How to Choose a Travel Camera! ... my Logic

Cameras:
- Olympus Stylus: (no affiliate link)

Lenses:
- Leica 50mm Summicron SL:
- Canon FD 50mm f/1.8
- Canon FD 50mm f/1.4
- Canon FD 28mm f/2.8

[ghostgums]

Eric, have you looked at the Sigma 18-50 2.8 for Fuji? It’s tiny, light, fast and silent autofocus, insane minimum focus distance, and the AF is great in video. Would be the one and done setup with your xt5 and much smaller than the Leica setup.

[stefansmuts]

Hey Eric

Stumbled across your channel looking at the Leica Q2 but stayed for the in depth discussions surrounding photography.

I like the way your logic works - I have the same kind of thoughts regarding what the perfect travel camera/lenses are.

I've travelled around a lot and had the chance to experiment with different combinations.

X-E4 + XF 18mm F2 + XF35mm F1.4
Currently I've got a tiny X-E4 with a newly acquired XF18mm F2 (seeing if the Q2 could work for me) and the XF35mm F1.4. This will be the ultimate lightweight prime setup for me. Have yet to test it out though. The cool part is that both lenses could easily fit in a pocket when I go out with the camera over my shoulder.

X-E4 + XF18-55mm
I've travelled exclusively with the X-E4 and the XF18-55mm to Thailand and actually got the best results from that. I guess the only downside is the camera being a little less light weight with the zoom. Well, if I'm honest, I do prefer the look and results of primes more than zooms, so that's another downside.

X-E4 + XF23mm F1.4 + XF56mm F1.2
I've actually shot a wedding using this combo of lenses on an X-T2 a while back and decided to try them out on the X-E4 for travel. I almost exclusively used the 23mm F1.4. The 35mm focal length might still very well be my most popular. The 56mm is great for portraits or to get some reach. The only issue with this setup is that the lenses make the camera a little front heavy.

Sony A7IV + Tamron 35-150 F2-F2.8
This was a very expensive experiment I did to check out how a "do it all" lens could perform for me. I took it on a motorcycle trip to Ladakh, India and wrote a whole article on my website about travelling with this massive thing. I really love this when photography is of primary importance, but the reality is that you can hardly just take it out for an EDC combo. The subject separation and versatility for a zoom is truly unmatched.

What did I learn?
For me I think its most important to think about more than just the photography and more about the whole experience. Its easy for me to get stuck on which lens/camera is best for the shot, but not to consider how it might be to carry around. I've been moving more and more towards smaller and lighter EDC cameras/lenses.

The current X-E4 + XF18mm combo is so light and easy to walk around with. Absolutely love it. This is why the upcoming Q3 is very intriguing to me. With the rumoured 60mp sensor, I hope it'll allow enough cropping to fake slightly longer focal lengths. Lets see - will be quite an expensive experiment - might use the previous one to fund part of it.


Cheers
Stefan

[robz]

I go through this alot except I bounce between Fuji & Olympus. I'm going to give one other option - Oly 12-100 with the GH6 or Oly/OMD something. It's a great all in one lens and if paired with an Oly body you get dual IS.

[justinwadejones]

SL2-S with the 28-70. That little 28-70 is such a great lens, I've had it in e mount for a year or so. Been trying to use it more lately and not be a prime snob. Every time I use it, it's so nice to not have focal length paralysis.

[paulthomas]

Love this style of video where you walk thru the use case and then discuss options, pros/cons. If you were going to do fuji I would get the Sigma 18-50 to bring with the 55-200. Huge coverage range, and bring the flash too.

[MichaelGerrard]

It is a nice set up. I do something similar, I have the Oly 17mm f1.8 and the Lumix 35-100 f4-5.6, I recommend it over that 'big' 45-150.
I am happy to see you with that GX85, I had one of those for four years, now I have the GX9. The GX models are fab. I really hope we will get a GX10 one day.

[GatorheadLuis]

My man... your GAS journey is something else to experience... of the options you currently have and what you want to do... SL2s with just the 28-70mm and call it a day. Micro 4/3rds is great for video but falls way short for photos comparatively speaking (don't care what any says, you the user will always tell the difference between micro four thirds and full frame... and you will kick yourself if you do stumble across a portfolio shot with your M4/3 camera when you know a FF would have done a better job... especially in high dynamic range situations like an island in the Caribbean)... and if you're ok with carrying the Fuji with the two lenses.. just do the SL2s with the 28-70... Shoot vertically panorama for anything wider... and you can enhance the resolution in lightroom to boost resolution for things further away from 70mm

[raymondchen]

I’ve done a similar trip with Fuji’s 18-55 2.8-4 and 55-200 is perfect. XF27mm sounds great as sole prime option.

