Which two lenses to bring to my NYC trip!

SUN and MON morning: Do everything I said I was going to do on Fri and Sat but could not.

I think you have severely overestimated the efficiency of the NYC public transit system and underestimated how long things are going to take in general. for example, the 5th ave apple store is usually a mad house. A frequent customer who knows the layout, knows what they want, and knows where to get a genius quickly could be in and out in less than 15 mins, but a tourist could get lost in that place and if you do not like crowded places... Hit a few stores around there could take a couple of hours, b&h could take a couple of hours, if you want to really experience the place, moma SHOULD take several hours. tasting menu at le bernadin ~2 hours.

You probably know that Fri rain, Sat and Sun no rain. I would suggest Fri is shopping indoor day, BH first as you can drop off any larger items that you might pick up before going over to 5th ave. moma first then shopping, central park weather permitting, and columbus circle because its an indoor mall. Depending on how much food allowance is, eat there, upper west side, or 9th ave midtown restaurant.

Instead of going all over the place, I think you should plot things according to a map. Go downtown and then hits stuff as you go north back to hotel.

Nightlife depends on your budget. I assume college grad, not high school grad. It has been a while for me. I also liked the loungier places. Many good times at Hudson Terrace.

I did not read the whole thread, but you do not have the 24/85 combo on your poll.

I shoot in NYC at least 4 times a month. I will be there today as a matter of fact. I would bring both lenses that I posted, I think they will give you the best for all of the different types of shooting that will be available to you.

Good luck and have fun, and do not try to shoot everything, there is too much to shoot.

24mm+50mm. That combo works for me on the regular (I shot Italy with those 2), and trust me, you want wide in NYC. It's the immensity of it all that you want to capture!

The last time I was there, after a night out we drove to and actually parked at Time Square, and I was able to take some awesome photos there without a huge throng of people making it difficult. So yeah, hit Time Square at like 4AM and you'll get some interesting photos of people and the landscape

24 and the 85.

Can't offer much advice about what L's to take, but definitely do NOT take any weapons. NYC has incredibly strict gun laws, and you do NOT want to end up in lockup and court because you had a handgun you did not have a NY license to carry.

Safety in the city depends a LOT on where you are, and what time it is. Other than pickpockets, Midtown, the financial district etc. are fairly safe, and even at night. Other neighborhoods, I wouldn't recommend walking around with a camera out (or an obvious camera backpack) at any time of day or night.

Full disclosure: I live in Manhattan.

35L + 85L

I guess this thread has become mute
But the more important question remains:
How was your trip?
We hope you enjoyed!

lilkngster wrote in post #15137586
SUN and MON morning: Do everything I said I was going to do on Fri and Sat but could not.

I think you have severely overestimated the efficiency of the NYC public transit system and underestimated how long things are going to take in general.

You probably know that Fri rain, Sat and Sun no rain. I would suggest Fri is shopping indoor day, BH first as you can drop off any larger items that you might pick up before going over to 5th ave. moma first then shopping, central park weather permitting, and columbus circle because its an indoor mall. Depending on how much food allowance is, eat there, upper west side, or 9th ave midtown restaurant.

Instead of going all over the place, I think you should plot things according to a map. Go downtown and then hits stuff as you go north back to hotel.

Nightlife depends on your budget. I assume college grad, not high school grad. It has been a while for me. I also liked the loungier places. Many good times at Hudson Terrace.

I was able to hit everything I wanted with lots of time to spare because it was so well coordinated and planned. The person i brought had a hard time keeping up because of the immense amounts of walking that we did. All in all, I had a GREAT time in NYC and will be coming back to visit SOHO and chinatown.

Sindarin wrote in post #15145581
Can't offer much advice about what L's to take, but definitely do NOT take any weapons. NYC has incredibly strict gun laws, and you do NOT want to end up in lockup and court because you had a handgun you did not have a NY license to carry.

Safety in the city depends a LOT on where you are, and what time it is. Other than pickpockets, Midtown, the financial district etc. are fairly safe, and even at night. Other neighborhoods, I wouldn't recommend walking around with a camera out (or an obvious camera backpack) at any time of day or night.

Full disclosure: I live in Manhattan.

I stayed in manhattan mostly and felt safe with my camera out when i was in the city. I was pretty smart about when i would pull it out. I brought smaller L lenses (which is why i LOVE my L primes) so that its not so much in everyone's face. I brought a small bag (retro 5) just to remain as invisible as I can be.

ceriltheblade wrote in post #15145688
I guess this thread has become mute
But the more important question remains:
How was your trip?
We hope you enjoyed!

My trip was FANTASTIC and thanks for asking! I visited 18 MAJOR attractions in NYC in 4 days. I am very happy with my trip!

