Best mulit-use lens for Disney trip!

[tampabrat22]

HI...we leave tomorrow for a 5 day trip to Disney World to celebrate my daughter's 5th b-day. I am trying to pack light and would love to only take one or two lenses for my Canon 20D. I have 4 options, which do you think would be the most useful?

50mm
18-35mm
28-80mm
75-300mm

Just incase it matters...we are going to MK and MGM, Chef Mickeys, Cinderella's gala feast, lunch with JoJO and the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique!

thanks for any advice,
Jessica

 

[AndrewWG]

Personally, I would pack both the 28-80mm and the 75-300mm if I had to choose 2 of those. The wider angle lens will offer great photos of your daughter and the characters, and the telephoto to 300mm can be useful to get better shots from the back of a crowd, etc. You don't always get front row seats at the different events and the zoom is perfect for those moments. Personally I can't go anywhere without carrying my longer zoom, just in case I need it.

 

[Steve's Girl]

I think I would opt for the 50mm (assuming it is a 1.4 or 1.8) since that will give you a good option for no flash/low light pictures and the 28-80.

 

[tampabrat22]

Yes, the 50mm is the 1.8 (wish I had the 1.4!). Decisions Decisions....

Jessica

 

[ukcatfan]

I think I would opt for the 50mm (assuming it is a 1.4 or 1.8) since that will give you a good option for no flash/low light pictures and the 28-80.

I believe that this is the best solution. The only things that I would consider are, is 28mm wide enough? and are you going to be shooting in dark situations. At MK and MGM, you likely would never use the 300mm. In the shows you might, but if that is a real desire, then plan to arrive early and get good seats. If there will be no low light situations, then I would swap out the 50mm also.

Kevin

 

[Groucho]

I used my Pentax 50mm F1.4 for ~50% of the 2,500+ photos I took on my last trip. In other words, I think a good fast 50mm is pretty important. WDW has so many dark places, a fast lens will really pay dividends. If you have a similarly fast lens in another focal length, that could be useful, too. Plus, being a prime, you'll generally get better sharpness and bokeh than with a zoom.

 

[0bli0]

if it were me: out of your list, i'd recommend your 28-80 first and your 50mm (assuming it's the 50mm 1.8). if you're worried about not having a wide enough lens, you can always take 2 (or more) shots with the same exposure settings and stitch them together in a pano.

 

[Corey10112]

I agree that the 75-300mm works best for me.

 

[mhutchinson]

I agree with ObliO, most of the pictures I take in the parks would/could fit in the range of the 28-80mm lens using the 50mm for lower light shots. The only one I'd miss would be the telephoto zoom for AK or some show in MGM. Typically I will bring three lenses and only have one or two with me at any given time.

Mike

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Bring them all. Change the mix each day based on where you are going. Bring the 75-300 to the AK.

 

[handicap18]

What is the max aperture on the 18-35 and the 28-80?

Since your not going to AK I probably wouldn't bother with the 75-300 unless you plan on taking pictures at Light, Action, Motor and/or Indiana Jones at MGM.

My first thought was the 18-35 and the 50. Especially if the 18-35 is f/2.8 thoughout the range. On a Canon the 18-35 gives you 29-56mm film equivilent with the crop which isn't to bad. The more I think about it though, if the 18-35 is f/2.8 then I would probably go with that and the 28-80. Use the 28-80 mostly during the day I'm guessing and the 18-35 at night.

 

[Boss Hogg]

I'd definitely opt for the 18-35 as one of them if you are wanting to take pictures in Bibbidi (etc etc), it's not that big and it would give you a nice wide angle, and also would work in parks for getting some wider shots.

 

[tampabrat22]

Thanks for all your suggestions...I ended up taking them all and each morning tried to pick two that I thought would work the best! I ended up using the 50mm & 28-80mm the most and only used the 75-300mm for maybe 5 shots!

Jessica

 

[Cyrano]

Thanks for all your suggestions...I ended up taking them all and each morning tried to pick two that I thought would work the best! I ended up using the 50mm & 28-80mm the most and only used the 75-300mm for maybe 5 shots!

Jessica

Good to know as I thought the 50mm and the 28-80mm were the best choice

 

[Gdad]

50mm is a lot of fun walking around the parks at dusk or after dark.