Help me buy a new lens for Disney please!!

[mom2princessizzy]

Hi all! Long time lurker..possibly first time poster..can't remember if I've ever posted before.

I have a Nikon D90 that I'm planning to take on our Disney trip. I know I will also be taking my 50mm 1.4 lens which I have a deep love for and I generally only ever use this lens. The majority of my shots will be of my 2 kids. No matter how much I love it I don't feel that it is going to be a good walkaround lens for me at Disney though. I would prefer to take 1 other lens with me (*gasp* I know, I know ).

I also have the 18-105 kit lens but I don't like the aperture range or the fact that I can't set it for a constant aperture (which is how I shoot). I have read on some of the threads that the 18-105 is a fine walkaround lens..part of me thinks I should just get over my qualms with it but then I see myself trying to change lenses as quickly as possible every time we go indoors all the while trying to restrain my 2 year old from running away and I get anxiety.

I've read on here recommending the 18-300mm but everyone seems to recommend it mainly for Animal Kingdom and I'm not much of a wildlife photographer. I have a hard time thinking of when in Disney I would need a crazy zoom. I've also seen the 24-70mm and Tonika 11-16mm recommended quite a bit here. Will they be enough zoom though do you think?

What would you recommend for my situation? Thanks so much for your help..it is much appreciated!

 

[photo_chick]

I use a 28-105 for my walk around on my crop camera, so if I were you I'd stick with the 18-105 for a walk around. But I'm not you.

I do have a question... when you say you keep your aperture constant.. do you keep it set at one setting for every shot?

 

[GrumpyGoat]

I do have a question... when you say you keep your aperture constant.. do you keep it set at one setting for every shot?

I'm curious about that too. If you prefer to shoot at a particular aperture setting (Av or Aperture Priority mode), that's fine (I shoot the same way) but you have to be aware that as the day wears on and the light begins to diminish, you're going to be getting slower and slower shutter speeds, to the point where your pictures will start showing camera movement. You need to be willing to open your aperture to keep your shutter speeds up.

On the rare occasion when I even take my DSLR to the parks, I use a Tamron 28-75 f2.8 lens and nothing else. This has always been adequate for Disneyland and California Adventure.

 

[mom2princessizzy]

Right, I like to be able to set my aperture at one number and then adjust shutter speed accordingly. In my day to day on my 50mm I generally keep the aperture around 2.5 or so. In the evenings I will have my 50mm 1.4 so the low light won't be an issue.

GrumpyGoat- Glad to hear you like that lens. I've been looking at the 24-70mm. So you don't feel that you need to zoom in anymore than 75mm?

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

IMO, you will be better served by the 18-105 as your walkaround lens. Saying that I used my 28-70 f2.8 for my walkaround, but found myself switching to my 70-200 for things like the shows in front of the castle. 70mm did not give me what I wanted and you don't always have the option of foot zoom. The 105 would be my minimum for close-ups for the outside shows. With the lowlight inside shows, then a minimum of an f2.8 lens is normally required.

 

[MissRoseRed]

I'm a Canon girl, but wanted to chime in for the 50mm...

I was right here last year looking for a special new Disney lens and someone suggested the 50mm - I believe they even dared me to use only it for the whole trip And I pretty much did. I will take a zoom lens (mostly for AK), but for the rest of the parks, I don't plan on taking multiple lenses. And it was awesome on the dark rides.

Good luck and have fun!!!

 

[manning]

Right, I like to be able to set my aperture at one number and then adjust shutter speed accordingly. In my day to day on my 50mm I generally keep the aperture around 2.5 or so. In the evenings I will have my 50mm 1.4 so the low light won't be an issue.

GrumpyGoat- Glad to hear you like that lens. I've been looking at the 24-70mm. So you don't feel that you need to zoom in anymore than 75mm?

Is there a reason you like a shallow DOF? Are most of your shots long distance?

 

[photo_chick]

Right, I like to be able to set my aperture at one number and then adjust shutter speed accordingly. In my day to day on my 50mm I generally keep the aperture around 2.5 or so. In the evenings I will have my 50mm 1.4 so the low light won't be an issue.

You can take this approach with any lens, just keep in mind how wide it goes at the long end on a zoom. If you're keeping it the same aperture so you have a consistent depth of field, that will change with focal length anyway. So the longer the lens, the more you'll want to stop down to keep that consistent.

