What equipment to bring?

memoriesofdisney

memoriesofdisney

Member
Hello all,

I'm really looking for some suggestions and or advice on what equipment I should bering to the park to get some really good pictures. By no leans am I a professional photographer. I often have a hard time figuring our shutter speed and aperture but starting to learn more each day.

I was hoping to get some advise on which lens to bring without having to carry all my lenses. I guess, I'm just looking to lighten my back pack for the upcoming 24 hour party. I currently have the following equipment:

Camera: Nikon D90
Flash: Nikon SB900
Lens:
AS-S Nikkor 35mm 1:1.8G
AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.8D
AF-S Nikkor 18-105mm 1:3.5-5.6G
Tokina SD 11-16 F2.8 (IF) DX II
Tripod: Manfrotto 785B


I really like the Tokina because of the wide lens but the zoom is not there for me.
I like the pictures I get from the 35mm as well
My 18-105 is ok but not the best.

I'm looking for a good multi purpose lens whereby I can zoom but I also want it to be wide so I can capture more in a frame. I also really like to get some depth in the picture too.

I really don't want to carry too many lens and have to switch them around. I will be there all day taking pictures and I want to take many pictures at night as well.

I'm open to buying a new lens if it would mean better carrying around less.

Help please....

Thanks in advance
 
@Tim Thanks for the tip. I checked it our quickly and also noticed that Nikon just released the 18:300 and the price is not too far off the 18:200. But will these lens give me a wide enough field of view and still allow me to get good portraits?
 
An 18-200 or 18-300 would be plenty wide enough (especially since you have the tokina) and the 85-200 range is idea for portraits. Too wide and the face distorts, too telephone and it gets compressed. You should be in good shape. If you order from B&H, please consider using one of my links as it really helps keep the site going.
 
@Tim I would agree with you. I think I'm gonna go with either the 12-200 or 18-300. So do you think if I get this lens, will I need to carry any of my other ones?

I looked at B&H and the $ is a bit high plus I have a 10% exchange difference being from Canada + I will have to pay for international shipping and maybe even duty. Amazon.ca has it cheaper and I found it for about $850 Canadian at a local photo store here in Canada.

I would love to support you if you can help me find a reasonable solution.
 
probably not unless you want to risk lesser picture quality. cheaper lenses tend to have inferior glass and will suffer from distortion, softness, and other issues.
 
I'm surprised that Tim didn't mention our friends at Kingdom Camera Rentals. You can rent a lens to see if you like it, and they deliver right to your Disney resort. Several of us have used them in the past with satisfactory results.
 
I have had the original Nikon 18-200 since nov 2006!
I absolutely love the lens. I love it so much, when I needed a new body, I chose the 7100 over the 600.
It works perfectly, and I have many 20x30 prints made that are clear and sharp.
I carry the tokina 11-16 and a 50 f1.4. I admit there are times, when I would love to replace the 18-200 with the 24-70 and 70-200 2.8, but the price does not justify my photos or hobby.
The only "catch" with the 18-200, is at night, handheld, you cannot zoom out much past 100mm. It is almost impossible to hand hold the f5.6 at long focal lengths at night. It is MUCH better to shoot wide angle, wide open, and crop later.
Or, put on the 50 1.4.
I like the looks of the new 18-300. If I had no lens, I would strongly consider that lens. My only reservation is f6.3 at 300mm could be hard to deal with in anything other than bright light.
 
With that said, @Craig, I have the sigma 50-500 OS and that is f/6.3 on the long end and I've used it at night and for shows (Fantasmic) and other than being heavy I've gotten some great shots with it. Granted it has OS and my auto ISO goes up to 51,200.
 
oh and one more thing, reading your original post, there have been many days when I do not carry a bag and only have the camera with the 18-200 mounted. However, you will give up many shots over convenience.
 
Tim said:
With that said, @Craig, I have the sigma 50-500 OS and that is f/6.3 on the long end and I've used it at night and for shows (Fantasmic) and other than being heavy I've gotten some great shots with it. Granted it has OS and my auto ISO goes up to 51,200.
Click to expand...
ahh! I keep forgetting that my camera has a "higher" iso than 1600!!!
 
I second the 18-200VR. I used it for years at WDW with stellar results. If the 18-300VR is of the same quality, I would go for it. Renting would be a great way to find out if you like the lens before investing.

Like Craig, I would only take a small pouch with a flash, polarizer filter, extra battery and memory cards with me and the 18-200VR on my camera. Today, I use a D700 but I grabbed the Nikon 28-300VR (the FX equialent of the 18-200) as soon as it was announced.
 
I'll second Dennis' suggestion about renting from Kingdom Camera. They're awesome to work with. I've rented lenses from them on my past 3 trips and every time the lens looks like they just took it out of the box for the first time.
 
WOW! So many great comments from everyone. Thank you all for the information. My lovely wife came home tonight with a 18-200. I'm a happy camper tonight. I think I'm going to bring the following lens with me for the 24hr Rock your DisneySide party.

Tokina 11-16
50 f1.4
18-200VR
SB900 flash
and my tripod

I think that should do it.
 
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