Thursday, Oct 18/12
- Arrive in NYC and get checked in at 1930
- Have dinner at serendipity at 2030
- See Grand Central (1), Times SQ (2) and have a quick bite at White Castle until 0130 on Oct 19/12

Friday, Oct 19/12
- See the memorial 9/11 (3)
- See trinity Church (4)
- See the Charging Bull at Bowling Green (5)
- See Wall Street and the financial district (6)
- See MOMA (7) for free for target free friday nights (planned it well so that we didn't have anything to check in - was almost going to toss the hotel comped umbrella if we needed to check it in ahhaa)
- Go to Coney island (8) for Horror nights (which was incredibly lame compared to Vancouver's PNE horror night)
- Go to a rooftop club at night

Saturday, Oct 20/12
- Go to columbus circle (9) and have breakfast
- Go to central park and have a picnic at the great lawn (10) - I researched the best walk and route to cut my trip time to central park (great mall walk, fountain, bow bridge, castle, and great lawn)
- Go to Top of the rock (11) (near sunset from 1700-1845)
- Walk around Rockefeller center (12)
- Go shopping along 5th Ave to visit the flagship versions of my favorite stores (13) (Just the stores i wanted to hit - Zara, uniqlo and H&M) - took a picture of the apple store, didn't want to go in because I'm not that big of a fan boy
- Go to Restaurant Row (14) (Hells Kitchen - becco is GREAT!)
- Go to Meat Packing Industry to go clubbing at night (15)

Sunday, Oct 21/12
- Go to Meat packing district, walk around the chealsea market and the mini market near the standard
- Go to Highline Park and walk the entire length (16)
- Go to the staten island ferry to ride past the statue of liberty (17) (LUCKILY DIDN'T HAVE TO WAIT - though we rushed in as the doors were closing)
- Take the DUMBO ferry from Pier 11 (near the beginning of sunset)
- Walk the entire length and back of the brooklyn bridge (18) (WHAT AN AMAZING BRIDGE!) (during sunset and at night)

Monday, Oct 22/12
- Don't know yet - probably going to go shopping in the morning. Nothing else to see.

Things I'll come back for when I get back to NYC in the next 3 months or so. (any recommendations would be great!)
- Chinatown
- Soho
- More clubbing in NYC (tip: bring a girl with you, and it's WAY easier to get into clubs).

Notes:
- The 24L, 50L and 135L were amazing on this trip! from the most used to the least used lens, it's the 24L then the 135L and then the 50L.
- Learned that I am going to be buying another 5DII so that I don't have to switch lenses

One shot i edited last night for my facebook cover:

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Why not add the 24-105, you'll have everything covered then??

gibbit1 wrote in post #15133041
I'd take the 24 and the 85, just so you have the greatest range possible. I'd also add a Glock .40 caliber to the list.

+ 1

well done.

edited: More clubbing in NYC (tip: bring multiple girls with you, then you can get into to most clubs).

what else to see depends on when you come back. looks like you did your research and im sure you will again.

Forgive me if this has been asked but do any of you guys recommend taking a tripod or is too much to carry around as well as a camera bag etc?

BufordFZ1 wrote in post #15153491
Why not add the 24-105, you'll have everything covered then??

I've always been thinking about bringing a 24-105 on my trips as this lens can be had for very cheap used. It has a great range, and IS. Unfortunately, it just doesn't have the speed to stop ANY of fast paced action one would see in NYC during the night.

lilkngster wrote in post #15154350
well done.

edited: More clubbing in NYC (tip: bring multiple girls with you, then you can get into to most clubs).

what else to see depends on when you come back. looks like you did your research and im sure you will again.

Yeah, I am very methodical with my trips - its very sad. hahaha. Thanks for the tips! hahah. I really want to see the more exclusive clubs in NYC - though it'll be VERY hard to get into them I'm sure.

LooneyFlyer wrote in post #15156270
Forgive me if this has been asked but do any of you guys recommend taking a tripod or is too much to carry around as well as a camera bag etc?

You'll do a LOT of walking around NYC (if you want to). I walked/trained and carried my bag for 12-15 hours a day when i was there (it definitely wasn't a relaxed vacation like mexico, it was a sightseeing vacation). To give you an idea, My bag (retro 5) weighed 9.6 lbs (consisting of a 24L, 50L, 135L, 5DII, 5 Batteries, 1 pixel pocket rocket (held 8 16GB cards), 1 3-stop ND filter (USELESS during that time), itinerary, wallet, phone).

Sometimes the police will stop you from breaking out your tripod - sometimes they were telling visitors to pack it up (as is the case on 5th street), and sometimes they are nice enough to ask you to turn it into a monopod (as is the case at the top of the rock). If MUST bring a tripod, bring a very lightweight, compact yet strong one, OR better yet, bring a monopod.

Another vote for the 24L & 85L combo.

-Nick