Advice needed

[Ron Morse]

My wife and I are going to Puerto Rico for a week and then on to the Bahamas for a week next winter.She has it all reserved. We were going to Costa Rica but a friend of my wifes talked her out of it ( to my dismay ). I want to spend most of my time photographing in the rain forest. I wanted to rent a 4 wheel drive rig but my wife wants to use a tour bus.
I am getting the 1DIII when B&H gets some in. My question deals with lenses. I am going to get the Sigma 12-24. If it is good enough for Nicolas nothing else needs to be said. I can't decide between the 24-70L or the 24-105L. I think I will take my 70-200 f/2.8 IS also. Just these 3 lenses. Leaveing my 70-200 f/4 and the 500 ( big,bulky and heavy ) home.

24-70 or 24-105 or uther suggestions appreciated.

[Nicolas Claris]

Hi Ron

This gonna be a marvelous travel!

In regards to the lenses:
- Sigma 12-24: definitively a jewel if you check it before you buy, Sigma quality control is not that strict...
- 70-200 f/2.8 IS: Yeah!
- 24-70L Versus 24-105: I have the 24-70 a good lens, a bit barelling, If I were you I would go to the store and try both lenses at different ƒ stops and focal distances (i.e. 24 - 50 - 70) and would compare before buying.

If you can do that, please do post the result of your tests in OPF!!!

Have great time preparing your travel!

[Ron Morse]

Thank you Nicolas.
The problem that I have here is that we have one camera store and it doesn't carry much stuff. I have gone their several times and am not very impressed. I would have to travel well over 100 miles to another. That is why I do businees with B&H.
Sounds like you really like the 24-70L.

[Asher Kelman]

Hi Ron,

In the old days, canceling a husband's trip to the rain forest would be grounds for annulment irrespective of evidence of union! Now however we benefit from women with education, choices, insight and their own access to geography!

So the only thing we can do to balance that is to regain the advantage by having the best toys! Surprisingly, many women accept this, which in itself concerns me!

Don Cohen has been to the rain forest on many occasions and has yearly expeditions.

For wild life and most other non structure photography the minor peripheral distortions of lenses is merely an excuse for obsessionalism and nothing to do with good photography.

The Siigma, even for the demands of the expensive boats and the interiors that Nicolas shoots gives such impressive results that the only thing I’d be concerned about is your own style and what lenses and ranges you need and like to use.

Asher

[Harvey Moore]

Hi Ron,

In the old days, canceling a husband's trip to the rain forest would be grounds for annulment irrespective of evidence of union! ...

Asher

My hearty laugh of the day Asher

Over on FM I used to have "1 ex-wife" at the end of my gear list, the meaning being that it is the reason I have a gear list.

[Ron Morse]

I have been reading the reviews over at FM and both the 24-70 and the 24-105 seem to have a devoted group of followers. I had thought of the 24-105 as a walk around lense plus the IS would be a big help to me ( I think ). Then again I have the 70-200 f/2.8 IS to cover the range above 70mm but it would mean switching lenses.

I am going to need a storage device for my shots. What would you all recommend?

[Nicolas Claris]

Thank you Nicolas.
The problem that I have here is that we have one camera store and it doesn't carry much stuff. I have gone their several times and am not very impressed. I would have to travel well over 100 miles to another. That is why I do businees with B&H.
Sounds like you really like the 24-70L.

In fact the 24-70 is a good lens, sharp enough etc, but I bought it when the 24-105 didn't exist...

I would definitively try both... IS is certainly an advantage, but at 70 mm unless you're not suffering Parkison desease, if you can shoot at 1/125s, you shouldn't get too many blurred images...

What is 100 miles? a bit more than one hour drive? I'm sure there are there plenty shops where your wife could get some women's gifts ;;;-) afterall it is also part of the journey's prep... and a good occasion to share a good lunch or dinner with your beloved wife ;;;-) (again)

In regards to pack gear since I've bought a Lowepro (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=4339&A=details&Q=&sku=149687&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation)

In which I can fit :
1DS2
70-200 - 12-24 - 24-70 - 400 - spare battery - bunch of cards - Advil - 15" Powerbook
OK the 500 don't fit in!

