DLSR Lens Choices

[tommcgee]

If you were to take only one lens on a bike trip, what would it be?

Posting an example of the kind of pictures you like to take will make this thread more interesting.

[moshaffer]

Nikon D90 with a Tamron 18-270mm lens. 1:35-6.3 That will cover about anything.:thumb

[marchyman]

The lens usually on the camera is the 24-70 f/2.8 and most of the shots I take are with that lens. But since I don't have to limit myself to just one I also carry a 10-22 and a 70-200 f/4.

10-22 sample:
<img src="http://www.snafu.org/saturday/2007/solvang/p-20070325-1010-2504.jpg" title="Yale @ moto solvang">

24-70 sample:
<img src="http://www.snafu.org/saturday/2009/0822/p-20090822-1222-5572.jpg" title="Vincent @ baker beach">

70-200 sample:
<img src="http://www.snafu.org/pics/moa/p-20090721-1603-5414.jpg" title="Near San Simeon">

[tommcgee]

I've got a 70-200mm Canon L-series lens that cost more than my first motorcycle. What I'm looking for is good glass that's shorter, say 16-80mm or so.

[dancogan]

When I'm on the bike I'm most likely to carry my P&S, which has a 24-60 mm (35mm equiv) lens. I really like its wide angle capability, especially for group shots or indoor shots. If I take the SLR it will usually be with the 16-85 lens with VR, since I seldom take the tripod on the bike. My second lens would be the 70-300, also with VR. My favorite lens, but not as heavily used, is the 12-24. These are all for the smaller sensor, so multiply the focal length by 1.5 for Nikons.

[PAULBACH]

Shorter glass seems to be more utilitarian. The number of times I absolutely need a telephoto is eclipsed by the need for a wide angle lens.

I cover a lot of motorcycle events with a canon rebel and an EF-S 10~22 and a G7. Not much falls outside that range.

I carry a point and shoot in my jacket pocket for casual rides. The most important rule for getting great shots

Always carry a camera with you. ;)

[PAULBACH]

<img src="http://www.snafu.org/pics/moa/p-20090721-1603-5414.jpg" title="Near San Simeon">
From Marchyman:

Looks like an after Thanksgiving gathering.

Great Shot

[tommcgee]

Shorter glass seems to be more utilitarian. The number of times I absolutely need a telephoto is eclipsed by the need for a wide angle lens.

This is what I'm finding curious. The pictures I like are usually taken with short focal lengths, but then again, I've always used much longer lenses to take similar pictures.

I think what I'm doing is cropping in the camera rather than later. It'll be a hard habit to break after 40 odd years, but I'm exploring possibilities.

And yeah, I always carry at least two P&S cameras on the bike.

[rcliffor]

+1 for the Tamron 18-270 as a good all-around lens.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3657/3582880790_97a20befe8_b.jpg

[rocketman]

I've actually started to get back into prime focus photography, just taking one, non-zoom, lens with me when out riding. It makes it a lot more challenging but I find I spend more time thinking the shot through, composition, lighting, etc, and a lot more clambering around trying to find just the right distance to get the comp I'm after. I had gotten so used to relying on the lens being able to get me in close or far away that I found I was shooting more "snapshots" and fewer "photographs". Looking now at a good 20 or 35 MM for the Nikon and have a nice 17mm for the Pen EP-1 I picked up recently. Its easy to get carried away with digital and just shot tons of shots figuring that one will come out but that tended to remove the experience for me so now its back to basics with a good (med) wide angle. Plus the prime focus lenses are SO much lighter and compact. That can make a huge difference when you're carrying a DSLR around all day long.
So for me its now going to be a 20-35 mm lens (once I settle on one) for the Nikon DSLR and the 17 for the Pen, which is basically a DLSR without the "R" and nice and compact with a decent sized sensor to boot. weighs about 11 oz.

RM

[marchyman]

I've got a 70-200mm Canon L-series lens that cost more than my first motorcycle. What I'm looking for is good glass that's shorter, say 16-80mm or so.

I used the EF-S 17-85 before I got my 24-70. It was a good walking around lens, but I wanted something a bit sharper and a bit faster. I see that the 17-85 has, for all practical purposes, been replaced by the new EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM. Don't know how the two compare, though, as the 15-85 was just released. It will not replace my 24-70 (L glass).

