Go-To Lens in hunting pack

[Sunkmanitou]

Depends on how far I am walking and the terrain. 70-200 used to be my choice on the short hikes, but I am too old to take anything more than my phone.

 

[RONDO264]

I used to carry an 18-140mm, but recently switched to a 35mm prime. It saves weight and the 35mm is great if I want to shoot video. Not to mention its a faster lens which works great in low light situations.

 

[charliebravo77]

As mentioned in this thread: https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/which-lens-to-take-on-upcoming-hunt.235203/#post-2361522 I have been carrying my Fuji X100v on the past few trips vs a mirrorless with interchangeable lenses. The 35mm focal length is sometimes a bit limiting but as a very capable point and shoot it does well with the f2.0 aperture and APS-C sensor for low light shots.

Took it to AZ for javelina and it did pretty well again:

I also picked up a 35mm/1.4 (56mm ff equivalent on my R7 body, though I may also get a r6mkii fairly soon) for my mirrorless camera that I may take on the next trip. Probably with a 70-200mm/2.8.

 

[Carter123WA]

Picked up the Tamron 70-300 Z mount over the winter and it’s looking like it will be coming everywhere with me now. It may not be perfect optically, but for the size/weight it’s hard to beat, and it’s cheap enough I don’t worry about it too much.

 

[TxHunter9]

Great info! Thanks.

 

[Bojangles21]

Newbie to the camera world but I just picked up a Sony a6400 with a Sony 50mm f/1.8, Sony 55-210 f/4.5-6.3 and a tamron 24mm f/2.8, will any of those be worth taking with me on hunts? I don’t need the best of the best, I just have always loved taking pictures and thought it was time to get a little better quality to capture memories for my buddies and I in the back country. Thanks!


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[jpalmer]

Newbie to the camera world but I just picked up a Sony a6400 with a Sony 50mm f/1.8, Sony 55-210 f/4.5-6.3 and a tamron 24mm f/2.8, will any of those be worth taking with me on hunts? I don’t need the best of the best, I just have always loved taking pictures and thought it was time to get a little better quality to capture memories for my buddies and I in the back country. Thanks!


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The Sony telephoto will be good for wildlife that's in the distance. Keep in mind that you will need decent light at those apertures. The primes would be good for more creative, selective focus shots like what are posted above. That's a crop sensor camera so 24mm isn't going to be all that wide. You may want to pick up a wide angle zoom to complement what you've got.

 

[Bojangles21]

The Sony telephoto will be good for wildlife that's in the distance. Keep in mind that you will need decent light at those apertures. The primes would be good for more creative, selective focus shots like what are posted above. That's a crop sensor camera so 24mm isn't going to be all that wide. You may want to pick up a wide angle zoom to complement what you've got.

Thanks for the info. So you have any recommendations for a wide angle zoom lens? Like I said I have no idea what I’m doing with these things. I was hoping the 50mm with f/1.8 was gonna be good enough for low light situations but at the time I wasn’t aware 50mm wasn’t wide angle.


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[jpalmer]

Thanks for the info. So you have any recommendations for a wide angle zoom lens? Like I said I have no idea what I’m doing with these things. I was hoping the 50mm with f/1.8 was gonna be good enough for low light situations but at the time I wasn’t aware 50mm wasn’t wide angle.


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I use a Sony full frame camera. Crop sensor cameras really do best with wide angle lenses designed specifically for them. Otherwise the lens will be way bigger, heavier and expensive than necessary. It's tough to make a recommendation without knowing your use case. I haven't personally used the lenses below but this is my best advice.

If you want a low-light lens, an f/2.8 zoom is best but they are bigger and more expensive as well. For those, I'd recommend going with a third party brand like the Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 or a Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8. If you don't want to spend that much or want something more compact, I'd look at the Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6. It's a kit lens that isn't as good optically but outside of lens tests the average person would never notice the difference. It wouldn't be good for low light or blurring the background though (your 50mm would). If you're taking general wide angle landscape picture during the day, it'll be perfect.

Depending on your budget, I've had good experiences buying used from KEH.com or MPB.com. Both websites test and rate the quality of the lens and offer 6 month warranties.

 

[Bojangles21]

I use a Sony full frame camera. Crop sensor cameras really do best with wide angle lenses designed specifically for them. Otherwise the lens will be way bigger, heavier and expensive than necessary. It's tough to make a recommendation without knowing your use case. I haven't personally used the lenses below but this is my best advice.

If you want a low-light lens, an f/2.8 zoom is best but they are bigger and more expensive as well. For those, I'd recommend going with a third party brand like the Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 or a Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8. If you don't want to spend that much or want something more compact, I'd look at the Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6. It's a kit lens that isn't as good optically but outside of lens tests the average person would never notice the difference. It wouldn't be good for low light or blurring the background though (your 50mm would). If you're taking general wide angle landscape picture during the day, it'll be perfect.

Depending on your budget, I've had good experiences buying used from KEH.com or MPB.com. Both websites test and rate the quality of the lens and offer 6 month warranties.

Thank you for the advice man!


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[THLR]

Thanks for the info. So you have any recommendations for a wide angle zoom lens?

Sony E 11mm f 1.8
The film on this link is filmed on that lens

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I film on full frame, but use a crop sensor/the Sony 11mm instead of a GoPro. I do mostly hunting/shooting films.

The most common performance roof I hit is lack of wideangle, especially when you want to show things closeup but IN the landscape.

