Going to Vietnam- what lenses?
Discussion
Hello!
Looking for some advice please from anyone who has been to Vietnam, I am going at the end of the month for just over 2 weeks travelling from North to South. Really intrigued what gear people would recommend, I know this is subjective to what style of photography you do but I'm a bit of a jack of all trades so want to take the gear that will get the most use.
As an example I went to the Galapagos last year, took every lens imaginable from 16mm-400mm. All I really needed was my 35mm prime and the 100-400 (which was rented).
The gear I have is: Sony A7iii, Sony 16-35 f4, Zeiss 35mm f2.8, Sony 50mm f1.8, Sony 28-70 (really slow standard lens).
I am looking to buy a long lens in general, but whether I go ahead now will depend on whether it will get enough use on this trip. I would like something around 70-200 and was hoping the Tokina would come out soon, no news of it yet so if I went down that route I would go for the Sony 70-200 f4.
Another option I am considering is the Tokina 100mm macro lens which I could use for macro work and as a portait/longer lens.
The 35mm is definitely coming as it's my go to 90% of the time and small and light to carry. So I suppose the question comes down to should I take the wide angle? And would you go 100mm or 70-200mm? Taking into account size and weight.
50mm is being sold as it's utterly, utterly appalling at focusing. I would like to replace it with the 55mm but out of budget for now if I'm buying something longer.
Sorry for the long post and hope someone has some useful advice. Thank you!
Looking for some advice please from anyone who has been to Vietnam, I am going at the end of the month for just over 2 weeks travelling from North to South. Really intrigued what gear people would recommend, I know this is subjective to what style of photography you do but I'm a bit of a jack of all trades so want to take the gear that will get the most use.
As an example I went to the Galapagos last year, took every lens imaginable from 16mm-400mm. All I really needed was my 35mm prime and the 100-400 (which was rented).
The gear I have is: Sony A7iii, Sony 16-35 f4, Zeiss 35mm f2.8, Sony 50mm f1.8, Sony 28-70 (really slow standard lens).
I am looking to buy a long lens in general, but whether I go ahead now will depend on whether it will get enough use on this trip. I would like something around 70-200 and was hoping the Tokina would come out soon, no news of it yet so if I went down that route I would go for the Sony 70-200 f4.
Another option I am considering is the Tokina 100mm macro lens which I could use for macro work and as a portait/longer lens.
The 35mm is definitely coming as it's my go to 90% of the time and small and light to carry. So I suppose the question comes down to should I take the wide angle? And would you go 100mm or 70-200mm? Taking into account size and weight.
50mm is being sold as it's utterly, utterly appalling at focusing. I would like to replace it with the 55mm but out of budget for now if I'm buying something longer.
Sorry for the long post and hope someone has some useful advice. Thank you!
I’d probably go for the 70-200 although I like the look of the Sony 90mm macro.
Just back from the states and used my Tamron 28-75 most of the time (plus a 40mm Voightlander and a Sony Rx100iv)excellent lens and fairly light and compact. Didn’t find myself wanting a longer lens most of the time but wished I’d got something wider.
Next purchase is probably going to be the Tamron 17-28.
Just back from the states and used my Tamron 28-75 most of the time (plus a 40mm Voightlander and a Sony Rx100iv)excellent lens and fairly light and compact. Didn’t find myself wanting a longer lens most of the time but wished I’d got something wider.
Next purchase is probably going to be the Tamron 17-28.
How much walking are you planning on doing? How much climbing or walking up hills? Will you be travelling with everything with you in a rucksack?
If it were me, I'd forget the dSLR route and just buy a Sony RX100 of some sort. I wouldn't want the weight, bulk or responsibility of a 'cover every eventuality' set up. Unless, of course, the whole point of the trip is photography!
If it were me, I'd forget the dSLR route and just buy a Sony RX100 of some sort. I wouldn't want the weight, bulk or responsibility of a 'cover every eventuality' set up. Unless, of course, the whole point of the trip is photography!
Tony1963 said:
How much walking are you planning on doing? How much climbing or walking up hills? Will you be travelling with everything with you in a rucksack?
If it were me, I'd forget the dSLR route and just buy a Sony RX100 of some sort. I wouldn't want the weight, bulk or responsibility of a 'cover every eventuality' set up. Unless, of course, the whole point of the trip is photography!
