Whats you go to lens in the park?

[Daniel Johnson]

I picked up a lightly used Nikon d3300 tonight with the kit lenses (18-55 vrII & 55-200) from a family friend. paid 225 for it, a mono pod, tripod, filters, two bags, WiFi adapter, remote, a sb400 external flash, and a few other odds and ends. I considered it a great deal, as I gave my Sony a3000 set up to my mother and am currently cameraless.
Playing with it tonight got me on Amazon looking into vacation size lenses, manly tamarac and sigma as I can't justify throwing a pricey nikon lens that cost double or triple what I have invested at the moment.

So, I wanted to ask.
What's your longest lens you shoot with in parks?
What's the shortest?
You carry one lens in a 18-200+ size, or carry more. Carry more than one? Any specialized lens you rely on more than most?
What's your focal point? People? Scenery? On rides?
I guess my most important question, whats YOUR ideal set up to carry on your back for a day in the park?

I'm far from professional, and my photos usually only get viewed by family and friends. We have no kids, just the wife and i, so it's not really a matter of getting pics of us. I love getting pics of cast members, and random people just enjoying there time in the park. I really just want the most I can get in the simplest setup, at the lowest price point possible...kind of an oxymoron, but enlighten me.

I'm sure this isn't the first time this has been asked, i tried searching but my comp is acting odd and not returning results. Thanks for any input you can give.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Nicely done. I'm a fan of the wide-mid as that gives context, shows the whole thing and if you need to zoom in on the Mrs., you have feet if youre not close enough.

My Ideal? Hell, one lens. I prefer a wide just to walk around with because I hate carrying a boatload of gear.

 

[fractal]

I brought a bunch of lenses on my last trip - mostly primes. Each time I went out though I only took one or two at the most. One day I just took a 50mm which is normally "too-tight" but I ended up with some of my favorite shots. It forced me to look at things a bit different. Another day I took a fisheye and the kit zoom. One night I took a couple of primes and a trip-pod for fireworks and long exposure shots. I would rely on the Disney photopass CM's to take care of the standard "I was here with my family" shots.

Great deal on the camera, btw!

 

[Daniel Johnson]

I ordered a 50mm yesterday. Seems like they are pretty good for strolling around and making you plan out a shot more than a multi mm. At least that's the take I gather reading from different sites. Thanks for the post guys!

 

[afb28]

Only thing I would say about 50mm on a d3300 is it'll be a 75mm which can be a tad tight unless you are used to that focal length, I used to use an 85mm 1.8 on a 7d (so it acted like a 135mm) and it took me a few tries to get comfortable with that focal length. On an asp-c/dx, you'd probably want more of a 35mm so that acts like a 52mm. I would also say if you want just one lens make sure it has a relatively low f stop so you can also get detail shots.

 

[Daniel Johnson]

@afb28 thanks for the tip! I didn't think about that.

 

[Clamman73]

I've been doing research on all the camera systems, and what I can say is you got a fantastic deal. Always read that the 18-55 lens is actually a good kit lens.

 

[thomas998]

I've been guilty of lugging around more lenses than necessary over the years... but have finally started to become more realistic about what I will actually use... If I was down to only one lense it would be an old Leica 35mm 2.8... it doesn't autofocus on my camera but it does get me the sharpest photos.

It also depends on what you are planning to be shooting... If you have kids and are doing lots of meet and greets then I would say take the widest lens you have because sometimes you don't have space to get everything in some of the meet and greets and I have a thing about cutting off feet or legs in a shot.

 

[Daniel Johnson]

@Clamman73 yea, I wasn't in the market for another camera. I have an old 18-55 off my old d40 that broke a year or two ago. I was honestly going to find a good used d40 body to play with, something I could just throw in my backpack, not worry about breaking it, or scratching it up. I was at dinner at my mom's and we were discussing cameras, she was asking if I liked my Sony a3000 (I'm not impressed, I don't like the lag in the button, I don't like that it likes to use the LCD, though the view finder is the same thing...in a view finder hole. And other lenses seem crazy money wise. I bought a adapter for Canon lenses, but it feels cheap, I wouldn't dare lift it by the lens alone...and I find i do it all the time) I told her when I got something else I would give it to her. She called her friend who had a daughter at UGA, and had bought all the stuff for her to take classes for photog. She didn't enjoy it, so, she gave it all back to her mom, I guess she paid half and her daughter paid half, so, I got it cheap since the daughter wouldnt answer the phone!
I will say I priced check them at Sam's club, and I was tempted to buy a 3300 or 5500 kit there. They had a 3300 and a 5500 kit discounted because they were displays, and both about 200 bucks off. Check there, seems they rotate displays out often, at least at my store.

