What to take on vacation to Hawaii

I'm leaving on vacation to Hawaii spending 2 weeks between Kauai and Hawaii itself, we are doing a "casual" photography trip (unlike our last few which were totally photography oriented) so I'm wondering what to take and what to leave home. I've got a 16-35, a 24-105 and a 100-400. I know I'm taking the 100-200 but I need to decide between the 16-35 and 24-105. I love both lenses but for different reason. Any suggestions as to which will be better? I'll be using it both for snorkeling in an underwater housing and for landscapes.

And of course any suggestions of what to see while there is very appreciated.

Hali

I usually take three zooms, 11-16mm, 17-55mm, 80-400mm. The ultrawide is my favorite of the three. I use the 80-400mm VR more than you might think, for taking photos of the little crabs at the beach, and shots of hot lava. I put a Canon 500D close up lens on the end have have pretty good macro. Depends on what you want to shoot, of course. One thing I'd never go without is a polarizer.

As for what to see, here's my short list. Do the hike out to the flowing lava. This is a TOUGH hike, don't be fooled. Take a gallon of water per person--I'm not joking here. A gallon per person. Bring cheap gloves and don't wear shorts. If you fall, the lava is like broken glass. Try to go on a night with a full moon. I'd walk out in late afternoon, and then walk back in the moonlight. Did I mention to take a gallon of water per person?

I loved the top of the volcano that you can drive up, but my kids didn't. We stayed a few nights at the old lodge in the volcano national park, and that was the best place we stayed on all our trips there. Do bring a macro capability, such as Canon 500D, as there's lots of cool flowers etc.

On Kauai I rented a helicopter and had them take the doors off. It was really something! The pilot turned the helicopter sideways so I could look straight down the old volcano cone. It did get chilly, and the mist came right into the helicopter. My wife wouldn't go with me on that one, LOL. I also rented sea kayaks on the end of the island with the famous cliffs. Ocean can get pretty rough there, so keep that in mind. I also liked taking photos of the old churches on all the islands. Do not drink any "wild" water on any of the islands--there's a nasty parasite in it, from the goats.

I'm sort of an adventurous guy and spend very little time on the beaches. I tend to be up climbing the volcanoes, poking around jungle trails, exploring lava tubes, and searching out waterfalls. The kayaks are fun too, but be very careful you don't get swept out to sea. Ask about currents, and don't allow yourself to get very far from shore.


Kent in SD

A small, easy-to-carry camera for casual photography without being bogged down with a heavy gear bag. My Canon G10 get's plenty of use!

Thanks Kent, Jim!

I actually planned the trip to the Big Island to coincide with a full moon so we could do that lava hike, good to know that it will be worth it! I'll pass on the helicopter but do plan on driving to the top of the volcano. We've got the small camera covered also it's our "other" snorkeling camera but I'm guessing it will get plenty out of the housing time too. I appreciate the tips and will look into the kayaks hadn't thought about that!

Hali

it depends on your style and tastes,, personally Id go WIDE if I was going to Hawaii, my favorite landscape lens is my Canon 10-22 and that would definately be along for my trip, go wide !!

One thing about driving to the top of Mona What-ever-it-is. Many local car rental places hate that, and say they don't allow it. The problem is people tend to burn the brakes out on the way down. I'd find a rental that will let you do it before you go. Or, just do it anyway and make sure car is in low or 2nd gear as you go down the hill. We stayed four days at the lodge in Volcano NP, which is about 4,000 ft. altitude. That way, we were acclimated somewhat to the 14,000 ft.of the peak. It would be pretty tough to be used to sea level and then go up there. At night, the visitor station just below the summit has telescopes out for people to look through. It is actually cold at the top, BTW. As for hiking the lava field at night, with full moon we really didn't need flashlights, but we did each have a MiniMag AA light. Do take about a gallon of water per person if you hike out there. It sucks the fluid right out of you. The helicopter rides are cool, but it's hard to take photos if you have to shoot through glass. The view is really cool though. I rented my own helicopter and had all doors removed. That flight cost me more than the entire flight <--> Hawaii, but it sure was cool!