Thanks both for the responses. My wife has an RX100iii which is a good little camera, I definitely want something a bit better though. I will be backpacking and carrying everything with me, but we tend to travel light. We've gone around the World before, me with basically my whole (Micro 4/3) setup and all clothing, sleeping bags etc. for 7 months of travel and my bag was around 10kg. Even with the Sony gear I don't see myself exceeding that weight.If it were me, I'd forget the dSLR route and just buy a Sony RX100 of some sort. I wouldn't want the weight, bulk or responsibility of a 'cover every eventuality' set up. Unless, of course, the whole point of the trip is photography!
I just want to make sure I've got the right gear with me, but we are travelling light so want to leave stuff at home if it really won't see any use. We'll definitely be very active, we're going to about 6/7 different places travelling via overnight trains and staying everywhere from budget hostels to a 5 star resort.
Ideally looking for advice from someone who has been to Vietnam and will have a good idea of the type of shots I'll most likely want to take.
35mm is a definite
16-35 jury is still out
longer lens? I'd like something but not sure whether to buy the 100mm macro or sony 70-200. (ultimately I want both eventually, can only justify one right now and not sure which will be more suitable)
I live in Vietnam for 5 months of the year usually. The kit I drag around with me consists of a Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70mm, 70-200, 85mm and a Tamron 150-600mm G2.
All in carry on luggage along with a MacBook Pro. Watch out for Việt jet and Jetstar as they will weigh carryon bags.
Apart from the Mekong Delta I’d not worry about taking the 150-600mm again.
If weight was a major issue I’d be happy with just the 24-70mm and 70-200mm.
All in carry on luggage along with a MacBook Pro. Watch out for Việt jet and Jetstar as they will weigh carryon bags.
Apart from the Mekong Delta I’d not worry about taking the 150-600mm again.
If weight was a major issue I’d be happy with just the 24-70mm and 70-200mm.
I used to carry all my gear and then decide each day what to go out with. But heavy.
So for trips like yours I now take:
RF35
RF24-105
EF100-400
I rarely take my 100mm Macro or 16-35 anymore.
The A7III with the 35 is, as you say, ideal for a walkabout, similar to my EOS R + RF35. Small and light.
I now use a Peak Design 5L pack for EOS R + 24-105, 35, and a flash. The 100-400 is in its own pouch in my backpack and comes out depending upon what is happening that day.
I'm considering the RF24-240 that is due out soon to lessen the weight further as I do always want at least a 200mm reach available to me but the 100-400 is such good IQ that I'd probably miss it.
So for trips like yours I now take:
RF35
RF24-105
EF100-400
I rarely take my 100mm Macro or 16-35 anymore.
The A7III with the 35 is, as you say, ideal for a walkabout, similar to my EOS R + RF35. Small and light.
I now use a Peak Design 5L pack for EOS R + 24-105, 35, and a flash. The 100-400 is in its own pouch in my backpack and comes out depending upon what is happening that day.
I'm considering the RF24-240 that is due out soon to lessen the weight further as I do always want at least a 200mm reach available to me but the 100-400 is such good IQ that I'd probably miss it.
March this year I took a fuji 18-55, then bought a 10-24 and 55-200 specifically for the trip
Thought Id use the 55-200 very little and sell when I got back, and keep the 10-24 and use it loads for landscapes, but sold the 10-24 when I got back and still have the 55-200. Loved using the 55-200 for street stuff and depending where youre going theres plenty of opportunities to use it
DSCF9066 by Michael Goodwin, on Flickr
relaxing by Michael Goodwin, on Flickr
The 10-24 I didnt really like but I just point and shoot holiday snaps, might of been better with someone who knows what they are doing. Id of been happy with the prime 14mm I think.
DSCF8132 by Michael Goodwin, on Flickr
DSCF8806 by Michael Goodwin, on Flickr
I might buy a 14mm prime for my next trip away for the sake of landscapes and maybe a 35 and 50ish wide prime for night use, lots to see at night in busier cities
Enjoy the trip, Ho Chi Ming aside, the whole country was incredible and the people were great, had an incredible time. Try do things by bike if you can
....going back Id take all 3 - a wide for landscape (say 14mm prime), my 18-55 and the 55-200. Wide prime would be nice for night use.