 

[wdwmagic]

24-70 on a full frame or a 17-55 on a crop is my go-to single lens. It gets the job done in most scenarios and will always give you an option to get a shot.

 

[KeithVH]

12-24 on a crop for me. I like the 50 for extra light or when I want it really sharp but then have to accept the perspective/FOV differences.

I really can't say enough about wider angles in the parks. You're not out birding. You're with friends and family who will be feet from you. A lot of grab shots occur. You can be close and still have context of the surroundings the wider you get. Less prone to camera shake or small focus errors. When in a park, 95% of the time you'll never be able to make the argument you need reach. But you will curse the time you need a bigger angle of view than you have and can't do much about it.

 

[NowInc]

In the end it all boils down to what types of shots are you looking to capture. Ideally I personally have been sticking to a 24-70 on a full frame, but previously to that on my crop sensor it was the Tokina 11-16 (I really miss that lens! Such an over-performer for the price) and my 35mm prime.

 

[Daniel Johnson]

anyone use a les baby before?

 

[PhotoDave219]

anyone use a les baby before?

I own one. It has its uses, IMO. Poor man's tilt/shift. I used it mostly for portraiture

 

[Daniel Johnson]

I own one. It has its uses, IMO. Poor man's tilt/shift. I used it mostly for portraiture

Thanks Dave. A local photography swap has one listed. The guy wants 75 bucks for it...so, I was I interested just because of the price and something else to play with. After looking at pictures though, I don't think it's something I would enjoy

 

[RonAnnArbor]

There are multiple models of the Lensbaby -- if you want to try it, go to eBay and buy a first edition one, should be able to pick one up used about 30 dollars...if you like it, you can upgrade to their better current models...

That being said, I agree that using one lens is the way to go -- my goto lens is the 17-55 when I am home, but when I travel I use the Nikon 18-300 as my sole lens.

NOW, that being said, a few years ago I stopped bringing my dSLR at all -- I have a compact Sony RX100 and that goes in my pocket and nothing else....

AND to be honest, I've done a few trips down with just my iPhone 6+ and the photos have been remarkably good....so that, in all honesty, I personally don't travel almost ANYWHERE with my dSLR -- just use that around town for jobs, but travel with a compact.

 

[Daniel Johnson]

There are multiple models of the Lensbaby -- if you want to try it, go to eBay and buy a first edition one, should be able to pick one up used about 30 dollars...if you like it, you can upgrade to their better current models...

That being said, I agree that using one lens is the way to go -- my goto lens is the 17-55 when I am home, but when I travel I use the Nikon 18-300 as my sole lens.

NOW, that being said, a few years ago I stopped bringing my dSLR at all -- I have a compact Sony RX100 and that goes in my pocket and nothing else....

AND to be honest, I've done a few trips down with just my iPhone 6+ and the photos have been remarkably good....so that, in all honesty, I personally don't travel almost ANYWHERE with my dSLR -- just use that around town for jobs, but travel with a compact.

As good as my lg g2 is with pictures. And as awesome as the editing apps are that are out there, the thrill of snapping pics with a dslr, or even a point and shoot is fun. I have played bass guitar for 18 years, I've done studio gigs with rap stars, I played with local country stars, I played with Phillip Phillips, I've played shows to large crowds...the memory I have of all those experiences are getting to play with my camera's...

Regardless of what your shooting with. Its a memory in time, right?

 

[sheriffwoody]

I've never taken my dslr to the park, but when I take my camera anywhere around town, I grab my 35mm. I shoot full frame, so if I had a crop sensor, I'd probably have like a 24mm or something similar. This next trip, I'm planning to take a fuji x-e2 with an 18mm and a 27mm. I'm excited to use it there!

 

[Daniel Johnson]

I've never taken my dslr to the park, but when I take my camera anywhere around town, I grab my 35mm. I shoot full frame, so if I had a crop sensor, I'd probably have like a 24mm or something similar. This next trip, I'm planning to take a fuji x-e2 with an 18mm and a 27mm. I'm excited to use it there!

I got the 50mm idea from blogs and websites where the guys shot full frame cameras. Up until this thread I had no idea the d3300 was a crop sensor...and haven't had time this week to research exactly what that means... Can you explain it?

 

[sheriffwoody]

Full-frame sensors are the same size as 35mm film (24mmx36mm). So the crop sensors have a "crop-factor," meaning they are basically cutting away the edges that would appear on a full-frame sensor. I assume they are physically smaller, but I am not sure. So if you shot something on a full-frame camera, then shot it again at the same focal length on your 3300, it would be cropped in by 1.5x straight out of the camera.

I hope that makes sense...I'm not good at explaining technical stuff. Pictures say it better http://digital-photography-school.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/full-frame-crop-factor.jpg