Travel with mFT. Advice on lens/body choice.

gotoole wrote:

This is really a 'first world problem@ but here goes-

I upgraded to mFT from FT early this year. As it happened, I bought an OMD-em10 ( mark 1) body only and an EPL6 kit, just to get the lenses. At the same time i was offered a GX1 secondhand at very good price ( €90) . Since then i have added the Oly 45mm 1.8 and a second-hand Panasonic 20mm 1.7.

I am plainning a motorcycle trip next month and i want to take a light travel kit. Originally, I was thinking of the em10 with the kit 14-42mm lens. However, with the lenses now available to me I am thinking that either the GX1 or Epl6 with the Panasonic 20mm would make a nice small travel kit. Bear in mind that space really is at a premium when traveling on a motorcycle.

Ideally I would take only one body and one lens. I am most familiar with the OMD-em10 but I can learn either body controls before travel. I have only just bought the 20mm a couple of days ago but I like what I see, sharp and bright, but the 14-42mm kit lens might give me more flexibility.

i would be interested in any advice. I would likely use the camera only when i stop for a day or two so probably street photography , architecture etc. would dominate but i would obviously have the odd landscape-panorama on the way as well.

Any suggestions or advice when space is so limited would be much appreciated.

Of course, only you can answer this question, based on the kind of photos you are interested in.

Space being at a premium, I would go with your instincts, the PL6 or the GX1 and the 20mm. It gives you a generalist lens and low light capability. But the EM10 is the most capable of the bodies you have, and is it really that much bigger? Maybe with the 14-42...but it covers most of your bases.

I like the 20 mm immensely and would not hesitate to always have it with me. When I go light, I take my GM1 and the 20mm. I might take the 12-32 (or the 14-42 in your case) if I knew low light situations would not predominate...but usually I take the 20 for indoor situations, and it doubles well as an outdoor lens.

The ultimate travel lens kit would be a Panasonic 14-140 Mk II superzoom and a small and light lens, either the 20/1.7 or the 17/1.8 or the 15/1.7

This graphic might help you decide, No PL6, but the PL6 is slight redesign of the PL5 shown.

http://camerasize.com/compact/#183.30,382.30,382.92,521.30,521.92,ha,t