I kept my lenses in some amazon lens bags and attached them to my daytime rucksack, easy to swap out then.
Thought Id use the 55-200 very little and sell when I got back, and keep the 10-24 and use it loads for landscapes, but sold the 10-24 when I got back and still have the 55-200. Loved using the 55-200 for street stuff and depending where youre going theres plenty of opportunities to use it
DSCF9066 by Michael Goodwin, on Flickrrelaxing by Michael Goodwin, on FlickrThe 10-24 I didnt really like but I just point and shoot holiday snaps, might of been better with someone who knows what they are doing. Id of been happy with the prime 14mm I think.
DSCF8132 by Michael Goodwin, on FlickrDSCF8806 by Michael Goodwin, on FlickrI might buy a 14mm prime for my next trip away for the sake of landscapes and maybe a 35 and 50ish wide prime for night use, lots to see at night in busier cities
Enjoy the trip, Ho Chi Ming aside, the whole country was incredible and the people were great, had an incredible time. Try do things by bike if you can
....going back Id take all 3 - a wide for landscape (say 14mm prime), my 18-55 and the 55-200. Wide prime would be nice for night use.
I kept my lenses in some amazon lens bags and attached them to my daytime rucksack, easy to swap out then.
Edited by MikeGoodwin on Friday 2nd August 10:25
Great, thanks everyone for the feedback- that's genuinely very helpful.
So it's decided that the 35mm comes and I'm going to buy the Sony 70-200 f4.
Need to decide what bag/bags I'm taking and that will decide if the 16-35 comes along as well. I will definitely buy a separate pouch for the 70-200 so I can throw it into a non camera backpack. Travelling light so everything needs to fit into my main bag when on foot, and will be split out when the main bag stays in the hotel etc.
Mike- thanks in particular for attaching some photos, and yes we plan on renting a bike to go off the beaten track a little. I ride a motorbike into London daily so should be quite comfortable, even with the chaos whereas my wife will be nervous so I reckon we'll just get one and she can ride pillion. Also, anything in particular you didn't like about HCM? Just curios really, it's our last stop and we've only allocated 2 days to it.
Our itinerary is Hanoi - Halong Bay - Sapa - Nha Trang - Dalat - Ho Chi Minh
So it's decided that the 35mm comes and I'm going to buy the Sony 70-200 f4.
Need to decide what bag/bags I'm taking and that will decide if the 16-35 comes along as well. I will definitely buy a separate pouch for the 70-200 so I can throw it into a non camera backpack. Travelling light so everything needs to fit into my main bag when on foot, and will be split out when the main bag stays in the hotel etc.
Mike- thanks in particular for attaching some photos, and yes we plan on renting a bike to go off the beaten track a little. I ride a motorbike into London daily so should be quite comfortable, even with the chaos whereas my wife will be nervous so I reckon we'll just get one and she can ride pillion. Also, anything in particular you didn't like about HCM? Just curios really, it's our last stop and we've only allocated 2 days to it.
Our itinerary is Hanoi - Halong Bay - Sapa - Nha Trang - Dalat - Ho Chi Minh
Bumblebee7 said:
Great, thanks everyone for the feedback- that's genuinely very helpful.
So it's decided that the 35mm comes and I'm going to buy the Sony 70-200 f4.
Need to decide what bag/bags I'm taking and that will decide if the 16-35 comes along as well. I will definitely buy a separate pouch for the 70-200 so I can throw it into a non camera backpack. Travelling light so everything needs to fit into my main bag when on foot, and will be split out when the main bag stays in the hotel etc.
Mike- thanks in particular for attaching some photos, and yes we plan on renting a bike to go off the beaten track a little. I ride a motorbike into London daily so should be quite comfortable, even with the chaos whereas my wife will be nervous so I reckon we'll just get one and she can ride pillion. Also, anything in particular you didn't like about HCM? Just curios really, it's our last stop and we've only allocated 2 days to it.
Our itinerary is Hanoi - Halong Bay - Sapa - Nha Trang - Dalat - Ho Chi Minh
HCM was just different from the rest, almost westernised, the people were completely different in that they weren't really friendly and it was almost like us being there was a nuisance to them, the city itself was totally different to the rest of the country. We were there a couple of days and a night I think although did a bike trip to the tunnels for a day. I wouldn't spent more than 1 day exploring the city also it was really really hot.So it's decided that the 35mm comes and I'm going to buy the Sony 70-200 f4.
