Going to Italy...take the G6 or 10D?

If you are going to spend 3 weeks in my country, I suggest to carry both cameras
Lot to shot here (think about extra CF)!!

Ciao

Take ur 10D and lots of storage, you will have lots of great photographic oppertunities both in urban areas, in the countryside, and then theres all the attractions like the colliseum, theres volcanoes, all the fun stuff. So bring the 10D

I've just returned from a holiday in New Caledonia, albeit for a shorter time. I took my G1 and left my new 20D at home. I too had trouble deciding. I took lots of people shots, shooting from the hip in raw mode. I got some great shots, being able to get up close and sneaky. Unless photography is your sole reason for travelling - I suspect your assistant will have another agenda - the added weight and risk of taking the more expensive 10D may not be worth it. If you do decide on shooting-from-the-hip, just remember to turn off the flash.

Hello Floyd
I have done a similar Itally holliday two years ago, based in Garda on the shores of Lake Garda & making use of all the excellent ferry's to many wonderful places around the lake. Also visiting Venice during our stay.

My thoughts on Equipment sugestions for you.
take 10D
take off battery grip (leave at home)
3 @ 511's would be usefull (min 2 )
leave your flash at home just shoot High ISO if needed.
leave your tripod at home ( i did not have any problems with low light in Itally.
Take normal battery charger and travel socket adaptor ( Make sure you take the lead)
Memory
all CF cards that you own ( I actually use a portable 20 gb hard drive which is invaluable on trips like this) its called a phototainer or flashtrax.
fill your cards & load onto this drive each evening, reformat cards and away you go again.
also consider ( I did this in Venice) there are lots of photo shops there and some will take your full CF cards and burn them to CD for 8 Euros which i thought was just great.( keep in mind i shot approx 2 GB of files in Venice in 5hrs its not difficult believe me) such a beutiful place.
if you do get a portable hard drive be sure to carry extra travel adaptor & leads etc. nothing worse than having to wait for 1 charger to finish then plug in the next one etc.

now to the real problem
Which lens to take, an awful lot of people assume you need lenses that go right through a range of focal lengths eg: 17 - 40 say 35 - 70 say 70 - 200 etc

In reallity if you were able to take a 17 mm to 40 mm and also a 70 mm to 200 mm I think that would cover most things if you have one a 50mm standard lens would also be good alongside these especially with 1.4 or 1.8 .

one other consideration the actual weight of inflight bag. I just got back from Guernsey & trying to keep weight under 5kg with 1D mk2 100-400 . 17 -40.
28 -135 50 mm & bats etc in a Billingham bag weighing 1.5 kb was all but impossible.
Hope some of this helps & enjoy your trip.

Martin (Huckaback Photo)

PS. i'm sure the wife might like to use a camera for some snaps just a thought, then you have your back up as well.

My Gallery
http://www.pbase.com/h​uckaback_photo

I am going for three weeks to Italy too. I am taking my 10D with battery grip, 24-70, 70-200 and a 14mm prime w.a. too for interiors, architecture, etc. I am taking my 550ex, remote cable release and a tripod as well, but will only be using the tripod for night work in general, and the flash for fill and night portraits with scenic backgrounds.

I do not have the particular physical impediments you mention, and would be reconsidering my equipment if I did. I will likely only carry my camera with 24-70 attached and a small day bag with a lens or two during the day on my walking journeys. My night excursions will be site-specific and require tripod stability to capture what I want, and I will take only the tripod with camera and lens mounted when I do those outings. Rome, Vence and Positano all have night shots I just must take.

Your desire for candids almost eliminates a DSLR, since they aren't very subtle.

I'd choose this way: If you have been there before, and already have nice, high-res raw digital captures of everything what you want than take the G6 this time, but if packing around the equipment will jeapordize your enjoyment by taxing you physically, then don't ruin a great adventure by making it a hardship. Your memories will be most vivid of that which affects you the most emotionally, and if that turned out to be the sheer exhaustion and exertion of hiking around with your stuff, that would not be a great memory to keep.

OK folks, let's see if I can help somehow.

Battery charger: no problem, we have 240/50 here but as far I have seen all the Canon chargers are universal (110-250/50-60) so the only thing you may need is a very cheap converter.

Extra CFs: that would be a good idea since prices here are horribly high compared to the US. But I have noticed that there are at least another two italians, beside me, in this forum. Contact us, or at least contact me I cannot speak for the others, and downloading your CFs to a CD/DVD would be a pleasure. I'm based in Rome, so of course you should be around here

PM me before leaving from Italy with any question, I'll be glad to help if I can. And if anybody needs my phone # as an "emergency support" while here, I'll be glad to do it.

Thinking about it, I believe that we should start a sticky post with "local support" where everyone that wishes to help other forum members while in their area can give their availability. What you think ? I believe that I will start a new thread on the matter. Local support is always useful.

Hope this helps.