Please help me determine which of my lenses would be of the most value on a D800 in Paris?16mm f/2.8  fisheye14-24mm f/2.824-70mm f/2.850mm f/1.8105mm VR f/2.8135mm f/2.0 DC70-200mm VR f/2.8Lensbaby Sweet 35 and Edge 80I feel like I should narrow it down to two or three.  Thanks.

ArtWW wrote:Please help me determine which of my lenses would be of the most value on a D800 in Paris?16mm f/2.8  fisheye14-24mm f/2.824-70mm f/2.850mm f/1.8105mm VR f/2.8135mm f/2.0 DC70-200mm VR f/2.8Lensbaby Sweet 35 and Edge 80I feel like I should narrow it down to two or three.  Thanks.You know how you have used the lens you have in the past.  Thinkabout what you plan to accomplish on your trip, and act accordingly.

Hmmm, I personally would consider the 16mm, 24-70 and the 135mm as your best bets;  leaving the 70-200mm big gun behind.  This would be a good compromise in weight.  I've no issue with carrying a 24-70 on my D4 as a walk around lens all day.  Weighty?  A bit.  But who doesn't need a little exercise?  The DC lens will be wonderful to isolate and capture faces if you're into street portraits.  Hope that helps!!  Cheers!

having so many lenses - much of them quite specialized - you have to know better what specific need made you buy each of them. I will take the 14-24 and the 70-200.Or, if you have 500usd more, buy a used nex5n and leave the big guy home. it did the trick for me all around spain.

Few answers can be found here:http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/51244062

If it was just one lens it would be the 24-70mm f2.8. If you need a wider angle lens you can do panos. My second lens would be the 70-300 VR. I'd also take one extension tube in case I need to do a closeup.

Somehow you have gathered up all this equipment without the right lenses for travel, which is why you are asking for help - none of what you have seems appropriate to you. It isn't - it's too big, bulky and heavy.Here is the answer, based on me and what I shoot when I travel, and what lenses I have taken and used the most.1. 24mm PC-E for architecture and interiors, gardens and plazas, little public squares, streets. Of course, since we aren't shooting slide film any more, it's less important to get the perspective right the first time, but I'm a purist. (The 14-24 would do most of what this lens does, but it seems awfully big to travel with, and I'd always worry I was going to hit something with that front element. The Zeiss 15mm, 18mm or 21mm might do well for this job also.) You don't really need a tripod with this lens unless you start trying to get fancy with swings/tilts. If you get to Aix from Nice, this would be particularly nice.2. 35mm f/1.4 for night and street shooting in evenings, in the rain, in clubs, in restaurants, promenading on the weekends on the big boulevards or in the parks. Of course it would be nice if this was the small and unobtrusive old 35mm f/1.4 Summilux on a compact Leica body, which is much easier to focus in these light conditions and much less likely to attract the attention of those you are trying to photograph, but you have a Nikon, so you just have to make do.3. 85mm f/1.4 for those dreamy backgrounds in those pictures of faces in the crowd and people on the street, perspective compression in street scenes, landscapes and detail shots. (Your 105 might do this for you, but it's a little long for this type of shooting, and there's a big gap between 35 and 105 - not so much to 85.)Your monster zooms will drag on you and detract from the travel experience, unless you have a bearer. These three will fit handily in a comfortable waist pack like the Speed Demon or Speed Freak with speed belt, together with a small water bottle, a piece of fruit, a little cheese and some nuts. You could also get a lens bag sized for the 70-200 so you could carry a baguette.Sounds like a great trip! Lovely places to take photographs.If required to stick with what you have, I would probably just take the 24-70, perhaps pick up an ultrawide like the 15 or 18 Zeiss, maybe take the 50 for speed when needed.

jubilatu wrote:i have to congratulate you for your trip.i have to congratulate you for your gear.why do i have to do this ? because apparently you need [another] place to brag and i am a good forum colleague.Wow, I'm new to this website but didn't know being a douche was a pre-requisite for joining a Nikon SLR Lens discussion.OT:having so many lenses - much of them quite specialized - you have to know better what specific need made you buy each of them. I will take the 14-24 and the 70-200.Or, if you have 500usd more, buy a used nex5n and leave the big guy home. it did the trick for me all around spain.

ArtWW wrote:Please help me determine which of my lenses would be of the most value on a D800 in Paris?16mm f/2.8  fisheye14-24mm f/2.824-70mm f/2.850mm f/1.8105mm VR f/2.8135mm f/2.0 DC70-200mm VR f/2.8Lensbaby Sweet 35 and Edge 80I feel like I should narrow it down to two or three.  Thanks.First choice would be the 24-70mm. Then decide how much you want to carry and what kinds of thing would interest you.Are you going to want to do a lot of wide interiors and street scenes? If so, take the 14-24mm.

I was in Paris about 5 yrs ago.  I had a D70s ans bought the sigma 10-20mm just for the trip and was glad i did.  It was my most used lens. Now that i have my D700, I would have my 14-24 and my 24-70.  The 70-200 would stay home.Steve

Depends how you will be traveling.  If you will be touring by car or will be able to safely leave some of your gear in your hotel room while you take day trips, I personally would simply take the "big 3" zooms.  You can then carry different lenses on different days depending where you are going and what you feel like shooting.24-70 on most days.14-24 when you anticipate a lot of time indoors, and for parks and gardens.  Even thought it is not my most used lens its the most fun to use, and really makes colors pop.70-200. Carry this one on on days when there might be a chance for long distance street and point of interest photography.Would not recommend the above if your travel plans are such that you will always have to carry your gear with you.  If this is the case, go with just the 24-70 or some light primes.Sounds like a great trip you have planned. Congratulations and enjoy.