I only wish I was as good as the equipment I use :cry

[tommcgee]

It will not replace my 24-70 (L glass).

That's the USM, non IS lens? Does the lack of IS bother you? I'm definitely looking for the sharpest glass I can get (costing less than a GS). I also think I should go wider on the low end. I do intend to get a zoom.

As to prime lenses, I've been thinking about that too, but always hated the 50mm lens that came on 35mm SLRs. It just wasn't a workable focal length for me. It's a long time ago now, but all I used for several years in the 70's was a 200mm lens. Sadly, most of those pictures have been lost.

[PAULBACH]

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g264/PaulBach/ClipArt/88f44169.jpg http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g264/PaulBach/ClipArt/56c74474.jpg

Either one of these beat IS any day. :laugh

[Paul_F]

Tom,

For me, one of my Canon 20Ds with the 17mm-85mm used to be my travel camera/lens of choice. I used to pack a longer zoom as well, but it was seldom used. I also carry a Canon A540 point and shot in my jacket pocket.

A few years ago, we travelled in England by car. I took a backpack with a Blad with three film backs, three lenses (wide to telephoto), a pro 35mm with a 28-105mm lens and a 200-400mm lens. The camera and lens used the most? The 35mm with the 28mm-105mm. The rest of the equipment was just dead weight.

This spring I was invited to a Canon workshop for pros and were told to bring an image that we'd like enlarged. My choice was an image shot in Colorado a few years ago with my point and shoot (was too lazy to get the pro digital camera out of the top box). This image was enlarged to 20x24". The quality was excellent.

As a consequent, I only took my point and shoot Canon A540 with me on all of my trips this summer. It only has a 4x zoom, but this worked fine. Next year I'll most likely upgrade to a Canon G11, if it will slip into my riding jacket pocket as the current point and shoot does. While travelling on the bike, I try to practise KISS, with camera equipment as well as everything else that I pack. I even bought a sturdy but light tripod for the bike a couple of years ago, and maybe one day I'll actually strap it onto the bike......... maybe. :ca

[marchyman]

That's the USM, non IS lens? Does the lack of IS bother you?

I haven't noticed the lack of IS. Given a choice between two stops of aperture and IS I'll take the faster lens :deal. f/2.8 :heart.

If I have any regrets about the 24-70 is that I'm using it on an APS-C camera so it is an effective 38-112 which is a bit lacking on the wide end. On the other hand it is great for portraits. And it is cheaper than a GS. Why, I think you can buy 12-15 of them for the price of a GS. :D

I also stuff an older version of the trekpod go monopod/walking stick along with tent, tarp, and kermit chair on top of one of my cases when riding. As PAULBACH noted, it beats IS.

[tommcgee]

Either one of these beat IS any day. :laugh

Oh sure, beat it with a stick. :D I actually do carry a tripod or monopod but rarely use them.

And to Paul F, my G10 rode on the bike mount for the Salty Fog trip. It's the right size but really too heavy for a jacket pocket, at least for all day. Walking around town in the jacket pocket for a short while would be okay.

I'm over thinking this lens thing.

[Crow18]

And to Paul F, my G10 rode on the bike mount for the Salty Fog trip. It's the right size but really too heavy for a jacket pocket, at least for all day.

My Coolpix L12 pretty much lives in my 'Stich pocket. It's how I've been able to get such awesome shots as this while riding:

http://homepage.mac.com/ericgibbs/moai/stich.jpg

When I take the DSLR, I generally grab the whole camera bag, plus tripod. My latest acquisition is a Sigma 50mm f2.8 macro.

http://homepage.mac.com/ericgibbs/moai/50mm.jpg

[Paul_F]

I have a hall with walls that are 11' tall that I display prints up to 2'x3'. However, any more, I am more than happy with 11x14s, 16x20s and 20x24s. For the most part, most people seldom enlarge their prints to those sizes. Hence, a lighter and lesser camera will often meet most of our demands, even if we have to crop on the computer to compensate for when the lens will not zoom to what we might prefer.

Now this may sound weird, but most of my motorcycle trip photos are displayed as mounted, laminated 5x7s and 8x10s in my bathroom which is about 5'x6'. It's my trip gallery. When our kids come over they think that it's weird, but my wife thinks that it's kind of neat. Fortunately there are other bathrooms in the house for visitors to use rather than my gallery.

