[jatrax]

What if the body breaks? I'm OK with one lens one camera etc. If it dies it dies.

Would still be a bit regrettable if the lens packs it in while you are on a trip. Business or vacation, no pictures is not good. To be honest I also pack a spare body and a Sony rx100 but that's just me. The OP said he wanted to go light.

We went on Caribbean cruise this spring. On day 3 my almost new DA 16-85 packed in and refused to focus. Fortunately I had other lenses to work with but, if not? On a cruise ship, trip with family and new granddaughter and no pictures? Not acceptable.

[pres589]

Personally I'd find the extra money for a 16-85 vs. the 18-135; BH has a $70 USD split between these two. I've got an 18-135 and find it to be an excellent all-arounder, but a couple mm more width would be great. I rarely shoot past that and you've already got zooms that go that length and beyond.

[allanmh]

First off, awesome pictures of my country!

Based on my personal experience, the 27-200mm range that the 18-135mm will give you will account for more than 90% of your focal length needs, so it is an easy recommendation. It even has quiet DC autofocus, and is WR.

That said, the DA 18-250mm is my personal travel lens, and I love the pictures it gives me, despite its slower and noisier autofocus. I've even bought a spare from KEH.

Conclusion: You can't go wrong with either.

Happy shooting and welcome to Denmark!

[GodsPetMonkey]

As many other have already said, the 18-135 is the lens to go for. Good IQ, good size and weight, and it is WR. Pack the 55-300, even if you don't use it often it gives you a good backup and some extra reach when needed. It's small and light for a 300mm lens as well, so it makes a great travel companion.

To me the superzooms just don't present a good package due to the lack of WR. Superzooms always come with a compromise on IQ (to keep price, size and weight reasonable!) but the lack of WR stops them from being a solid grab-n-go single lens option. Instead that goes to the 18-135, which has shorter reach, but is the clear better single field and travel lens option.

[Simen1]

I agree on the 18-135 recommendation. I love that lens for its versatility and choose that when I need to have only one lens. I would not have a 18-250 lens in stead because they lack WR and I need WR more then the extra reach.

K-30: 650 gram
DA 18-135: 405 gram

If you can find place for some extra weight in your airplane luggage I would also have brought:

DA 55-300: 440/466 gram
DA 35: 124 gram

[bpschmutz]

Hi All,

Thank you for your speedy responses. Definitely a variety of opinions, but it looks like the 18 - 135 'won out' - which is really what I was hoping to see! I really like the 16 - 85 but it is beyond my budget right now; I'll be getting the 18 - 135 used around $225 - $250, but I will look around for a used 16 - 85 before I pull the trigger.

Jatrax, you made me think about being left without the ability to take photos of my boy's first international trip, so I'm going to bring the 35mm as it can easily fit in my pocket. UncleVanya, your comment about 'herding cats' is the main reason for wanting a single 'do it all' lens!

Thank you all for your input - I really appreciate it.

-BPS

[UncleVanya]

Hi All,

Thank you for your speedy responses. Definitely a variety of opinions, but it looks like the 18 - 135 'won out' - which is really what I was hoping to see! I really like the 16 - 85 but it is beyond my budget right now; I'll be getting the 18 - 135 used around $225 - $250, but I will look around for a used 16 - 85 before I pull the trigger.

Jatrax, you made me think about being left without the ability to take photos of my boy's first international trip, so I'm going to bring the 35mm as it can easily fit in my pocket. UncleVanya, your comment about 'herding cats' is the main reason for wanting a single 'do it all' lens!

Thank you all for your input - I really appreciate it.

-BPS

Do you (gasp) have a cell phone? If so grab one of the better camera replacement apps to add a cheap option for snapshots in case anything happens to the body. It may not sport the same quality but it may save the day. The good apps give ISO, white balance, and basic manual override which extends the functionality quite a lot.

Alternately look for the Panasonic LX series and see if an LX3, LX5, or LX7 is in the budget. That would make for a good backup camera.

Personally I was just prepared to buy something (and plan to resell it later) if I had a major failure.

[GeneV]

I'll add another vote for 18-135, and I would also pick it over some higher performance alternatives because of its amazingly compact size. I noticed on a trip to Romania a couple of years ago that this FL was the most popular one lens solution across brands used by other travelers, but the Pentax version is the only one that is not much bigger than the kit lens.

[mgvh]

The 18-135 will be a great choice. I did just recall that I did one trip in 2011 when my travel lens was the DA 16-45. I used the 16mm for 18% of the shots and another 4% at 17-18mm. For the 45mm end it was 29%. That shows how I really did appreciate those extra 2mm at the wide end. It also shows my frustration with 45mm being too short, especially when I didn't have time to change lenses. That is why I traded in that lens for the 18-135.

[slip]

The 18 - 135 would be all I would need in those circumstances

+1 the this lens. remember as well, you want to consider a fast focusing lens (from what I read it is) because at your kids ages, the young one will be a fast moving subject

good luck

Randy