Choose 2 lenses for Disney World

[SplashMo]

Second on the Nikon 35mm 1.8. Perfect addition to the kit lens.

 

[AMCB1022]

I will definitely be getting the 35 mm 1.8, good to hear y'all liked it for the parks!

 

[SplashMo]

I will definitely be getting the 35 mm 1.8, good to hear y'all liked it for the parks!

For the character photos you may need to leave the 18-55 on the camera. With really large crowds around characters sometimes the wider focal length is needed....

 

[TheBigE]

Frankly, my Nikon 35mm f/1.8 is one of my favorite lenses to have with me and on the camera. Great in low light conditions and tack sharp, and with the wide aperture gives you plenty of creative options. It was the second lens after my kit lens (18-140mm) I would keep this on the camera and be ready to g owith Nikon 10-24mm Lens, I am still learning this lens and how best to get the best out of the UWA.

 

[SplashMo]

Frankly, my Nikon 35mm f/1.8 is one of my favorite lenses to have with me and on the camera. Great in low light conditions and tack sharp, and with the wide aperture gives you plenty of creative options. It was the second lens after my kit lens (18-140mm) I would keep this on the camera and be ready to g owith Nikon 10-24mm Lens, I am still learning this lens and how best to get the best out of the UWA.

Good point. Next lens for OP is Tokina 11-16. (Or the Nikon but I believe it is more money but very nice as well).

FOR UWA the key is to place the subject in the foreground. It will make the subject look large in comparison to the items in back..

 

[trstno1]

I'm only taking two lenses, and I'm taking the Sigma 18-35 f/1.8 and the Nikon 85 f/1.8. I expect to use the 18-35 most of the time.

I had the Nikon 35 f/1.8, and it's a lot smaller, lighter,and cheaper than the Sigma 18-35, but the Sigma is so much more versatile, and it should be wide enough.

The Nikon 85 f/1.8 is my favorite of the Nikon primes, and will be used for photographing parades, our high school marching band, and animals. I'm pretty sure I can use my feet or crop later if I need the 50 mm distance.

 

[AMCB1022]

I upgraded my kit lens to the Sigma 17-70mm and have enjoyed it so far. Will be ordering the 35 prime in the next month and then the Manfrotto Road Trip Tripod. I so enjoy reading everyone's lens preferences, gives me a lot to work towards...aka save up for!

 

[SplashMo]

I'm only taking two lenses, and I'm taking the Sigma 18-35 f/1.8 and the Nikon 85 f/1.8. I expect to use the 18-35 most of the time.

I had the Nikon 35 f/1.8, and it's a lot smaller, lighter,and cheaper than the Sigma 18-35, but the Sigma is so much more versatile, and it should be wide enough.

The Nikon 85 f/1.8 is my favorite of the Nikon primes, and will be used for photographing parades, our high school marching band, and animals. I'm pretty sure I can use my feet or crop later if I need the 50 mm distance.

That will be a nice setup and plenty wide...

 

[sharona]

The Sigma 17-70 2.8-4 mentioned several times is a great walk around lens for vacation because it's so versatile. IMO, that is the logical upgrade from the kit lens. I got mine used for a great deal. OP, you can really stretch your budget buying used/refurbished lenses - just make sure you go with a reputable place like Adorama or B&H. I have the Tokina 11-16 that was also mentioned several times but haven't found it to be as useful as I thought it would be. It's great for night sky photos and I use it for real estate pics but otherwise it is not a favorite. Going to bring it and the 17-70 on my trip to US and WDW in April, hopefully I'll get some inspiration to use the 11-16.

 

[TheBigE]

Good point. Next lens for OP is Tokina 11-16. (Or the Nikon but I believe it is more money but very nice as well).

FOR UWA the key is to place the subject in the foreground. It will make the subject look large in comparison to the items in back..

Yes, this is true. I had a chance to finally use my UWA on my vacation last week. It definitely has a learning curve, looking through the photos there are some winners but others with the UWA that will end up on the editing room floor.

 

[mom2rtk]

For the character photos you may need to leave the 18-55 on the camera. With really large crowds around characters sometimes the wider focal length is needed....

I totally agree. I like to use a flash with all of my character photos anyway, both indoors and out. Even the permanent character meeting spots have terrible lighting.

 

[AMCB1022]

The Sigma 17-70 2.8-4 mentioned several times is a great walk around lens for vacation because it's so versatile. IMO, that is the logical upgrade from the kit lens. I got mine used for a great deal. OP, you can really stretch your budget buying used/refurbished lenses - just make sure you go with a reputable place like Adorama or B&H. I have the Tokina 11-16 that was also mentioned several times but haven't found it to be as useful as I thought it would be. It's great for night sky photos and I use it for real estate pics but otherwise it is not a favorite. Going to bring it and the 17-70 on my trip to US and WDW in April, hopefully I'll get some inspiration to use the 11-16.

Sharona, would love to hear your thoughts on how the 17-70mm is at the parks when you go. We will be there in May! Have you been happy with your used/refurbished purchases? I am nervous to buy used...so currently only buying new.

 

[sharona]

Yes, very happy with the used and refurbs so far. Bought my 5100 refurbished from Cameta Camera and they included a free 1 yr warranty. I don't recall the exact number but it had less than 1000 shutter activations and was mint condition. Would not have known it wasn't new if it didn't have "refurbished" on the box. The Sigma I got from Adorama. I'm not a fan of Craigslist but others I know have found deals there. I like buying from Adorama, B&H or Cameta since they have a fair return policy for used items which you're not going to get on Craigslist. At this point I don't see myself ever buying a body or lenses new unless I really have to have something and can't find it used.

One caveat - sometimes there are several versions of the same lens. Make sure you're comparing apples to apples when researching price.

 

[kitayama]

Since budget seems to be an issue, I would go for the 35mm 1.8 (about $200). The sigma 18-35 1.8 lens would be better, but it is an expensive lens...
The second lens I would use is a 18-140... It is cheap enough that you won't mind banging it around a little (mine only cost $300 and it was new!) and it is far more versatile than the 18-55 kit lens. You don't always need the extra zoom, but when you need it, you really need it! Oh, and I believe this is the lens photo pass photographers use most, so they should be comfortable with it if you ask them to take a picture for you (we get photo pass plus so I do not know how well photo pass photographers do with others' cameras.)
Since those two lenses are quite cheap, you may want to look on eBay for a cheap 55-300. I got an unused one for $150 recently. You may only take a few pictures using it your entire trip, but I would rather get the shot then need to do extra cropping later.
All of the lenses I mentioned will probably be replaced as you see the limitations of each of them, but for less then the price of one nice lens, you can get all three and have a little extra money for your vacation.

 

[Bucfantitan]

I was wondering since May is over and this is an older post - what lens made the final cut and how did things turn out?

 

[bob100]

I've got a Canon and use mostly zooms -

For DW last trip I took all 3 of my zooms a 16-35, 24-70 and a 70-300.

I never took all 3 with me (one or two usually stayed in the room)
The zoom came in handy with the Spirit of Aloha Luau as I got some great shots that way but usually it's my least used lens.

Generally the 16-35 stayed on my camera most of the time as I used it for all landscape, parade videoing and firework videoing shots. I used the 24-70 when I knew I was going to take family portraits (but that's a small percentage of the overall photography I do) or would need the closer range. (Castle shows typically, although I really couldn't zoom in enough from the hub with them but my 70-300 wasn't wide enough to get the entire castle in the shot for the occasional fireworks burst).

For a DSLR (Canon crop) I would take the 17-50 but since I got a mirrorless I would probably just use 22mm f2 pancake and 50mm 1.8 mkII