I think we all did this thread recently. I'm shooting on a 5D2 and planning on traveling with my 70-200 f2.8, 50mm f1.4, and the lens you guys help me pick. 

Am I crazy for wanting the new 16-35 f2.8 III? I consider myself semi-pro since I technically make money off of my photos on account of teaching yearbook. I shoot a lot of dances and sports so the 2.8 is a must for me IMO. 

Is there a better alternative for landscapes etc.? I need it to be a very rugged pro lens as I shoot a lot and often in what can turn into a harsh environment weather wise. 

Finally, I know we have some serious deal hunters on here. If the 16-35 f2.8 III is the way to go, then where should I pick it up? I'm a frugal guy so this will probably cause me to have a heart attack when I pull the trigger. 

Definitely bring something fast and wide.  The sunrise/sunsets are amazing, especially if you are able to catch a green flash on camera.  That's pretty damn rare.  Biggest question is where are you going?  That would completely change up lens choice.

If it's the Big Island of Hawaii, @fredman or myself can help you out there.  Fred spent a while there for work, and I used to live there.  The other islands, I don't know much about so can't help there.

Just got back from Kauai. I brought my 24-70 and 70-200. There were times I wished for my 17-35, and sometimes something longer than 200 (don't own anything longer than 200 currently). But with a Nikon D3 and those two lenses, my bag was pretty porky already.

I'm no pro, but I like quality stuff. I'm hesitant to buy any lens slower than f2.8. But that means big money for reach beyond my 200mm

I'll spend the vast majority of the time on Maui. I do plan on visiting Pearl Harbor though.

I love the 85 still. I would also suggest a wide lens. For me, I bring a variety and only carry what I need right then. The 100-400 gives you wiggle room too.

Maui from the extreme north end of the Big Island.

Maui by FredMan, on Flickr

Here's what I learned on my trip

My trip, in (mostly) pictures

I very much recommend the widest lens you have in addition to either a mid-range zoom or a 50-ish prime.  Mid-range zoom would be better, and I like the 24-120 f/4.

There were a few times I wish I had more reach than the 70-300 (mostly at the volcano, the viewing site is WAY far away from the caldera), but honestly, 300 mm served me well.

In short, I took a 11-16, 24-120, and 70-300 and felt very well covered with focal lengths.

Think hard about a travel tripod.  Was very handy for a lot of the photography I like to do.

I generally travel with a 16-35, a 24-70, and a 70-200

But I am going to sell my 16-35 to fund a 135mm ART for portraits.

Message me if you're interested.

Thanks a ton for all the advice. Any tips on Tripods? I don't own a decent one at all. 

My main tripod is a Manfrotto 294 aluminum, but I got a Manfrotto BeFree compact aluminum.  $145 for the BeFree.

The onyl thing I don't like about the BeFree is that there's no separate pan lock for the ball head; once knob controls both pan and tilt.

For me that's not a deal breaker; it's got a standard threaded stud so you can put on whatever head you want.

But, with the included head, it folds up into a very nice small package.  And comes in a pretty nice zippered case for travel.

Not so sure how well it would hold up to a heavy lenses; says it supports up to 8.8 lbs.  I had no issues with the D500 and either the 24-120 or the 70-300; haven't tried the 150-600 but I think it might be a stretch.

amazon link

I also reftrofit a RRS clamp I had laying about as I have a RRS Arca L-plate on my body.  It comes with Manfrotto's QR plate, though.

OK, I think I have the lens and the tripod figured out. Now just two more items... I think. 

1. I need a flash to give my girls who are shooting a dance for me. It's prom and they'll be shooting with it on the camera. What's the hot ticket here that won't break the bank? I don't mind spending a few bucks for something that'll last a long time and be versatile though. 

2. I do enjoy shooting stars and plan to do a lot of landscapes when in HI. I suppose it would be good to break down and get a remote shutter release. What do you guys recommend for my Canon 5DII? 

Thanks for the tip. I've been very impressed with the 50mm f1.8 that I picked up for about $60 shipped from them. The kids run around with it all the time and take pretty decent photos with it.

I almost had a heart attack pressing the button, but I picked up a 16-35, a Yongnuo flash as suggested, along with the Be Free tripod and a few other things. A lot of this I've been holding off on for a while now. I've never owned a decent tripod before for example. I just have to keep telling myself that this stuff will last me forever. 

Hate to break it to you, but my experience is that tripods are like holsters: you seem to collect a few of them over time as "one size fits none".  

I've only got two now, the Manfrotto 294 "regular" and the BeFree for travel.

Unless I get some SUPER heavy gear (600 mm prime, anyone ) I think I'm set.

Let's hope that is the case. I could see getting a really heavy duty job for some of the video I shoot at drag races and various tracks in the summer. That's a pretty small part of what I do, and it generally brings in no money for me. I think I might be safe for now. 

Just got back. Thanks for all the help with this guys. I didn't get to use the tripod as much as I wanted, nor did everything go perfectly. I always have the goal that on each trip there will be an image that I want to blow up as large as it will go and be happy with it on the wall forever. I think I'll have a few to choose from. It was an amazing time and as usual, it wouldn't have been the same without the advice of ARFCOM.

Well?  We're waiting!!!

It's actually going much more quickly than I had anticipated. Unfortunately, most of the photos I have are just the boring postcard variety, but they do look nice IMO. Most importantly, I learned a lot on the trip, and think I've really improved my skill set with the landscape practice. 

Well hell.  Here's a few to tide everyone over.

