Camera kit for three weeks in Europe.

john isaacs wrote:

I will be in Prague, Vienna, and Budapest.

I made a similar trip last fall, traveling by train between cities. FANTASTIC!

Plan to take the following:

- I won't be carrying all at once (in case you are wondering). The joy of m4/3 is that I can lock this all up in a hotel room safe and just take what I need for a given outing.

Sorry, but bringing that amount of gear is crazy. Keep it simple. Don't carry a bunch of lenses that duplicate what other lenses do. Don't worry about "gaps", either. Take lenses you like. Forget gimmicky things, too. There's always Photoshop for making a mess of things at home.

I travel often, walking a LOT and used to make the mistake of lugging lots of gear… not all at once, I kept some in the hotel. I found myself making excuses to use certain lenses simply because I carried them along. I made a decision to minimize what I carry and not take "what if" lenses and gadgets.

At this point, for mainly urban travel, I've boiled it down to…

• GX8
• 12-40mm for daytime, general shooting
• 7-14mm for when I really want wide (I've found that I don't use it as much since I started carrying the 12-40mm, but the 7mm end is something I really want at times. My girlfriend likes to use it, too. In the narrow streets of European cities and villages it's invaluable!)
• 75mm f2.5 Voigtländer Color Heliar
• 17.5mm Voigtländer for night shooting and interiors.
• UltraPod II (I used to carry a tripod, but found I rarely used it. Same with a monopod. The UltraPod is so small and light, if I don't use it, it's not an issue)

My girlfriend carries a GX7, 14-140mm II and a 20mm. I'll use the 14-140mm sometimes. And she'll use the 12-40mm and 7-14mm.

I used to carry the Voigtländer 42.5mm, but got tired of lens swapping, so, the 12-40mm got me close enough, but I just have to accept the lower image quality.

• For nature trips I'll swap out the 75mm for a 100-400mm (used to be the 100-300mm) and may bring a macro lens, depending on the destination and whether or not I'm renting a car. Tripod is optional. The UltraPod I use against my chest with the long lens. I prefer it to a monopod as it's easier to manage when hiking.

Looking forward to getting lots of great shots.

Budapest is fantastic, BTW! Have a great time.