|
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 23
New Member
|
OP
New Member
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 23 |
To celebrate our 30th my wife and I are traveling to the Grand Canyon ( north and south rims ), Vegas, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Wyoming , and South Dakota. I have a Nikon 3200 w/ Nikon 18-55 and 55-200 VR kit lenses and a Tamron 18-270 lens. What lens if any would you feel would be a necessary complement for a trip like this. I really don't want to break the bank so big tele lens are out. I was thinking maybe a wide angle or macro. Thanks in advance Tom
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,123
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,123 |
Tom, Sounds like a great anniversary trip and congrats to you and your wife. It seems like your lenses are redundant with the Tamron covering the same focal lengths as the two Nikons. I would probably take just the Tamron for simplicity and convenience. What I would recommend is a tripod to maximize sharpness, especially if you plan on shooting at sunrise and sunset when exposure times are longer and using low ISO to increase dynamic range. If you are looking for wider, Nikon has the 10-24mm DX. You could sell the sell the lesser of the 2 other Nikons or Tamron to help finance it. I find myself using the 70-200 on my full frame a lot at the Grand Canyon and Bryce.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 23
New Member
|
OP
New Member
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 23 |
RedRabbit since that is your neck of the woods what are the don't miss areas that most folks don't know about. I'll be at the South Rim 2days,Vegas 2 days and St George Utah for 4.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,123
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,123 |
Tom, Do you like to hike? Will you be in a rental car, or do you have a 4WD? Will you be staying in motels every night? If you are traveling through Page AZ, I would suggest Horseshoe Bend just south of Page for sunrise or sunset. Also Antelope Canyon. Upper Antelope is more popular and more crowded than lower. You will have to take a tour group through each. Upper Antelope has the famous light beams. I would suggest a photo tour that requires each person to have a tripod mounted camera as these tours tend to be slightly less crowded. Bryce is best photographed at sunrise since it is like an amphitheater that faces east. Taking one of the trail hikes down to between the spires is recommended. Try the Red Cliffs area by Saint George http://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/red-cliffs/recreation-area.htmlYou could spend days in Zion. If you are not afraid of heights and steep places, take the hike up Angels Landing. In Vegas, make the trip to Valley of Fire State park
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 23
New Member
|
OP
New Member
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 23 |
Rabbit Thanks again for the information. We will be traveling in a Dodge diesel megacab 4x4. It goes good but not very maneuverable.
After our third day in St George we have no lodging and plan on playing it by ear. We will have camping gear. Then we have 8 days remaining before we have to go back to work. I think we will probably stay in that area longer. I have family in Wy. so we make that trip often and can bypass it this time.
If we can take the heat we plan to do a good bit of hiking. I don't think Angels landing would work for us. Steep doesn't go well with a bum knee. We will definitely check out as many of your recommendations as we can.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,778
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,778 |
Sounds like what you have will cover quite a bit. If you're talking landscapes, you most likely will be shooting at smaller apertures, and the lenses you have will do just fine. Having said that, when I shot a crop body (Nikon D90), I ran the Tokina 11-16 for a while, and the unltra-wide lens sure made a big difference. Nikon and Signma have their own version of the DX ultra-wide too and I think most run under $500 new.
A tripod is good advice. And one thing to remember with the ultra-wides, many want to stand back and take it all in. That's fine, but the're most effective when you get right in the middle of everything to shoot. Just watch your footing. As they say with the Canyon, that first step is a doozy!
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 608
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 608 |
Congratulations. Sounds like a great trip. A great, reasonably priced choice would be the Tamron 10-24mm lens. I agree you do have repitition with the 3 lenses. I would sell the Nikon's or trade them in (We take them) towards your next lens. The 10-24 is normally 499.99. Of course as a 24HR member we can do it for 449.99. It is a tack sharp lens. You will be thrilled with it. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 961
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 961 |
I have been using the Tamron 10-24mm since it was released years ago and it is a great lens. The optics give great wide angles but very little distortion as well. I just got back from Canyonlands and Arches and the wide angle lens is a huge bonus out there.
Great photography is not about being in the right place at the right time, it is about putting yourself in the right place at the right time.
|
|
|
|
456 members (10gaugemag, 1beaver_shooter, 12344mag, 17CalFan, 10gaugeman, 19rabbit52, 54 invisible),
2,574
guests, and
1,201
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,190,713
Posts18,456,957
Members73,909
|
Most Online11,491 Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|