Hawaii - Sigma 8-16mm or Sigma 30mm F1.4?

A 15 -85 or an UWA would be more useful there than the Sigma 30 unless you're planning to take a lot of indoor shots.

Sdiver2489 wrote in post #10408208
Shoot RAW and use a Graduated filter in Lightroom/PS to bring back the color in those skies? I find you can generally bring it back a stop to a stop and a half without it looking too odd.

thanks but I'm not that into post processing. if it cant be done in DPP or Gimp spending less that 1min per shot I usually leave it alone.

DrPablo wrote in post #10406270
Not everything in Hawaii screams UWA -- just depends where you are.

Places where UWA is absolutely necessary: NaPali Coast, Waimea Canyon, inside of Haleakala, and on top of Mauna Kea.

Places where UWA has not been useful (in my experience) -- Oahu, anywhere on Maui other than Haleakala, and in Volcanoes National Park (even inside the craters, the UWA just makes everything look too small).

Thanks for this info! I'm heading to Oahu and Kona in a few weeks so this is helpful.

Well I just got back and took all my lenses. I used the 24-105 most of the time. Wide angle as mentioned made everything look small. There are a few occasions you could use it, but not for landscape shots really. Inside the crater and lava tunnels etc it would be good. Also I used it for some waterfalls along the road to hana.

The polarized filter was an absolute must have. I used the 30 1.4 a little, but honestly didn't need it. Just use your flash indoor. I didn't shoot at night much though. The 100-400l was great for beach shots (surfers and such) but I didn't spend much time doing it. I was mostly in the water myself and forgot to get pics of everybody at the beach lol.

To be honest, I used the 24-105 mostly because I wanted to enjoy hawaii/maui and pictures were kind of secondary. I wanted to plan my trip and not my shots. I will say it was my first outing with the 24-105 and I love it compared to my Tamron 17-50. Just not enough reach with the later.