Finding the Best Lenses for Travel Photography: An Expert’s Guide
For decades, travel photography meant packing a heavy camera bag overflowing with lenses to capture every conceivable scene, from sweeping landscapes to intimate portraits and street details. As a travel photographer with over 40 years of experience, I’ve certainly carried my share of gear, including staple lenses like a 50mm “nifty fifty” for its natural perspective or a 60mm macro for versatility. While a 50mm f/1.2 offers stunning results, it’s limited to one focal length. My preferred 60mm f/2.8, doubling as a macro, gets me closer, but still requires swapping for wider cityscapes or distant subjects needing a 70-200mm. This multi-lens approach quickly adds up, necessitating a minimum of three lenses, potentially two camera bodies, and a cumbersome carrying system. For serious travel photography intended for publication, a smartphone simply doesn’t suffice.
Travel Photography
Looking to streamline my travel kit over the past few years, I discovered an excellent solution: the Nikon 28-300mm ED VR lens. While Nikon no longer produces it, it’s readily available on the used market, often for under $1,000. This full-frame lens offers a massive 10.7x zoom ratio, covering most focal lengths crucial for travel, except perhaps ultra-wide (14-28mm) or extreme telephoto (>400mm). Its aperture ranges from f/3.5 at the wide end to f/5.6 at the telephoto end. Canon offers a similar lens, the EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM, with comparable specifications. For those considering gear beyond these specific models, exploring options like the best fuji lens for travel or finding a good canon lens for travel photography can reveal alternatives depending on your camera system and budget.
Travel Photography Gear
The primary appeal of a high-ratio zoom like the 28-300mm is its incredible versatility. This single lens significantly reduces the need to constantly swap glass, ensuring you’re ready to capture the shot without delay. On a recent trip to Seville, I effortlessly transitioned from capturing a wide view of a carriage pan at 28mm to zooming in on the intricate footwork of flamenco dancers at 300mm. I even managed some excellent portraits around 85mm, especially when paired with a high-performance body like the Z9. This wide focal range truly stands out as its best feature, compensating for its relatively slower maximum aperture.
While you won’t get the same edge-to-edge sharpness or speed as professional prime lenses or shorter-range zooms, the convenience of having a lens instantly ready to cover a vast range of scenes is often more critical than waiting to change lenses and potentially missing the moment. In terms of balancing speed, convenience, and image quality for travel, this lens is a strong contender.
Physically, the lens feels robust, weighing about 800g and featuring a large 77mm front element. It comprises 19 elements in 14 groups, including 2 ED and 3 aspherical elements, indicating solid optical construction. I always use a B&W UV protective filter for an extra layer of defense. One notable drawback is lens creep; while it has a lock at 28mm, pointing the camera downwards can cause the lens to extend towards 300mm. A simple wristband on the focusing ring against the body effectively prevents this rotation. Despite being a push-pull design, it has proven resistant to dust ingress even on dusty trips thanks to effective rubber seals.
Camera Bag with Lenses
In this review, I’ll delve into the image quality capabilities across its focal range and evaluate just how versatile this lens proves to be in real-world travel scenarios. It’s about deciding if the trade-off between ultimate image perfection and the significant benefits to your back and wallet is worthwhile. While I still pack specialized lenses for specific assignments (like a fashion shoot), for casual travel or maintaining a low profile, the 28-300mm is my go-to. Note that the images featured here have not been corrected for distortion in-camera or in post-production, allowing you to see the lens’s native performance. For insights into other potential gear, perhaps for different budgets, you might consider checking out advice on the best travel camera under 0.
Field Test Performance Across Focal Ranges
Let’s examine how the lens performs across its extensive zoom range, starting from the wide end.
28-38mm – The Wide Angle Results
At its widest, a lens is often expected to exhibit some distortion, particularly edge curvature, and potentially chromatic aberration when shot wide open. However, these distortions can sometimes be used creatively.
f/3.5: Even wide open at f/3.5, the lens generally performs well, especially considering the weather conditions often encountered while traveling. Uncorrected street scenes and skyscrapers in Hong Kong show the lens’s native rendering. A shoreline image from the Netherlands, while corrected here, demonstrates how common wide-angle issues are easily addressed in post-processing.
Hong Kong Building Wide f3.5
Hong Kong Street Wide f3.5
Netherlands Pier Wide f3.5
Netherlands Landscape f3.5
A landscape shot from Kenya at this range shows noticeable vignetting, but this is a simple fix in Lightroom, which most travel photographers use anyway as part of their RAW workflow.
