Best Canon travel lenses
July 9, 2008 by Norman · 15 Comments
Which lenses should I bring for my traveling? This is a question for every travelers to ask before they go. This really depends on where you go to, your shooting style and which kind of Camera you have.
When you visit cities, museum, the best lenses to carry are the standard lenses with low light capabilities.
For small sensor Canon DSLRS such as Canon XSi, Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, or Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8, Canon 18-55mm f/ 3.5-5.6 IS, are the ones to carry with you. If you want to carry the second lens, then Canon 70-200 mm f /4L IS USM or Canon EF 70-200 mm f/4L USM are your best bet. When I went to New York city, I found that my best pictures are actually taken with Canon EF 70-200 f/4L USM, which is relatively light, with great contrast, color. You might also want to throw in a light Canon 50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 for low light, if you take Canon 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 with you. If you take Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM with you, you don’t really need to use Canon 50 mm f/1.4 or Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 since Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM is extremely good at low light. For full frame cameras such as Canon 5D mark II, Canon 17-40mm, Canon 50mm f/1.4, and Canon 70-200mm f4L IS are preferred lenses to carry.
When you visit national parks, both standard and telephoto lenses are necessary.
Bring Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, or Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8, Canon 18-55mm f 3.5-5.6 IS and Canon 70-200 mm f /4L IS USM or Canon EF 70-200 mm f/4L USM, In addition, you will need Canon EF 100-400mm for wildlife. For full frame cameras, you need Canon 17-40mm, canon 24-105mm and canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM. You might also want to carry Canon 500mm or Canon 600mm if you want to take bird photography.
For landscape photography, wide angle lenses are preferred. If you have small sensor digital SLRs such as Canon XSi, Canon 10-22mm will be the one to carry. If you have full frame digital SLRs, such as Canon 5D, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L USM or Canon 17-40mm f/4L are the one to take. Canon 17-40mm f/4L is lighter.
If you want to travel light and only take one lens with you.
The preferred one is Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM or Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM.
For people who like to use prime lenses, one of best kits are Sigma 30mm f/1.4, Canon 50mm f/1.4, Canon 85mm f/1.8 and Canon 200mm f/2.8.
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