As I get older, bigger and better photographic quality is just not the priority that it once was.

[marchyman]

As I get older, bigger and better photographic quality is just not the priority that it once was.

If there was a P&S that gave me some control, similar to the Canon A series, that worked well at high ISO I'd be all over it. But high ISO performance goes with a larger sensor. Otherwise I'd likely have nothing more than the A610 that lives in my tank bag.

Or not. I like camera toys almost as much as I like motorcycle toys. :D

[tommcgee]

As I get older, bigger and better photographic quality is just not the priority that it once was.

Hahahaha....Easy to say for a guy with Hasselblads in his wake. Those are the ones they left on the moon, aren't they? :D My problem is that I haven't been where you've been in terms of high end gear yet.

And lord knows, I wish I took as many pictures in my life as I've taken over the past few years. Someday my grandchildren will find boxes of old hard drives in the attic to go poring through.

[rinty]

The "basic lens" on my D40 is a Nikkor 18-55, so that's what I would take:

http://rinty.smugmug.com/Other/shiloh-1/summer-07-137/214812408_grn2u-M.jpg

But these days I find I'm mostly using my wife's point and shoot Lumix SZ3, which is simply amazing.

She took this shot in the Shaba Reserve in Kenya, a few months ago:

http://rinty.smugmug.com/Other/Karins-Africa-Shots/P1000675/713156411_5Uwet-M-1.jpg

[rocketman]

If there was a P&S that gave me some control, similar to the Canon A series, that worked well at high ISO I'd be all over it. But high ISO performance goes with a larger sensor. Otherwise I'd likely have nothing more than the A610 that lives in my tank bag.

Or not. I like camera toys almost as much as I like motorcycle toys. :D

There are a few starting to come out that have the larger sensors, the Pen EP-1 four-thirds and another I was reading about but can't remember the name off hand. Small(er) (almost) pocket size, light 11-13 oz that have many of the features of the larger "full size" or APS-C DSLR's that do well in low light, have interchangable lens, etc. but they are not cheap. I expect (hope) we will be seeing more in the four-thirds format, if the current ones sell well and continue to get good reviews. As to just how small cameras with an APS-C sized or better sensor will ever go, who knows. Like you say at some point you have make certain trade offs or go with more than one. I lost count with my last purchase how many I own. :lol
Now I'm looking at a nice rugged waterproof P&S with totally enclosed lens. I think that would be more convenient than getting a case for any of the ones I have since that just adds bulk to it. Casio’s got one coming out soon, the EX-G1 that has some nice features like programmable shot sequences, that would be kool for motoring, mount it and have take a shot every 30 seconds or every few minutes, no worries about it raining or shocks from the road, then make a flash “film from the sequence. I just wish they wouldn’t always go for the 12 MP range, 8-10MP for that size sensor would be just fine and reduce the high ISO problem somewhat. Oh well. Always a new temptation just around the next web site or camera store!

RM

[tommcgee]

I've decided to move away from DSLR for now. At some point I may revisit, but I've already sold one DSLR camera and the other is being returned to Amazon. My 70-200mm Canon L lens will sell today on eBay and there will be one more lens to sell after that, a Canon EF 28-135mm.

Instead of DSLR, I bought a "hi-zoom" Sony DSC-HX1 and I love it. It's small and chunky and will replace the Sony DSC-H50 I've been carrying in the tank bag.

I just wanted to share some of my decision making process here, without beating a dead horse.

This is a simple test and I can make an argument for why the Canon L picture is better, just as I can make an argument for the clarity of the Sony HX1. I can also show you some great shots from the H50.

The three pictures here are taken at full zoom from about 20 feet away. The subject is a refrigerator magnet. They are all cropped and unprocessed, except the Canon L which was converted from RAW.

Song DSC-H50 (cost $375)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2736/4166722300_f6442e7a35_o.jpg

Canon T1i with Canon L 70-200mm F4 lens (cost $1800)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2630/4166722568_108d3d549a_b.jpg

Sony HX1 (cost $500)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2698/4165963943_0bce46f638_b.jpg

[dancogan]

Nice choice, Tom. I've often thought about that type of camera but didn't make the move. Now I'm starting to drool over some of the new rangefinders, like the Panasonic GF1.