For shooting the work event stuff, a modern iPhone or Pixel will be more than enough. Are they relying on you to document these events?

[nathanmeyer]

Just did a two week work trip in Moldova with a Panasonic Gx9 paired with Olympus 12-40 f2.8 and Panasonic 35-100 f2.8. Carried everything in a messenger bag. Worked great for both work photos and personal snapping

[stpetal]

If you haven’t tried out the Tamron 17-70 2.8 with the X-T5, it makes a fantastic pairing (25.5-105mm ff equivalent). You can combine that with the additional 1.29x crop on higher burst settings/sports finder mode to get additional reach while still maintaining 20+MP files.

[dant]

Eric,
Great Video and I will be looking at a similar situation later this year. What do you think of the Tamron 17-70 F2.8, and the 23 F1.4/F2 or 28 pancake or the Fuji 18-135 and the 28 or 23 ? But wait there’s more. There is a Tamron 18-300 .
Ooh the dilemma . I get it as I am going through the same thought processes.
I will be very interested to see what you decide and how it works out.

[jamesspicewilliams]

Great video my friend. I’d start with the best sensor, most versatile documentary prime, feature rich telephoto zoom then carry options. For me it worked out to be Nikon Z6ii, 28mm, 40mm, 24-200mm. Peak Design and LowePro. Hope this helps. I like the way you think. Resonates with me well. Keep up the good work.

[normee]

Ha...always compromises with travel. Convenience vs. quality, so many folks jump back and forth between primes and zooms. I've been no different but my GAS has been restricted by my wallet. I still like the compromise of m43 but with good glass. I carry an E-m5.3 w/12-45, Sigma 56, tiny Laowa 10/2 and an Epl7 w/25/1.8 all in a small bag weighing 5.5 pounds or a reduced size kit depending...
An alternate wish may be a Z7II w/24-70/2.8 and crop.😉

[WhoIsSerafin]

I bought the Panasonic 20mm 1.7 several years ago and found the image quality lacking something. But I bought another one this week and I’m thinking I had a bad copy. With the om5 I find it quite fast and was shocked how good it is in darker light and image quality. I could see taking that and my Fuji 100v for daytime and om5 for nighttime action when we go to Vegas in the summer.

[americosequeira]

I get your decision. We all want light weight and portability, but when we have the option of quality, that is the ultimate and decisive decision trigger. I see myself in your thinking and decision making process, I put another variable in this... Redundancy... To not ruin things all together... :-) What I try is... Two body's, one prime for low light a medium and a telephoto zoom if needed (we always end up needing this...) and a small video camera for the rest :-) . Enjoy your trip!

[RBRowe]

Great summary of your travel camera criteria, Eric. I'm wondering why the Nikon Z6II and 24-120 f/4 would not satisfy you as a super versatile travel rig? i know you tested this combo in Colorado about a year ago and would love to know why you prefer the Leica SL2-S over the Nikon. Z system.

[VOX]

Heading to Italy, France and Bavaria this summer.
I'm flying over with the X-T5 and some f/2 Fujicrons. 16mm, 23mm, & 50mm. Should cover everything I need. This will allow me to select one lens to attach to camera body (usually the 23mm) and a secondary lens to throw in my pocket for the day.

Best wishes on your trip.

[markbrigden]

I have the same dilemma for a 34 day cruise San deigo to Sydney Australia with 21days in Australia. I have decided on:
Fujifilm X-H2S (for video and pictures)
XF 16-55 f/2.8
XF 70-300mm f/4-5.6.
Q2 or Q3
DJI Osmo Action 3 (Diving and Swimming)
Peak design travel Carbon tripod.
Olympus Trip 35 film camera. Point and shot film fun and fits in a pocket.
I have the viltrox 13mm f1.4, do I take it for astrophotography?

[laurapeter]

My $ 0.02:

X-T5 with 27 & 55-200

Day 1 use 27mm for compact documentary setup
Day 2 use 55-200 on jeep tour to be prepared for whatever comes up
Day 3 & 4 use both lenses as needed

[kcphotogeek]

GR III should always make the cut, jeans pocketable good for social/family events without taking over or bruising the scene as street photographers would say. GH6 with a 20mm F1.7, 30mm macro and the 35-100mm f2.8. GH6 maybe big but those three lenses are probably smaller combined than the Sigma zoom for the Leica. I like the 30mm Lumix G macro for travel bit of a do it all prime