Travel with mFT. Advice on lens/body choice.

This is really a 'first world problem@ but here goes-

I upgraded to mFT from FT early this year. As it happened, I bought an OMD-em10 ( mark 1) body only and an EPL6 kit, just to get the lenses. At the same time i was offered a GX1 secondhand at very good price ( €90) . Since then i have added the Oly 45mm 1.8 and a second-hand Panasonic 20mm 1.7.

I am plainning a motorcycle trip next month and i want to take a light travel kit. Originally, I was thinking of the em10 with the kit 14-42mm lens. However, with the lenses now available to me I am thinking that either the GX1 or Epl6 with the Panasonic 20mm would make a nice small travel kit. Bear in mind that space really is at a premium when traveling on a motorcycle.

Ideally I would take only one body and one lens. I am most familiar with the OMD-em10 but I can learn either body controls before travel. I have only just bought the 20mm a couple of days ago but I like what I see, sharp and bright, but the 14-42mm kit lens might give me more flexibility.

i would be interested in any advice. I would likely use the camera only when i stop for a day or two so probably street photography , architecture etc. would dominate but i would obviously have the odd landscape-panorama on the way as well.

Any suggestions or advice when space is so limited would be much appreciated.

gotoole wrote:

This is really a 'first world problem@ but here goes-

I upgraded to mFT from FT early this year. As it happened, I bought an OMD-em10 ( mark 1) body only and an EPL6 kit, just to get the lenses. At the same time i was offered a GX1 secondhand at very good price ( €90) . Since then i have added the Oly 45mm 1.8 and a second-hand Panasonic 20mm 1.7.

I am plainning a motorcycle trip next month and i want to take a light travel kit. Originally, I was thinking of the em10 with the kit 14-42mm lens. However, with the lenses now available to me I am thinking that either the GX1 or Epl6 with the Panasonic 20mm would make a nice small travel kit. Bear in mind that space really is at a premium when traveling on a motorcycle.

Ideally I would take only one body and one lens. I am most familiar with the OMD-em10 but I can learn either body controls before travel. I have only just bought the 20mm a couple of days ago but I like what I see, sharp and bright, but the 14-42mm kit lens might give me more flexibility.

i would be interested in any advice. I would likely use the camera only when i stop for a day or two so probably street photography , architecture etc. would dominate but i would obviously have the odd landscape-panorama on the way as well.

Any suggestions or advice when space is so limited would be much appreciated.

Did you consider Panasonic 14-140mmII?

Ideally I would take only one body and one lens. I am most familiar with the OMD-em10 but I can learn either body controls before travel. I have only just bought the 20mm a couple of days ago but I like what I see, sharp and bright, but the 14-42mm kit lens might give me more flexibility.

i would be interested in any advice. I would likely use the camera only when i stop for a day or two so probably street photography , architecture etc. would dominate but i would obviously have the odd landscape-panorama on the way as well.

Any suggestions or advice when space is so limited would be much appreciated.

given your statement I would consider Olympus 12-50, which gives you more margin on both ends.

Not a spectacular one but it'll get the job done.

Ride safe!

GX1 with 20 1.7.  You may wish that you had something wider (like the 14-42 latest version).  The Olympus 45 1.8 weighs nearly nothing and it is small so you should be able to tuck it in somewhere.  Have a great trip.

I'm a light traveller and often have to select my gear, when I'm hiking, travelling or sailing. It's why I got the GM1.

From your gear the minimal choice would be the PL6 (newer than GX1, some stabilization, smaller than EM10) with the 20mm (small, fast, normal FOV). From there you can build depending on the space available and your desires.

Do you want to exchange space for features, then take the EM10.

Do you gain from having a fast (mild) tele, so it makes sense to spend the space there.

Or is the convenience of the zoom worth the space you have to expend for it?

Depends on how little space and important those capabilities really are.

Panasonic 12-32.

Em10 with 20 1.7. I'd try to squeeze the 45 in as well just to give you some flexibility. Use your phone for landscape shots.

gotoole wrote:

Robiro wrote:

.....

Did you consider Panasonic 14-140mmII?

Felice62 wrote:

I....

given your statement I would consider Olympus 12-50, which gives you more margin on both ends.

Not a spectacular one but it'll get the job done.

Ride safe!

Thanks Robiro and Felice62.

To be honest, i really don't want to buy more lenses , rather i want to pick from what I aleady have.

However, I will buy if I am getting a lens wjich is better than what i have already. Are these zooms better than the kit lenses. ? While i do like to shoot long, and have the old Oly 70-300mm , I don't think I would make use of long tele lens on a trip like this.

By the way, I intend heading to Gdansk, , maybe Kallinigrad, but i don't expect the destination will affect lens choice.

For the narrow streets of Gdańsk old town you may need wide angle.

Maybe Panasonic 12-32? Slower, but even smaller than 20/1.7.

gotoole wrote:

This is really a 'first world problem@ but here goes-

I upgraded to mFT from FT early this year. As it happened, I bought an OMD-em10 ( mark 1) body only and an EPL6 kit, just to get the lenses. At the same time i was offered a GX1 secondhand at very good price ( €90) . Since then i have added the Oly 45mm 1.8 and a second-hand Panasonic 20mm 1.7.

I am plainning a motorcycle trip next month and i want to take a light travel kit. Originally, I was thinking of the em10 with the kit 14-42mm lens. However, with the lenses now available to me I am thinking that either the GX1 or Epl6 with the Panasonic 20mm would make a nice small travel kit. Bear in mind that space really is at a premium when traveling on a motorcycle.

