Two bodies or an extra lens for my upcoming trip to Rome?

As the title says, my wife and I are going to Rome in September.

I'm back and forth between picking up the 35-100 F2.8 Pany or for the same amount of money; a second body like the Oly E-PL6 (same battery as my E-M10), with a 20mm F1.7 Pany, and a 45mm F2.8 Oly.

Now, I'm buying this gear used for the most part to keep the costs down.  I would use the 35-100 to compliment my current setup.  I would use a second camera as a super lightweight choice for my wife.  This way we could both take shots of Rome. Your thoughts?

Current gear:

OMD E-M10

12-40mm 2.8 PRO Oly

25mm F1.4 Pany

Sirus Tripod ~13inches

Billingham Pro bag

Batteries (3)

Memory cards (3)

two bodies. After changing lenses twice you will regret not bringing two bodies. Your wife will appreciate too for not having to wait while you change lenses

redli0nswift wrote:

As the title says, my wife and I are going to Rome in September.

I'm back and forth between picking up the 35-100 F2.8 Pany or for the same amount of money; a second body like the Oly E-PL6 (same battery as my E-M10), with a 20mm F1.7 Pany, and a 45mm F2.8 Oly.

Now, I'm buying this gear used for the most part to keep the costs down. I would use the 35-100 to compliment my current setup. I would use a second camera as a super lightweight choice for my wife. This way we could both take shots of Rome. Your thoughts?

Current gear:

OMD E-M10

12-40mm 2.8 PRO Oly

25mm F1.4 Pany

Sirus Tripod ~13inches

Billingham Pro bag

Batteries (3)

Memory cards (3)

I would lean toward a second body for the trip. A longer lens does come in handy occasionally, but not enough to justify carrying a 35-100 f2.8.  If you get in a jam, you can always switch on the digital teleconverter for the handful of shots when you really want the distant details. On my last two trips to Rome, I used the longer lens (the kit 40-150) mostly for architectural details around the Forum. Otherwise, it stayed in my camera bag.

You might also want to consider something wider than the 12mm on the 12-40. An ultra-wide comes in handy in places like the Pantheon.

I also like the idea of you and your wife both having cameras. She may be more patient with your shooting if she can shoot, too.

I'm in Rome now and have been in Florence, Venice, Switzerland and Paris this summer. I packed my 14-150 but only used it once while hiking on the Italian Riveria. I also packed my 17/1.8 and 25/1.8 but they haven't left my bag. I've used the 12-40/2.8 90% of the time. I have used my 14-42 EZ a couple of times when I wanted to travel lighter, and my Canon G7 X while biking.

Id skip the 35-100 and consider a wider lens. Had the 7-14/2.8 been available, I would have loved using that. Enjoy the trip.

redli0nswift wrote:

As the title says, my wife and I are going to Rome in September.

I'm back and forth between picking up the 35-100 F2.8 Pany or for the same amount of money; a second body like the Oly E-PL6 (same battery as my E-M10), with a 20mm F1.7 Pany, and a 45mm F2.8 Oly.

Now, I'm buying this gear used for the most part to keep the costs down. I would use the 35-100 to compliment my current setup. I would use a second camera as a super lightweight choice for my wife. This way we could both take shots of Rome. Your thoughts?

Current gear:

OMD E-M10

12-40mm 2.8 PRO Oly

25mm F1.4 Pany

Sirus Tripod ~13inches

Billingham Pro bag

Batteries (3)

Memory cards (3)

I would lean toward a second body for the trip. A longer lens does come in handy occasionally, but not enough to justify carrying a 35-100 f2.8.  If you get in a jam, you can always switch on the digital teleconverter for the handful of shots when you really want the distant details. On my last two trips to Rome, I used the longer lens (the kit 40-150) mostly for architectural details around the Forum. Otherwise, it stayed in my camera bag.

You might also want to consider something wider than the 12mm on the 12-40. An ultra-wide comes in handy in places like the Pantheon.

I also like the idea of you and your wife both having cameras. She may be more patient with your shooting if she can shoot, too.

You should get a second body:
- each of you can have a camera, and perhaps reduce lens change frequency
- backup in case one body fails on trip
Only question here may be, will you need a viewfinder for the E-PL6?

Additional lens considerations:
- not sure about the Panny 20mm f/1.7. Does it play nicely with the Oly? Kinda close in focal length to your 25mm f/1.4, to compliment that I suggest something a bit wider like the 17mm f/1.8, I think that you will find that to be much more useful in Rome, if you want a 2nd fairly fast, somewhat wider prime.
- For the rare occasions when you might need something longer, the Oly 40-150mm is much better IQ than you'd expect for the $120 or so you can usually get it for. It's not a 35mm-100mm f/2.8, but not a slouch and I think an excellent compromise in order to have a second body for such a trip.

I guess I've never considered going wider.  Is there really that much difference from 12mm (12-40) vs the 7mm Pany or 9mm Oly?

Where besides the Pantheon would you have used a wider lens?

redli0nswift wrote:

I guess I've never considered going wider. Is there really that much difference from 12mm (12-40) vs the 7mm Pany or 9mm Oly?

There is a noticeable difference between 9mm and 12mm.

