Camera kit for three weeks in Europe.

john isaacs wrote:

I will be in Prague, Vienna, and Budapest.

Plan to take the following:

- E-M1 and E-M5. Don't plan to use both often, but want to have a backup.

- Panasonic 12-35 f/2.8. The only weather sealed lens I'm taking. Leaving the Olympus 12-40 f/2.8 behind because I want some consistency in filters.

- Olympus 9-18. While I have both 7-14s, I like the small size and ability to use regular filters. Will bring 52mm polarizer plus 52-58mm step up for other filters as needed.

- Panasonic 14-140 Mk II. I'm slightly torn here, because the option is to take the Panasonic 35-100. Both take 58mm filters, so I can use my Canon 58mm 500D close up lens. This is the lighter of the two, and it can also be an all-around lens when I'm traveling light.

- Olympus 12mm f/2 prime. I like some faster lenses for shooting indoors, and this is one of them.

- Panasonic 25mm f/1.4. My second fastest lens (and I'm not going to take the Nocticron 42.5 f/1.2 due to size and weight considerations). Plus, it uses the same 46mm filters as the 12mm. I could bring the Olympus 25mm f/1.8, but I like the extra ~1/2 stop and shallower DOF. I did swap that stupid lens hood with the shorter one for the 45mm.

- Olympus 45mm f/1.8. Good for indoors and portrait. Small and light. Not bringing the 75mm f/1.8, again due to size and weight considerations. My main issue with this lens is the 37mm filter size. So I'll bring a 37mm CPL and a 37-46 step-up.

- Olympus 9mm body cap fisheye. It's a toss in, fun to use for certain shots.

Bringing some flash gear (FL300R is great for food, FL36R is great for portraits and macro because I can use diffusers). Bringing a 42" ultra-light travel tripod and extensions to mount on.

Bringing a Sirui T-005X tripod (2.3 lbs, <12" long) for night shots and panoramas. Also bringing a panoramic head, nodal slide, L-bracket, and radio trigger with remote shutter cable.

Bringing a Panasonic TZ5 that I converted to IR by removing the IR filter, with 720 and 850 filters. Only shoots JPG, but shoots IR fast so I don't need a tripod.

Finally, bringing a Panasonic LF1. Fits in the pocket, shoots RAW, has viewfinder and Wi-Fi remote control. Great for those times when I want to step out without the main camera gear.

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.

Looking forward to getting lots of great shots.

That's a lot of gear to take on vacation.

I'm a professional event photographer who shoots travel & landscape for fun and occasional profit. Over the years, I've cut my travel kit way back. 20 years ago, I lugged a suitcase-size backpack (back when that was "carry-on size") around India for 7 weeks with a Pentax 67 kit, a 35mm kit, a full size tripod, and 120 rolls of film. It weighed probably 40lbs.

Never again.

On a 2-week vacation in Corsica last summer, I brought a GX7, 7-14/4, 12-35/2.8, 35-100/2.8, 20/1.7 & 45/1.8, along with a Metz 28 CS-2 flash.

Carrying wasn't a problem, but the constant lens swapping as I wandered in and around mountain villages was a frustration. My solution, a tiny Tamrac Rally 4 bag with:

Daytime:

• 7-14 on one GX7
• 14-140II on second GX7
• Metz 28 CS-2

Nighttime:

• 20 on one GX7
• 45 on second GX7
• 7-14
• Metz 28 CS-2
• 60" 3lb. travel tripod as needed

I just pull whichever camera/lens I need out of the bag. No lens swapping.

The Metz 28 CS-2 gives me studio-style 2-flash key+fill lighting in a shirt pocket. More on that here.