what to bring to italy? do i dare leave the DSLR at home?

Need help deciding what to bring to my (very rare) trip to Italy.

The risk averse side of me says to go ahead and bring both my Nikon D3400+ 35mm prime + 18-200. *as well* as my lumix LX5 ('point and shoot').

I have recently fallen in love again with my LX5 with the landscapes it produces, and the street photography capabilities are incredible.

So there is a risky side of me that is telling me to leave the DSLR at home.. The only edge it has is razor thin DOF with the prime and longer reach with the 200mm zoom.

Any advice?

I think the D3400+ prime delivers such image quality edge over the LX5 is so unparalleled that it dare not leave it behind... but then once I take it, i dare not leave behind a zoom lens....

There's just a part of me, however, that doesn't want to force myself to choose between the two while I'm on the trip so I can more focus on just being present and taking good images.

in the end, I'm just excited to go and really happy actually that I have this problem on my hands.

I went to Italy once before (Milan). I brought my D40 with manual prime, 18-55, 55-200. From what I recall, I don't think I used the 55-200 at all. The manual prime was handy in the churches.

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David

I have traveled around the world with one Nikon at the time, first a D40, later a D90 finally a D7200 with on the first two a Nikon 18-200 and on the D7200 an 18-140mm.

Visited many many countries/cities all over the world, never have I missed another (extra) lens. To be honest...took also a 30-700mm on my safaris.

As a backup I also brought my Oly XZ-1 and later the TG-5. Very usable for visits to eg. restaurants and when you're a bit tired of dragging around with your Nikon.

So, take one Nikon with the 18-200mm and the 0.6lbs (!) weight Lumix LX-5

Enjoy wonderful Italy !

I would probably bring both cameras and whatever lenses you deem appropriate. I tend to carry a lot of stuff with me. I recently returned from the south of France and took a Sony A7rii plus two lenses, a Sony Rx-100, and two film bodies. Plus a tripod and other associated things. I've found that I like using the mirrorless body and lenses for shots at dawn/dusk when I'm out alone, shooting off a tripod. In the middle of the day, wandering with my wife, I prefer the ease and light weight of the Rx-100. During the day, of course, I am scouting for that wonderful sunrise/sunset photo which I return to with the big camera. Enjoy your trip!

I've just got back from a trip to Italy, France & Spain.

I took the Canon R8 with the 24-105 f4 which covered most things, the 16 f2.8 used mostly for indoor shots & a few landscapes & the 35 f1.8 used mostly at night.

Small & light enough to carry around in a small sling bag.

photoeng said:

Need help deciding what to bring to my (very rare) trip to Italy.

The risk averse side of me says to go ahead and bring both my Nikon D3400+ 35mm prime + 18-200. *as well* as my lumix LX5 ('point and shoot').

Click to expand...

What harm are you causing yourself bringing along an extra camera so small it can fit in your pant's pocket?

Couldn't agree more with Mike. whatever gear you take, bring along a decent pocket camera. You'll very likely use it and be happy with the results.

And here's a shot with my LX7 in Tuscany, sure seems good enough to me.

Best,

Den



View: original size

David, in 2006 we went on a cruise to Greece & Turkey and all I had was a low end Canon DSLR with a 3rd party 18-200 lens and I didn't know squat about the different functions on the camera.

That was many bodies, lenses and $$$ ago. Now I'm 82 and use a Canon R5 with 24-240 lens but it would be too much weight or me to drag around on a trip that required walking, etc. Now I'd probably take my Canon R7 with 18-150 which is very light. I'd also take my Sony RX100VI, which was the only camera we took to San Miguel de Allende Mexico a few years ago.

Have fun,

Kent

There are a couple longer recent threads in the Nikon Z forum right now. Ignore the camera suggestions and look at the lens ideas.

Where? If you're coming to Rome you need something wider than 18mm on DX. You'll also want something faster for indoor stuff.

OTOH if you're going up in the mountains UW isn't a requirement.

Was in Italy in December and like all trips to Europe I carry heavy. Two Gripped 5D Mark III’s paired with a 16-35 f/4 L IS and a 70-200 f/4 L IS Mark II. Sure it’s a heavy load, but no need to “Stop and Swap” lenses.
Do I worry about pick pocketers and people eyeing up the gear… Nope as I keep an eye on the surroundings.
if you don’t mind bringing by all means do.
Being the son of a Retired Army O-5, you learn to watch your surroundings and always have a backup. CYA as they say.

We went to Italy over New Years, had my best New Years celebration ever by visiting the Ducati museum in Bologna! We went to Rome, rented a car and drove to Civita di Bagoregnia (thanks to a member here inspiring me), Bologna, Firenze and Monteriggioni. I brought my Canon R8 and the somewhat lightweight RF24-240, and RF 15-35, Used 24-240 most of the time, 15-35 inside churches,cathedrals (except for the Duomo in Firenze, had to limit to one lens) and museums.




Colosseum, Rome




Civita di Bagoregnia




Ducati museum, Borgo Paginale, Bologna




Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, Firenze



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photoeng said:

Need help deciding what to bring to my (very rare) trip to Italy.

The risk averse side of me says to go ahead and bring both my Nikon D3400+ 35mm prime + 18-200. *as well* as my lumix LX5 ('point and shoot').

I have recently fallen in love again with my LX5 with the landscapes it produces, and the street photography capabilities are incredible.

So there is a risky side of me that is telling me to leave the DSLR at home.. The only edge it has is razor thin DOF with the prime and longer reach with the 200mm zoom.

Any advice?

Click to expand...

