Best Lens For Travel Photography (2024)

This video answers the BIG question for many of you. "What is the best lens for travel photography? For documentary photography?"

DISCOUNT CODE COUPON FOR USD$40 OFF: YOUTUBESPECIAL

=============================
𝗧𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀:
=============================

0:00 - Introduction
1:09 - What kinds of photos do you want to make?
1:49 - New candidates in the battle for best travel lens.
3:06 - The main couple of candidates.
3:57 - The PROS of both lenses.
7:08 - The CONS of both lenses.
12:39 - The case for my preferred lens.
15:15 - The choice depends on what you shoot.
16:06 - What about the smaller cameras?
17:04 - Final words.

[mitchellkphotos]

Of course "best" anything is very subjective and bound to make some people disagree. What do you think is the best lens for travel photography? What do you think about my reasons for choosing the lens I chose?

[bunmeng]

I used to travel with 35mm prime (i watched too many documentaty photographer channels). But turns out i’m more happy with a small zoom lens + a small prime for low light situation. It’s faster to shoot with a zoom so i can spend more time enjoying the trip with friends and family.

[clarson]

I’m a retired professional commercial photographer. I had at my disposal the 16-35 f2.8, the 24-70 f2.8, the 24-105 f4, the 70-200 f2.8, and an assistant to carry the extra equipment. As got closer to retirement I started shooing more and more with the 35mm f1.8 and the 85mm f1.8 prime lenses. As a professional, when you absolutely must get the shot, in any kind of an uncontrolled situation, you’ll probably be best served by one of the zoom lenses, and the one I had on the camera most often was the 24-105. But, the joy of shooting with just those 2 prime lenses was part of the reason I didn’t retire earlier. In retirement I’m shooting almost exclusively with the 35mm & the 85mm for my personal enjoyment. A little caveat… in retirement, when photography is not the point of my day, I’m shooting with my iPhone 14 Pro Max. Actually an amazing camera.

[johndonaldson]

With the latest sensors and lenses an APS-C camera is a great choice for travel. The key here is if you're going to focus on photography then bring your Full Frame and large lenses. But if you're with the spouse and kids you don't need the professional equipment.

For me I'll leave the FF camera at home and go with the Sony a6700 with the Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 lens. It's a good all around combination, small and light. That lens produces surprisingly sharp images

[MeAMuse]

It always depends where you are going and what you are shooting. The reality is that regardless of what you choose there are going to be shots you can't get. You go for a 24-70mm you are going to wish you had wider or longer. If you carry the holy trinity.... you are going to wish you had less gear, and you are going to miss shots because you have the wrong lens on. You take a superzoom, and you are going to miss image quality, low light performance and the shallow DOF you can get. You go for a prime... well you are a limiting your flexibility. The good news is that creativity is inspired by the limitations we impose upon ourselves. If you only have a 35mm... you start seeing in the 35mm focal length and if you need wider you might get creative and take a bunch of shots and stitch them together. Choose your gear based on where you are going and what you intent to shoot (if you are going to Yellowstone... you probably shouldn't choose a 16-35mm as your one lens). The important thing is that whatever you choose.... you embrace it, work within those constraints and don't focus on what you are missing. Some vacations I have just gone with a 24-240mm. I have 20x30" prints on my wall from taken at the long (least sharp) part of that 24-240.... and you know what.... people always comment on it because it is a great photo! Also knowing your gear helps... that same lens... I have some good low light shots because I stabilize myself and shoot a bunch of photos with a longer shutter speed (one in the middle somewhere is usually workable), I also know that if I am wanting a sharper image with it I should not zoom it past 135mm.

[RandumbTech]

Always best to bring a decent zoom and fast prime on any vacation. Personally, I chose the Sony 24-105/f4 and 35GM/f1.4. The zoom is awesome for video and the prime is perfect for candid shots and low light conditions. If I want to go really light, I'll just grab my Fuji X100V and GoPro - that'll get the job done surprisingly well.

[matansta]

I too am using the Sony system.
My solution for the weight + size issue was to get the new Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 lens.
Very good quality, lighter, smaller (and cheaper) than the Sony 24-70.
As I see it, the only compromise was loosing important 4 mm at the wide end of the range.
David

[churchill]

For me it’s the the Sony 24-105 for travel . Might be an f4 but has lens stabilisation and that extra reach makes it an incredible lens for travel. Plus for background separation at 105 it looks better than at 70 on the 2.8 imo.

