Can a 135L replace the 70-200f4 when travelling?

KenjiS wrote in post #8224816
I'd take the 135mm f/2..

To me its more versatile than a zoom, for a long time I used its big brother, the 200mm f/2.8 just fine with no problems....if that was the lens i had, and i wanted to take a picture of something, I found a -way- to get that picture...

Sure sometimes it sucked [Not encouraging i know] but hey, I got creative...

I'd take subject isolation ability and speed over focal length versatility

Keep in mind if you want environmental, you can stop the 135 down easily, whereas you cant open the 70-200 up farther than f/4 to get more isolation...

That said, IS can give you an interesting method of isolation in a busy space....

Because IS shows subject movement, your background can be a blur of people....its somewhat interesting sometimes...

Cool shot - environmental shot with subject isolation - interesting!

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions now just got to decide which camera bag to take.....

Happy 4th July to all our US POTNers!! My 24-105L is currently on holidays enjoying a beach party in San Diego as I type.. (without me)

I did Malaysia,Singapore & Boreno last year, take the 70/200, I used mine a lot of the time, enjoy your trip.

sunnygirl wrote in post #8224683
Definitely need to research what I can do in a day trip to KL.

There is a public tour bus system that allows you to travel in a circle to the major highlights of the city and it is pretty inexpensive. My recollection is something like US$10 for 24 hours. There are about 2 dozen stops on the route and a bus comes by every 15 min or so. These are double-decker buses with the top deck open on the back half. Some of the stops include the Petroas Towers/City Centre park, the orchid gardens and aviary (which are across the street from one another), the National Mosque, a couple of museums and many others. KL is a very clean, reasonably priced and safe for such a large city. Pretty cool place.

Tony-S wrote in post #8226510
There is a public tour bus system that allows you to travel in a circle to the major highlights of the city and it is pretty inexpensive. My recollection is something like US$10 for 24 hours. There are about 2 dozen stops on the route and a bus comes by every 15 min or so. These are double-decker buses with the top deck open on the back half. Some of the stops include the Petroas Towers/City Centre park, the orchid gardens and aviary (which are across the street from one another), the National Mosque, a couple of museums and many others. KL is a very clean, reasonably priced and safe for such a large city. Pretty cool place.

Thanks so much Tony for this information as the cruise ships docks about 1.5 hours from the city we are just getting shuttle bus into city, so this will be an excellent way to see as much as possible in a short time for a great price. This pretty much covers everything we wanted to see, fantastic.

Here's the bus:

http://www.kuala-lumpur-city-guide.com …r-hop-on-hop-off-bus.html

If you can get to the Towers at night (~9 pm) you can get some really nice shots with the ultrawide on a tripod. These were each taken at 10mm on my 30D.

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I was in Malaysia and Singapore for a couple of weeks just a month ago.
I took my 24-70 and 135 and my 5D, and used the zoom mostly - but then I was travelling with people who weren't photogs - and wasn't getting any time to myself...never again!

Usually I take this combo and use the 135L for candids heaps, it blends in way more than the 70-200 variations, and has fantastic IQ. There are plenty of tourists and locals with fancy camera gear in that region, so it's not a area where your equipment will stand out. We went to KL, Pulau Perhentihan, Kota Baru, Taman Negara - 3 day trek, and Singapore. I also took a little travel tripod, really useful for night shots in Singapore by the river, and in the low-light conditions of the jungle.
Check out here for my pics in Sing and Malaysia:
http://www.lyrebird-gallery.smugmug.com/Ma​laysia%20and%20Singapo​re
or here for what I've used the 135L for: http://lyrebird-gallery.smugmug.com/ga​llery/6513884_ZTXUA#P-1-15


Enjoy, it's a really easy country to travel, the people are lovely, and public transport is fantastic.

Thanks yabbie for the insight. I really enjoyed your photo exposé - sensational environmental shots with the 135.

Now I'm just depressed, as I missed out getting the 135L (came into stock at BH but by the time I got my sons US address - working there for a couple of weeks) it had been deleted from my cart - out of stock. So I can't now seem to find a copy in stock in Australia so I will have to take the 70-200. At least I have an alternative.

Tony you also have some amazing shots of KL at night, sadly we sail at 7pm and with the 1.5 hour commute back to the ship, no night shots for me, oh well guess there will have to be a next time...

Less than three weeks to go and we are getting really excited.

16-35L II & 24-105L worked great for me in Malaysia (was a bit of an FF noob at this time, so excuse my OOF shots, heh heh). You don't need a 'pod to shoot the Petronas @ night. Here's a handheld shot with a 5D + 16-35 (click on pic for access to larger size and exif info):

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/sabesh/21579142​43/

Thanks Sabesh for sharing your great shots, looks like everyone has enjoyed their trips to Malaysia.

Good point about lugging around the Sigma 150 macro, as I have a full set of Kenko extension tubes I will take them (very light) and also use with 24-105. Thanks for that.

this:

Luke Cern wrote in post #8224595
Susan

I'm using that 135mm as well with a 5D2. I'm finding that adding a 1.4x TC really expands my options without increasing the weight too much.

plus tubes work on it to an extent if you have them... Tubes ALWAYS travel with me though, regardless of lens lineup because they're so light/small...

ed rader wrote in post #8224676
for candids i'd much prefer the f4 IS. if they don't see you taking their picture how is the color of the lens an issue?

I agree with you there, especially because your subjects will see the front element mostly anyway...

say what?

ed rader wrote in post #8224740
i'm sure i have gotten just as many comments using the 24-70L as i have gotten with the 70-200L f4 IS.

was that with the hood though, because the bricks hood, while the best design around, is G I G A N T I C and always draws attention...

sunnygirl wrote in post #8224778
Thanks also for bringing up a great point about using the 135L to eliminate busy backgrounds.

that and speed in low light is why I'd bring it. While I never had to make this decision for a trip (I had the 70-200 2.8 on my last trip) I've since bought both the 135 and 70-200... When I had to sell one I kept the 135L as it's very nice to have that speed at that FL when you need it. It's also a smaller lens (same weight though) and you can go 2 shutter speeds faster with the f2 -vs- f4 so half of the IS's help is gone right there. I'm not sure why, but I always have good luck hand holding the 135L as well (within reason, but I surprise myself with 1/60th and 1/30th shots).

Personally I'd go with the 135L, but either way, you'll probably get the shots you want.