Re: One all purpose zoom for travel in Spain.

I was going to recommend the 12-100mm F4 until I read your “no Pro lenses”

regarding security . . .

In Barcelona, La Rambla and the other popular tourist venues such as La Sagrada Familia have a reputation for being high risk of pickpockets.

We spent a week in Barcelona last year and the advice given by hotel staff, taxi drivers etc was to not wear any backpacks or shoulder bags on your back or at your side - always at the front.  On one occasion we were walking with some Spanish friends on the Rambla and we were approached by a uniformed Police officer who advised one of our party to bring her shoulder bag around to the front.

That said, we never felt unsafe in Barcelona and even found the Metro to be very good. My advice is to just use common sense, don’t carry valuables in your pockets, don’t carry unnecessary gear and don’t use bags which have easy-open zips or pockets.

I carried the E-M1 II with 12-100 F4 in a small shoulder bag along with phone etc without any concerns. The bag has a flap with hidden buckle and noisy Velcro fasteners, so  not an easy target for pickpockets, and was easy to keep it under my arm and pull it around to the front in crowds

We did get caught up in the Catalonian separatist protests and associated transport blockages, so while there keep an eye on the news for any pending ‘events’.

We had no security concerns in the other cities we visited; Madrid, Granada, Sevilla, Cordoba, Cadiz, Segovia and no problems riding buses and intercity trains, or walking in the streets.

Peter