Safari Landscape Vignetting Example
Even for indoor shots, like this creative image from a cheese factory in Amsterdam, the lens delivers impressive depth of field at f/3.5, a capability often underestimated at wide angles.
Amsterdam Cheese Factory Indoor Wide
Tip 1: Lenses behave differently at various focal lengths, even at the same aperture. At 28mm, you’ll achieve greater depth of field and better background isolation compared to longer focal lengths. Conversely, at 200mm, the background subjects and depth of field are more compressed due to telephoto compression.
f/5.6: By f/5.6, vignetting improves significantly. A shot of lions in Kenya at 38mm showed no issues. Minor vertical distortion in an interior shot (focused at 5 meters) was easily corrected in Lightroom. A wider cityscape of London (focused at 9.44 meters) presented no problems.
Lions in Kenya at 28mm
Interior Shot 28mm
London Street Scene 28mm
Monochrome London Scene 28mm
Tip 2: Understanding lens curvature allows you to emphasize elements in your shot, like making a curved building appear more rounded or close-up subjects look bigger in comparison to ones further away.
f/8: At f/8, image quality improves further. A rainy street scene in Hong Kong showed only minimal issues. A closer vertical shot of the London Underground sign, however, displayed visible curvature on surrounding buildings, but no other issues were evident. Overall, for general travel use in this wide range, the performance at f/8 is quite good. Compared to a prime lens or a shorter-range zoom, you might expect around a 20% improvement in image quality under similar conditions, but the 28-300mm holds its own. An uncorrected vertical distortion is shown on a doorframe for demonstration.
Hong Kong Rainy Street f8
Toronto Interior Vertical Shot f8
London Underground Sign Curvature Example f8
f/22: Stopping down to f/22 is useful for maximizing depth of field and can also be used creatively for motion blur effects, as seen in this shot of a merry-go-round.
Merry Go Round Motion Blur f22
Summary (Wide Angle): While not specifically designed solely for landscape or interior photography, the 28-38mm range performs exceptionally well, particularly when stopped down to f/8. Any noticeable curvature distortion, especially with strong vertical lines, is typically minor and easily corrected in post-production.
35mm to 70mm – The Standard Range
This range, often considered the “normal” perspective (similar to human vision), provides a natural, versatile feel for walk-around photography. Distortion is minimal here, especially around 60mm. The lens’s geometric distortion is at its lowest point around 35mm.
f/4: A vertical shot taken in Kenya at f/4 and 40mm shows noticeable vignetting, easily correctable. The depth of field at this focal length and aperture combination is also quite impressive.
Safari Guest Portrait at f4 40mm
A street scene in Hong Kong actually benefits from the vignetting, adding to the dynamic, enclosed atmosphere. Handholding at night and shooting at f/4.5 is manageable thanks to the lens’s vibration reduction (VR).
Hong Kong Night Street f4.5
Hong Kong Close Street Scene f4.5
f/5.6: When shooting closer to 50mm with the aperture around f/5.6, results are excellent with minimal distortion. This flexibility is ideal for diverse viewpoints and a documentary-style approach. Landscapes in Alberta and cityscapes in London are well-framed thanks to the zoom.
London Arches f5.6
Alberta Mountains Landscape f5.6
The Shard London f5.6
Tip 4: A versatile zoom travel lens like this makes composition and framing easy, allowing smooth transitions from wide cityscapes to detailed close-ups. Remember that depth of field changes with focal length, so adjust your aperture accordingly.
f/6.3: In the 38-70mm range, f/6.3 approaches the lens’s sweet spot for sharpness and minimal aberrations. Subjects are captured cleanly with minimal distortion. A portrait of an organic gardener in Kenya at 65mm has a nearly wide-angle feel, perfect for an environmental portrait setting the scene.
Organic Gardener Kenya 65mm f6.3
Tip 5: At f/6.3, the lens is several stops from wide open. By f/8, vignetting is substantially reduced across all focal lengths, although some minor vertical edge distortion may still be noticeable in certain shots.
London Street View f6.3
Couple on River Boat f6.3
Street with Shard View f6.3
Train Station Monochrome f6.3
f/9 and Above: I typically use f/9 or smaller apertures (up to f/13) for landscapes and cityscapes in good light or with a tripod. While stopping down too much can reduce sharpness due to diffraction, f/13 is generally preferred over f/20.
