Lens for Quebec to NY?

[gwesq]

ANyone who has done that itinerary in Sept-Oct, what lens(es) would be best to take?

 

I have the "Kit" lens, a SOny 17-55.  Debating whether to upgrade that to a G series lens (SOne Mirrorless).

But then I can take either the 70 - 300, or the 100-400.  The bigger lens is a pain to schlep around, but will there be much need that the 70-300 won't cover adequately?

Thanks

[mskaufman]

Not sure where you are stopping but the longer lens will certainly be handy for the sail out of Quebec and the sail into NY.

[pierces]

We did that itinerary back in 2015. At the time I took the 16-50 kit and the 55-210 zoom (lens availability was lean at the time) and found I used the short lens about 2:1 over the long lens. The long lens was used for sail-in/out and sunsets and some tours. When we did a New England loop in 2018 I had the 24-105G (16-70 would be the same on an APS-C camera) on the A7III and the 70-300G on the A6300 (105-450 equivalent) with about the same 2:1 ratio short to long.

 

I never felt the need for a longer lens and I had the excellent little Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 for the A6300 for the few times I wanted wider (90% onboard the ship). 

 

Galleries here if you want an Idea of the mix:

 

2015 Fall Colors (pptphoto.com)

 

2018 New England & Canada (pptphoto.com)

 

Dave

 

 

[zackiedawg]

Last time I took that route was in 2011 - I had just picked up a NEX3 as my first experiment in mirrorless, shooting alongside my A580 DSLR, which was still my main camera.  For the NEX3, which I had only owned a month or two, I just had the kit 18-55mm, and on the A580, my primary lens was the 18-250mm which was great for the overall versatility, plus the Tamron 10-24mm UWA which came in very handy in all the cities, especially walking around Quebec.  I had my Minolta 300mm APO with me, and used it a few times for shots of shore from the ship cruising the Saguenay, but really just used it to justify having brought it!  The 18-250mm would have covered me just fine.

 

Photos from that cruise (we took it from Quebec back to Ft. Lauderdale):

Eurodam, October 2011 Photo Gallery by Justin Miller at pbase.com

 

If it were today with my A6600, I'd be using my 18-135mm (which is my kit lens technically), and likely bring the 70-300mm for more reach when needed, plus the 10-18mm for the walkaround city and street shots.  A few other lenses might come along, but those three would cover 99% of all needs just fine.  I'd likely leave the big 100-400mm and 200-600mm home as I'd be flying to the ship and the few times I'd probably need or want them wouldn't be worth trying to pack and fly with them.

Edited May 26, 2022 by zackiedawg

[gwesq]

5 hours ago, zackiedawg said:

Last time I took that route was in 2011 - I had just picked up a NEX3 as my first experiment in mirrorless, shooting alongside my A580 DSLR, which was still my main camera.  For the NEX3, which I had only owned a month or two, I just had the kit 18-55mm, and on the A580, my primary lens was the 18-250mm which was great for the overall versatility, plus the Tamron 10-24mm UWA which came in very handy in all the cities, especially walking around Quebec.  I had my Minolta 300mm APO with me, and used it a few times for shots of shore from the ship cruising the Saguenay, but really just used it to justify having brought it!  The 18-250mm would have covered me just fine.

 

Photos from that cruise (we took it from Quebec back to Ft. Lauderdale):

Eurodam, October 2011 Photo Gallery by Justin Miller at pbase.com

 

If it were today with my A6600, I'd be using my 18-135mm (which is my kit lens technically), and likely bring the 70-300mm for more reach when needed, plus the 10-18mm for the walkaround city and street shots.  A few other lenses might come along, but those three would cover 99% of all needs just fine.  I'd likely leave the big 100-400mm and 200-600mm home as I'd be flying to the ship and the few times I'd probably need or want them wouldn't be worth trying to pack and fly with them.

VERY HELPFUL  -Thank you!  I believe you're the same guy I have followed on one of the Photography forums (Sony?)?  I've marveled at your bird shots especially.  I stopped following that forum a while back when I just got too busy (and too jealous 🙂  ) to continue.    I also believe it was you that posted your settings for your bird shots? I have them programmed into my Sony 6500 (#1 for birds in trees, #2 in flight).  

 

Based on this, I think the 100-400 stays home. 70-300G for long shots. Not only will we be flying from FL to NY, but also then heading out on Long Island for a few days.   I don't have a wide angle - may think about renting one. On other cruises, I've often wished I had a wider lens than the kit lens.   Do you know much about the new Tamron 17-70 2.8? I'm thinking of that as a replacement for the Kit lens.  After this Canada trip, have one to Japan next year (Hoping Japan will be open by then)  

 

I hope we are not too early for the best colors - leave NY Sept 19, return to NY Oct 10.  

 

Thanks again, Justin!