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02/18/2011 02:15:57 PM · #1 |
Hi everyone on DP!
The wife and I are planning on going to Scotland and England. We have a Canon 7D (and the 18-135mm lens) and we are wondering what lenses we should get before we go. We are looking to get two lenses before our trip. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. We will be going to London, the lake district and also Edinburgh (maybe some other places but those are the main ones). What lenses would be best for these kind of places? The lake district will be a lot of landscape shooting, and I am guessing flowers and (possibly some wild life? but I am not sure). If anyone has any ideas of what more is there feel free to chip in :). If you have any photos to share from there areas that would be cool to see (and even better if you state what lenses they were taken with:) Thank you all! |
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02/18/2011 02:28:52 PM · #2 |
What do you like to shoot, and what focal lengths do you use with your current lenses? 18-135 is a pretty versatile lens, and if you don't know what you want or need, I'd stick with it.
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02/18/2011 02:37:38 PM · #3 |
| I am purposely somewhat vague as I already have a ideas for a couple of lenses (and I do not want to sway the answers too much=). I just want to see what ideas people have for best landscape lens etc (and whatever England, & Scotland may have to offer). I am a beginner but want to experiment with some new lenses. |
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02/18/2011 02:59:24 PM · #4 |
I live in Scotland, and would be happy to point you in a few directions if you let me know what sort of stuff you are looking to shoot.
The lens you have in your profile (18-135) would be pretty versitile, and you could make do for a lot of stuff. If you're going to be doing outdoor landscapes at this time of year or in the next couple of months, bring warm clothing!
I find I use my 24-70 more than anything else for landscapes or even city stuff, and pretty much always stopped down a bit. For flowers and stuff a macro might be useful, not sure what canon offers though, I'm sure some will be able to.
Some places I would recommend visiting for photography without knowning exactly what you like to shoot:
Edinburgh city, especially the old city
Highlands, if you go east coast then follow the A9 up to Aviemore and Cairngorms national park, beautiful open landscape with mountains etc, if you go west coast go to Oban (old fishing village) and Glencoe, though that will take you a couple of days to see properly.
Glasgow, very different from Edinburgh, old industrial city, now very much a shopping area but has tons of character and makes for some great shots.
If you have a couple of days to spare and want to see a lot of Scotlands best landscape, here's what I would recommend:
Day 1. Start in Edinburgh, leave early and go from there to Perth (should be there by lunch time if you're going slow), stopping to take in the Fourth bridges on the way. Leave Perth and head north for Inverness, should be there for dinner time with lots of stops for photos. Stay in Inverness for the night.
Day 2. Come back down from Inverness early to Aviemore and the Cairngorms national park, from there head south on the A9 to Kingussie and then follow the A86 to Fort William, that will take you a few hours but it's a great drive. Stay in Fort William for the night.
Day 3. From Fort William, travel south on the A82 to Glencoe (read the history of it before you do), and from there you can either continue south down Loch Lomand side and into Glasgow, or take a little side trip to see Oban as well before coming back down towards Loch Lomand and Glasgow that whole trip will take you most of the day. From Glasgow it's only an hours drive back to Edinburgh.
Of course, if you don't have three days to spare, or don't want me planning your holiday for you, then any of the above are beautiful places to see for landscape photography :)
Here's some I took in the highlands a couple of weeks back, all on my 24-70:
Feel free to PM me with any questions / advice you want on Scotland, I'll do my best to answer. |
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02/18/2011 03:22:48 PM · #5 |
When I was in England, I found that I kept pulling out the 10-22mm. Fun lens for landscapes. Nice in the city for how close everything was.
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02/18/2011 03:44:07 PM · #6 |
| If I were going, and could choose any lens, it would be a TS-E 17mm f/4L. |
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02/18/2011 03:59:02 PM · #7 |
I have the 18-135 and agree, that it a good lens that can do almost everything. If I were to have one other lens with me, as with Wendy, it would be an ultra-wide, which in my case is a Tamron 10-24. I do find the 18-135 has some heavy distortion at the widest end. Easily corrected in PP, unless you expect to enter it in a basic editing challenge. You can see it at the bottom of this basic editing entry taken with that lens at 18mm.
Message edited by author 2011-02-18 20:59:51.
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02/18/2011 04:47:29 PM · #8 |
This is Great! I am so glad I posted the question here in the forums. Thank you Wendy for that suggestion! Covert, this is exactly what I was hoping for some ideas for lenses and some traveling tips while I was at it =). I will surely look into those places online to see if we will have some time left (which I think we will). Also thanks to Yo_Spiff, apercep, and alohadave for your input, greatly appreciated! I am very thankful that you are sharing your own pics as well!