Lake Kenya Landscape f9
100mm to 200mm
This is a highly versatile range, excellent for everything from portraits to wildlife and isolating distant architectural details. At 120mm, it’s particularly effective for flattering head and shoulder portraits, allowing a comfortable distance from the subject. It’s also invaluable for close-ups when physical proximity is impossible, such as capturing the EIIR sign on a gate through a crowd.
EIIR Sign London 100-200mm
Kenya Shop Keeper Portrait 100-200mm
This range excels at capturing distant landscape and cityscape features, like scenes in Berlin, London, and Hong Kong, or wildlife when they are relatively close.
Cheetah in Landscape 100-200mm
Elephants in Distance 100-200mm
f/5.6: This aperture provides good results in this range, yielding clear images with minimal distortion, making it a reliable setting for diverse subjects.
Hong Kong Port View f5.6
Rainbow Over Safari f5.6
Elephant Close-up f5.6
Glorious Sons Concert f5.6
Mount Kenya Sunrise f5.6
f/9 and Above: These apertures are excellent for tripod shots, especially at dawn or dusk, allowing you to capture fine details in landscapes or cityscapes.
Brighton Travel Lens Shot f9
Berlin Cityscape Travel Photography f9
While not optimized for distant wildlife photography, this range can work if you’re lucky and the subjects are close. However, even at 200mm, strong vertical lines can still show some distortion. For example, stone columns might bow out on one side unless corrected.
London Statue Uncorrected Distortion
200-300mm
The extreme telephoto range presents the biggest challenges for a superzoom lens. Environmental factors like atmospheric haze can impact image quality, and you’ll need high shutter speeds to avoid camera shake, even with VR.
Most of my shots in this range are of wildlife or distant architectural details. To maintain sufficiently high shutter speeds, I often shoot wide open at f/5.6 rather than stopping down to the lens’s optimal f/8 range. On safari, I typically switch to a dedicated wildlife lens like my 200-400mm f/4 once I pass 250mm, but the 28-300mm can still deliver results when needed.
Lion Face 200-300mm
Glorious Sons Concert 200-300mm
Elephants Reflection 200-300mm
Ballet Feet Close-up 200-300mm
Cheetah Eating 200-300mm
With a high-resolution camera body, there is often enough quality, especially towards the center of the frame, to allow for significant cropping if necessary.
Conclusion
Finding the best lenses for travel photography is a personal journey, but a versatile superzoom like the Nikon 28-300mm (or its Canon equivalent) presents a compelling case for simplifying your gear.
Positives:
- Compact relative to carrying multiple lenses.
- Feels sturdy and well-built for its type.
- Low profile for discreet shooting.
- Affordable on the used market compared to multiple zooms covering the same range.
- Extremely versatile for nearly all types of travel subjects.
- Effective VR (though I often prefer not to use it).
- Lens lock button at 28mm.
- Close-up focus at 1.6 feet provides 1:3 reproduction.
Negatives:
- No longer in production.
- Not professionally weather-sealed.
- Prone to lens creep without intervention.
- Not as sharp as prime lenses or shorter, faster zooms.
- Relatively slow maximum aperture, especially at the telephoto end.
If you can find this lens in good condition second-hand, it is definitely worth considering for your travel kit. It performs admirably across a wide variety of subjects and lighting conditions. In my experience, I’ve only occasionally felt the need for a faster lens or one with a significantly different focal length range. For exploring other possibilities depending on your system, you might look into guides like finding the best lens for sony a6000 travel.
You might need to adjust your ISO settings, particularly at 300mm with a maximum aperture of f/5.6, to maintain sufficiently high shutter speeds. Adding a touch of post-production sharpness and correcting vignetting can also help overcome some of the lens’s inherent limitations. When planning your next adventure, remember that having the right gear, like a versatile lens, is just one part of the preparation, alongside essentials like knowing what to bring when traveling to costa rica or any other destination.
Love the wildlife photos? Learn more about capturing them.
PHOTO GALLERY
Technical Notes:
- Cameras used: Nikon Z9 (45 MP Mirrorless), Nikon D850 (45 MP)
- Modes primarily used: Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Program modes
- Target ISO: 400 (adjusted as needed)
- Camera support: No tripod or monopod used except for select interior shots taken at f/9.
