich soil can create electromagnetic anomalies. Translation: Bring spare batteries, spare memory cards, and if at all possible, a back up camera. I haven't had that problem on Kauai or Oahu, but in Maui County (Maui, Molokai, Lanai) and on the Big Island, I've had many trips where my camera electronics would just shut down for no apparent reason, and then upon returning to Oahu everything works fine without my doing anything to the camera.

I would normally blame humidity swings from air conditioned cars to rainforests and salt sprayed beaches, but back in the 90's I lived on Maui and worked for 4 months at a Fox One Hour Photo in Kihei. Every day, tourists would come into the lab asking for help with their cameras that would just stop functioning for no obvious reason. One time, an older gentleman came in to the lab with an Olympus OM4-Ti and asked if he could borrow our jeweler tools. An hour later I found him with his SLR disassembled in hundreds of parts on the light table and thought to myself he'll never put it back together.

Turns out, he was an Olympus camera repairman and was trying to see what was wrong and after nearly taking everything mechanical apart, and using his multimeter, said nothing was wrong. Another hour later he had put the camera back together, without fixing anything, and it worked perfectly fine again. His conclusion was that he had frequently put the camera down, on the lava or the earth and it had messed with the polarity of the electronics or the magnets in his camera.

One last advice on car break-ins: Not only don't leave anything in your car...but also don't lock your car. If you leave the windows down, rain and bugs will get in. But if you lock the car, thugs will break the window just to discover nothing was in the trunk or glove box, and that will ruin your day. All the broken glass in the parking area should remind you of this.

Tripod? If you want to shoot stars or HDR, then yes. If not, travel light.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
camera, car, day, filter, gear, hawaii, interview, lens, lenses, lenses for hawaii, photography, post, rent, shots, sunrise, surf, trip, tripod
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Hawaii trip - what to photograph lmd91343 Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 29 05-27-2013 04:04 PM
Hawaii trip - astro photography lmd91343 Photographic Technique 6 05-26-2013 07:05 PM
Hawaii trip .... polarizing filter for 18-135WR ? Brownie4u Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 18 05-17-2013 03:03 AM
Can someone recommend a Prime for Hawaii Trip Jimmie48 Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 23 02-16-2011 01:24 AM
Advise on accessories for trip to Hawaii LFLee Pentax Camera and Field Accessories 8 11-18-2010 08:16 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 08:25 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top