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I am fairly new to photography.

I planned a trip to hill station this weekend.

I have following lenses:

  1. 40mm f2.8 (pancake)
  2. 18-55mm IS II
  3. 55-250mm IS II

Should I carry all the lenses or would you suggest a better option.

Location : Yercaud, Tamil Nadu, India.

Camera: Canon 600D (T3i).

Day time shoot only. 10 AM to 5pm

Shooting such things as:

  1. person/group photos[Maximum 5 person] (70% shots)
  2. water Falls, garden and city View point (30% shots).

I'd like to know from the above lens choices, which are better for which type of shot/on which occasion.

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closed as primarily opinion-based by Matt Grum, Paul Cezanne, mattdm, Dan Wolfgang, Itai Jan 9 '14 at 4:18

Many good questions generate some degree of opinion based on expert experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based on opinions, rather than facts, references, or specific expertise. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

  • This is impossible to answer in the general case, and very hard to answer specifically without knowing: how you usually shoot (there are many ways to shoot portraits), what your carrying capabilities are, and what/where "hill station" is! – Matt Grum Jan 8 '14 at 11:42
  • Which camera you are going to use will also help – Yao Bo Lu Jan 8 '14 at 12:02
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    My crystal ball indicates that RGA is using a Canon Rebel of some sort. I am guessing Hill Station is a pretty mountain area in India. I want to know what time of the day he/she plans on shooting these portraits. – Patrick Hurley Jan 8 '14 at 12:56
  • @MattGrum i Just updated.please review now – RGA Jan 8 '14 at 13:27
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    Even with the updates the question is probably too narrow. A better question would be something like: "how can I assess what focal lengths I might need in advance of a shoot" – Matt Grum Jan 8 '14 at 13:31
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This is based on my preference and my shooting style

My guess is that the 18-55 mm IS II will suffice for most of the shot you are going to take.

Since it is day time and it is a lens that will have all of the focal length I would use for the listed type of shots:

1 - 3 persons: I prefer to use a focal length of about 85 mm which is about the 55 end of this lens

2 - 3 persons: I would prefer 35-50 mm which is about 20-30 mm on this lens

Landscape: I prefer shooting quite wide on these photos so somewhere between 18-20 mm on this lens

While for the 55-200 I would probably also use for portrait or other close up photos

While the 40 mm mostly for street photography and in some cases also portrait, but mainly in low light situations

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    Agree with the versatility of 18-55 for this situation. – fernando.reyes Jan 8 '14 at 15:43

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