Just me and my travel style. I would take the Nikon 28-300 vr as the main all purpose lens.Then I would keep the Nikon 24 2.8 and the Optic Pro 8mm fisheye in my pocket. Both are small.Yes, this fisheye is for DX, but still does very well on the D800. I used it 18 months ago in Paris and found it helpful in narrow streets, tight museums, etc.I tend to use different lenses when I travel than I do at home, due to the reality of wanting to travel "light."However, none of these are on your list.So basically take as many as you can feel comfortable carrying!No matter want lenses you end up taking, you are going to have a fabulous trip with great photos to enjoy when you return home!This would be true whether you decide on only one of your lenses, or if you find a way to take them all. The opportunities in France to use any given lens will be enormous!

I faced a similar dilemma recently and left my DSLR at home and took a little Fuji PS.  I missed some amazing shooting opportunities and regret the decision, but had a worry-free vacation, nevertheless.  I would seriously consider leaving all the heavy zoom lenses at home in favor of a compact kit.  Take one tele prime, and a WA (at most).  I would take a 28, 85 g, or in your case 14-24 and the 105 (which I acknowledge is neither light or compact, but should deliver outstanding results).  Be careful and enjoy the trip.

Congrats on a trip to Paris.Having been there a few times (live in Europe so less travel time), I felt that its easy to get lost with a UWA (14-24). One ends up trying to get everything in frame rather than interesting angles. At least I did this the first time, once back at the hotel and reviewing the pictures I decided to leave the wide angle at the hotel and left with a 35 and 70-300. I don't have a fisheye, but could definitely think of some nice places where it would be right at home.......what was the name of that little church in town....?If you are planing some nice street photos the 14-24 and the 24-70, then they aren't the most subtle lenses. 35 or a 50 is perfect, in my opinion.Also recommend borrowing or picking up an inexpensive point and shoot, if you don't have one already. Nothing is worse than lugging a 10lbs camera out to dinner in the evenings.Just my thoughts.

I hope you will have a wonderful time in France.Just my 2 ct: both Paris and Nice are very large cities and for street photogrpahy, the 24-70 should be fine, you will hardly need any other lens (the 135 would be nice for portrait and some architectural details, but it's going to stay in your bag most of the time...)Paris: I wouldn't stay more than 3 days in Paris, most tourist places are overcrowded, but make sure you visit Notre Dame, the inside of the cathedral is free, but for approx $10, you can climb on top of the towers and the view from up there will get you wonderful pics.Nice: again, large city, don't waste time in Nice, BUT they are so many beautiful things to see around Nice, I'd stay there 2 weeks if I could...Do make sure you go to1) Eze: it's fabulous and the view from up there is worth it. (I think it's approx 10 miles from Nice)2) Biot: you might want to go late in the afternoon, take pics at the sunset and have dinner there, then take more pics at night, you really want to walk in the smallest streets of this medieval village, really awesome (and only 10 miles from Nice)3) Gourdon: make sure you go on a clear day, the view form up there is breathtaking, on a claer day you can see Corsica island, make sure you also visit the castle, on your way back, make a stop at Tourettes / Loup (Gourdon is approx 25 miles from Nice)And please post some pics when you're back

24-120/4

Tasmania (AUS)     Fisheye-Nikkor   for the Trout in the Great Lakes.

I would take the 24-70. It's a bit heavy to carry around the neck for many many hours a day, but it's your best option of the lenses you have. A lightweight WA like the new 18-35 would be nice (light weight and good IQ), I would not bring the 14-24 2.8.A 50 1.4 is good for low light, but I would not bring it, will most likely not be used. Keep your 24-70 steady instead.Paris is nice, lots to see, will be plenty walking, use daytrip passes for the riverboats to ease the walking distances.

14-24 on the camera all the time as you will need wide a lot. Also configure the 1.2x mode and DX crop modes to be selected via the command dials (and have the unused area shown darkened in the viewfinder) - this way your 14-24 can be cropped at 24mm to be 30mm equivalent (1.2x crop) and 36mm equivalent (1.5x/DX crop). So effectively you are using a useful 14-36mm equivalent lens and have the angles of view at your disposal from 114 degrees to 61 degrees.Just occassionally if you need it then change the lens to 50mm f/1.8g or 135 f/2 DC. The above advice is what I would do - with your lens collection and from what I think are the focal length requirements of a Europe trip.

ArtWW wrote:Please help me determine which of my lenses would be of the most value on a D800 in Paris?16mm f/2.8  fisheye14-24mm f/2.824-70mm f/2.850mm f/1.8105mm VR f/2.8135mm f/2.0 DC70-200mm VR f/2.8Lensbaby Sweet 35 and Edge 80I feel like I should narrow it down to two or three.  Thanks.Having been to Paris and many other European destinations, I took the following:D70016-35 f4 VR24-70 f2.870-200 f2.81.4x TCII and 2x TCII.The above kit was perfect for my use, although I hardly used the 70-200 f2.8 until I got to the UK and went to a nature reserve to shoot some birds.I do have the 14-24 f2.8 but would probably still take my 16-35 f4 VR in preference as the VR is very useful inside those dimly lit churches, cathedrals and castles etc. However, I would take my D800E on my next trip and the new 80-400 instead of the 70-200 + TC's. I would probably take my Sigma 35mm f1.4 as well.