So far it's:
2 for ultra wide
1 for tilt shift
1 for 24-70 zoom lens
Thanks a bunch guys! |
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02/18/2011 04:53:47 PM · #9 |
My vote for a TS is because:
a). You already have something relatively wide.
b). the 24-70's are really nice, but you don't need a fast aperture most times. especially during the day, outside.
c). very few people shoot with a TS. It will make your shots stand out more from the rest.(important to me anyway) |
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02/18/2011 05:44:13 PM · #10 |
Tilt/shift is very expensive and very specialized. The specialization of it gets in the way of the "vacation mood"; it's a very fiddly bit of gear. I strongly recommend the 10-22mm, most essential piece of glass in our arsenal (for the crop sensor cam, and the 17-40 for the FF). The ultrawide will work with you forever, it's a classic.
R. |
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02/18/2011 06:21:36 PM · #11 |
| I would def recommend an ultra wide |
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02/18/2011 07:01:05 PM · #12 |
I'd say get an ultra wide as well, I would choose the Tokina 11-16 if I was buying today, but most of them are pretty good.
I would also say get a 50 1.8 if you don't have it already. Its fast and cheap and its so light you wont even notice you have it in the bag.
With that said, after traveling with my gear a few times, I might invest in a really good point n shoot camera and only take that the next time, because while I really enjoyed taking pictures with my stuff, I was always worried about it getting stolen or damaged, and it got heavy carrying around all day etc etc. Most of the time I had my cheap $90 point and shoot and ended getting some of my favorite pictures from the trip just because it was the camera I always had with me. |
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02/18/2011 07:33:58 PM · #13 |
Another in favour of wide angle, especially for the landscapes. In London you may want something a bit longer also, to grab some detail/people shots.
Here are few from The Lake District
   
London
  - this was taken with my fisheye, but wide would work equally well
 
(didn't realise how many I had in my portfolio from these locations!)
If you want some tips on The Lake District, drop me a pm and I'll be happy to give you some info depending on where you are staying.
Message edited by author 2011-02-19 00:37:52. |
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02/18/2011 07:37:01 PM · #14 |
Hi
We are planning a similiar trip this December. We will be visiting Edinburgh for 2 nights then north... I also would love to visit Islay to see Lagavulin. Will these roads be accesible during December?
I love taking photos of wildlife and we will visit the Edinburgh zoo. For the rest I will take landscape and travel photos.
Is it worthwhile to visit the lake district?
Kind regrds
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02/19/2011 01:17:43 AM · #15 |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Tilt/shift is very expensive and very specialized. The specialization of it gets in the way of the "vacation mood"; it's a very fiddly bit of gear. I strongly recommend the 10-22mm, most essential piece of glass in our arsenal (for the crop sensor cam, and the 17-40 for the FF). The ultrawide will work with you forever, it's a classic.
R. |
I'm with  Bear_Music on this one. Not only is the Tilt/Shift incredibly expensive, the learning curve on how to use it is something to behold...besides, it weighs a ton.
Ray
Message edited by author 2011-02-19 06:17:56. |
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02/19/2011 01:44:49 AM · #16 |
Originally posted by tinkie2010:
Hi
We are planning a similiar trip this December. We will be visiting Edinburgh for 2 nights then north... I also would love to visit Islay to see Lagavulin. Will these roads be accesible during December?
I love taking photos of wildlife and we will visit the Edinburgh zoo. For the rest I will take landscape and travel photos.
Is it worthwhile to visit the lake district?
Kind regrds |
Lagavulin, that's quite specific, you wouldn't be visiting for the distillery would you? :)
Generally the roads are always accessable, particularly in the Highlands where they are very good at keeping them clear. We did have some problems in December there due to a couple of particularly heavy snowfalls but even then, roads that get closed are usually open again within a couple of hours.
Skye and the surrounding area should be fine as the problems are generally on the east coast in Aberdeen area or the road between Perth and Inverness. |
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02/19/2011 03:44:25 AM · #17 |
I lugged my 100-400 around England and only used it once. However, two things to remember: I was there to show England off to my children, so it wasn't a photography trip, and we were hitting ruins and London, so there wasn't much of a need for something that long. I would have been much happier with my 70-300 (or was it 75-300? I don't remember which was the newer one.) I've taken some marvelous shots with that lens, and it would have been much lighter in my backpack.
Also a fast lens was helpful for low light situations -- inside the churches, etc. I brought a tripod, but usually I just bumped up the ISO and used a faster lens.