Mauna Loa Sunrise 20170224 by FredMan, on Flickr

Sunset 20170224 by FredMan, on Flickr

Sunset 20170224 by FredMan, on Flickr

Thanks for helping to tide everyone over. It feels like I worked on the whole set forever, but that I could spend way more time on the ones I really like. Here are the highlights of the trip. I think I shot everything with my 16-35. I think there was only a time or two that I wished that I had brought along my 70-200, but I did so much hiking that I ditched the added weight. In reality, I know that having the 70-200 on the camera would have forced me to look at things differently and get some different, but still great images. If anyone would like to take a crack at the raw files, let me know and I'll post them up somewhere. I know that I really need to rework my sunrise photos. 

Enough with the blabbing. 

Here is the view out of my hotel. I conveniently shot above the crappy looking dump next to our hotel. 
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This was my first sunrise in HI. It was super easy to wake up for with the time change. I think this one and a lot of the others look somewhat overprocessed when I use the "dehaze" function in Lightroom, but otherwise they're super flat. 
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At Pearl Harbor there were some good sights. It was very sobering to see the place where the United States entered WWII. I was thrilled to capture some images since I talk about the attack every year in my class. The younger kids don't realize what it meant, or D day for that matter.
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I'm not sure if the size of the photo is causing the last set to load slowly, or what. I'll try to post lower quality ones with links to the high res versions.

My first sunset on the island of Maui. 
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The home we stayed at was incredible. It was three separate homes at one time and was converted into a series of linked condos for events like ours. IIRC it was between 20 and 30K for the week to rent out, but well worth it. The amenities and furnishings were top notch. I set up the befree in the back of the place next to the pool to shoot the north star. I like the wide lens because I have some context in the photo and not just stars in the sky. Frankly, I thought the north star would be lower. 
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We spotted this little guy in the lava fields by the ocean. It was a pretty cool contrast between the volcanic rock at the shore and the green mountains in the background.



I need to walk my beast and lift some weights now, so I'll post up more tomorrow.

Cool.  Keep 'em coming.

This is the only view of Maui I had.

Maui by FredMan, on Flickr

That's really cool. If that is Mount Haleakala, then I think we'll have a cool combination with some of my photos of the sun rising above the clouds.  

ETA: I'll try to crank out a few more and hope not to bore you guys with them.

A cool little guy was found in the water. You could see his little feet moving very slowly. It was weird. 
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These little guys were everywhere. Pretty sure they're the same creatures I saw when I visited FL, but I'm not a herpetologist. 
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You could get views like this all day from out the window. I love doing this in my own cars, because they are usually a huge part of my photo stories when I go on trips. 
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This sign was pretty self explanatory. 
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The reception was at a Frank Lloyd Wright home which was once owned by Marilyn Monroe. I was very impressed with the architecture. I really love his windows. 
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The view wasn't bad either.
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They had the ultra high class room where the chef deals with your table directly locked up. A polite request to shoot inside there didn't yield anything earth shattering, but again, I love the windows.
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My waterfall photos sucked, but I didn't find too many sweet waterfalls. The time of day didn't help either.
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The aforementioned sunrise which didn't disappoint. Word on the street had it that we experienced ideal conditions and us first timers didn't realize how lucky we were. I really need to spend some more time with these.
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At the top of the mountain I was wondering if I was on the same island, or even planet as the day before.
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Ice making dirt float in the air? Only in HI apparently.
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A plantation had a killer garden in it. There was also a little guy doing some very successful fishing.
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I did take a little video while I was snorkeling. I attempted to run for mayor of "Turtle Town", but alas I was beaten by Sea Sickness.

That was shot form the extreme northern tip of the Big Island, from the apron at Upolo Airport.  Looking at Google Earth that is indeed Haleakala.  About 30 miles across the water.  Wiki tells me it's right at 10,000 feet.  4/5 of a mile below Mauna Kea  

VERY cool shots.  Amazing to be able to go from tropical jungle to dry upland plains to xeric high-altitude desolation in an hour's drive.

That's really cool. I'll need to return some day and check out the active volcanoes on the Big Island. 

Kilauea Caldera Day by FredMan, on Flickr

That is awesome!

It's even cooler at night.  One of the few times I wished I had the 600mm.  The viewing area is way the hell away form the vent.

Kilauea Caldera Night 300mm by FredMan, on Flickr

Kilauea Caldera Night 120mm by FredMan, on Flickr

THAT IS AWESOME! I need to go back to take some photos of that. Thanks a ton for posting them up. It's really made me want to take some more pics. 

The thing to do is to go to Kilauea late afternoon, whole the sun is still up and check it out in daylight.  Then go have a meal and drinks at the restaurant at the lodge (beware, the place is always packed.  Food is great, they have a good menu and great chefs, but is is kind of pricey) and wait for the sun to set.  Then go back to the viewing site after dark and check it out at night.

The lodge is only a mile or so from the viewing area and it makes a great trip.

Kilauea is about 45 minutes from Hilo, so if you stay at the resorts on the other side of the island (north of Kona, up Waikaloa Beach way) it'll take you about 3 hours to get to the caldera.

If you're willing to forego a sunset at Mauna Kea you could conceivably summit the mountain, head over to Kilauea and catch day and night volcano, and spend the night in Hilo.  I stayed either at one of the resort hotels or at a condo at Waikoloa Village (near the resorts).

I didn't even get to the southern tip of the island.  Here's my GPS track from my 2 weeks there.
Hawaii Travels 2017-02 by FredMan, on Flickr