I have been asked many times what is the top travel camera “at the moment”. I was never asked however what are the best lenses for travel photography.
We spend lots of energy searching for a new travel camera, we go through websites, comparisons, features and obviously best prices.
And the lenses?
Whatever comes with the camera is fine.
I personally thinks it is a bit of a mistake and let me explain why.
The same camera with different lenses, at the same focal length, can perform really differently. Prof. Marc Levoy published an interesting lecture on lenses with examples of photos. By the way, this is part of an 18-lectures workshop from his original Stanford course, highly suggested to anyone.
Saving on lenses may under perform your camera. It’s a bit like buying a Ferrari and saving on the engine, maybe even downgrading to a Fiat 500 engine.
This is of course a bit of a drastic example but I wanted to just give an idea.
As a rule of thumb I usually suggest to spend as much money for your camera as well as for your first lens, in case this is an all round.
There is another good point about investing more in lenses.
Usually when we upgrade to an upper level camera we tend to carry with us the lenses we already have. That is why it is a good idea to be more selective in what we buy.
Best travel lenses for Canon, Nikon and the mirrorless : the quick answer
This post (should I call it guide?) goes through a detailed explanation of the best travel lenses you may need for your trip, in which occasion and why. It covers also another important point that is what you can avoid buying (just to stop accumulating gear and spending money, I am very bad myself in this LOL)
If however you have just a spare minute and you want to know only one lens for each manufacturer then here is a quick list:
Canon EF 24-105mm F4L IS II USM: this is an awesome all-round that you can use in 95% of the cases. It’s a lens designed for full sensor cameras (5D, 7D etc) however it can and should be used also on an APS-C camera (equivalent 36-157mm). I say should because this is a tremendous Canon lens that will last for the life, doesn’t matter if you will upgrade your camera in future. I use this on my Canon 5D Mark IV
Fujifilm XF 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR: I had this lens for some time and I took it with me on a trip with the X-T1. It is an equivalent 24-82.5mm focal length which again covers most of the travel scenarios. The very wide aperture at F2.8 is a great bonus when shooting indoor (markets, etc)
FE 24-70mm f/4 Vario-Tessar: I have used this lens with the Sony a7rii and the Sony a9. It’s so razor sharp. The construction is so solid too. Really this is a great lens for any photography with the Sony a7 or a9
Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS Lens: Can I say finally? In my opinion this is the best all round travel lens for Sony A7 &A9 camera. It was announced in late 2017 and I bought it straight away. Sony was really missing this focal range (24-70 can be too small sometime). Definitely my go to lens
E 16-70mm F/4 Vario-Tessar: In my opinion this is the best travel lens for Sony a6300 or any camera with E-mount. Very similar to the previous lens in quality and construction.
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm 1:2.8 PRO: great equivalent focal range (24-80mm) and amazingly wide (F/2.8). It’s a 2013 lens but, I believe, still the best in the Olympus MFT range for travelling. You can find some bargains on the net.
Panasonic Leica DG 12-60mm F2.8-4.0: this is the most exciting and all you need Panasonic lens in the market. True, it’s variable aperture but it’s a small drawback. I used it a lot in a trip with a GH5 and a GX85 and I loved it. Super sharp and very light as well, all I needed for my trekking.
Out of this list I also suggest these lenses below (just announced and/or available in the market)
Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 Di III RXD: this comes with a Sony FE mount (A7 or A9). Very promising lens with a great competitive price. It is also weather sealed
Venus Laowa 9mm F2.8 Zero-D: let’s start from the drawback, it’s only manual focus. Now on the positive, it is ultra-wide, amazing price (below $500!!), it’s quick at f/2, it’s light and small. It is a great choice for the budget conscious using APS-C or MFT cameras
Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG HSM Art: it’s a full frame ultra-wide lens designed with the typical Sigma Art Lens quality. Weather sealed and built for Canon, Nikon and Sigma cameras. It has also a great price, once compared with the Canon or Nikon lenses
Lenses for travel photography
First thing first, this post is not really about wild life photography. In that case you would need zoom lenses, either for a safari or birds photography, or maybe a macro lens, in case you are interested to the “micro” world.
I own a few lenses that range from 12mm to 200mm focal length. I occasionally also review few zoom lenses on some trips, like the Sigma 100-400mm I had on a safari trip in south africa.
What I have being noticing, along my last years of travelling, is that I probably just need 2 lenses in my trips, maybe 3 of them. Sometime even 1 is enough.
All round zoom lens
Prime 5o mm
Super wide angle
Final thoughts
The great thing about technology is that it keeps updating and upgrading.
The surprising thing is that the gear cost does not increase that much, instead it tends to decrease.
I still remember my first digital compact I bought in Vienna, the best in the market at 4MP. I paid it 1,900 Euro. With that money today I can buy a full sensor mirrorless or DSLR, or a used camera + lens gear kit and save money for a short trip.
My favourite lens?
It varies based on the camera however as a rule of thumb I usually invest for an all-round travel lens as much as for a camera. It’s always good to start with the right foot.
I would also personally never buy a camera gear kit as the lenses tend to be not as performing as the camera. I would buy instead the body and just one all-round lens. In a later stage I would add a fast 40-50mm prime (f/1.4 to f/2.8)
Enjoy your travel photography!!