Trip to Rome - What lenses to take?

Hey everyone,

In a couple of weeks I'm going on a trip to Rome and I will be taking my 60D with me, ofcourse.

The problem is that I do not know what lenses to take with me.

My options are (will bring the 17-40, but what to add?):
Canon 17-40mm f/4L (Going to trade my Sigma 17-70 for it)
Canon 70-200mm f/4L
Canon 50mm f/1.8

What I understand from other people's experiences is that you do not want to switch lenses nor carry a lot of weight in the streets of Rome. Also, I doubt if I really need a telezoom.

Who can help me out? ;D

I'd say go with the 17-40mm, you would be able to take good landscapes and snap photos of whoever you're going with . You can even take self portraits with it . So yeah, the 17-40mm would be my choice .

Oh btw, combinations are what I'm looking for. I will bring the 17-40mm, but I do not know what to add to my kit.

EF-S 10-22, sorry

From my experiences in England and France, just bring the 17-40. You won't find much need for a longer lens and with all the walking involved, travel as light as you can. In England I just used my 17-55 and never missed a shot.

I was there last month and brought my 16-35 and my 70-200 Used both about equal didn't miss any of my other lens. Carried both around with my 5dMII in a messenger bag and changed lens when needed. Would do it again with the same lens.

I was in Rome a couple of years ago and the 17-40 should be good for most of what you would like to photograph. I used my 18-55IS and it worked fine for most stuff.
It wasn't wide enough in the Coliseum and the Diocletian baths. There are some places where a wider lens would be helpful. I picked up a Tokina 12-24 F4 for my next trip.
I like to get shots in museums, and IS is useful here. An alternative would be a shorter, and faster prime, like the 35f2 or 35f1.4.
I recommend bringing a backup lens that will do if you manage to damage your main lens, or if it dies on you on the trip. It happened to me in Rome (I tripped and the lens hit the concrete), and it happened to a friend on a trip to Ireland (decentering).
I'd get a superwide if you can swing it or a fast, shorter prime - this depends on your interests.
Incidentally, I was able to walk to Trastevere from my hotel in the evenings for dinner and sightseeing. I didn't want to drag along an SLR, and a good pocket camera would come in handy for these trips. I carried my wife's point and shoot for these evening walks.
Wider is better in Rome, and a long lens won't be of much help - to my eyes.

Few examples to determine what FL you might want to bring:

http://www.juzaphoto.c​om …al_length_compa​risons.htm

Regards,

I did Rome with a 5x zoom p&s (no good camera back then) and was pretty happy. You will want something as wide as you can get if you want to get buildings without having to walk across the squares to get it. Arty's advice is great on a wider, faster prime. The 50 will be good inside for low light, but you might be fighting crowds around the pieces in order to get far enough back to get the shot you want.

The zoom is only really necessary if you want shots of high level details on the architecture.

With those options, I would probably leave the 70-200 at home and take the other two.

Oh and be very careful if you decide to ask someone to take a pic of you with your camera. Very common scam is to charge you a hefty sum to give it back. I'd look for other obvious tourists in that situation.

i'd skip the 17-40L...it doesn't make sense on crop cameras...turn your 17-70 into a 15-85mm...it'll be way better than the L for you...

You will need something wider than your 17-40 - Rome is a crowded city with no room to back up for foot-zoom. Personally I would get something like the Sigma 8-16mm accompanied by your 17-40 - that should do the trick.

5Dmaniac wrote in post #13013685
You will need something wider than your 17-40 - Rome is a crowded city with no room to back up for foot-zoom. Personally I would get something like the Sigma 8-16mm accompanied by your 17-40 - that should do the trick.

True.....a 15-85 would be perfect

Gone to Rome with 5D2 + 17-40

UWA (like 10-22, the 17-40 is not that wide on crop) is THE lens needed. Monuments are wide and streets are narrow, so...

Because monuments are dark (inside), I would take a f2.8 or f4 (high iso) if possible. The best would be f2.8 nor f4 with IS but Canon don't build it for now. Maybe third party ? I don't know

Have a nice trip, this city have sex appeal. I love it and would like to get back soon

Ciao

Thanks all for the replies! I'm on a tight budget, so what's an affordable ultra wide lens with decent performance?

I've decided I won't be taking the 70-200 with me.

I was there in may.. brought 17-40, TS-E24, 50/1.4 and 135L and two bodies (5D2 and 450D).. mostly only used the 50 at night and didnt need the crop factor of 450D so after the first 2 days I ended up carrying just the 5d2 with 17-40, 24 and 135L at daytime.. 17-40 and TSE24 for the architecture, 135L for details.. so with your gear I'd say bring all but the 17-40 is a must.. and if not the 70-200, then at least the 50.. I'd want sometething a bit longer for details at least.. you can check out some of my pics from rome here where i've also tagged what lenses was used, so you can get an idea of what you need..
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edit: -oh i didnt see at first you are on crop.. I thought FF.. then I agree; you need something wider.. in rome either the buildings are too large or the streets too narrow.. even on FF I felt the 17-40 wasnt wide enough often..! -the pantheon dome from inside being a good example;

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …in/set-72157626655147513/