Ideally I would take only one body and one lens. I am most familiar with the OMD-em10 but I can learn either body controls before travel. I have only just bought the 20mm a couple of days ago but I like what I see, sharp and bright, but the 14-42mm kit lens might give me more flexibility.

i would be interested in any advice. I would likely use the camera only when i stop for a day or two so probably street photography , architecture etc. would dominate but i would obviously have the odd landscape-panorama on the way as well.

Any suggestions or advice when space is so limited would be much appreciated.

Of course, only you can answer this question, based on the kind of photos you are interested in.

Space being at a premium, I would go with your instincts, the PL6 or the GX1 and the 20mm. It gives you a generalist lens and low light capability. But the EM10 is the most capable of the bodies you have, and is it really that much bigger? Maybe with the 14-42...but it covers most of your bases.

I like the 20 mm immensely and would not hesitate to always have it with me. When I go light, I take my GM1 and the 20mm. I might take the 12-32 (or the 14-42 in your case) if I knew low light situations would not predominate...but usually I take the 20 for indoor situations, and it doubles well as an outdoor lens.

The ultimate travel lens kit would be a Panasonic 14-140 Mk II superzoom and a small and light lens, either the 20/1.7 or the 17/1.8 or the 15/1.7

This graphic might help you decide, No PL6, but the PL6 is slight redesign of the PL5 shown.

http://camerasize.com/compact/#183.30,382.30,382.92,521.30,521.92,ha,t

You already have the EPL6. Take that with the 20mm.  The 14-42 isn't that hard to pack.  You have to bring the charger and cord anyway, and they take  more space than the kit zoom. Maybe you have time to get a small 3rd party charger.

It's always fun to own more stuff when you're at home, but don't be looking to buy another camera or a lens, just for this trip. You already have two cameras.

I have more than two cameras. I would pack my GM1 with its 12-32 zoom and the 20mm.

gotoole wrote:

This is really a 'first world problem@ but here goes-

I upgraded to mFT from FT early this year. As it happened, I bought an OMD-em10 ( mark 1) body only and an EPL6 kit, just to get the lenses. At the same time i was offered a GX1 secondhand at very good price ( €90) . Since then i have added the Oly 45mm 1.8 and a second-hand Panasonic 20mm 1.7.

I am plainning a motorcycle trip next month and i want to take a light travel kit. Originally, I was thinking of the em10 with the kit 14-42mm lens. However, with the lenses now available to me I am thinking that either the GX1 or Epl6 with the Panasonic 20mm would make a nice small travel kit. Bear in mind that space really is at a premium when traveling on a motorcycle.

Ideally I would take only one body and one lens. I am most familiar with the OMD-em10 but I can learn either body controls before travel. I have only just bought the 20mm a couple of days ago but I like what I see, sharp and bright, but the 14-42mm kit lens might give me more flexibility.

i would be interested in any advice. I would likely use the camera only when i stop for a day or two so probably street photography , architecture etc. would dominate but i would obviously have the odd landscape-panorama on the way as well.

Any suggestions or advice when space is so limited would be much appreciated.

E-M10 w/both all three lenses, the 20mm is tiny, the E-M10's viewfinder may prove helpful in bright light and the 14-42 is good and gives you extra wideness for landscape but not going to do low light like the 20mm and 45mm.

I sometimes take my GX1 and a lens in a winter jacket pocket. If necessary, another lens or two can be hidden in other pockets. I'm sure this would work with the e-pl6 too. The hump on the e-m10 may make this more awkward, but you can easily test it.

Can't really go wrong with any of your kit, to be honest.

I'd probably pick the E-M10 body:

- The body itself is the same size as the E-PL6, just with the EVF permanently attached

- Better stabilization than the E-PL6

- Better dynamic range and low light than the GX1

As for lenses, I've walked around foreign cities with just a 17mm and a 45mm. The 17mm wasn't quite wide enough in the narrowest streets and smallest squares in Stockholm, but it also allowed for some interesting perspectives as I tried to squeeze everything I wanted into the frame. The 45mm was definitely useful when I wanted something longer - and with a 2x digital crop, you can get 90mm (180mm eFL) out of 8MP, which is plenty functional on the long end. The primes also let you shoot indoors and into evenings courtesy of the larger apertures.

The 20mm is a pretty close analogue to the 17mm, so I'd probably go with a 20mm/45mm kit. Just avoid under-exposing and pulling shadows too much on the 20mm and you should be fine (potential for low light, high ISO banding).

baxters wrote:

... You have to bring the charger and cord anyway, and they take more space than the kit zoom.

Wanted to point out a thread I just put up on how you can replace the cord on the Olympus charger with a small plug adapter which reduces size by a good amount.

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3985789#forum-post-57529850

Michael M Fliegel wrote:

Panasonic 12-32.

This ^ on an ePM2-type body will serve you well. Add a small prime (sigma 30 or 60?) for longer shots and call it good!

Chris Prinos wrote:

45mm was definitely useful when I wanted something longer - and with a 2x digital crop, you can get 90mm (180mm eFL) out of 8MP, which is plenty functional on the long end.

The digital crop may help w/ visualization, but the resolution hit is bigger than you suggest. A 2x crop will cut your resolution by a factor of 4x (so, 4 effective MP, not 8MP).

You're right. I avoid doing work that requires thinking in the morning (paperwork and emails instead), it looks like I should avoid writing posts that require thinking, as well.

I've seen other members of this forum swear by the digital teleconverter in-camera; I usually just crop in post processing to get the framing I want. Either way, a 45mm lens on a 16MP sensor should give a fair amount of working room for someone who likes working in short-telephoto.