 

[GrumpyGoat]

Right, I like to be able to set my aperture at one number and then adjust shutter speed accordingly. In my day to day on my 50mm I generally keep the aperture around 2.5 or so. In the evenings I will have my 50mm 1.4 so the low light won't be an issue.

GrumpyGoat- Glad to hear you like that lens. I've been looking at the 24-70mm. So you don't feel that you need to zoom in anymore than 75mm?

I bought the Tamron 28-75 instead of the Canon 24-70 because of the massive difference in price. The Canon is currently priced at $1,399.00 and the Tamron costs $499.00. (The Nikon 24-70 is priced at $1699...) Both the Canon and Tamron have the same f2.8 maximum aperture. I have two other Tamron lenses that I purchased in the late 1990s that have given me excellent service so the Tamron was a good choice.

I find the zoom range to be adequate for Disneyland and California Adventure (I live in southern California.) If I need to get closer I use my built in "foot zoom..."

If we ever go to WDW, I will probably take a longer lens as well, probably my Canon 70-200 f.2.8 IS. We are scheduled for the Disney Wonder repositioning cruise next month and I'm planning on taking the 28-75, 70-200, a 14mm and 1.4 and 2X extenders for the 70-200. These lenses, one or two bodies and a flash are my basic kit.

 

[RussTKD]

Last time I went I carried a Tamron 28-75 f2.8 and a Tamron 18-200 f3.5-6. This year I'm debating on carrying just one lens (18-200) for simplicity. I didn't really need the 2.8 all that much and preferred having the extra reach.

But... the IQ is so much better with the f2.8. So who knows.

 

[mom2rtk]

Last time I went I carried a Tamron 28-75 f2.8 and a Tamron 18-200 f3.5-6. This year I'm debating on carrying just one lens (18-200) for simplicity. I didn't really need the 2.8 all that much and preferred having the extra reach.

But... the IQ is so much better with the f2.8. So who knows.

That's always the problem, isn't it! I loved having the 2.8 and that lens has much better IQ. But it's sure tempting to put on the all-in-one and forget about it!

 

[mom2princessizzy]

Is there a reason you like a shallow DOF? Are most of your shots long distance?

No, its just personal preference I guess. I think the highest I've ever set my aperture is around 3.5. I mainly do newborn and child photography so I need to change my thought process in thinking about photographing in Disney... I'm actually going to want the background in focus.. a completely foreign concept for me really.

You can take this approach with any lens, just keep in mind how wide it goes at the long end on a zoom. If you're keeping it the same aperture so you have a consistent depth of field, that will change with focal length anyway. So the longer the lens, the more you'll want to stop down to keep that consistent.

Thanks for the advice. I've only ever used my 18-105mm lens twice I believe. Maybe I should start putting it on more often and give it another chance. I've really only ever shot with prime lenses so a zoom lens is a bit of uncharted territory for me.

Last time I went I carried a Tamron 28-75 f2.8 and a Tamron 18-200 f3.5-6. This year I'm debating on carrying just one lens (18-200) for simplicity. I didn't really need the 2.8 all that much and preferred having the extra reach.

But... the IQ is so much better with the f2.8. So who knows.

Was there a noticeable difference between the IQ of the 18-200 and the 28-75?

 

[manning]

The wider the lense opening the shallower the DOF and the smaller the opening the deeper the DOF. Also the focal length of the lense can affect it.

 

[Groucho]

I quite liked my old Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 but I found that at Disney, there were times when 28mm was just not wide enough on a crop-sensor body. (This would include the D90.) The most obvious time was at character meals; I could not get a wide enough shot to get the entire character in when they'd pose with my son, but there were certainly other times, too. I eventually bought a 16-50mm F2.8 and sold the Tamron. That extra reach to 75mm was nice but being able to go to 16mm is more valuable - it's quite wide, without getting into the UWA look which doesn't appeal to me personally, but plenty wide enough for just about anything I need.

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

When using your 50 1.4, you should try shooting around f4. In most cases, your lenses are sharpest around 2 stops down from wide open.

You didn't give me a price limit, so i will suggest either the 12-24 f4, or the newer 10-24(this one the aperture varies like most dx lenses). I just think you can't go wrong in buying as nice wide angle lens. Think of it as an investment. And it is something that in a few years and you find yourself not using it, would still retain a lot of its original value.

Wide angle ftw