Travel Lens Kit - 1000

If you had $1000 to spend on a travel kit what lens would you get? Any combination. Would you buy the lenses new or used?

Trying to figure out the best combo. 60% outdoors and 40% indoors. I am aiming for versatility and image quality and wieght.

Restrictions:
3 lenses max
Highest Image quality
Portability
Images (landscape, people, streets/vendors [not wildlife])

17-40 is over $1000, so iIsuppose a used 17-40

agatep wrote in post #2214938
If you had $1000 to spend on a travel kit what lens would you get? Any combination. Would you buy the lenses new or used?

Trying to figure out the best combo. 60% outdoors and 40% indoors. I am aiming for versatility and image quality and wieght.

Restrictions:
3 lenses max
Highest Image quality
Portability
Images (landscape, people, streets/vendors [not wildlife])

It would certainly help if we knew where you were.

How about:

EF 28 f/1.8 USM
EF 50 f/1.4 USM
EF 100 f/2 USM

That's just a bit over $1,000 with rebates at B&H. All three lenses are very portable. All three are fast. And while I haven't owned the 28, the 50/1.4 and the 100/2 are outstanding lenses. You just can't beat primes for portability, speed and IQ.

Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 ($350 US after rebate) or Sigma 17-70 f/2.8-4.5 ($390 US) and 70-200 L f/4.0 ($550 US after rebate) or Canon 70-300 IS f/4.0-5.6 ($560 US). You can get 17mm-300mm range with decent 2 lens solution for $950 US or other lesser range combinations with, arguably, better IQ (Tamron 28-75 and 70-200 L) for $900 US.

How about Tamron 17-50/2.8 and EF 70-200/4? I assume you have a 1.6x crop body.

For travelling my kit is the 17-40L and 85 1.8. With the rebates you can get both new at B&H for under about $860 and get additional memory card.

agatep wrote in post #2214938
If you had $1000 to spend on a travel kit what lens would you get? Any combination. Would you buy the lenses new or used?

Are you using a crop body or full-frame?

If crop, I'd go with:

17-40L f/4
28-105 f/3.5-4.5
50 f/1.8

D80 and 18-200VR. oh wait... that's way over $1000 and not even our system! *hides*

My travel setup consists of my two L zooms and a 50. But that's over a grand.

I'd buy used, get a wide angle (tres important), get a low light prime, and get a tele. 28/1.8, 50/1.8, 200/2.8 might fit the bill, not sure if that comes down to under a grand though.

gasrocks wrote in post #2215236
How about Tamron 17-50/2.8 and EF 70-200/4? I assume you have a 1.6x crop body.

that's me. exactly.. and I agree completely... i'd also add a nifty into the mix just for kicks..

sari

My travel kit, for a 20D, is a Sigma 17-70 and Tokina 80-400. Pretty much right at $ 1000 depending on where you buy them. This gives me a very cost-effective travel kit with good optical quality and length of coverage, in just two lenses. Bear in mind that much of my travel involves wide-angle and super telephoto shots, thus explaining my lens choices.

28-135 IS
50/1.8 or 50/1.4


use the money you save for another trip!

MillCreek wrote in post #2215580
My travel kit, for a 20D, is a Sigma 17-70 and Tokina 80-400. Pretty much right at $ 1000 depending on where you buy them. This gives me a very cost-effective travel kit with good optical quality and length of coverage, in just two lenses. Bear in mind that much of my travel involves wide-angle and super telephoto shots, thus explaining my lens choices.

i'm looking at a tele-photo for next year and I can't say i've heard of the tokina... any more information?

sari

The new model, the Tokina 80-400 AT-X D ($ 650 USD at B&H) is discussed at length in this thread: https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=206338

Thanks for all the responses.

I read this great line in the forum ... buying cheap is more expensive.

So true. No more mediocre lenses.

I've bought a 28-105 and 28-135 just to test and was not pleased at all with the saturation and contrast ... the copy of the 28-135 was brutal even compared with the 28-105. All i'm left now is with my nifty and ready to go on my biggest trip yet.

BTW, i'm using a 350D.