Suggestion required for lens for travel

[ravijain]

I don't see why not?

I've ordered the 20mm 1.8. Thanks Jakov.

[ravijain]

My core kit that always comes along on travel and currently used on a D5100 is Nikon 12-24mm f/4, and 105mm f/2.5 AIS.  (If I do not carry the 12-24mm it is replaced with 28mm f/2.8 AIS).
Usually a 55 f/3.5 AI micro (sometimes swapped with a 50mm) comes along. I will also have a hard time not bringing my 10.5mm fisheye...
If I think I will encounter wildlife etc. a 300 f/4 comes along and perhaps more so now with the tiny 300PF.
The manual focus lenses have been chipped for full functionality on the consumer body.
All of these fits in a Thinktank holster 20 with side pocket  (or 10 without the 300mm) and the little  Speedchanger modular case.
(It could look like most of the advice above comes from FX users ?).

In my early days with the D200, I traveled with the lenses I already had, which were  20mm f/2.8 and 55mm f/3.5 (perhaps 200 f4 or 300mm f/4 on top of that).
This combination worked quite well for nature captures, but today I would miss the 105mm f/2.5 AIS.

Your lens collection is enviable.

[ravijain]

I prefer primes.  The primes are generally faster than zooms and much lighter and smaller (for their speed), which I think is advantageous for travels.

If you don't make large prints, the ability to crop also reduces the need of zooms.  When I went to Germany two years ago for an assignment that included taking pictures, I shot everything with a 16mm/f2.8 and a 50mm/1.8 on two APS-C cameras.

The problem with Nikon APS-C system is that it lacks "reasonable" 14mm or 16mm lenses (f2.8 or faster).

Thanks Akira. I've ordered the 20mm 1.8. I'm confident it should be sufficient.

[Ole Gammelsæter]

I just came back from vacation. The main opportunities was landscapes. I travelled with a relative light kit: 28/2, 55/2.8, 105/2.5, 300/4.5, 16/2.8. For low light I also brought the 35/1.4.
The most used lenses were the 28 and the 105. The least used lens was the 16. The next time I go on a similar trip I will most likly leave the 16 and 35 at home.  Replace the 28/2 with 28/3.5 (if I bring my IR camera), and the 55/2.8 with the 50/1.2 (did not take any macro pictures anyway).
The 20/1.8 is a very tempting lens.

[Airy]

I fully support Björn's recommendation. On full frame, the combinations :
28/2 + 58/1.4 (Voigtländer)
35/2 (Zeiss) + 105/2.5
40/2 (Voigtländer) + 105/2.5
were all satisfactory.
If you need it shorter, consider panning. If you need it longer, consider cropping. In any case, consider walking. Not of these methods cover 100% of situations, but you have to anticipate what situations you are most likely to shoot, or break your back.

Two more cases are not easy to deal with:
Very low light with moving subject, or subject isolation: there is no real alternative to fast lenses.
Close-ups : the workaround "step back and crop" does not usually work. Since I often do close-ups, one of the lenses should be able to perform. The Voigtländer 40/2 (with close-up lens) has become a favourite for that reason. The 58/1.4 also does nice close-ups, but with reduced performance (softness!). The Zeiss 50/2 or Nikkor 55/2.8 are better candidates but somewhat "stand in the middle", so they OK for one-lens solutions, much less for two-lens kits.