Upcoming Hawaii trip - lens suggestions?

For travel with walking the whole day, I'd recommend you to take only 15-85, I had gone to many place in the world and taking picture and for my body capability 2 lenses and one body is exhausting to haul the whole day. Next time I do a usual holiday, I think I'll take 500D and 15-85 only.

I also live here on Oahu. I have the 10-22, 17-55, 24-105 and 70-200. 90% of time time I have my 17-55 on my camera. Mostly because it is the most versatile lens in my arsenal. It covers a very useable focal range, and has awesome low light capabilities (being a family vacation, you'll also be having dinners, and going to shows, etc).

If you opt for a little more focal range then i would suggest the 10-22 and 24-105 option, although, if you shoot like me, you'll find yourself changing up lenses quite often as I typically shoot in the 17-50mm range with some jaunts into UWA or Telephoto...

Can you list some of the activities you will be doing?

For me, when I do "touristy" things around the island, this is what I take:

General walkaround - 17-55
Zoo - 70-200
Beach/surf shots - 17-55 & 70-200 (sometimes 10-22, depends on the beach)
Hiking - 17-55
Luau Show - 17-55 & 70-200
Museums - 10-22 & 17-55
Downtown/China Town Walk - 17-55 70-200

So my vote is for the 17-55 (maybe supplement with a 55-250?) Hope this helps, and have fun on your trip...

On holidays, where one is likely to be outdoor for pics, a UWA is a must. During my last holidays to Goa, Tok12-24 was on my camera 80% time and Can50f1.4 for balance. So two lens solution but Can50 is relatively a small lens to carry around.

I have never been to Hawaii myself, however if you are looking for a single lens to haul around with you on the 7D, the 15-85 is it. Unless you believe you will really need that 2.8 in that focal range, you will have much more versatility with the 15-85. If you are worried about low light, you can always bump the ISO on the 7D up a little and clean it up in post.

Personally, if it was me going and I didn't want to take all my gear with me (it being a family trip and all) I would bring the 7D, a 15-85mm, and then probably a 50 1.4 if you wanted to do portraits of the kids/wife with interesting blurred backgrounds that would be different than you are used to seeing.

Edit:

Forgot to mention, if you do go with the 15-85, get the lens hood. I tried to skimp and order it later when I purchased the lens, after my first day of shooting with it and catching a few lens flares, it was ordered that evening LOL!

Mjkxxl wrote in post #11729458
I have never been to Hawaii myself, however if you are looking for a single lens to haul around with you on the 7D, the 15-85 is it. Unless you believe you will really need that 2.8 in that focal range, you will have much more versatility with the 15-85. If you are worried about low light, you can always bump the ISO on the 7D up a little and clean it up in post.

Personally, if it was me going and I didn't want to take all my gear with me (it being a family trip and all) I would bring the 7D, a 15-85mm, and then probably a 50 1.4 if you wanted to do portraits of the kids/wife with interesting blurred backgrounds that would be different than you are used to seeing.

Edit:

Forgot to mention, if you do go with the 15-85, get the lens hood. I tried to skimp and order it later when I purchased the lens, after my first day of shooting with it and catching a few lens flares, it was ordered that evening LOL!

+1 on the lens hood!

We went to Hawaii for our honeymoon this past October and I packed my Canon 17-55 2.8 / 50L / Canon 10-22 and Canon 55-250. I didn't want to pack my 70-200 around and honestly I'm glad I didn't bring it as my gear backpack hit 50lbs already. I didn't use my zoom lens much except for photographing sufers. I rarely took off my 17-55mm + CPL in the day time or at all to be honest. 17mm seemed plenty wide enough for everything I shot. I did use my 50L on some shots in Oahu at night with it but not a whole lot. I could see the 15-85 being a good choice as well since you won't really need f/2.8. I do wish I would have rented or brought my tripod to get some better shots of the Wife and I.

I got a 7D a few months back and have been trying to figure out what direction to head on my lens collection. I wouldn't mind spending the money on an L grade, but every combination I look at, I'm carrying around multiple lens. Bring the 24-105 and you need a 17-40 for the wide angle on most days. Bring the 17-40 and you still need the 24-105. I finally settled on the 15-85. A little compromise on quality, but most days, I only need the one lens.

Thanks for all of the input guys. I finally settled on a Canon 10-22 for all of the wide stuff and a 24-105 for when I need a little more reach.

I'm sure that in some way I will be missing something but for a good 2 lens solution I think that it will work best for me. As mentioned, the "family" part of the vacation comes first and hopefully my solution covers the rest.

I used my 24-105 and my wide angle the most there. I used my wide angle a LOT when i went to kilauea volcano park. I wanted to capture as much as I could when i was in the crater and for walkaround the 24-105 was awesome.