Kent in SD

I would take the wide angle for shots of the lava fields, Chain of Craters Road on the Big Island and for canyon shots on Kauai. Since you will have the zoom covered for Nene geese, shots of demonstrations in the City of Refuge and the possible sea turtle shots also at City of Refuge. If you have time head over to Maui to see Haleakala and take the road to Hana as well. I have been to HI seven times and always love to go back ! Actually hoping our daughter gets into grad school there next year. Have fun, any questions just ask. Oh and before I forget, if you can, stay at least one night inside the Volcano House inside Volcano National Park. This will allow you to go down Chain of Craters Road at night and get some lava shots which usually can be seen in the distance.

If you are really adventurous then snorkel with the Manta Rays at night on the Big Island!

Thanks again everyone. I think I will take the 16-35 with the 100-400 and leave the 24-105 at home. We are actually staying 2 nights at the Volcano House. I'm hoping to find a rental car to let me go to the summit of Mauna Kea else I may take one of those sunset tours if I can't. I'll also look into snorkeling with the Rays at night, that sounds like a lot of fun. Great advice, Can't wait to get going!

Think about a gorillapod for the casual camera. Looks like you have good coverage for all situations. Sometimes at breakfast on Hawaii, the geckos come up close enough for a macro shot. Also, in the water near the King K hotel (off of Dig Me beach), we have found sea turtles for underwater shots.

Bill Brennan

That's really cool about the gecko's and the turtles, I'll be on the lookout for both thanks Bill! I've got a 'pod I'll pack it tonight, didn't think of that. Any good recommendations for places to eat? :) Nothing fancy (and I'd say not too expensive but I hear everything is pricey)

I would be scared to leave the 24-105 at home because you have a huge gap between 35mm and 100mm. I find myself shooting at 50mm quite often and if I didn't have a gap between 50mm and 100mm in my lenses I'm sure I would shoot at 85mm as well for more isolated close up landscapes. If I was already bringing the hefty 100-400mm and the 16-35mm I would just bring along the 24-105mm too because its not going to take up much more room than those two lenses. However if it absolutely came down to having to choose between the two I would take the 24-105mm because it is more versatile. If I needed to go wider than 24mm for a landscape I would stitch multiple shots together which is very easy because photoshop automates it. You could make an image with close to the same field of view as the 16mm by stitching 3 or 4 overlapping vertical shots with the 24mm and it would have much more detail for larger prints as well. I find that for landscapes more an more I am shooting my 17-50mm lens at about 24-28mm and taking multiple shots to stitch together over my 10-22mm canon because I get way more detail and don't get soft edges like the 10-22mm set at 10mm. However, thats just my shooting style and if you know you won't be shooting anything from 36mm-99mm then just go with the 16-35mm as it is more convenient to shoot it all in one shot and in some situations with moving objects you need to.

I do a lot of diving and photography on Hawaii. For underwater a 60mm is about the perfect lens. Probably the best snorkeling/ photography spot is a place called Two Step, just north of Place of Refuge. Also, about 40 miles north of Kona.. an area called Puako can be excellent. In the shallows (under 25 feet or so) I wouldn't even bother with a strobe as the light can be pretty good. You'll be beating the Sea Turtles off with a stick at Puako.

Are you really that tight on luggage space or weight that you can't bring all three lenses? On a trip like this you're certainly going to want them all. The 24-105 is an incredibly versatile lens for travel and nature photography but you'll find plenty of times when you'll want the wider view of the 16-35mm, and I think the latter will be the best choice for snorkeling.

You can take me Hali and I will bring a few more lenses that I'll share. Kidding aside, I found I used the mid-range wide angle the most... even for whale watching. The whales were so close that I could have used a macro lens. Sorry, no suggestions for places to visit since I rented a house on Maui.