Need to decide what bag/bags I'm taking and that will decide if the 16-35 comes along as well. I will definitely buy a separate pouch for the 70-200 so I can throw it into a non camera backpack. Travelling light so everything needs to fit into my main bag when on foot, and will be split out when the main bag stays in the hotel etc.
Mike- thanks in particular for attaching some photos, and yes we plan on renting a bike to go off the beaten track a little. I ride a motorbike into London daily so should be quite comfortable, even with the chaos whereas my wife will be nervous so I reckon we'll just get one and she can ride pillion. Also, anything in particular you didn't like about HCM? Just curios really, it's our last stop and we've only allocated 2 days to it.
Our itinerary is Hanoi - Halong Bay - Sapa - Nha Trang - Dalat - Ho Chi Minh
We did Hanoi, Halong, Sapa, Hue, Hoi An, Quy Nhon, HCM. Think Hoi An or Hanoi were my favourite
Riding a bike in Vietnam especially places like HCM or Hanoi is a totally different kettle of fish to London mate make sure you wear knee pads and protect your legs. Lot of westerners out there on bikes with bandaged legs. Absolutely mental how traffic flows out there. You will love it.
Make sure you go sit around beer corner in Hanoi for a few hours, eat and drink etc and watch people go by
MikeGoodwin said:
HCM was just different from the rest, almost westernised, the people were completely different in that they weren't really friendly and it was almost like us being there was a nuisance to them, the city itself was totally different to the rest of the country. We were there a couple of days and a night I think although did a bike trip to the tunnels for a day. I wouldn't spent more than 1 day exploring the city also it was really really hot.
We did Hanoi, Halong, Sapa, Hue, Hoi An, Quy Nhon, HCM. Think Hoi An or Hanoi were my favourite
Riding a bike in Vietnam especially places like HCM or Hanoi is a totally different kettle of fish to London mate make sure you wear knee pads and protect your legs. Lot of westerners out there on bikes with bandaged legs. Absolutely mental how traffic flows out there. You will love it.
Make sure you go sit around beer corner in Hanoi for a few hours, eat and drink etc and watch people go by
Noted, but we were thinking of only renting bikes in the quieter areas of the country. Don't think I fancy it somewhere as mad as one of the major cities. We did Hanoi, Halong, Sapa, Hue, Hoi An, Quy Nhon, HCM. Think Hoi An or Hanoi were my favourite
Riding a bike in Vietnam especially places like HCM or Hanoi is a totally different kettle of fish to London mate make sure you wear knee pads and protect your legs. Lot of westerners out there on bikes with bandaged legs. Absolutely mental how traffic flows out there. You will love it.
Make sure you go sit around beer corner in Hanoi for a few hours, eat and drink etc and watch people go by
Thanks for the info on HCM- it's not too late for us to alter the last few days of our trip so may look into reducing it to 1.5 days instead.
Bumblebee7 said:
Mike- thanks in particular for attaching some photos
I’ve tried to get my Flickr account to work but I’m finding it unusable at the moment. But here’s a link that contains a few Việt Nam pictures from HCMC, Hue and The Mekong Delta. Here’s a link to my Flickr if you’re interested https://www.flickr.com/photos/topbuzz/I’ll add more when I’m back home.
I personally like HCMC so don’t write it off. I love Hue and that’s the other city I spend most of my time.
Not keen on Hanoi and Na Trang is very Russian oriented.
Generally people leave Việt Nam with differing views on the cities. But overall it’s a fantastic country.
Topbuzz said:
I’ve tried to get my Flickr account to work but I’m finding it unusable at the moment. But here’s a link that contains a few Vi?t Nam pictures from HCMC, Hue and The Mekong Delta. Here’s a link to my Flickr if you’re interested https://www.flickr.com/photos/topbuzz/
I’ll add more when I’m back home.
I personally like HCMC so don’t write it off. I love Hue and that’s the other city I spend most of my time.
Not keen on Hanoi and Na Trang is very Russian oriented.
Generally people leave Vi?t Nam with differing views on the cities. But overall it’s a fantastic country.
