Originally posted by Imageman If you want to travel light get a zoom period.
If you want to travel very light get a single small prime anything between 30mm and 50mm,
If you want to travel ultra light get a point and shoot.
Anything else is travelling heavy.
If you want quality get a good prime.
If you want convenience get a zoom.
If you want to buy a bunch of primes to replace the range of a single zoom and think that the whole bundle will be less bulky and heavy than that single zoom, your mistaken.
What you can do is buy a bunch of primes and only take one out at a time with you, and restrict yourself to using a single focal length, then your traveling light.
Or more importantly you can figure out what kind of shooter you are, what kind of images you want... and THEN make a kit around that concept that will be 'light enough' for your needs.
For me I value quality of images. Its in the whole 'zen' of how I do things. I might take 10 shots but all 10 should be well thought out. Now pair that with travel... I did an extended travel of about 3 years and had nothing but a point and shoot. By the time I came home I was satisfied with the trip, but not at all with the images. Its super easy to point and shoot, but is that the kind of images you as a shooter really wants? Are you cataloging your stuff as sort of a 'journal' or are you actually trying to take creative artistic 'photos' instead of mere 'snap shots'?
Answer that and then plan accordingly.