I agree totally with the point and shoot. There were a number of pictures that I didn't take, simply because I didn't want to bother taking out my camera. Yet I would have liked the shot. Believe me, this is something I never thought I'd say, because I hate point and shoots!! (I just can't seem to make friends with them. Nothing against point and shoots -- it's just me.)
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02/19/2011 04:34:39 AM · #18 |
Originally posted by vawendy:
There were a number of pictures that I didn't take, simply because I didn't want to bother taking out my camera. Yet I would have liked the shot. Believe me, this is something I never thought I'd say, because I hate point and shoots!! (I just can't seem to make friends with them. Nothing against point and shoots -- it's just me.) |
Perhaps you need something like the Powershot G11 that I recently bought. I obtained it as the easy to tote camera that I can always have with me, but I've also been finding it has a lot of capabilites the DSLR lacks. Since the lens is smaller, it can fit through a chain link fence, for instance. It has a great macro mode, and can focus about 1cm away. I also just discovered it can do automatic focus bracketing. (not a mistype, I did say "focus") Now THAT is useful for macros!
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02/19/2011 04:37:49 AM · #19 |
Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:
Originally posted by vawendy:
There were a number of pictures that I didn't take, simply because I didn't want to bother taking out my camera. Yet I would have liked the shot. Believe me, this is something I never thought I'd say, because I hate point and shoots!! (I just can't seem to make friends with them. Nothing against point and shoots -- it's just me.) |
Perhaps you need something like the Powershot G11 that I recently bought. I obtained it as the easy to tote camera that I can always have with me, but I've also been finding it has a lot of capabilites the DSLR lacks. Since the lens is smaller, it can fit through a chain link fence, for instance. It has a great macro mode, and can focus about 1cm away. I also just discovered it can do automatic focus bracketing. (not a mistype, I did say "focus") Now THAT is useful for macros! |
I've always wanted focus bracketing and aperture bracketing.
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02/19/2011 04:41:45 AM · #20 |
| I vote for Ultra Wide as well. Great for landscapes and small spaces, it really opens things up. You can also be very creative with the distortion it can provide and crazy DOF you can produce. Maybe pick up a 50 1.8 too, that will be great for low light situations you encounter and it's pretty cheap and super light. |
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02/19/2011 06:04:07 AM · #21 |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Tilt/shift is very expensive and very specialized. The specialization of it gets in the way of the "vacation mood"; it's a very fiddly bit of gear. I strongly recommend the 10-22mm, most essential piece of glass in our arsenal (for the crop sensor cam, and the 17-40 for the FF). The ultrawide will work with you forever, it's a classic.
R. |
I agree, and maybe a fast 50mm. I always take a 50mm and a 10-20 when traveling. |
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02/19/2011 07:20:30 AM · #22 |
| You guys have been amazing! I have had my eyes on the Canon 10-22mm for a while now and this has confirmed my thoughts. A little surprise that came into the discussion was the 50mm f1.8 prime lens. I will get that one as well, thanks to all the proponents on here (nrk 112, trevytrev and JamesA) which make a great case for a low light lens for inside churches etc! I read quite a bit about that lens as well and it seems like a lot of lens for the small buck. We will also bring the p&s camera with us as well as you guys have suggested. I greatly appreciate the recommendation about the tilt-shift, but I think this is a little too much of a specialized lens for me at this point in my photography learning curve =). It does however give you some very interesting shots that I love! I hope to enter some competitions here at some point, although I shoot nowhere as good as any of you guys. But this is a great site for learning. I will bite the bullet at some point and enter. I will definitely send a pm to you oddity and same to you salmiakki to get some tips on the travels (and maybe photography). I hope this does not sound too much like a wrap-up, as I am still open to more suggestions, both about the travels but also about lenses and examples of photos that have been taken in these areas. Thank you so much everyone that has been participating thus far! And I am learning that the post processing is just as important, if not even more at times. I need to spend some more time in photoshop (and other software such as lightroom which I have yet to try, and whatever else there may be) after my "photo sessions." I cannot wait to go on this trip. Btw, the trip will be around early to mid may. |
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02/19/2011 07:26:42 AM · #23 |
| Looking forward to seeing the results. Have a fun trip! |
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02/19/2011 08:53:13 AM · #24 |
| Check out the Sigma 10-20 as well, its what I have and its cheaper than the canon. |
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02/19/2011 09:36:37 AM · #25 |
I took my 18-200 mm and 10-20mm Sigma on a trip to Germany last Summer, ended up using the 10-20 quite a bit.
Message edited by author 2011-02-19 14:38:42. |
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