Best Lens / Camera combo (2 weeks in Europe)

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Now for the topic:

My thoughts (I will be as brief as possible)
This is vacation. Photos are my hobby and they are important, but not at a loss of enjoyment.
I fear lugging the 6D and primes all over Europe could be a mistake in convenience and in safety.
I fear not taking my 6D and primes, it's the only camera I own, and everything else will look terrible.


6D and primes Of course! (Owned)
-It's a great FF camera and the primes will give you the best possible photos,
it is well worth the inconvenience of carry them along all day everyday.\
And Europe is safe enough for tourist, just don't go wandering into dark alleys as 3am...

Eos M 3 and 22mm $600 Go for the latest tech in a compact size!
- It's new, it's shiny and with the 22mm it is a casual fun camera.
At 22mm crop its a 35mm FF It the perfect 'do everything FL and I can always stop it down for landscapes.

Eos M2 and 22mm $350
It just as good as an Eos M3 but almost half the cost for much of the same tech.

G1X mk II $500
- Its all build-in. Its has a longer zoom, therefore it's superior.To me it's the same size and the EosM and prime.

S120 P&S $220
You don't need a low-light, full frame camera , take this pocket sized P&S
Have fun and post process the high ISO shots after the trip.
(Fear that all of my shots will in fact be terrible and non fixable)


I am happy with Canon, and after much review I have decided not to get the RX100 mk III
While these options may seem like different ends of the spectrum, I would only get the 22mm lens on the Eos M camera because I don't want to swap lenses, if I take 'gear' I will take my FF and lenses.

Any reasonings, user's opinions, experiences, and 'regrets' are much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

If it were me, I'd go with a 2-lens rig. My first pick is option #1, minus the 100mm.

If I went with an EOS M +22, I'd also pick up the adapter to use that 50L for night shots and portraits. Some people will say that 22mm isn't wide enough on the EOS M, but it's not the end of the world.

How often are you going to find yourself in Europe? If this is the one and only trip, ever in your life, don't take a camera at all. Enjoy the scenery, the culture, the food, and the people. If you end up going back in the future, you'll have a better idea of what you want to take. If not, you'll have a head full of good memories.

If you are going to make the trip more than once, take the P&S. Grab some snaps that remind you what gear you will need next time.

Like you, I am a hobby photographer. As such, the vacation part of the vacation is much more important to me than the hard disk full of photos nobody ever sees. I lugged an SLR and three lenses on exactly one vacation. My wife has asked me why I don't take my camera when we go on vacation. I responded, "I'd be happy to take whatever you want to carry around for a week." We usually compromise and end up taking the P&S. We went to Las Vegas last summer. (I love the desert in high summer.) IIRC, between the two of us, we took 10 photos. We did enjoy the city, and each other. It was a vacation, after all. Leave the camera at home. You will see more.

PineBomb wrote in post #17512972
If it were me, I'd go with a 2-lens rig. My first pick is option #1, minus the 100mm.

This is also what I would do.

My trip to Rome five years ago was with a borrowed Nikon D40 Kit and I got some nice shots. If I would have had my current kit--wow! The 24/50 combo are perfect for Europe IMO, and that amazing dual lens combo on your 6D will net you incredible shots! Why bring a knife to a gunfight?

Geo makes a point about just enjoying your vacation, and by all means you shoud do just that. But most of us here on POTN probably enjoy our travels just that much more when we have some sweet shots to mark the occasion.

I know my Vegas trip this summer wouldn't have been the same last year without my 6D kit. And I still had time to play poker, eat everywhere I wanted, catch two shows and tour Red Rock Canyon (with my camera, on bike).

Good luck whatever you decide to do!

I never understood why people on a photography forum say don't bring cameras on vacation because you won't enjoy your vacation if you do.... I would assume they are on here because they enjoy taking pictures, so why wouldn't your vacation consist of things you enjoy doing???
I bring my camera on every vacation and enjoy every one of them, even with the camera.

I would also vote for option A, minus the 100mm.

Buy a 40 pancake ($120) and leave the 50L (and possibly the 24L) at home.

Or consider the 24-105 if you are interested in one lens only ($600).

delta0014 wrote in post #17513081
I never understood why people on a photography forum say don't bring cameras on vacation because you won't enjoy your vacation if you do.... I would assume they are on here because they enjoy taking pictures, so why wouldn't your vacation consist of things you enjoy doing???
I bring my camera on every vacation and enjoy every one of them, even with the camera.

I would also vote for option A, minus the 100mm.

I will try to address this. Please keep in mind that this is my perspective. It does not necessarily apply to anyone else.

I spend a lot of time with my photo gear. I view vacations as a time to get away from the everyday aspects of life; a time to do something different. My goal in taking a vacation is two-fold.

