As a total amateur I have a Nikon D3100 with a kit lens, nikkor 50mm 1.8f lens and Sigma 30mm 1.4 lens and am wondering which would be more useful on a cruise. I am not keen on taking all three and I do not use a tripod. I am wondering in particular about the dining room and if the Sigma would be overkill for the amount of light or if the kit lens is not enough. Any help would be appreciated. Would the Sigma be better for night shots outside?
Truthfully, those are all small lightweight lenses, and I would bring them all. There is a reason dSLRs are "interchangeable" lens cameras... because different situations call for different lenses.
But if you really only want to bring one lens, then you need to decide on your shooting style and what you want to capture.
On the Nikon D3100, the 18-55 covers a range of 27-82mm. So it goes from semi-wide to semi-telephoto. Won't let you capture super wide, nor super telephoto, but it covers a nice middle ground.
The 50/1.8 will be much more useful for lower light shots. It's also a sharper overall lens. But it is equivalent to 75mm... so it's a short telephoto. There will be times when you feel cramped, you won't be able to capture your subject without backing up, and there may not be enough room to back up. On the other hand, many people like the 75mm perspective... it's very flattering for portraits. Of course, you won't be able to capture any wide shots.
The 30/1.4 will also be sharper than the kit lens. Obviously, it is your best bet for low light. It's the equivalent of 45mm -- which is basically when your eyes normally take in. So this is often considered a "normal" view. In that sense, it can be the most useful overall focal length. You'll capture the same view that you see with your eyes. Of course, you still won't be able to get very wide shots, nor will you get any telephoto reach. It's not super flattering for portraits. Even with the 1.4 aperture, it is hard to create much background blur with a 30mm, if that's something you wanted to do.
So decide how you shoot, what you want to capture, and that allows you to choose your lens. I go through the same type of self-debate when I travel, but it's to get my kit down to 3-4 lenses. (For example, for my Alaska cruise, I'll pick between my 18-35, 24-85, 50/1.8, 105/2.8, 70-200/4, and hopefully 300/4 which I'll own or rent, plus teleconverters... Since I shoot full frame, I suspect I'll go with the 18-35, the 300/4 (and teleconverters), and 1 other, but difficult to choose the third.. something that lets me shoot some portraits.. so maybe the 24-85, 105 or 70-200... great, I've narrowed it from 4 to 3 and still can't decide).
. I don't have to carry all 3 at once (except on the plane lol). One thing though is that I sometimes have trouble with the 30 being too bright. As a beginner, it is obviously me. Should I perhaps be shooting on Aperture Priority. I don't often have time to play with full manual as it takes too much time for me to think in a non-static situation. Good luck with your decision havoc, we're lucky to have such problems, right?