With this bag, I do:
- Have no more pain with my back
- Have no problem to carry into aircraft cabin - please note that I avoid for this reason only Heathrow airport.

You may also consider to have a look to thinktank (http://www.thinktankphoto.com/) they are very nice people and very responsive...

I'm sure that in the forest you may do amazing shots with the 12-24! I'd like to be there!

[Marian Howell]

I am going to need a storage device for my shots. What would you all recommend?

two questions about your storage needs...are you taking a laptop, and do you need to view your shots or just save them for later?
a laptop is good for storage and viewing (as well as email etc.). i suggest double backing while on the road. some burn cd/dvds and mail them back to themselves in addition to the laptop hard drive storage. with the price of cards falling, i decided to bulk up on cf cards to augment my hyperdrive (last year's version of the hyperspace) 80gb storage unit. no viewing lcd on the hypers, just storage, but i have enough cards for my needs to not have to reformat a card on the road and a backup (and verified) copy of my cards on the hyperdrive. if you want a viewable storage device, the epson p-4000 seems to be popular, but for me at that point i lug the laptop :)

[MArk Le]

Ive been using the 24-70 for 4 years and just recently I had to clean it and fix it so I needed a lens in the meanwhile and I was shooting with a tamron 28-75 first and then I bought a 24-105.

Now I shoot 24-105 and I'll sell the 24-70 for mainly two reasons:

1. the 105 takes pretty much the same pictures at the correspondent focal
2. the AF is more accurate given the fact that for moving targets the 24-70 had the tendency to lock a little behind (not really back focus.. just not fast enough in my opinion). I was used to it of course but I don't see the same behavior with the 24-105 (to be honest)


the 2.8 aperture is important (very) but in real life I can easily dial the ISO up and get the same shot.

the IS is good to have but I almost never use it.

quality is almost the same with a slight (SLIGHT) advantage for the 24-70 at the corners or right around the center: but the 24-105 is a bit brighter (given the same aperture).

to cut the story short in order to notice any difference you must really spend few minutes at 100% in front of the monitor...by then you (maybe) will see some difference, or you just don't see any and it's yuor imagination working hard to make you see it LOL

the 24-105 is smaller, the hood is "normal", goes up to 105 which makes a difference

the size and weight of the 24-70 (and the hood) can be annoying at times...

let me put it in this way: if you get the 105 you won't be missing quality. at all.

[Kathy Rappaport]

I have both the 24-70 and 24-105. I like to shoot wide open some of the time so the 2.8 is very important to me. The 24-70 has a closer focus distance for Macro that the 24-105 does not. So for flowers close up I'd take the 24-70; If you are just doing more landscape, then the 24-105 with the IS is great - plus it's lighter weight. I've been going back and forth as it depends on what the subject is. All that being said - The closer focusing distance would be the tiebreaker for me. For travel, I will take the 24-105, the 50 2.5 if I am going to be where there are flowers to be shot and the 70-200 and the 12-24 is a possibility - It's a great lens too.

[Ron Morse]

In fact the 24-70 is a good lens, sharp enough etc, but I bought it when the 24-105 didn't exist...

I would definitively try both... IS is certainly an advantage, but at 70 mm unless you're not suffering Parkison desease, if you can shoot at 1/125s, you shouldn't get too many blurred images...

What is 100 miles? a bit more than one hour drive? I'm sure there are there plenty shops where your wife could get some women's gifts ;;;-) afterall it is also part of the journey's prep... and a good occasion to share a good lunch or dinner with your beloved wife ;;;-) (again)

In regards to pack gear since I've bought a Lowepro (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=4339&A=details&Q=&sku=149687&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation)

In which I can fit :
1DS2
70-200 - 12-24 - 24-70 - 400 - spare battery - bunch of cards - Advil - 15" Powerbook
OK the 500 don't fit in!

With this bag, I do:
- Have no more pain with my back
- Have no problem to carry into aircraft cabin - please note that I avoid for this reason only Heathrow airport.

You may also consider to have a look to thinktank (http://www.thinktankphoto.com/) they are very nice people and very responsive...