Assuming you're ok with the weight & bulk of the DSLR then I think you should take it, along with the LX5.

photoeng said:

I think the D3400+ prime delivers such image quality edge over the LX5 is so unparalleled that it dare not leave it behind... but then once I take it, i dare not leave behind a zoom lens....

There's just a part of me, however, that doesn't want to force myself to choose between the two while I'm on the trip

Click to expand...

Has that been a problem for you in the past? The reason for choosing one over the other should be pretty clear (extreme convenience and discreetness vs image quality). The two cameras are so different that I doubt you'll be faced with analysis-paralysis, especially since it's so easy to bring both.

In general travel photos tend to use wide focal lengths. My own travel shots are 90% on 24-28 mm full frame equivalent.

So any small camera with wide prime will be light and easy to carry while covering most situations.

The fact is, you cannot ask the question "What lenses to bring?" from anybody else except yourself.

I always bring everything, from UWA to a long birding lens. No matter whether it is Italy or something else. And that's because I do shoot birds, even in Italy, and I may shoot some medieval city centre with narrow streets that requires an UWA, or maybe something in nature where UWA makes sense.

If you don't shoot birds, don't bring a long lens, and if you don't shoot narrow medieval streets or anything else requiring an UWA, don't bring a UWA.

People in Italy use all kinds of lenses, and that's why many people going to Italy also use all kinds of lenses. And that applies to any country in this world.

tpani said:

The fact is, you cannot ask the question "What lenses to bring?" from anybody else except yourself.

I always bring everything, from UWA to a long birding lens. No matter whether it is Italy or something else. And that's because I do shoot birds, even in Italy, and I may shoot some medieval city centre with narrow streets that requires an UWA, or maybe something in nature where UWA makes sense.

If you don't shoot birds, don't bring a long lens, and if you don't shoot narrow medieval streets or anything else requiring an UWA, don't bring a UWA.

People in Italy use all kinds of lenses, and that's why many people going to Italy also use all kinds of lenses. And that applies to any country in this world.

Click to expand...

Spot on. Winning answer.

Italy is such a diverse country with a million possible photographic subjects. Is my favorite country to visit / place to photograph as within a 2 hour drive I can be somewhere completely different.

Is similar to saying you are going to the United States. We have no idea if that means you are only going to NYC and never leaving Manhattan or if you are going on a road trip to visit 20 national parks in the West.

Obviously the photography would be quite different between those 2 US trips.

Same adage as usual take what you would if at home. Decide how important photography is to you ; if very high on your list then take your very best gear with you.

While I agree with most of the info above about bring the lens for what you typically shoot ; by no means is a long lens only for birds. I can think of a few famous landscape locations in Italy that are best shot with a long lens for example.

You don't need to bring with you everyday all of your gear just bring what you think you will use that day.

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https://www.mattreynoldsphotography.com/

For a variety of reasons and experiences, my general "travel" kit runs from16 or 17mm to 200mm in ff terms. Ten years ago I took an aps-c mirror-less and 16-50 (24-75mm in ff terms to Italy and found it least sometimes not wide enough and also not long enough.

For our trip last fall to Switzerland (we lunched one day in Italy) and a Rhine River Cruise, I have and took a 17-28/2.8 Tamron and 28-200 /2.8-5.6 Tamron. I'd take that or my A6700 and 18-135 aps-c mirrorless to Italy. If that were to be my primary kit, I'd likely replace my aps-c 11mm/1.8 prime with one of the zooms in the 10-20mm or so range.

There are a lot of ways and pairs of lenses to get from 16mm to 200mm or so in both ff and aps-c kits, differing some for the various brands. The 17-28 is a nice pairing with the 28-200 but I think for Italy and similar places, it's not as flexible as a walk-around could be in the old cities, cathedrals and museums, etc. I'd think a 16-35 wide zoom would do better with more overlap past 28mm.

So, I got back from Italy last Friday.

I am so glad I brough the LX5. I ended up using it *so much more* than my DSLR which has far and away much better "image quality", but the results I got with the LX5 were so much more interesting.

Below are some sample shots




conversion to jpg with camerabag. no filters







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David

It's always a tricky decision. In the past, I've tended to travel heavy with two bodies and a couple of long lenses (80-400mm, 500mm) because I'm always worried I'll miss that great shot. However, the reality is that the vast majority of my photography is with my 24-70mm lens and I often haul around that second camera and lens but never use it.

If I'm on a cruise or staying in one place, I don't mind taking more gear because I only have to haul it there and back but traveling around is a different matter.

My next trip is to Spain and Portugal for a couple of weeks next month. Renting a car and planning to drive all over. So I'm going to test 'traveling light'. Just carry-on baggage, one camera with the 24-70mm, spare battery, battery charger and a couple of filters. I'll also take my laptop but that's not just for photography purposes.

I suspect I won't miss the long lens but we will see.

1. For my latest trip to Northern Italy including the Dolomites I will be using my lightest kit the include a 27- 450mm equivalent telephoto: the Sony A6700 & Tamron 18-300mm. My iPhone 13 Pro Max will be used for wide angle (wider than 27mm) street i, macros, and night shooting.

Basic set up for lightest kit for Northern Italy

• Sony A6700= 493gm
• Tamron 18-300 f4.5-6.3 = 620gm
• Total = 493+620= 1,113gm

photoeng said:

So, I got back from Italy last Friday.

I am so glad I brough the LX5. I ended up using it *so much more* than my DSLR which has far and away much better "image quality", but the results I got with the LX5 were so much more interesting.

Below are some sample shots




conversion to jpg with camerabag. no filters

Click to expand...

... and next time you can just leave all those cameras at home and just use a high-quality cell phone camera and get these same photos

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Thanks,
Mike