3 lenses for a New Zealand trip south island

Among the lenses in my gear list which 2 would you bring considering the 16-35 f/4 L with lee filters has already its place.
I am oriented towards
Sigma art 35 1.4 for low light and environmental portrait of wife and kids
+ 70-200 f/4 L for kids portrait, wildlife (any?) and telephoto landscapes (any?) which would leave back 24-105 f/4 L and 85 f/1.8.
Thanks

I'm with you. I would bring the 16-35, the 35 and the 70-200.

Last trip to London, I brought the 17-40 and a rented 70-200.

fplstudio wrote in post #17683506
Among the lenses in my gear list which 2 would you bring considering the 16-35 f/4 L with lee filters has already its place.
I am oriented towards
Sigma art 35 1.4 for low light and environmental portrait of wife and kids
+ 70-200 f/4 L for kids portrait, wildlife (any?) and telephoto landscapes (any?) which would leave back 24-105 f/4 L and 85 f/1.8.
Thanks

I would forget the art 1.4 if your looking to travel as light as possible.........You have a 16-35 f4 with IS that will give you 4 stops handheld in low light which is as good if not better than the 1.4 beccause in a pinch you can almost get 5 stops out of these new IS MK2's ......And the 70-200 wide open will give you a good OOF back ground if you stand back and shoot wif you want to do some kids shots etc...Personally I cant remember the last time I wished I had at f1.4 or even at 2.8 when I was travelling o on holidays with the kids and when I did take pics of them \ it would have been a pain to try and shoot wide open @ f1.4 outdoors with them not wanting to stay still ....I quite often shot them with the 70-200 and I have great family shots from that lens ...,,

Having said the above if the 1.4 weights not an issue then take it.....but remember if its just low light you are worried about remember the 16-35 will do as good if not better there and the 35 ends good for close children shots ....And can work around the f4 DOF anyway by carefully choosing back ground etc

I just returned from 3 weeks in Europe including the alps in Switzerland (kind of New Zealandish). I took about 1000 pictures on my 5D3, my wife took another 1000 with her EOS-M3.

I've been analysing my exif data (exported using exiftools and imported into Tableau) and found that about 70% were 35mm or wider, and only 7.3% were over 70mm. I took a few portraits with my 50mm f/1.4.

It also depends on how much kit you want to carry and in particular if the 70-200 f4 is not to cumbersome.

Your shooting patterns may vary but the 16-35 and 24-105 may be good for general scenery, city and indoor, with the 85 for portraits, although you may find the 24-105 wide open at > 70mm good enough for portraits since you probably want some background. I'm going to do some 'evidence-based' lens purchasing based on this data and get the 16-35 to replace the 17-40. My future travel kit will most likely be 16-35 f4, 24-105 f4 and a faster lens for night.

Have a good trip!

200mm might be a tad too short if you wish to shoot skittish penguins in a natural setting ot take a whale tour in Kaikoura, but you will be ok for fur seal shots if you shoot them elsewhere than at Ohau Point where you have to stay close to the road at the top of a short cliff. I would tend to give sea lions on the beaches a wider berth than what a 200mm allows. For seabirds and especially shorebirds on the south island anything from a 50mm to a 400mm (ideally a 100-400mm) will do depending on the types of shots you are after. Many birds are not so particularly shy. The problem is only that the settings you find some of them in will sometimes be spectacular but too challenging for a human to get close enough. Unless you have the ability to grow wings in time for your trip.

For landscape photography (coastline as well as mountain areas) I made great use of the 24-105mm during the six weeks I spent there.

You honestly dont have that much gear, bring it all and leave whatever you dont use in the hotel room.

Charlie wrote in post #17683979
You honestly dont have that much gear, bring it all and leave whatever you dont use in the hotel room.

Which airline isOP flying to/from New Zealand? Air New Zealand can be quite rigid about weight of carry-ons, limiting you to 7Kg and maybe only 0.5Kg of leniency!