I'm sure that in the forest you may do amazing shots with the 12-24! I'd like to be there!

Thanks Nicolas.

I will have to call them and see what they have. I must be off on the distance because its 2 to 2:15 hours each way. My wife might enjoy it though. She loves to ride while I hate it.

I have been looking at packs - cases and the 2 you linked to look nice. I think I will take a closer look at the thinktank model although I was considering a lowpro.

I wish you were going. Besides, I would hope, enjoying each others company I might learn something.

Even though this is all booked for next winter I want to start getting things now so I can practice with it all summer.

[Ron Morse]

two questions about your storage needs...are you taking a laptop, and do you need to view your shots or just save them for later?
a laptop is good for storage and viewing (as well as email etc.). i suggest double backing while on the road. some burn cd/dvds and mail them back to themselves in addition to the laptop hard drive storage. with the price of cards falling, i decided to bulk up on cf cards to augment my hyperdrive (last year's version of the hyperspace) 80gb storage unit. no viewing lcd on the hypers, just storage, but i have enough cards for my needs to not have to reformat a card on the road and a backup (and verified) copy of my cards on the hyperdrive. if you want a viewable storage device, the epson p-4000 seems to be popular, but for me at that point i lug the laptop :)


Thanks Marion.

I think that I might take a laptop. My wife doesn't like the idea for fear that I will spend all my time on it. I don't know where she gets these ideas.

I am hopeing that the MIIIs screen will be big enough so that I can dump the ones that I don't want right in the camera and keep the others until I get home to view and work on.

I am afraid it would take a very big storage unit to hold a couple of weeks Raws. I might HAVE to use a laptop and put them on CDs. I have been giving some thought to a laptop with a good sized portable harddrive.

[Ron Morse]

Ive been using the 24-70 for 4 years and just recently I had to clean it and fix it so I needed a lens in the meanwhile and I was shooting with a tamron 28-75 first and then I bought a 24-105.

Now I shoot 24-105 and I'll sell the 24-70 for mainly two reasons:

1. the 105 takes pretty much the same pictures at the correspondent focal
2. the AF is more accurate given the fact that for moving targets the 24-70 had the tendency to lock a little behind (not really back focus.. just not fast enough in my opinion). I was used to it of course but I don't see the same behavior with the 24-105 (to be honest)


the 2.8 aperture is important (very) but in real life I can easily dial the ISO up and get the same shot.

the IS is good to have but I almost never use it.

quality is almost the same with a slight (SLIGHT) advantage for the 24-70 at the corners or right around the center: but the 24-105 is a bit brighter (given the same aperture).

to cut the story short in order to notice any difference you must really spend few minutes at 100% in front of the monitor...by then you (maybe) will see some difference, or you just don't see any and it's yuor imagination working hard to make you see it LOL

the 24-105 is smaller, the hood is "normal", goes up to 105 which makes a difference

the size and weight of the 24-70 (and the hood) can be annoying at times...

let me put it in this way: if you get the 105 you won't be missing quality. at all.

Mark:

I met a photographer yesterday that told me almost the same story you did. My wife had the day off and we took a ride to try and get some eagle shots. We went to get a lunch, I had my Whibal hanging around my neck, and a photographer came over and introduced himself. He shot with a MIIN and had a 24-70 and loved it. He picked up a 24-105 and used it so much that he sold his 24-70. He said that the 24-70 was a wonderful lense but that he seldom used it after getting the 24-105.

Oh.... I missed the shot of my lifetime yesterday. I still had my 100 f/2.8 macro on my camera. We saw an eagle close coming right at us. She flew within probable 50-70 feet of us real low while I was trying to switch lenses. 4 of them were working the river about a mile away and I never got another chance.

[Ron Morse]

I have both the 24-70 and 24-105. I like to shoot wide open some of the time so the 2.8 is very important to me. The 24-70 has a closer focus distance for Macro that the 24-105 does not. So for flowers close up I'd take the 24-70; If you are just doing more landscape, then the 24-105 with the IS is great - plus it's lighter weight. I've been going back and forth as it depends on what the subject is. All that being said - The closer focusing distance would be the tiebreaker for me. For travel, I will take the 24-105, the 50 2.5 if I am going to be where there are flowers to be shot and the 70-200 and the 12-24 is a possibility - It's a great lens too.


