I am just back from a three-week trip which included some time in Argentina, an
Antarctica drive-by, etc. During my preparations I agonized over my lens
choices; I wanted to take a minimal kit without jeopardizing my chance of
getting a once-in-a-lifetime shot in the alleyways of Buenos Aires, the rain
forest of northern Argentina, or the penguin rookeries on the Falklands and
Tierra del Fuego. I tried to structure my analysis by thinking in terms of a
“wide” kit, an mid-range kit, and a long kit and in terms of where each type of
kit would be most useful given likely conditions and subject matter. FWIW, here
is what I took and what I used.
General note: I don’t often change lenses. I like to have two camera bodies
with me, and I’ll switch back and forth rather than swapping lenses on one
camera. I recently complicated my life by making the 645Z one of my two-camera
set, so I also need to think about best body as well as best lens for the given
opportunity.
What I took, and the approximate (i.e., the numbers don’t add up) number of
images shot per Lightroom analysis of the exif files:
WG-3 369 images
K-3 3072
15/4.0 0
20-40/2.8-4 355
26 @ 20mm
16 @ 23
39 @ 38
227 @ 40
55/1.4 657
50-135/2.8 2107 (including an unknown large proportion
shot with the 1.4x extender attached)
57 @ 50mm
201 @ 70 (I am guessing that most if not all of the
“70mm” shots were in fact 50 + 1.4x)
126 @ 80-90
130 @ 90-100
63 @ 105
155 @ 110-130
152 @ 130-135
207 @ 140-170
980 @ 170-189
645z 2539 images
55/2.8 584
75/2.8 503
120/4.0 806
200/4.0 370
200/4.0 + 1.4x 310
So, 4 lenses for the K-3 plus 1.4x to use with the 50-135. Five lenses for the
645z plus 1.4x to use with the 200mm.
Everything in the kit saw considerable use except the 15/4.0 which I never
used. Which I should have used at the Iguazu falls but did a marginal hand-held
panoramic sequence instead.
My favorite combination for exploring the streets and alleys of Buenos Aires
was the K-3 + 55/1.4 = 82mm EFFFOV (effective [35mm] full frame field of view).
Plus the 645z + 55/2.8 = 45mm EFFFOV.
In the rookeries it was the 645z + 75/2.8 = 60mm EFFFOV or 120/4.0 = 95mm
EFFFOV; plus the K-3 with 50-135 + 1.4 = 105-283 EFFFOV.
If/when I am able to do something like this again, I would probably leave out
the 645 120/4.0 and 200/4.0 + 1.4x and stick to the K-3 with 50-135 + 1.4x for
longer shots. In their place I would take the 645 150/4.0. I have a 35mm and
45mm lens (28mm and 35mm EFFFOV) for the 645z, and might take one of those if I
left out the 120 and 200.
If I were to do something like this, but driving rather than flying, the bulk
of the time on my own rather than with guided groups, I would take my tripod,
more 645 lenses, fewer APSC lenses: probably 21mm, 35mm macro, and 50-135.
General conclusion from this and a variety of earlier travels: the most
important lens is the one mounted on the camera in your hand at the time when a
photo opportunity arises. At that point it doesn’t matter what else you left at
home, what else is in the bag, even what else is mounted on your 2nd camera
body.
stan
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