Off to the Grand Canyon soon... what lens?
Discussion
If it was me, my only tip would be to get rid of your 18-55 and 55-200 for an 18-70 - The 18-70 is a far better lens than the 18-55 and you'd no longer need the 55-200.
In fact, by selling them both, you could get the 18-70 and use the excess as a contributor for something nice and wide
In fact, by selling them both, you could get the 18-70 and use the excess as a contributor for something nice and wide
A typical ultra-wide angle would be the Sigma 10-20; about £350 new I think which is quite low as these things go. You could sell the 55-200 as it's not adding much to the toybox.
Or you could stay with the lenses you have and if you want to get more in view, take a panorama and stitch with software when you get home. You may find that 18mm is wide enough.
Or you could stay with the lenses you have and if you want to get more in view, take a panorama and stitch with software when you get home. You may find that 18mm is wide enough.
Panoramic software might be a better investment. The Grand Canyon is so vast, a wide or ultra wide lens might struggle to do it justice.
A word of caution on buying in the states, be aware that most places show their prices nett of tax, and often there's 2 loads of taxes to be added. You can, in theory, reclaim the tax when you leave the country, but I've no idea how.
My experience of buying stuff abroad is that it generally isn't much different to buying in the UK, however, you might get lucky.
A word of caution on buying in the states, be aware that most places show their prices nett of tax, and often there's 2 loads of taxes to be added. You can, in theory, reclaim the tax when you leave the country, but I've no idea how.
My experience of buying stuff abroad is that it generally isn't much different to buying in the UK, however, you might get lucky.
My standard reply - take the fisheye 
Round the world in three weeks by WoofSnap, on Flickr
But if I can offer a word of advice - whatever you do, however long are you staying there, make sure you will do the helicopter flight It's worth every dollar!
Round the world in three weeks by WoofSnap, on Flickr
But if I can offer a word of advice - whatever you do, however long are you staying there, make sure you will do the helicopter flight
It's worth every dollar!The only really wide Nikon for DX is the Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED Lens
However it's 600Quid. And actually the kit lens is pretty good at 18mm and there will be shedloads of light as you are in desert, and you want to stop down for panoramas to give massive depth of field, and once you stop them down for about f8.0 almost every single Nikon lens is as sharp as each other. Its only wide open that the really expensive lenses start to build up an appreciable gap.
So actually your Kit lens at 18 will be fine, and you should use photoshop to get rid of the distortion and stich the images other to make a panorama. Much better result than spending 600 quid on a real wide angle lens.
However it's 600Quid. And actually the kit lens is pretty good at 18mm and there will be shedloads of light as you are in desert, and you want to stop down for panoramas to give massive depth of field, and once you stop them down for about f8.0 almost every single Nikon lens is as sharp as each other. Its only wide open that the really expensive lenses start to build up an appreciable gap.
So actually your Kit lens at 18 will be fine, and you should use photoshop to get rid of the distortion and stich the images other to make a panorama. Much better result than spending 600 quid on a real wide angle lens.
ExPat2B said:
The only really wide Nikon for DX is the Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED Lens
You can of course use FX lenses on DX cameras (but generally cost more); I agree stay with 18mm and stitch if required. In fact if you're stitching you'll probably get better results around the 35-50mm mark.Thanks for the advice guys...
I like the idea re the stitching... just had a play with a couple of photos fro Mykonos last year... I got a reasonable result using photoshop, if I had taken the pictures with stitching in mind, the results would have been good.
Looks like that's what I will do.
Any tips on taking shots in preparation for stitching? (additional to the 35- 50 tip)
I like the idea re the stitching... just had a play with a couple of photos fro Mykonos last year... I got a reasonable result using photoshop, if I had taken the pictures with stitching in mind, the results would have been good.
Looks like that's what I will do.
Any tips on taking shots in preparation for stitching? (additional to the 35- 50 tip)
I've got the Nikkor 10-24mm and it's great for landscapes.
I think I would diasgree about the 18mm being wide enough, the Nikon Lens Simulator gives an idea of the difference:
http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/lens/simulator/
I think I would diasgree about the 18mm being wide enough, the Nikon Lens Simulator gives an idea of the difference:
http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/lens/simulator/
buzzer said:
Any tips on taking shots in preparation for stitching? (additional to the 35- 50 tip)
I'm not a panorama expert but in my experience you need to stop the camera changing the exposure as you rotate. Hence note what the settings are at the brightest point, then set the camera to manual exposure, then take the sequence keeping the horizon in the same place and giving a decent overlap.I'm not au fait with stitching software - I used a PS plugin - but logic suggests that the longer the lens you use the less work it has to do fitting the sides together and sorting out distortion - hence my idea not to use max wide angle.
Also note that whilst ultra wide angle gets more in, everything that is in gets smaller. So don't just think 'Landscape = UWA'; you can use a longer lens to chop a nice section out of the vista.
Always shoot pano in manual mode most people I know also lock white balance.
If stuff is a fair distance away just make sure you have enough overlap.
If you have close stuff make sure you rotating about the nodal point.
Imo you will be good with a quality 24mm equivalent and stitching over a really wide lens not like it loves much.
I say rent a quality lens from lensrental and make sure you have a good tripod and possibly pano head
If stuff is a fair distance away just make sure you have enough overlap.
If you have close stuff make sure you rotating about the nodal point.
Imo you will be good with a quality 24mm equivalent and stitching over a really wide lens not like it loves much.
I say rent a quality lens from lensrental and make sure you have a good tripod and possibly pano head
Simpo Two said:
Also note that whilst ultra wide angle gets more in, everything that is in gets smaller. So don't just think 'Landscape = UWA'; you can use a longer lens to chop a nice section out of the vista.
So true! Unless you are planning to print it VERY big, most of the "wow factor" of stunning vistas is lost when all the detail that your eyes can see in real life is so small nobody will notice in 800px panoramaI've not visited the grand canyon since I've owned a decent camera, but it's damn near impossible to capture the feeling of the vista on film (or pixels).
I'd definitely stitch rather than go wide next time, despite owning a 10-20mm lens.
I was in Phoenix last year and took this handheld with a 50mm lens in portrait stitching 18 images together using Photoshop CS5 (ie pressing a button and waiting for the computer, no skill involved).
Stitching also has the advantages over a single super wide shot in that the sharpness of the 50mm over my cheap 10-20 and the size of the final image means when you want to print it out really big it still looks good.
Enjoy your visit, not sure when you are going but my last visit 10 years back was in March and I had to dig the car out of snow drifts each day at the South Rim so you might want to hire a 4x4 so you can get about.
I'd definitely stitch rather than go wide next time, despite owning a 10-20mm lens.
I was in Phoenix last year and took this handheld with a 50mm lens in portrait stitching 18 images together using Photoshop CS5 (ie pressing a button and waiting for the computer, no skill involved).
Stitching also has the advantages over a single super wide shot in that the sharpness of the 50mm over my cheap 10-20 and the size of the final image means when you want to print it out really big it still looks good.
Enjoy your visit, not sure when you are going but my last visit 10 years back was in March and I had to dig the car out of snow drifts each day at the South Rim so you might want to hire a 4x4 so you can get about.
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