Thanks for the info and for the photos. We're staying at the Mia Resort in Nha Trang so won't be sightseeing really, it will be 5 days to catch up on some R&R, chill out on the beach and read a book etc.I’ll add more when I’m back home.
I personally like HCMC so don’t write it off. I love Hue and that’s the other city I spend most of my time.
Not keen on Hanoi and Na Trang is very Russian oriented.
Generally people leave Vi?t Nam with differing views on the cities. But overall it’s a fantastic country.
Bumblebee7 said:
MikeGoodwin said:
Riding a bike in Vietnam especially places like HCM or Hanoi is a totally different kettle of fish to London mate make sure you wear knee pads and protect your legs. Lot of westerners out there on bikes with bandaged legs. Absolutely mental how traffic flows out there. You will love it.
Just close your eyes and pray!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz5uxAsrbwI
rolex said:
That is mad. But it all sort of works!I lived in Vietnam for a number of years. Be very careful on the roads. It’s not just the quantity of bikes , it’s the drunk bike riders at any time of the day , and terribly inexperienced car drivers. Majority of truck drivers are also taking drugs . Horrendous accidents are becoming more and more common place. Countryside is as bad if not worse than the congested city areas. Not trying to spoil your fun but use caution.
Sorry can’t answer the camera question .
Sorry can’t answer the camera question .
Se7enheaven said:
I lived in Vietnam for a number of years. Be very careful on the roads. It’s not just the quantity of bikes , it’s the drunk bike riders at any time of the day , and terribly inexperienced car drivers. Majority of truck drivers are also taking drugs . Horrendous accidents are becoming more and more common place. Countryside is as bad if not worse than the congested city areas. Not trying to spoil your fun but use caution.
Sorry can’t answer the camera question .
Thanks for the info. I've read much of the same online, originally we were going to buy a bike and travel the whole country but after reading up online about the state of driving and roads we've decided to just bike in remote areas. We'll play it by ear and see how we feel when we're actually there. Sorry can’t answer the camera question .
Just thought I'd provide a brief update on what I've decided. Wanted to get the Sony 70-200 f4 for the trip but struggling to justify the price right now at over £1k or just under for secondhand or grey import. Have recently spent all my money on trips, accommodation for this and my next holiday as well as car parts for my old (new to me) project MX5. I didn't want to hire a lens as I have done before as it ends up being quite costly for that amount of time.
I did decide I wanted that focal length though so I have ended up buying a Canon FD 70-210 f4 fully manual lens for £26 and also a Canon nFD 50mm f1.4 for £91 as well as a Gobe adapter (FD-E) for £20. This gear seems to hold it's value pretty well and should be fun to go out and shoot a bit more analogue for a change instead of just going for the old spray and pray. Most shots will be landscape so manual focus shouldn't be an issue and in the long run I still plan on eventually buying the Sony for wildlife shots.
So total gear for the trip will be: 16-35 f4, 35mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4 and 70-210 f4.
Long term I plan on selling the Sony 16-35 f4 and swapping it for the well reviewed Tamron 17-28 f2.8. I'll only lose 1mm at the low end (not bothered about the top end as rarely used) and I'll be gaining speed for a smaller and lighter lens. Won't be able to make the switch before the trip though as the Tamron seems quite tricky to get hold of atm.
Thanks again for all the advice and I'll try to remember to post some pics to the thread when I'm back.
I did decide I wanted that focal length though so I have ended up buying a Canon FD 70-210 f4 fully manual lens for £26 and also a Canon nFD 50mm f1.4 for £91 as well as a Gobe adapter (FD-E) for £20. This gear seems to hold it's value pretty well and should be fun to go out and shoot a bit more analogue for a change instead of just going for the old spray and pray. Most shots will be landscape so manual focus shouldn't be an issue and in the long run I still plan on eventually buying the Sony for wildlife shots.
So total gear for the trip will be: 16-35 f4, 35mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4 and 70-210 f4.
Long term I plan on selling the Sony 16-35 f4 and swapping it for the well reviewed Tamron 17-28 f2.8. I'll only lose 1mm at the low end (not bothered about the top end as rarely used) and I'll be gaining speed for a smaller and lighter lens. Won't be able to make the switch before the trip though as the Tamron seems quite tricky to get hold of atm.
Thanks again for all the advice and I'll try to remember to post some pics to the thread when I'm back.
Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff