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Gear advice? (Paris, Barcelona, Venice)

Gear advice? (Paris, Barcelona, Venice)

Old Aug 28, 2016, 3:45 pm
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Gear advice? (Paris, Barcelona, Venice)

Amateur photographer and camera geek here looking for advice on what kind of gear/lenses are appropriate for travel to Paris, Barcelona, and Venice. It'll be my first time visiting them so I would love to capture the amazing architecture as well as some street photography afforded by these cities. On one hand I don't want to feel like I'm missing shots because I decided to leave some lens/body behind but on the other hand, I'm also aware of horror stories of thievery, etc., so I'd like to be on the more discreet side if possible (not to mention the hassle of carrying weight). I'm also interested in taking some long exposure photos though I haven't researched enough to know how doable/safe (or worthwhile?) they are in these locations.

I imagine some wide-angles (16mm?) would be useful but I sold off some of my gear so I don't have anything that wide but I'm not opposed to renting if necessary.

My equipment:
(1) Fuji X100T with WCL (35 or 28mm equivalent)
(2) Olympus EM5ii + 42.5mm
(3) Sony RX100iv (24-70mm equiv)

Also, any location suggestions highly welcome!
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Old Aug 28, 2016, 6:16 pm
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I would just pick one and not worry about missing out on shots. "Discreet" and "lots of equipment" are kind of an oxymoron.

If it were me, I'd probably take just the Fuji or the Olympus.

You may even find that working within the boundaries of a single focal length is stimulating.

(FWIW, lately I've been taking nothing but a Canon SLR and 24mm pancake on urban trips and I've yet to feel like I'm missing out)
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Old Aug 29, 2016, 3:01 am
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i have or have had all 3 of those.

99% of the time, there is no real requirement for location-specific equipment. what is fit to shoot in brussels/cologne/myanmar/osaka is the same as what you normally shoot in seattle/rarotonga/oaxaca/luanda.

the big problem with olympus is you have a single lens at a very narrow angle. thats can be immediately struck off. if you can grab a 12-40 rental, id use that and call it a day.

fuji isnt too reliable with AF for quick grab-shots, if thats the shooting you tend to do. plus the relatively lower resolution provides less wiggle room for cropping. and unless youre carrying spare batteries, can be problematic for frequent shooting.

sony can be charged on-the-go via usb. most pocketable. has bulb and time in manual for long exposure. has remote (wifi) access to help there as well. has the reach and the resolution. has the widest angle of view.


to keep it simple i'd take the sony, with a gorilla or otherwise mini tripod, and replace the stock wrist strap with one that has a cinch
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Old Sep 13, 2016, 6:00 am
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First of all: enjoy our trip! Don't worry too much before you even get there :-)
All three cities are as safe as any other "big" city: avoid dark, lonely spots at night and beware of pick-pockets in crowded areas. Other than that, not much to think about.
Regarding locations: when in Venice make sure you take a trip to the small island of Burano. Regular shuttles are available and it offers very beautiful photo opportunities, especially in evening light.
Which camera to bring? For years I have brought my big DSLR with 1.8 35mm and 18-200 and loved the fact I never had to change lenses (and never missed a shot), with excellent picture quality (the sensor size outweighed the lens quality, in my opinion). But now I tend to bring something much smaller (e.g. Sony) because it's just so much more convenient. A trade-off. The Olympus' user-interface/menu drove me crazy and I eventually sold it, but if you can handle it, just go ahead but bring a more flexible lens than the one you have ...
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Old Sep 13, 2016, 6:50 am
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Originally Posted by deniah
... the big problem with olympus is you have a single lens at a very narrow angle. thats can be immediately struck off. if you can grab a 12-40 rental, id use that and call it a day. ...
This. Get a decent range lens for the Oly and leave the portrait lens at home. The EM5ii + 12-40 PRO is a perfect travel combo. Cheaper options would be the 12-50mm or the 14-150mm but nothing except a few primes will match the image quality of the 12-40mm.
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Old Sep 13, 2016, 9:02 am
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I have done several trips (India, Japan, Cornwall) with just the X100 (or an XE2 with the fixed, similar pancake lens), and been delighted with the results including had work published. You have a superb camera in the X100 and I recommend it as the perfect travel camera for the street.
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Old Sep 14, 2016, 3:05 am
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These days I take a wide angle - 16-35, and keep a telephoto lens in my bag on me if I'm not worried about weight. 95% of the time, I'm very happy with the results from the wide, and the telephoto never goes on the camera. There's a fair gap in the range of the two lenses but its never really been an issue. And especially in urban settings, often I'm trying to photograph say a church or something, and you don't have room to move back because you're on a narrow street, so you need the wide angle. I've also grown quite fond of the wide angle look.

If it were me, I'd buy/rent a wide angle zoom for the Olympus and also bring the 42.5 for street. Or maybe just don't bring the 42.5 if the wide goes close enough.
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Old Sep 14, 2016, 6:58 am
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Originally Posted by abmj-jr
This. Get a decent range lens for the Oly and leave the portrait lens at home. The EM5ii + 12-40 PRO is a perfect travel combo. Cheaper options would be the 12-50mm or the 14-150mm but nothing except a few primes will match the image quality of the 12-40mm.
Originally Posted by txflyer77
I would just pick one and not worry about missing out on shots. "Discreet" and "lots of equipment" are kind of an oxymoron.

If it were me, I'd probably take just the Fuji or the Olympus.
Originally Posted by deniah
i have or have had all 3 of those.

the big problem with olympus is you have a single lens at a very narrow angle. thats can be immediately struck off. if you can grab a 12-40 rental, id use that and call it a day.


Originally Posted by thesun
If it were me, I'd buy/rent a wide angle zoom for the Olympus and also bring the 42.5 for street. Or maybe just don't bring the 42.5 if the wide goes close enough.

The winner is---

OLYMPUS!

Rent an Olympus 12-40mm F2.8 PRO lens and leave the other cameras behind. I don't have to tell you that this lens is the 35mm equivalent of 24-80mm with fabulous IQ which hopefully will be wide enough for you and combined with the E-M5 Mark ll you also have a weatherproof combination.

I am assuming that the 42.5mm lens that you own is the Panasonic 42.5mm f1.7 (they also have a really expensive 42.5mm f1.2). If you want the 42.5 for some low light shots bring it on the trip, it can't hurt to have the option of being able to switch lenses.

Also don't forget that the E-M5 Mark ll has a great feature called Live Composite Mode which is fabulous for shooting stars, night scenes, fireworks, etc so pack a really light travel tripod in order to take advantage of this feature.

http://pages.email.olympusamerica.co...e-composition/

By the way, if you do rent the 12-40mm f2.8 Pro lens I wouldn't be surprised if you purchase one when you return home. Some users like to add the optional Olympus grip to the E-M5 Mark ll body when using a lens like this but I have the combination and really don't see the need.

Also and slightly OT, do you need to own both the Fuji and Sony? Sell one of them which will help to pay for the 12-40mm Pro when you make the purchase which I predict will probably happen once you use this lens with the Oly body.

Last edited by RSSrsvp; Sep 14, 2016 at 7:20 am
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Old Sep 17, 2016, 9:59 pm
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Originally Posted by abmj-jr
This. Get a decent range lens for the Oly and leave the portrait lens at home. The EM5ii + 12-40 PRO is a perfect travel combo. Cheaper options would be the 12-50mm or the 14-150mm but nothing except a few primes will match the image quality of the 12-40mm.
I'd take a different tack. With the 42.5mm, you have a nice fast short telephoto prime lens. A really nice compliment to that would be a very compact wide angle anything from 12-17mm would be a nice companion - my own case, I have a 14mm 2.5 which is good, tiny, and very inexpensive. Or, you could rent a really nice Leica 15mm.

Those two primes make a nice versatile, compact kit. BTW, you didn't say which 42.5mm lens you have - either the Panasonic 42.5mm f1.8, which is sharp and compact and inexpensive, or the f1.2, which is fast, but much bulkier, and more costly but of course, also faster. For me personally, for travel, I'd prefer the smaller, slower one. For portraiture, I'd prefer the bigger bulkier faster one.
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