Heading to Utah and Wyoming - which lens.

[Croasdail]

Hi all.... I am heading to Utah (canyon lands) and Wyoming (Jackson) for 10 days in a few weeks. I just bought a tamron 28-75mm as a walk around lens but am now thinking I need something wider for this trip. Question here is can I get by with adding a 17mm prime, or do I return the tamron and go for the 17-40l. If I did the L - I would then need to add a prime on the other side to cover the 85mm slot. Either way budget creep keeps happening and I am trying to minimize the damage while at the same time having the only reason for a bad shot is lack of talent rather then poor equipement.

Or am I good to go with the Tamron...

Thanks.

[Maureen Souza]

Add a 10-22mm and keep the Tamron. You'll need both. I am taking 4 lenses to Hawaii with me and plan on using them all. Have a great trip...it is beautiful country.

[bauerman]

You are skipping the MOST beautiful state in that area - IDAHO! You don't need a new or different lens - you need an extra day to tool around in the Gem State!

[RbrtPtikLeoSeny]

In combonation with the tamron you have, I would agree, 10-22. The 17-40 is a really sweet lens though, but over laps. That can sometimes be a good thing.... don't always have to change lenses as often when they over lap some. I'd keep it between those two.

[DavidEB]

Canyonlands offers great photo opportunities at any focal length. I'd agree with at least two lenses - one wide and one standard zoom like the Tamron. An advantage of the Tamron is that you can get close-up shots (it focuses in to under a foot, almost 1:3 magnification, see second photo in this post (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=67922&highlight=everglades+tamron)).

I think a very useful thing to have is a polarizing filter -- lets you control appearance of sky & clouds.

I'm jealous - I love that country.


David

[paulhillion]

Last year I spent a month or so traveling through Utah, Wyoming and the surrounding area. Lens wise all I had was the 17-40L (see my gallery for samples in the North America section) and a telephoto zoom for the wildlife. The 17-40 produced some great landscapes but as it was on a 300D body I on many an occasion yearned for something a bit wider to capture those fantastic landscapes. If I were to go again now the EF-S 10-22 would be top of my list!

Have a great trip!

[Croasdail]

Bauerman... I have not forgotten Idaho - we are going to come up Hwy 15 and then drop in to wyoming from the back side of the Tetons. If you have suggestions of some good locations to shoot on that side of the state, let me know. I would hate to miss something if I don't need to.

[Croasdail]

rbrtptikleoseny, paulhillion, dvaideb and Maureen Souza - it looks like I will need something wider. I am a little gun shy of anything that is digital only as I have not given up on the old school film bodies yet and so far have not bought anything that would not be usable on them. To date I have been staying clear of the EF-S stuff. Maybe it is time to put the old camera bodies into retirement... it's just so hard to say goodbye to trusted old companions. Are there any non-digital only lenses out there that you might recommend that could help me prolong my relationship with my old buddies?

[Croasdail]

Also - for those of you that have done this before... if you could recommend your favorite 5 spots to shoot. The family will be with me and I usually head out early morning to shoot while they sleep. So these don't need to be the most touristie places either. Any ideas would be more then welcomed.

[Maureen Souza]

Well my favorite is anything and anywhere in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. I love Zion Nt'l Park, those red rocks are amazing. You really can't go wrong shooting Mother Nature's gifts.

[DavidEB]

in canyonlands ... white rim, dead horse point. get to dead horse point at sunrise.
northbound at dinosaur monument ... visitor center, green river just upstream, harper's corner trail
flaming gorge at sunset


enjoy.

[HJMinard]

As an alternative, consider the Sigma 12-24. It will work just fine on your film bodies and it has received mosly positive reviews. The one big negative with this lens is the lack of front filter capability (it uses rear gelatin filters).

If I was taking your trip (someday, I hope) I would be probably be purchasing the EF-S 10-22 ... but I don't have film bodies to worry about.

[Croasdail]

in canyonlands ... white rim, dead horse point. get to dead horse point at sunrise.
northbound at dinosaur monument ... visitor center, green river just upstream, harper's corner trail
flaming gorge at sunset

Thanks - we had been toying with the idea of heading over to Vernal.... thanks for the help

[Croasdail]

Well my favorite is anything and anywhere in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. I love Zion Nt'l Park, those red rocks are amazing. You really can't go wrong shooting Mother Nature's gifts.

Thanks Maureen - we are planning on skipping Yellowstone unless we head up during the evening. We have done the park several times and since we will be there around the 4th weekend - we will avoid the crowds. I am excited about the Tetons though... never spend enough time there. Heard a place called "Mormon Ranch" is a good location. Thanks again!

[Croasdail]

As an alternative, consider the Sigma 12-24.

Thanks for the suggestion - I am trying to make a decision by Friday so I can have the first couple of weeks of June to learn the new equipement before heading out. You got me looking at the Sigma site and I also noticed the 15mm 2.8. So my list is growing not shrinking - 17 mm Tokina, 15 mm Sigma, and if I add zooms the 12-24 sigma and 17 - 40 l canon. Well get there.

Thanks!

[Croasdail]

Last year I spent a month or so traveling through Utah, Wyoming and the surrounding area. Lens wise all I had was the 17-40L (see my gallery for samples in the North America section) and a telephoto zoom for the wildlife. The 17-40 produced some great landscapes but as it was on a 300D body I on many an occasion yearned for something a bit wider to capture those fantastic landscapes. If I were to go again now the EF-S 10-22 would be top of my list!

Paul - I am not considering any EF-S or other digital only lessons, but as suggested above I am now considering the Sigma 12-24. The Canon L seems to be a really safe choice.... but thinking back - if you had the two - which would you have used more? Is the difference between 12 and 17 on the low end really critical? Thanks....