Thanks Kathy.

Actually you made me think of something I had not thought of. Perhaps I should take my 100 f/2.8 macro for such opportunitys.

I am glad I started with these questions early. I get ideas that I probably would never think of.

[Aaron Strasburg]

I own the 24-105 and am very pleased with it. I was shooting a work function indoors for which an extra stop would have been great, but for me that's not enough to justify the shorter range of the 24-70 and giving up IS. Eventually I will probably talk myself into the 70-200/2.8 over the f/4, but not just yet....

[Marian Howell]

I am afraid it would take a very big storage unit to hold a couple of weeks Raws. I might HAVE to use a laptop and put them on CDs. I have been giving some thought to a laptop with a good sized portable harddrive.
well the beauty of the hyperspace is you can buy the casing and install your own drive, currently up to 160gb is supported, by next year probably more. i fit approximately 220 raw 5d files on a 4gb card, so that's 5500 raw files for 100gbs...or 500/day for 10 days :)
cds aren't even a gig, and a dvd is 4gigs, so that means for 100gbs of dvd burning you'd have to drag along 25 dvds (and burn them, which takes time!) for 100 gigs of files.
don't get me wrong - i'm not against the laptop at all! i love to take one as it certainly is the next-best-thing to have when the desktop isn't available. but sometimes it's just one too many pieces of gear to haul...and worry about what to do with it when i'm not using it.
i just wanted to give you some numbers to think about. i think you should do some hard math on the space you will need for storage as this will really help you decide what to do.

[Nicolas Claris]

Thanks Nicolas.

I will have to call them and see what they have. I must be off on the distance because its 2 to 2:15 hours each way. My wife might enjoy it though. She loves to ride while I hate it.

I have been looking at packs - cases and the 2 you linked to look nice. I think I will take a closer look at the thinktank model although I was considering a lowpro.

I wish you were going. Besides, I would hope, enjoying each others company I might learn something.

Even though this is all booked for next winter I want to start getting things now so I can practice with it all summer.
Bonjour Ron
when choosing a bag, consider what kind of travel you'll use it for...
Roller case (as mine) is so good for back relief! but won't roll on sand or "bad" ground, can"t be weared on back...
On the contrary standard "photogs" bag are easy to walk while holding it on the shoulder, but it's the hell heavy if you walk a lot!
There are also back bag... seems to be the right solution, but I don't know why, I hate them! absolutely no reason for that, surely stupid!

Wow, 2:15 hours for a hundred miles, should be a very narrow mountain road! (or heavy traffic thru city streets?)
A ride, with no hurry, can be quite a nice travel on the way looking for nice dreamed new gear, on the way back enjoying the pleasure to play with the new gear while your wife is driving (a good idea, then you may have had some good wine for lunch!)... just a thought...;-)

If you test lenses you'll have to bring YOUR camera and your laptop (to check the images) thru the viewfinder is of course not enough and the store may not have the same body as yours or a laptop to let you download as well.

[Ron Morse]

I own the 24-105 and am very pleased with it. I was shooting a work function indoors for which an extra stop would have been great, but for me that's not enough to justify the shorter range of the 24-70 and giving up IS. Eventually I will probably talk myself into the 70-200/2.8 over the f/4, but not just yet....

Thanks Aaron,

I think that the images from the f/4 are just as nice as the f/2.8 IS. However I have found times that the f/2.8 and IS were life savers but most of the time the f/4 is just as good and a lot lighter.


Marion,

I will do some very serious looking at the hyperspace starting tonight.

[Ron Morse]

Thanks Nicolas,

I guess I explained that wrong. I am half French :-) My mother was French. I hope you understand I am joking. My wife calls it my strange sense of humor.

What I ment was that at 70 MPH it takes 2 to 2 hours and 15 minutes so it must be more that 100 miles. I always think in time rather than distance.

I love wine but I would never dare to drink and drive here. I have never been stopped for drinking and driving but the ( can't remember ) second or third time you are stopped for drinking and driving its a mandatory either 6 months or year in prison.