St Thomas or St Marteen for camera lens ?

It has been a few years since I have been to either island and I am looking to get a good quality lens for my Nikon D3000. Also if you have the name of the store that would be great thank you

There are so many to choose from that without some idea of what focal range you are interested in, is hard to recommend one.

As for stores; Amazon, B&H Photo, Adorama.

The price difference, if any, won't equal the value of having the lens for a while before your trip to practice and familiarize yourself with it.

Dave

Sorry I should have clarified it . I want a good all in one . I have the 18-55 and a 70-200 . But I would like to find that middle range one that is an all purpose persay . I want to be able to take good wide angle shots too . Would the 16-85mm be good ?

I prefer St. Thomas only because it is a US territory and as such I am assured of having a lens with a U.S. warranty.

Sorry that the others did not understand your question well enough to give you an answer.

I prefer St. Thomas only because it is a US territory and as such I am assured of having a lens with a U.S. warranty.

 

Sorry that the others did not understand your question well enough to give you an answer.

Wow...

Sorry I should have clarified it . I want a good all in one . I have the 18-55 and a 70-200 . But I would like to find that middle range one that is an all purpose persay . I want to be able to take good wide angle shots too . Would the 16-85mm be good ?

pierces: The price difference' date=' if any, won't equal the value of having the lens for a while before your trip to practice and familiarize yourself with it. Dave [/quote']

 

There is no one perfect answer/solution for a "good all in one" lens that does EVERYTHING. Always trade-offs, pro/con factors on weight, quality, size, etc., to consider. Dave has made an excellent point for the significant value of having and practicing with your new lens BEFORE your trip.

 

A little over a year ago, I got a new Nikon D7100 and it had a Nikkor 18-140mm lens that has worked out very, very well for me doing two major trip, plus thousands of other pictures.. The 18mm wide angle is not as good as my 10-20mm wide angle, but it serves most wider picture situation needs. At 140mm, it does not work for long, long needs (like birds) as with my 55-300mm Nikkor lens. Overall, I have been very pleased with how that 18-140mm lens is a big move up compared to just having the 18-55mm Nikkor lens of the past. Also helping so much is having a camera with 24mp and shooting RAW. That added file size make it easier to crop, blow-up and keep very good picture quality. You can see some of the successful results with that lens from the below live/blog done during the past month.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo back-to-back sailing over 26 days, here is the link below to that series of posts on my live/blog. Lots of great visuals from the Amazon and these various Caribbean Islands. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 17,129 views for these postings.

Thank you all for your responses I appreciate it

Sorry I should have clarified it . I want a good all in one . I have the 18-55 and a 70-200 . But I would like to find that middle range one that is an all purpose persay . I want to be able to take good wide angle shots too . Would the 16-85mm be good ?

Define what is wide enough for you. To me, 16mm on a 1.5x crop camera (24mm effective) is not wide enough. However, it's unlikely that you'd find a good all-in-one that goes much (if any) wider than 16.

B & H check them out online then decide your faite when you can not return to the islands to return???

Loved your blog & pictures of the Amazon, looking forward to our cruise down the Amazon next year, thanks again for taking us along for the ride.

Allan & Marlane

Loved your blog & pictures of the Amazon, looking forward to our cruise down the Amazon next year, thanks again for taking us along for the ride. Allan & Marlane

Appreciate so much with our Canada neighbors, Allan & Marlane, making these kind comments. Feel free to go on that live/blog thread and ask any and all questions that might be helpful. Happy to share more. Don't be shy!!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 100,533 views for this posting.

Sorry I should have clarified it . I want a good all in one . I have the 18-55 and a 70-200 . But I would like to find that middle range one that is an all purpose persay . I want to be able to take good wide angle shots too . Would the 16-85mm be good ?

I love the 16-85 lens, it has been around for a while, but it has gotten excellent reviews. There have been rumors for a while that it will be updated soon, but I've been hearing that for a couple of years so I don't know if or when that will happen. I have recently upgraded my D300 to a D750, but for the last seven years the 16-85 has been on my D300 most of the time. Nikon is offering pretty good rebates on many of their lenses right now which I think have been extended to the end of March.

Dave

Check out the prices at reputable US stores before you buy on the islands. To me, it is not worth it to buy elsewhere to save a few bucks when I know that B&H will back you up if you have problems with the lens.

DON

The stores on front street, Thomas or Marteen, will sell you good quality gear at a price that matches B&H, maybe a bit higher. Good source if you have a disaster and need replacements mid-cruise. But I would never plan to buy there if I planned to use the gear on that trip. Buy from B&H ahead of time and practice a bit at home before setting out.

For the last two+ years I have had a Canon T4i with an 18-135MM IS STM lens and shot all of our Eastern Med cruise stills and video with it. I had a 10-20MM wide angle lens that I never used including inside the large Mosques in Istanbul. I gave my 28-300 IS Zoom to my daughter who loves it. I last used it on an Alaskan cruise with great success. I have now found (after 2+ years) that the 18-135 size works great for me and I just wait till I get closer to something far off before shooting. YMMV.