travel kit?

Dan_168 said:

Jeff Style said:

I stopped taking my A73 on personal trips. As stated by someone earlier, the point of the trip is not trying to capture breathtaking images to sell, it is to enjoy the trip and family. I take my A6400 w/18-135 and enjoy the size weight. The A73 got more and more on my nerves as my trip went on because of the size and weight.

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It's pretty amazing to hear a camera small like A7 III can be that big of a hassle.

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It does become a hassle. By day two I asked myself "do I REALLY need the A73 for this?". Travel photos for my personal enjoyment don't require ultimate IQ. For images that will go on social media or never see the light of day after 6 months?

I'll take a 6100 w/18-50 2.8 over an A73 w/28-70 2.8 anytime. The A73 w/28-200 is essentially the FF equiv of the 6400 w/18-135...that is no where near comparable size/weight for the range. The advantage of A6xxx series is size and weight, why not use it?

On some trips I take the RX100 and never feel cheated as the experience is pretty liberating when on a family trip. Most of the time there’s another camera with me but not always on me.

For any multi-day trip for years now I've been bringing the A7ii with one zoom for daytime photos (24-240 or 24-105) and one fast prime for night photos (35 f/1.4 ZA).

In a recent trip which was a bit more family-focused (non-photogenic location), I decided to buy and bring the new compact 50mm f/2.5 G as the only lens. I found it somewhat liberating as the fixed focal length reduces the number of subjects that require my attention (family portrait at golden hour - ok, rare bird flying by - pass).

So now for next trip, I'm toying with the idea of going a step further and bringing only an MF prime, like a Voigtlander 35 1.4, as the main lens, with one other lens as a backup with AF in case someone wants a picture of their fast-moving kid or pet.

I suggest you try the same with your A7x and one small prime.

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Alex Notpro said:

For any multi-day trip for years now I've been bringing the A7ii with one zoom for daytime photos (24-240 or 24-105) and one fast prime for night photos (35 f/1.4 ZA).

In a recent trip which was a bit more family-focused (non-photogenic location), I decided to buy and bring the new compact 50mm f/2.5 G as the only lens. I found it somewhat liberating as the fixed focal length reduces the number of subjects that require my attention (family portrait at golden hour - ok, rare bird flying by - pass).

So now for next trip, I'm toying with the idea of going a step further and bringing only an MF prime, like a Voigtlander 35 1.4, as the main lens, with one other lens as a backup with AF in case someone wants a picture of their fast-moving kid or pet.

I suggest you try the same with your A7x and one small prime.

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I am a 35mm guy and have done it with a manual 35mm as a " walk around" travel set up for maybe 20 years, in the past was the Nikon AIS 35 then the Zeiss Distagon 35, then the Zeiss Milvus 35 F1.4, , and comes to Sony system it was the Loxia 35, then I replaced it the Voigtlander 35 1.4 then the Voigtlander 40 1.2 then finally the Voigtlander 35 F2 APO, great great lens, then an addition of Sigma 35 1.2...... however, if it's none photo trip means I will have my girl friend or family or some other none photographer friends around, and will be taking picture of family, friends with myself in the picture, handing the camera to someone on the street or even to my girl friend or someone already has real camera to take picture with a MF lens can be challenging thought, so a AF lens will work a lot better for those kind of trip.

With that being said I picked up a 35GM recently which I thought I would never need it since I already have so many 35mm lens, on Sony system alone I already have Sigma 35 1.2 ( for portrait) and Voigtlander 35 F2 APO (for hiking, backpacking and landscape) , and I still haven't sold the Loxia 35, so I keep telling myself no, no more 35mm, but one day the G.A.S got to me and broke down and purchased one, it sure comes in handy for those kind of trips, already used on my Vegas and LA trips with family, It may sound redundant but I will definitely not replace my Sigma and voigtlander with the GM, so I guess I will just own all 3 for a while.

jor23 said:

leaving for a trip tomorrow. Still unsure about which kit to take.

• a6000 + sigma 30f1.4 and sigma 18-50f2.8
• A7riii + either a couple of primes or 24-105f4 with a prime

the first kit is so much lighter and smaller...

just touring around with family. nothing serious photography-wise.

last time I took just A7riii and Batis 25mm. it's fine, but would be nice to have a couple of different focal length to play with.

Suggestions?

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We all have different priority, different tolerance level and different expectation. Really only you can decide for yourself.

For me I have many choices of camera/lens combination depend on trips. I carried as many as 3 cameras and 6~7 lenses in a few trips, while carried just one camera and 2~3 lenses in other trips.

In my just returned Portugal trip, I carried A1 and A7r IV, 4 prime lenses - 14 GM, CV 21/1.4 Nokton, Loxia 85 and 135 GM. Originally planned also carried CV 40/1.2 Nokton but gave up at the last minute. In 3 cities tour, walked lots in steep city streets. Ended left 135 GM in hotel most times as it's a bit too heavy. Otherwise I used the other 3 lenses on two cameras very often. In my previous few trips with car driving most times, I carried more and mostly zoom as I have option of selecting lenses at specific scene while left others in car.

Personally I prefer carrying 2 same-format cameras (full frame in my case) as they backup each other with the same set of lenses without having to consider crop factor.

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