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Going abroad - lens suggestions?

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Blake.P
Posts: 9894 - Karma: 3,585
so im spending a semester in copenhagen starting in the fall. while there, i intend to be taking a lot of pictures. im looking to upgrade my lens options for my t2i to give me something a bit better than the horrible 18-55 kit lens that ive been too lazy/broke to replace until now

im currently planning on selling the 18-55, which leaves only my tokina 11-16. i need a new walk around/daily driver lens, so i was thinking about getting the tamron 17-50 (non vc), which seems good for what i need, but i was also kinda considering the canon 17-85. any thoughts or suggestions for similar lenses?

also ill be spending a small bit of time in remote locations for classes, where i was thinking a longer lens might be nice to have. would i really regret adding a cheap canon 75-300 or something for a 1 week trip? ill be spending 95% of my time in the city, where i wouldn't use it, and i dont have the budget to get a good telephoto in addition to a normal lens (which is my priority). this would be a cheap one for the rare occasion i need it and i would upgrade when i can in the future, or dont get anything at all. i also have a old tokina 80-200 in fd mount that i could adapt if that's a better option (but i know iq sucks and it doesnt adapt well)

basically, what would ns recommend for what i need?
Jun 18 2014 3:57PM
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Lé.Skiing
Posts: 10035 - Karma: 8,122
You might want to just grab the 17-85mm lens But pack a 75-300mm lens I always find I use it when I don't think I will want it. If anything it's a good idea to have one if there is something far away like on top of a building you may want to shoot. With my 75-300mm I can take decent sized shots of the moon.
Jun 18 2014 4:05PM
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Blake.P
Posts: 9894 - Karma: 3,585
LE.SkiingYou might want to just grab the 17-85mm lens But pack a 75-300mm lens I always find I use it when I don't think I will want it. If anything it's a good idea to have one if there is something far away like on top of a building you may want to shoot. With my 75-300mm I can take decent sized shots of the moon.


the reason i started straying towards the 17-50 instead of the 17-85 was the constant f/2.8 aperture
Jun 18 2014 4:08PM
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Bassage.
Posts: 512 - Karma: 822
you could probably do pretty well all around with a 28-135mm lens, pretty versatile and relatively inexpensive.
Jun 18 2014 5:48PM
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theabortionator
Posts: 51252 - Karma: 157,262
Probably would get the best responses in media arts
Jun 18 2014 5:49PM
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Bmo.
Posts: 4907 - Karma: 2,667
During my semester in France I took a 5DII with a 24mm 1.8, 50mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.8. I never used the 24 or 85 the whole time. The 50 stayed glued to my camera. If I were to do it over I would take a 35mm 1.4, since it's better for capturing monuments and buildings etc. in cramped cities. But I still did fine. I dont like zoom lenses and I love primes. A lot of my shots were in low light where primes thrive, so you might wanna think about that. If I were you I would probably pick up a prime in the 24-35mm range.

feel free to message me with more questions/suggestions/general study abroad info
Jun 18 2014 5:56PM
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Blake.P
Posts: 9894 - Karma: 3,585
Anybody else? I thought about going primes but I think I would prefer to have a zoom than multiple primes. And then maybe just a fast 50 for when I need it
Jun 19 2014 5:10PM
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Bmo.
Posts: 4907 - Karma: 2,667
Blake.PAnybody else? I thought about going primes but I think I would prefer to have a zoom than multiple primes. And then maybe just a fast 50 for when I need it


If you plan on doing multi day trips living out of a back pack, you're not gonna want more than one lens
Jun 19 2014 7:08PM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10054 - Karma: 25,277
James Nachtwey, Sebastiao Salgado, Henri Cartier-Bresson, etc...

All rarely use lenses longer then 60mm and almost always primes.

Unless you shoot sports or birds, who needs a telezoom?

Get in close.
Jun 20 2014 6:35AM
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