[bitpuff]

Single lens only: Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 OIS "kit" lens - fantastic image quality and fast for a small, light-weight, and discrete lens. Pair that with a small Fujifilm body and you're off to the races. Alternatively, a low-cost, two small camera+lens set ups: 1) Sigma 56 mm f/1.4 DC DN with Fujifilm X-S10 (has IBIS) - very fast and very light weight set up for the long end and 2) Canon EOS RP with 35mm f/1.8 IS MACRO - very fast, light-weight and versatile full frame set up for wide end and macro.

[AnthonyP]

I have a Sony APSC camera, and for my travels in Asia I paired it with a 17-70 F2.8. The full fame equivalent is 24-105, except as it is APSC, the size and weight of the camera and lens is much smaller than full frame and more discreet. It fits into a medium sling bag, as well as my wallet etc, so not a problem to take out in any scenario as I would always have a sling bag anyway. Versatile enough across different zoom ranges, all whilst being fixed at 2.8. Definitely the most versatile lens for me for travelling light.

[b.mansouri]

I took a 35mm f1.8 and a 24-70 f2.8 for my recent travel to Italy and used mostly the 35mm lens. Some days i needed a wider lens but the drawbacks of the zoom lens (weight, bulky and attract more attention) outweigh the pros of it. When I am looking at the pictures now I thought I took some of those pictures with the zoom lens where in fact after checking the exit I realized they were with the 35mm. I think taking the two lenses was the right decision.

[Bullybeef]

That's why I use the Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 G2. Best of both worlds...lightweight, candid, flexible, affordable and takes awesome photos. Thanks for the video :)

[horstlabarca]

I have always my Panasonic G 81 with the kit lens 12 to 60 f 2, 8 to 5.6 with me and the Panasonic 25 mm f 1.8 . I m really happy😊

[belaacs]

I don't care about what lenses people are using, I only care about images and yours always stand out from the crowd. My favourite travel photographer is Steve McCurry and you Mitchell.

[scbscb]

If money is not a issue, and personally feel its always possible to add a small prime i would say : replace the 24-70GM with the 24-70GM2 and also take a 35GM1.4 with the size and weight savings of the new 2470GM2 :)

[GatorheadLuis]

For me if I was traveling again full time I would take with me a 24-105mm lens on a full frame mirrorless body and a fixed lens camera with either 28mm/35mm focal length... I used a Canon EOSr with 24-105mm and a Leica Q traveling for 8 months and I was able to photograph 90% of everything that came my way (the exception being ultra-wide landscapes/tight city scapes where a 16-35mm came in handy).

[tonybaker]

Just returned from a trip around Europe and I took ages to decide what lens or lenses to take (I probably have too many!). At first I thought take the 24-105 f/4, but it is heavy for walking around all day with. Then I was going to take a 17-35 f/2.8-4 and a 35-105 f/3.5-4.5, but then I decided, I might need a wider apperture than those could provide, so opted in the end to take three primes, 35mm f/2, 50mm f/1.4 and 100mm f/2.8 Macro. I did take a few shots with the 50 and 100, but the vasy majority were using the 35mm (about 95%). The only comment I got from my brother-in-law, was "why didn't you bring a zoom lens?"

[Thunderbird]

Used a Sony 16-55 f2.8 on APS-C for a couple of years (because of its compactness), now I switched to full-frame and I just absolutely love the 50mm f1.8 for traveling. I realized that I don't really need wide angle very often and that I can do almost everything with 50mm. And f1.8 on full-frame just looks so much better than f2.8 on APS-C, that's really worth for me being limited to a prime lens (or two - mostly I take the 18mm Samyang with me, too).

[robertgouldphotography]

Hi I enjoyed your video. I spent 2 weeks in France (Normandy, Paris and Loire Valley). In my opinion 16-35 is by far the best single lens for Sony. I got absolutely stunning pics of just about everything from people in Paris and Mont St Michel. I did not even bring my 24-70.
16-35 is also less bulky and lighter than 24-70.

[costa]

my best travel choice is the 24mm f1.4. The use of the super35 mode allows to get around 35mm when needed