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What to take to Prague?

glocke12

glocke12

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 7, 2008
999
7
I have chance to go to Prague for free at the end of June for 3-4 days, and am looking for suggestions as to what to take in terms of photography gear.

My kit consists of the following:

Nikon D7000 (also have a D50)
Nikon 70-200 f2.8
Nikon 24-70 f2.8
Nikon 12-24 f4
Tamron 70-300
Tamron 180 macro

What lens (or lenses) would be the most useful, or am just better off leaving the expensive expensive glass at home and getting an all in such as the Nikon 18-200?
 
I would leave the macro, but if you can take the kit then go for it. Prague is a beautiful city with a lot to see and do. Various lenses will give you the ability to shoot many different ways.
 
Nikon 70-200 f2.8
Nikon 24-70 f2.8

Would cover most things i imagine and keep the weight down. I would not be buying a lesser quality all-in-one, whats the point of owning expensive glass if your too afraid to use it?
 
To be honest, when I was there, I used my wide angle a lot. In fact, it stayed on my camera most of the time. Be advised that if you go into any museums or churches you will probably not be able to use a flash and tripods are usually frowned upon as well so you may want a unipod to help steady the camera.
 
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glocke12 said:
Nikon 24-70 f2.8
Nikon 12-24 f4
Click to expand...

First time I went to Europe, I took the 18-200 and 50mm. Really wished I had an ultra wide angle. I'd say take the 24-70 and 12-24. I never used the telephoto end of 18-200 very much.
 
glocke12 said:
Nikon D7000 (also have a D50)

Nikon 24-70 f2.8
Nikon 12-24 f4
Click to expand...

The UWA will be the best lens round Prague to be honest.

If you are hell bent on taking pictures of the detail of some of the buildings, then by all means take a 300mm zoom, but frankly, Prague is such a beautiful city I'd doubt you'll be taking the 12-24 off much.

Personally speaking, and I know Prague quite well, I wouldn't even bother with the 24-70 either. Stick the UWA on and have a nice few days.

18mm as has been recommended would be rubbish for somewhere like Prague. Think big time architecture and wide. 18mm just isn't going to cut it.

And I'd only really take the 24-70 if you were doing some people shots.
 
12-24 and 24-70. I agree that in a city with as much history as Prague, you'll be doing mostly architecture/landscape shots. Bring the 24-70 because you don't want to be stuck without anything other than a wide angle. There'll be tourists everywhere, so the 70-200 might be a bit frustrating to use as well. Nobody will notice you walking a bit closer to get your shot. There'll be dozens just like you.
 
Having been to Prague with only my Tamron 17-50 I wish I had a nice mid range zoom and UWA. So I say your 12-24, 24-70,70-200 then you have it all covered.
 
tinman0 said:
I was trying to be nice about your bad advice.

The OP needs to take the 12-24 as his primary lens. Simple as that.
Click to expand...

Negative. He needs to take the 24-70. He can use his feet to zoom + "work" for the shot he wants. Plus he'll have the advantage of f/2.8 in case he wants some low light (night, dusk, inside museums and whatnot). He's way more versatile with the 24-70.
 
You did not provide nearly enough information for someone to provide a meaningful response. Going on vacation or for business? Alone or with others? Are those others photographers or not? Is the purpose of your trip purely to shoot photos? Do you try to travel light? Do you like to bring along a lot of gear? What sorts of photos do you like to take? What kinds of photos of Prague do you envision trying to get? Will you bring a tripod? Are you looking to make high quality prints, or just some travel memories? The questions can go on and on...

You can see where there is so much lacking information that any "opinions" here are more or less randomly picking out some of your listed gear and saying to go with that.

Ruahrc
 
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Razeus said:
Negative. He needs to take the 24-70. He can use his feet to zoom + "work" for the shot he wants. Plus he'll have the advantage of f/2.8 in case he wants some low light (night, dusk, inside museums and whatnot). He's way more versatile with the 24-70.
Click to expand...

Not really.

The 24-70 will only work (barely) in the middle of Old Town and Wenceslas Square.

Other than that you 12-24 will be the primary lens as Prague is a very closed and tight city. The architecture is absolutely stunning, but you just won't have room to back up much at 24mm. You will get nice pictures of doors at 24mm rather than a building or a street.

As for night and any low light stuff, take a tripod. Don't even bother with the f2.8 as it's not worth it. You'll be bumping ISO to stupid levels, shooting with f2.8 when you should just use a tripod and get the proper results. Cutting a corner will simply show later on when you review the shots.
 
Allow me to propose something a bit on the radical side. :cool:

Everyone agrees that the Tamron macro is too much a specialist lens. So you obviously won't be taking that.

