Top five lenses for travel photography beginners

Whether you’ve decided to focus on travel photography or you just want to level up your travel photos, the right lens is crucial to getting the job done. You don’t want to miss getting the best shots, whether you want to showcase the beauty of your destination, capture interesting personalities, or document the best of local life.

However, if you’re new to the craft and are yet to get a travel lens, picking one or two from all the choices available can be confusing. There are also a lot of considerations — such as the kind of photos you want to take, the places you will travel to, and the kind of travel you’ll be doing. Finally, you don’t want to spend too much on your first travel lens. But fret not — this quick guide should hopefully help you make the best choice.

This post is sponsored by MPB

What makes a good travel photography lens for beginners?

But first, you might be wondering what makes a good lens for travel photography. What qualities should you be looking for when shopping around for such lens? How do they make photography easy for you when you travel?

Since the advent of mirrorless cameras, lenses in general have become more compact. However, some of these lenses can still be a bit unwieldy for travelers. Also, there’s the temptation to bring several extra lenses along with you, just in case they come in handy during the trip. So, in a nutshell, you want an all-around lens that is light, compact, and easy to operate. Let’s break that down a bit below.

Versatility

When you’re out traveling, you’ll come across a variety of subjects and shooting situations. You want to be ready for them. A versatile zoom lens or a prime lens you’re comfortable moving around with will allow you to work through the scenes as quickly as possible.

Size and weight

You’ll be doing a lot of walking and moving around during your days out, so you don’t want to be lugging around a heavy lens. Just imagine carrying kilos of equipment during a hike! You can probably manage with two small lenses, one on your camera and another in your bag. But even just one long, heavy lens equipped on your camera will tire you out halfway through a busy day of seeing and photographing the sights.

Simplicity

As with many things, when you’re just getting into travel photography, you don’t want to make things too complicated. It may seem like a great idea to jump straight into a pro-level lens with all its bells and whistles. But when taking travel photos, you want to work with something you’ve already mastered, so you get the shots you want as quickly and accurately as possible. So, it’s best to start with a lens that is reliable and versatile enough for the field, yet simple enough for a beginner to get the hang of.

Now that we have that all sorted out, here are the top five lenses to consider if you’re new to travel photography. They’re great for the kinds of shooting conditions and scenarios that you’ll generally encounter during your adventures. If you’re still looking for your first travel lens, it’s definitely a good option to buy secondhand from a reputable platform like MPB. Not only will you have access to professionally assessed gear for less, but you’ll also get free shipping and a free six-month warranty on your gear purchase.

A quick caveat

One more thing — the list below shows focal lengths for full-frame cameras. So, if you’re shooting with a crop sensor camera, you’ll get photos with a “magnified” field of view. For example, if you’re shooting with a 35mm lens, you’ll end up with a cropped image that looks more like it was taken with a 50mm or 70mm lens (roughly) on a full-frame camera. So, when buying a lens for your crop sensor camera, you’ll want to take note of the crop factor of the camera and the full frame equivalent of your prospective lens. Full-frame cameras and lenses are also more expensive, but their crop sensor equivalents are more compact and lightweight.

First on the list is the 24-70mm. Most professional photographers consider it as the best choice for an all-in-one lens for travel photography. It has a flexible focal length range that allows you to go wide for more sweeping scenes, or get a little bit of reach for getting close to your subjects.

If you want something as versatile as the 24-70mm but want to go a bit wider, the 18-50mm should do the job for you. This is a great option if you plan to do a lot of landscape photography or cityscape photography during your trip.

Next are some of the most popular prime lenses for travel photography. Many photographers prefer working with primes because they find it easier to work with just one focal length instead of fiddling around with the controls of the zoom lenses or switching to a different lens altogether.

The wide field of view of the 28mm is great for taking a variety of sweeping shots, whether you’re in the city or the great outdoors. Many professional photographers also prefer this lens when they need to go wider since it doesn’t distort the perspective the way wider focal lengths do. So if you’re planning to take a lot of wide indoor shots or architectural details, this lens is the best for the job.

Many travel photographers also do a lot of street photography during their trips. So if you’re visiting a city with plenty of street photography opportunities, you may want to pack a 35mm prime lens with you. Working with a single focal length will help you shoot faster and focus on the scenes happening around you, so you don’t miss a shot!

Finally, if you’re traveling with friends and family, you’ll surely want to take great travel portraits of them as well. Take advantage of the stunning locations and pack a 50mm lens with you. But of course, the so-called Nifty Fifty isn’t just great for portraits. It’s also a great all-around prime lens that you can use to capture a variety of scenes and subjects.

Depending on the kind of photos you want to take, your budget constraints, and even your baggage allowance, you may want to mix and match lenses from the list above. Some photographers prefer taking with them two compact prime lenses, while others find it more comfortable working with a versatile zoom lens. Hopefully, this quick beginner’s guide will help you make the best lens choices, and ultimately, get awesome travel photos!

P.S. Later on, when you feel like exploring more advanced options, check out these all-in-one zoom lens recommendations for travel photography!