I would bring the 16-35mm, the 24-105mm and a teleconvertor, in the interest of weight. I had a 10-22mm and a 28-75mm on APS-C when we were on South Island.

when i go to new zealand (or tasmania) i take the 16 - 35 definitely the 24- 105 the 70 - 200 and a 1.4 teleconverter - the 24- 105 always gets the most use as a walkaround , then the 16 - 35 for landscape shots views etc and lastly the 70 -200

if your limited by weight then maybe leave the 70 - 200 behind - it seems to be the one i use least of all in those places

cheers rob

ps you can always carry a extra lens on your person in a coat with deepish pockets - no weight limits on what you have inside a coat pocket on you

What kind of trip are you planning? Are you going to stay in a specific area or tour around the island?

I spent 10 days in a camper van touring around the south island a few years ago. I started in Christchurch, then went south towards lake Tekapo, then Queenstown, Milford Sound, Wanaka, the west coast and crossed back towards Christchurch.

The scenery was amazing and some of the places are just so enormous and distant a telephoto lens makes perfect sense for landscape photography. I'm thinking of around lake Tekapo and Pukaki in particular. I went up Mount John Observatory and was welcomed with a breath-taking panorama of lake Tekapo on one side, and a vast vista of... nothingness on the other, backed by snow-capped mountains.

I used my standard 17-50mm zoom lens almost all the time, and my 100mm when I needed something longer (crop body). I didn't feel the need for anything wider, however I wished I had a longer telephoto lens. I'm saying that as someone who usually prefer to shoot wide over long, but NZ landscapes are so big, there'd be too much of nothing in the frame if I were to shoot ultra wide.

If you can, bring the telephoto lens with you.

Wilt wrote in post #17684134
I would bring the 16-35mm, the 24-105mm and a teleconvertor, in the interest of weight.

With the OP's choices, I favor this as well.

From your gear list, the most 3 lenses i will take and it is almost same as what i took for my NZ vacation are: 16-35, 24-105, 70-200

If you want to add more then take 100 macro or any macro lens, about 35mm i think you are covered by 2 zoom lenses already unless you really need so fast prime then take 35mm as well, i always take the 3 zoom trinity as must then i ad 2-3 primes here and there, and if i feel there is any more room/space then i may take one more zoom which is 100-400 for any wildlife/birding opportunity.

It really depends on how much gear you are willing to schlep; I take my mirror-less Panasonic GX1 with a 14mm f2.5 and a 50mm f2 and that's it. I used to carry a lot of gear with me and always found it to be a pain changing heavy lenses. I spent years backpacking the world with just 2 lenses a 35mm f2 and a 135mm f2 and took some great shots. But the best ones weren't even shot; they are in my "head" and I treasure the memories more because I was totally immersed in the scene and was not concentrated on my gear. Kind of ceased the moment

Thanks everyone for the useful suggestions.
I fly Quantas, hence 7 kg carry on allowance. I know that switching lenses is always a pain if you don't carry 2 bodies but I am so reluctant to leave the primes behind as they perform so well and have their unique look.
During last trip I was with 16-35 and 24-105 and I missed the 85 prime when doing portraiture and a fast WA prime for low light shots. Not that much the 70-200 but it was in a resort on the beach. I expect much more needs to have the 70-200 with me for such very different type of tour. BTW it wil be a self drive tour starting in Christchurch and going down along the west coast, FJ glacier, wanaka, queenstown and milford sound.

fplstudio wrote in post #17689382
BTW it wil be a self drive tour starting in Christchurch and going down along the west coast, FJ glacier, wanaka, queenstown and milford sound.

I am *so* jealous....

Like Renata referred to...don't let your equipment get in the way of enjoying and experiencing the world around you...that is just a fantastic tour that you are talking about.

Have a great time!!!
Ed

BTW... Did I say I was *really* jealous????

Intheswamp wrote in post #17689432
I am *so* jealous....

me too...