Cuba.

So...

Headed to Cuba Febuary 20th and I'm struggling with what gear I should bring along?! I want to maximize my options while at the same time bringing the minimum amount of things with me.

Here's my options:

Nikon DX AF-S, 18-55mm, f/3.5-5.6 G
Nikon 50mm, f/1.4
Sigma 10-20mm, f/4-5.6
Nikon 80-200mm, f/4.5-5.6

Thoughts?

Thank you in advance for your help!!

I think it depends on what type of shooting you will be doing.

I go on extended trips to Portugal every few years for 6-9 weeks at a time. The last time I went, I took 4 camera bodies, 13 lenses and a bunch of accessories. Guess what happened. I just ended up using my Leica M3 body with a 50mm f/2 for 95% of my photos. Took mainly photographs of people that were out and about and portraits of family members. A fifty was all I needed.

I am mostly a landscape person. Some portraits maybe. And of course the obligatory tourist snap shots. lol.

I would say take what you are most familiar with. "Less is more", instead of worrying about losing shots because you didn't bring the right lens I would say concentrate on using one lens for as much as you can.

Right now I am living almost entirely with a 35mm lens (about a 24mm on a digital Nikon) and using it for just about everything, Scenics, portraits, sports, etc. I'm trying to master that one lens and find out its strengths and weaknesses instead of worrying about what lens I'm not using. Of course, if I was going to Cuba I might have to think about my gear too.

If you don't have one already you may think about getting a circular polarizer and learning how to use it before you leave.

With the list you gave I'd probably go with the wide zoom and the 18-55mm. If you were also shooting wildlife then maybe the long tele zoom?

Well if I was in your shoes, I'd probably take the 50mm for general photography and low-light situations. Now given that a 50mm lens behaves like a telephoto on a dSLR due to the smaller format, I'd also take the 18-55mm zoom.

Cuba offers enormous opportunities for photography (beyond the typical landscape/sunsets). I hope you take advantage of them.

Cuba offers enormous opportunities for photography (beyond the typical landscape/sunsets). I hope you take advantage of them

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So very very true....and I so hope to be able to do that!! That's why I'm trying to get this all figured out now.


I do have a circular polarizer as well as a ND filter. I'm so so with using them. And winter doesn't really give me much chance to practice. Grrr.

To Egypt I brought my oldest body (20D), my two Tamron zooms 28-75 2.8 and 70-300 4-5.6 as well as my Canon 50mm 1.8 and Tokina fish 10-17.

I brought all of those as I didn't want to "lose that shot" or "wish I had a lens". I got out of that mode fairly quickly (part of it could have been the trip though and me wanting to carry less weight) but I became happy most places with the 28-75. Then I'd put the 50 on here and there for more lowlight stuff but that was it.

Based on what you have I don't really know what I'd bring.

I'm thinking the 10-20 a must as you want to do landscape stuff - and I love WA at the moment.

The 50mm prime and the 18-55 you could say are covering the same area (the short end of the 18 being covered by your 10-10 and the long end by the 50). With your 50 though you have that lens for the lowlight situations (only one really in the bag I'd be comfortable with shooting available light handheld later on in the day/night).

Then your long range zoom all depends on how close do you think you can get to some stuff? Can you walk to it and get away with your 50mm? Or do you need that extra reach, going on any nature hikes, animal checking out things etc.

From there, what lens are you most comfortable with? For me I love my primes but left them at home because I didn't want to damage them either (backpacking through Egypt wasn't what I thought of as the most safest area for my gear). So the next most comfortable lens for me is the 28-75 and that's what I ended up using probably 80% of the time if not more.

VTML,

Go to www.magnumphotos.com and enter Cuba in the search engine. You'll get over 1000 images by the world's best photographers.

I would definitely bring the 50mm f/1.4 with you, as I found it extremely handy for the various nightly entertainment shows that the resorts put on.

The only other lens I had with me in the DR was my 18-70 lens, which I used for landscapes and general shots. I found that there was only the odd time that a telephoto lens would have come in handy, but I made due without. Maybe it's just my style though, or that there wasn't a whole lot of wildlife around the resort.

If you're like me, and typically stay on the resort, then you'll find there isn't a huge opportunity for a ton of landscapes shots either, just your basic beach/ocean stuff. But if you tend to travel a little more off the resort, the 10-20 would be nice to have.

The most convenient thing that I found was having a camera bag backpack. Because it has a top pouch for everyday stuff, I used it as my carry on bag. But at the resort, I used it for sunscreen, book, sunglasses, etc., while always having my camera with me everywhere I went.

Have fun, and I look forward to seeing some photos.

So I've talked myself into just brining it all!! lol. We'll see what gets used the most so I'll know for next time.

I'm so jealous.