More lens anxiety over Animal Kingdom

[cobright]

I had originally asked for some insight on the wisdom of my plan to take 2 Zooms with me to WDW an 28-80mm F3.5-5.6 and a 55-200mm f4-5.6.

My goal was to take a single lens into the park each day, using the longer zoom on the day we spend in Animal Kingdom.

Well now I've done it, I went ahead and got the Tamron 28-300mm all-in-one. I'm really quite happy with it across the full range. So now I can pack a second lens (according to my arbitrarily imposed rules).

Do I take the high-speed but manual focus 35mm prime (1.4F), or the 500mm catadioptric? My thought was to pack the 500mm JUST for the Safari adventure and various animal attractions in AK, then revert to the all-in-one for the rest of the vacation. It would also get some use shooting landscapes and such from some of the high altitude locations I'm planning on (observation deck of California Grill, that big helium balloon you can ride...)

The wide, fast lens is compact enough to let me tote it with me every day and swap lenses (something I don't really want to do but with a tiny lens it not so bad). But the only obvious advantage I would see with it is on dark rides and that's not such a big deal for me. For staged character meets I can blast a flash and the lighting is usually pretty good anyway.

Am I missing something obvious that would steer me towards the fast small prime? Or something that would steer me away from the monster telephoto?

I will admit that putting up the camera with the 500mm lens on is something of an ego boost. Am I compensating for something?... who cares right?

 

[traylorc]

My concern with the 500mm lens is whether or not you are going to be able to keep it steady while on the Safari Adventure?

 

[mom2rtk]

Given the choices, I'd go with the faster lens. Are you bringing an external flash?

The thing about your kit that would drive me nuts would be the wide end. Not having anything wider than 28 at Disney would frustrate me. But we all shoot with different styles. I remember when the kit lenses didn't go down to 18. When I got the first one that did, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

 

[cobright]

My concern with the 500mm lens is whether or not you are going to be able to keep it steady while on the Safari Adventure?

I know ... I can shoot this off hand if it's really sunny out and the vehicle is stopped. Plus its kind of a uni-tasker. and... 300mm is pretty good right? I'm asking too much expecting to bring in something with like 16X magnification aren't I.

Given the choices, I'd go with the faster lens. Are you bringing an external flash?

I will probably have an SB-400 on top. It's a nice step up from the pop-up flash without cluttering up the place like a big strobe does.

The thing about your kit that would drive me nuts would be the wide end. Not having anything wider than 28 at Disney would frustrate me.

Maybe I just don't know what I'm missing but most of what I shoot is characters. I toted an 18-100 (ish) last year and nothing I shot was anywhere near the wide end of that. I've got an 18-55 (F3.5-5.6) Nikkor but it doesn't get me any extra speed over the all-in-one.

 

[jcb]

I think a 500mm cat at AK would be overkill and too slow. I relied on an 85mm. It was a little short at times but my 200mm would have been too tight for most subjects.

 

[SplashMo]

Which camera do you own? The 28-300 is for a full frames sensor.

 

[photo_chick]

Which camera do you own? The 28-300 is for a full frames sensor.

Not really. There are some of us who use a 28-whatever on a crop body. I used a 28-105 for years as my walk around and love that range on a crop body. It's all in how you like to shoot.


OP.. stop stressing. If you're worrying this much before you're even there you won't have any fun. I understand wanting to make sure you get great shots but really, is that going to mean you had a horrid vacation if you don't?

 

[NLD]

Definitely not on the 500mm. For many reasons: 1. It will be too long for some safari shots. Much better to have the flexibility of the 28-300. 2. The safari is bouncy. 3. Little use for a 500mm throughout the rest of the day too. 4. Heavy.

A 35mm 1.4 will let you get indoor shots, is smaller and lighter.

 

[cobright]

Which camera do you own? The 28-300 is for a full frames sensor.

We can call it a 42-470mm then. I have a D80.

I think my issue is im comparing my options now to what I had last year which was a single lens 18-100. At my most common focal lengts, 40mm and up, my max ap was like f4. It was really a worst of both worlds kind of lens.

The more play with my new lens the happier I am with it. I may take the fast wide angle, it would fit in a vest pocket.