It's not a recommendation, but just to give you an idea what a WA does. I personally would gone with your 50mm and practice with that. You'll quickly identify how YOU end up using your camera, what f stops and mm's you need and where your money needs to go (yes I have thrown away money via internet research only to discover what my actual use was...)

But I hearthily agree with a wideangle lens, most likely you will discover that you want one.

 

[Bojangles21]

Sony E 11mm f 1.8
The film on this link is filmed on that lens

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I film on full frame, but use a crop sensor/the Sony 11mm instead of a GoPro. I do mostly hunting/shooting films.

The most common performance roof I hit is lack of wideangle, especially when you want to show things closeup but IN the landscape.

It's not a recommendation, but just to give you an idea what a WA does. I personally would gone with your 50mm and practice with that. You'll quickly identify how YOU end up using your camera, what f stops and mm's you need and where your money needs to go (yes I have thrown away money via internet research only to discover what my actual use was...)

But I hearthily agree with a wideangle lens, most likely you will discover that you want one.

Perfect! Youre saying to go mess around with the 50mm yeah?
I wasn’t aware that that 24mm wasn’t a “true” widelense for the purpose I’d like one for when I bought it so.. good thing it wasn’t too much. I’ll check that lens out you suggested.


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[jpalmer]

Perfect! Youre saying to go mess around with the 50mm yeah?
I wasn’t aware that that 24mm wasn’t a “true” widelense for the purpose I’d like one for when I bought it so.. good thing it wasn’t too much. I’ll check that lens out you suggested.


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That gets a little complicated. Lens focal lengths are always stated in terms of a full frame camera. A full frame camera has a sensor that's sized to replicate that of 35mm film. A 24mm lens is a wide angle lens but not on your particular camera. On a full frame camera, 24mm=24mm. On your crop sensor camera (also called APS-C), you have to apply a 1.5x multiplier to focal lengths making 24mm=36mm full frame equivalent. What's happening is that the lens is casting a 24mm image onto your sensor but the sensor isn't large enough to capture it all. Part of the image is falling outside of the sensor so the final image is effectively cropped into the center of the image. This can be a helpful thing on the telephoto end as it provides more magnification in a smaller lens. However, on the wide angle side, it means that you need a wider lens as compared to a full frame camera.

Sony does have a line of lenses specifically designed for APS-C cameras. The focal length of those lenses is still stated in the full frame focal length. The positive of those lenses is that they're usually smaller, lighter and cheaper since the image they need to reproduce for the APS-C sensor doesn't need to be as big. The downside to those lenses is that you can't effectively use them on a full frame camera if you ever upgrade (you'll get black edges).

 

[Bojangles21]

That gets a little complicated. Lens focal lengths are always stated in terms of a full frame camera. A full frame camera has a sensor that's sized to replicate that of 35mm film. A 24mm lens is a wide angle lens but not on your particular camera. On a full frame camera, 24mm=24mm. On your crop sensor camera (also called APS-C), you have to apply a 1.5x multiplier to focal lengths making 24mm=36mm full frame equivalent. What's happening is that the lens is casting a 24mm image onto your sensor but the sensor isn't large enough to capture it all. Part of the image is falling outside of the sensor so the final image is effectively cropped into the center of the image. This can be a helpful thing on the telephoto end as it provides more magnification in a smaller lens. However, on the wide angle side, it means that you need a wider lens as compared to a full frame camera.

Sony does have a line of lenses specifically designed for APS-C cameras. The focal length of those lenses is still stated in the full frame focal length. The positive of those lenses is that they're usually smaller, lighter and cheaper since the image they need to reproduce for the APS-C sensor doesn't need to be as big. The downside to those lenses is that you can't effectively use them on a full frame camera if you ever upgrade (you'll get black edges).

Ahhh, things are starting to make more sense now, thanks for the info Mr


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[charliebravo77]

Oops I did it again.

X100V shots from an unsuccessful NW Nebraska turkey hunt.

 

[JDL21]

Great Shots! 35mm has to be one of my favorite focal lengths.

 

[MunsterMash16]

I struggle with the 1 lens requirement, for my last big hunt (elk in NM) I brought my fuji xt-4 with the 70-300 mounted to the camera, but I always made room for my small 35mm f2 for trophy shots in case I was lucky enough to get a bull. Which I'm very glad that I did.

 

[Don Fischer]

I have two cameras. One is a DSLR and one is not. If I'm going out o take photo's I take the DSLR And a few lens. If I'm going hunting or fishing I take the other camera. Point and Shoot Panasonic ZS 100. Has an 25-250 lens and for most purposes takes as good of photo's as my DSLR! Panasonic is not as heavy or as bulky as my DSLR and it rides in a pouch on my hip everywhere I go. P&S was bought to carry training my bird dogs in the field and no though was given to carrying big game hunting. But I did have it last year and spent a couple days hunting and it was right there all the time. Got it from B&H for I think it was $400 on sale. About the best $400 I ever spent! I have blown up a few photo's to 12x25 with it and they came out fine. I could take the DSLR and just one lens, Tamron 18-200, and be just as well off but if I carried along another lens weight starts climbing! My son on the other hand carries his phone and seems to have a few nice pictures with it but has never printed anything of it so don't know what happens when he blows them up if he ever does. I on the other hand don't have a cell phone and it certainly looks a bit fragile to take hunting! So save space, save weight and get a P&S!