The 24-70/2.8 is fine with 35mm and FX bodies (although it has obvious distortion) but on a DX body it's equivalent to 36-105mm on an FX body. And if you want a wide-angle lens, this one will not do.

The 70-200/2.8 might be overkill although its quality is great. Do you need f/2.8? One poster said that you may as well take a tripod or monopod or something like that. Even a pocket tripod that you can use to steady the camera on pillars etc. is useful. So if you agree with that logic, you don't need this lens.

I don't know about the 70-300. It might be pretty darned good. I don't have a lens like this. However, I'm guessing that it's smaller than the 70-200/2.8. At the same time, it has a longer range (4x vs 3x). This might be a good choice.

And you obviously want a wide-angle lens. Which means the 12-24. To supplement that, the 70-300 might be the best bet. Conclusion: those two lenses are the ones I'm recommending. Ignore the gap between 24mm and 70mm. Apart from that apparent 'issue', they seem best suited to your task.
 
Personally, I like wide angles, I like fast lenses, and I like to travel light. When I travel, I usually bring a D40 with a 10-20mm Sigma and a 35mm f/1.8, which is a nice combination that is easy to carry in a small shoulder bag (I use a Crumpler 4MDH). I'd take the 12-24mm and pick up either a 35mm f/1.8 or a 50mm f/1.4 for portraits, low light, and a little more reach. Either of these lenses weighs only a fraction of the 24-70 and gives you one to two stops more light. I would advise against the 18-200 type lenses as if you want wide, 18mm is not wide enough.
 
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I was in Prague this summer with only my D90 and 35mm 1.8.

A UWA lens was what I missed most, and as noted for most of Praha this will be great. I also spent a bit of times in bars/clubs so the f1.8 was great to capture the extreme lowlight of these places. While the 14-24, 24-70 and 70-200 would certainly be an amazing combination, you might think about doing you UWA and maybe a 50mm prime. This would be an extremely mobile combination and would capture a great variety of shots. Obviously you don't have the 50mm prime but it would be an easy purchase off craigslist and re-sell later for no cost.

Regardless I would definitely bring the UWA, and there is a lot of value in packing light (beyond the reduced risk).

Finally have a great time, Praha is great. Try to go to U Sudu (awesome cavernous bar in the city)

na zdraví (to your health/cheers)
 
Nikon 70-200 f2.8
Nikon 24-70 f2.8
Nikon 12-24 f4

If you can put up with the weight this would be an ultimate kit.
 
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Take only one lens.

- You wil travel light, feel free and will be more open to the environment.
- It wil force you to be more creative, will make you a better photographer.
- You will be surprised by your own creativity, so you will have more fun.
- You will be less distracted by your equipment, and be more productive.
 
If you only take one lens, take the 12-24. I used a 16-35 f/2.8 Canon lens on an APS-C body, with the majority of shots being at the shorter end. If you can pack the 24-70 as well, so much the better.

It's a great place for photography.
 
What to take to Prague?

What lens you need depends on what shots you want to take... We're just back from a trip down the Rhine/Mosel, with towns like Colmar or Bernkastel where medieval buildings overhang narrow streets, and the lens I used most was... 70-300mm; the 18-55 less, and the 10-20mm less again - but that's because I like detail (gargoyles, shop signs, storks nesting on cathedral roofs) and prefer to crop my shots as I take them rather than in post.

But with so many possible subjects on offer, you'll inevitably wish you had brought the lens you leave behind, so why not bring all three (whether the telephoto is the 70-200 or 70-300 - and don't just pick one because it opens wider, the D7000 performs very well at higher ISOs, and you'll probably be shooting most telephoto shots in bright conditions).

A great investment, if you don't have them already, would be a pair of neoprene lens pouches that you can slide your belt through (or clip on) - easy to get at and less weight in your backpack (if you still need one).

Rather than a tripod (which you might find some places won't let you use), a monopod can be useful - we have a Manfrotto 560B monopod with three little flip-out feet for added stability.
 
When I went to Prague I had a 17-35, 35-70 and 70-200 all f2.8. I also had a 1.7x converter. I was shooting with the D3 so it was a full frame camera.
I used everything.

There were many great detail shots that I used the longer lens for, and many spots where I wanted the compression of the long focal length. The converter was great, small and light weight. Lots of time to shoot wide too. It all depends on your style. I'd rather be carrying the lens on me, then see a shot I want and the lens is at home.

There were times I wished I had a tri-pod but it was just too much bulk. There is a great night shot of Prague castle from the Charles Bridge. I set my camera on the bridge and propped it up with my wallet to get the shot. A sandbag would have come in handy.

Have a great time.
 
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