mirrorless for Rome Help

talan8484 wrote:

Hey Everyone! This post is Cross posted as I think insight from my two camps would be helpful and interesting.

MY wife and I are traveling to Rome in January and I am excited to take my camera.

Which one should I take

Currently, I have a Canon EOS RP and an Olympus om-d E-m10 mk iii.

Canon Glass: 100mm f2.8L, 85mm f1.8, 50mm f1.8, 100-300 f5.6L, 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 USM, 10-18mm EF-s, and lastly the 35mm RF.

M43 glass: 14-42mm pancake kit lens, 45mm f1.8 m. zuiko, 20mm f1.7 pany, 9mm body cap f8, and a rokinon 7.5mm f3.5.

I am having trouble deciding which system I should take with me. My ideal setup would be a middle of the road 30-50mm low light lens for inside churches, and general zoom walking lens, and a wide angle.

The em10iii body is smaller, but not by much. The lenses are MUCH smaller.

The RP has better low light performance and has a general advantage in most fields except for being big and standing out. I also have a longer tele I can suck up and use for a walk around, but it's not ideal.

Which system should I bring? Should I buy a dedicated travel lens for that system?

I generally travel with an EOS M kit these days, but sometimes take a full frame kit. Either way, I take a fair selection of lenses and always use them all.
I don't subscribe to the "zoom with your feet" theory, for two reasons: firstly, you often can't get back far enough to get the composition you want, and secondly, I much prefer to use my feet to get the viewpoint and thus the perspective I want, and then use the zoom to get the correct framing. I refuse to surrender that amount of artistic control just to carry a bit less.
Rome is a city where you always have to be vigilant for thieves, but in all honesty, I don't think it makes any difference to them if you're using an RP or an OMD, they're all equally visible to them, and equally desirable.
In terms of carrying ability, it's not excessively hot in Rome in January; in August, I would definitely say take the Olympus kit, but in January, with the heat not a factor, heavier kit isn't quite such a drag.
Looking at your Canon kit, you seem to have all your requirements sorted with the 10-18, 28-135 and 35 f1.8, The 10-18 being a crop lens isn't ideal, but does still give you a respectable wideangle option. I've used the 28-135 in Rome myself many years ago with an EOS 3 film camera; for me, it's missing the all-important 24mm focal length, but for most people, it's got a very good range and that 135mm focal length can make all the difference. And although the IS is pretty basic, it can help. The 35 will cover off your fastish lens option, and you might find the macro ability useful too.
For the Olympus, I'm not a huge fan of that standard lens, for all its compactness - I prefer the Panny normal version. You don't appear to have a normal wideangle option - I love fisheyes, though,  and you can certainly have fun with them in the Pantheon and the Colosseum, and also Piazza Navona - Rome is a great city for fisheyes. And the 9mm is a lot of fun, too, but I would personally miss not having a normal wideangle option  of 24mm equivalent or widerin an awful lot of places; your kit will dictate what photos you can and can't take.
Finally, you don't appear to have a longer option, which I would personally find limiting in a number of places, if only for isolating detail.
So I've summarised my thoughts on issues I see - it's up to you what you choose, but I hope my thinking is helpful to you.