Cameras, was [pct-l] Bear Vault Canister PCT Rental Program

[jonnylv at earthlink.net (Jon)]

Hi,

I usually take several lenses along on my trip in spite of the weight.  I have a couple of flexible lenses - zooms with a wide range - and a couple of fixed focal length lenses I use when I want things as good as I can get them.  

What I used mostly is a good zoom that performs nicely and evenly across wide angle to moderate telephoto.  There are several good ones that will work with the N55 that have ranges of 24-85mm or 24-120mm.  For landscape photograhy having the 24mm end on things is noticably more flexible than having 28mm as your shortest focal length.  85mm is nice, but having 120mm is much better.  There's more glass in a lens like that, more weight, so your need to do an "costs vs. benefits" analysis: what you're willing to carry vs. how much you really want that extra flexibility that a) you might not use and b) maybe only you would notice in the end.  A zoom with a larger range will cost more as well.  If you can afford a Nikon lens, you will probably be very happy with the results.  Other manufacturers are a little uneven.  Sigma makes some less than great lenses, but there are a few in their product line that are quite good, some would argue as good as a Nikon.  There are also some very good Tokina lenses, and some not so good.  

If you decide to stick with an inexpensive 28-80mm zoom, I'd recommend the Nikon 28-80D lens: you can buy it for less than $90 and you can get some very good pictures with it especially in the F8-F11 range.  It's also very light.  Whatever you decide to get, if you know how to use it well you can get some good pictures.  I have a bottom rated Vivitar 70-300mm zoom that I used for a while that gave me some great pictures when I used it just right.  

Your might want to bring a UV filter as well as a polarizing filter.  Sometimes the effect of a polarizing filter can a little too strong, and the UV filter will help out simply cutting down haze.  It can also just be used to protect your lens (in addition to a lens cap).  You may want to consider a neutral density graduated filter as well: very nice to have in the mountains.  There are a few other things I would recommend, but I've already weighed down your pack too much.

Jon