Which lens for trip to Asia

We are going on a 2 week trip to Asia during this summer and we have the following:

7D / 500 D
10-20mm 3.5 - 5.6
30mm 1.4
70-200mm 2.8

I would think a prime or two extra wouldn't hurt - any ideas?

Any sepcial things you will be seeing, visiting? I think most all of us travel a bit differently. Scenery, people, wild animals, flowers, buildings?

8mm fisheye? 800mm/5.6? Asia's a large place with a lot of different things to see and do. Where are you going, what are you doing, what are you interested in shooting, and what do you feel is lacking in your lineup?

instead of the 10-20mm 3.5 - 5.6 i would get a 2.8 17-50 zoom

Just returned from Chiang-mai doing the town, night markets, clubs, elephant rides, tigers, zip lines, etc... I took a 7d, 35L 1.4 and 17-55 is. If I had to do it again I would've brought the 10-22, 24-105 and 35L.

Looks like your setup is fine but the 70-200 might be a lot of weight and size to carry around.

I personally doesn't recommend 70-200 lenses, it's so big and bulky so people will staring at you. What about a good normal zoom and siggy 30 and 10-22.

I think you have the perfect combination of lenses for any country. Do take polariser filters. The sun is very different here, as compared to Europe. Perhaps you could consider a 100 macro, for those typical open market shots. Even if you don't your ultrawide should be competent enough to handle them.

thank you for your feedback.

I will be in Bejing a few days, then travel to DPRK for a while, then to Ulaan Baator. I'll travel everywhere by plane, and the return will be by train. I'll have 50 hrs or so of train in total.

4-5 days in open country in Mongolia (one day urban, have to see the capital)
5-6 days DPRK mixture urban / rural.

The 30 will be the main lens I think, the 10-20 for nice exaggerated perspectives and the huge, heavy, conspicuous big fat 70-200 for range. I have no idea what to expect, I'm interested in local features, whatever they may be: architecture, people, bugs, food - God only knows.

I was waiting for a good excuse to sell everything (except the 30) and get the 85 1.2 ? I'm missing everything in between 20 and 70 (okay, i have 30, but still).


I also considered just bringing the 30 - no choice, no hassle.

This would be my dream trip if I did it. You should most definitely take the UW. Mongolia is all about open vistas.

FWIW, I did two trips to Africa in late 2010 and early 2011 and after my first trip, decided to travel really light for trip two...1DMkII/24-105/flash and that's it. I found that it worked quite well so if you are looking at a minimalist kit, the 24-105 is a great travel lens.

Cool trip! I thought the DPRK had strict guidelines on what photographic equipment is allowed, right down to the maximum zoom range of the lens, so you might want to make sure your 70-200/2.8 won't cause problems. Also, you may want to consider something like the 60/2.8 macro, which would give you two things you're currently missing: 1) close-shooting capability for shooting things like foods and knick-knacks; 2) inconspicuous short-range portrait capability for taking photos of people you meet without freaking them out with the 70-200. Have fun!

I have also heard that binoculars are forbidden - are you sure though that the limitation concerns the zoom feature?

I d say focal length should be the worrying parameter...

ecce_lex wrote in post #11973311
I have also heard that binoculars are forbidden - are you sure though that the limitation concerns the zoom feature?

I d say focal length should be the worrying parameter...

Sorry if I weren't clear, that's what I meant -- the maximum focal length of the lens, which in the case of a zoom is how much you can zoom in. Put differently, they simply don't like telephotos over there. I'm not sure if 200mm is too much, and even if 200mm were allowed, I'd have to wonder if they'd be OK with such a physically large and imposing lens.

I'd take the Sigma and a 24-70L. The L gives you a very good working range and I doubt you'll need anything over 70mm

ElectricDreams wrote in post #11973916
I'd take the Sigma and a 24-70L. The L gives you a very good working range and I doubt you'll need anything over 70mm

considering the 24-70 would actually strengthen the case for the 24-105 for travel as the extra reach is useful and you can get more light in the 24-105 due to the IS than you could with the 24-70 @ f2.8. Heck, you can handhold the 24-105 at 1/20th with no problem...doing the math doesn't argue well for a lens with no IS and less reach for an all arounder. 24-105 is also smaller and lighter. makes no difference to me but the OP should definitely consider the pro/con list of those two if considering them. on the sigma, we agree !