Also, I sometimes shot panos with my iPhone to get a wider field of view.

Where besides the Pantheon would you have used a wider lens?

* Barberini Palace

* San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (actually, just about any church)

* Gallery Doria Pamphilj

...

I may have to look through my pictures and see what else I can come up with.

Check this thread for a lens usage distribution on my recent trip to Italy and Spain.

http://www.mu-43.com/threads/76595/

I had a second body - actually two: RX100m3 and GX7 - to complement the E-M1.  The RX100 got a lot of use, and the GX7 never left the room.

redli0nswift wrote:

As the title says, my wife and I are going to Rome in September.

I'm back and forth between picking up the 35-100 F2.8 Pany or for the same amount of money; a second body like the Oly E-PL6 (same battery as my E-M10), with a 20mm F1.7 Pany, and a 45mm F2.8 Oly.

Now, I'm buying this gear used for the most part to keep the costs down. I would use the 35-100 to compliment my current setup. I would use a second camera as a super lightweight choice for my wife. This way we could both take shots of Rome. Your thoughts?

Current gear:

OMD E-M10

12-40mm 2.8 PRO Oly

25mm F1.4 Pany

Sirus Tripod ~13inches

Billingham Pro bag

Batteries (3)

Memory cards (3)

For about six month's, my primes were parked on the shelf and my main kit was my E-M10, 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro, 35-100mm f/2.8, two 32GB SDHC cards, and three spare BLS-5 batteries.; all living in an ONA Bowery bag along with the battery charger and cable. If you like zooms, this is an excellent kit and you can leave the 25mm f1.4 home; you won't need it. I also found that the 12-40mm was on the E-M10 95% of the time but, each person works differently.

Changing lenses is a royal pain and opens the cameras to dirt on the sensors.  Changing lenses is asking accidents to happen.

I went to England last year with two e-pl5 bodies, the 12-40 and 35-100 lenses.  Not tied down with a huge amount of weight and a good choice of equipment.

Almost had a mini-disaster in a car park one day when a keen-eyed person noticed I had dropped the door to the battery compartment of one of my bodies.  I couldn't thank him enough.

Isabel

and use a less conspicuous bag. lots of thieves around

redli0nswift,

I agree with the recommendations that you consider a second body and an ultra-wide lens. That said, there's a question I don't think anyone's asked you yet. What do you like to photograph?

When I go to Rome (I'm going again in September, too!), I bring two cameras. My Oly. 9-18 plus a circular polarizer is a must-have, because I like to photograph churches and other very large structures like the Colosseum. I needed to go at least as wide as 9mm for both exterior and interior shots. Indoors, f/4-5.6 was doable hand-held with an E-PL5. I'll be using two OM-Ds on my next trip so I can keep the ISO lower.

I also find the 9mm focal length indispensable at the Vatican Museum, St. Peter's Square, various plazas, and even places like train stations and narrow streets. The 9-18mm range is great for street photography, too.

A 7-14 is nice, as long as you don't mind the limitations and drawbacks of this kind of lens. I'll have my little Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye with me for those few times when that much width is desired. (I do a lot of post-processing. Plus, fisheyes can be fun.)

Besides the 9-18, I love the 25mm f/1.4. Probably my most-used lens. I consider the 20mm pancake a more pocketable alternative. One of these, plus a 14mm and 45mm prime, will be in my bag. Your 12-40 is a great alternative to such a set of primes and should stay on one of your bodies, in my opinion.

I heartily recommend a telephoto zoom for capturing details in cityscapes and making portraits of more distant subjects. On my last trip, I used a pocket superzoom camera, the Panasonic DMC-ZS30. It served me very well for telephoto shots - mostly at St. Peter's, the Forum, in garden areas, and on some streets where you don't want to get too close to people. However, I'll be using the cheap, light, and excellent 40-150 f/4-5.6 next time, since I like to shoot RAW and will want the superior IQ. It'll only be used outdoors. On rainy days, I'll bring a weather-sealed 14-150 II instead.

The 35-100 is a great lens, but will you need f/2.8 vs. a much cheaper lens with a much greater range?

I hope this helps. Wishing you a great adventure!

P.S. - yes, the difference between 12mm and 7 or 9mm on micro four thirds is quite significant! It's all in the angle of view. You can get by with 12mm, but you'd probably wish you had a wider lens in some places.

redli0nswift wrote:

As the title says, my wife and I are going to Rome in September.

I'm back and forth between picking up the 35-100 F2.8 Pany or for the same amount of money; a second body like the Oly E-PL6 (same battery as my E-M10), with a 20mm F1.7 Pany, and a 45mm F2.8 Oly.

Now, I'm buying this gear used for the most part to keep the costs down. I would use the 35-100 to compliment my current setup. I would use a second camera as a super lightweight choice for my wife. This way we could both take shots of Rome. Your thoughts?

Current gear:

OMD E-M10

12-40mm 2.8 PRO Oly

25mm F1.4 Pany

Sirus Tripod ~13inches

Billingham Pro bag

Batteries (3)

Memory cards (3)

Make sure that you take the appropriate  chargers for the each of the camera Body.. Last year I found out the hard way, when overseas, about having the correct charger for the body.

GaryG