First, I would like to take a break from the routines of daily life. I play with my camera gear almost daily. As such, it is part of the daily routine the vacation is supposed to provide a break from. A corollary is my enjoyment of watching the Chicago Cubs lose... uh, I mean play at Wrigley Field. It is quite impossible for me to enjoy beer, peanuts, hotdogs, ice cream, and poor baseball while fiddling with a camera and a lens or two. I don't see where worrying about spilling any of the aforementioned goodies on my 100-400L would enhance my enjoyment of said goodies. I go to Wrigley Field twice a year. I think that would make a boring, repetitive set of photos. Have you ever been bored out of your mind by someone else's vacation photos? I promise I'll never do that to you, or anyone else.

Second, I want to spend as much quality time with my wife as possible. We both lead busy, hectic lives, predominantly on different schedules. The good side of that? We don't have time to fight. Twenty nine years, and counting. The bad side is that we get very little quality time together. When we take a vacation, one of the main purposes is the rejuvination of us, as a couple. (Now, I do see where a 60D could enhance that. Alas, my wife disagrees.) All of this is most likely colored by the fact that I have spent more than my fair share of time in the Cardiac ICU and the Cardiac Cath-Lab. This may be POTN blaphemy, but I enjoy time with my wife much more than time with my camera. I am acutely aware that my next health issue may not turn out as well as the last. We only get a finite period of time here. I'd rather spend time with my wife than with my camera. Every second spent diddling a 6D on a vacation is time I could have spent with my wife. Besides, she is prettier, with way more interesting knobs and buttons.

Well said, well said.

Can't argue with that.

I had to Vote for the 6D, but I'd want a two lens zoom kit, wide zoom, and a mid zoom, OR wide zoom and my 135L. I guess your 100L is along the same line. (never used it myself)

PineBomb wrote in post #17512972
If it were me, I'd go with a 2-lens rig. My first pick is option #1, minus the 100mm.

If I went with an EOS M +22, I'd also pick up the adapter to use that 50L for night shots and portraits. Some people will say that 22mm isn't wide enough on the EOS M, but it's not the end of the world.

The same view on it. I am going to France next month for a week, and I am taking the 6D with the 24-105. Nothing else. But since you have the 24 and 50, it will work fine. In Europe you mostly want wide lenses, a 100mm will mostly be a dead weight in your bag. Of course if you have it, you will pull it out a few times, but it will really be a few times.

I do not have a problem carrying the SLR - I travel to Europe frequently, and I see nothing wrong with it. Just remember that there are a lot of petty crime in big cities and tourist locations, so just be aware of your surrounding, and exercise common sense caution, such as do not leave the camera bag on a chair in an outdoor restaurant (put in on the ground and stick your leg in the strap), always keep the bag zipped, etc. In all my travels over the last fifteen years I experienced only two attempts to steal my stuff, one in Buenos Aires, and the other in Moscow. In all other places I felt safe.

GeoKras1989 wrote in post #17513001
How often are you going to find yourself in Europe? If this is the one and only trip, ever in your life, don't take a camera at all. Enjoy the scenery, the culture, the food, and the people. If you end up going back in the future, you'll have a better idea of what you want to take. If not, you'll have a head full of good memories.

If you are going to make the trip more than once, take the P&S. Grab some snaps that remind you what gear you will need next time.

Like you, I am a hobby photographer. As such, the vacation part of the vacation is much more important to me than the hard disk full of photos nobody ever sees. I lugged an SLR and three lenses on exactly one vacation. My wife has asked me why I don't take my camera when we go on vacation. I responded, "I'd be happy to take whatever you want to carry around for a week." We usually compromise and end up taking the P&S. We went to Las Vegas last summer. (I love the desert in high summer.) IIRC, between the two of us, we took 10 photos. We did enjoy the city, and each other. It was a vacation, after all. Leave the camera at home. You will see more.

I have a diametrically different approach. I really love shooting in Europe, and carrying one camera with one lens on a BlackRapid strap (or in a backpack) is really not important. And after the trip, after I process the photos, I use them for the wallpaper or screensaver, and I really enjoy looking at them - they remind me of the trip.

My wife carries her own DSLR, as she also likes photography, and after coming back home we like to compare our shots and help each other with selecting and processing them.

6D your 50L and rent an EF 16-35. If you want to travel light, ditch the 50. If you feel you can carry more, rent the 70-200 f4 (not the 70-200 f2.8, you will need to rent a Sherpa as well).

GeoKras,

I see your point and I understand it perfectly. But unlike you, I do not have a camera in my hands daily, and I miss it. In fact, I am looking forward to my vacation that I will be able to get the camera with me wherever I go.

However, like you, the camera stays at home when I am going to a concert, sports, restaurant, etc. (only the iPhone in a pocket).

I'd go with the EOS 3 with the EVF, that 22mm is worth $500 by itself, bloody fantastic glass.