Originally posted by imaspy
Hi all
i'm heading off to europe next year (mainly germany). here is what i have so far:
- pentax k-x
- DA 35mm F2.8 ltd, and a Sig 18-125 F/3.8 - 5.6
- some lenspens and other small misc cleaning stuff
- cards, and 2 sets of rechargeables.
- i'm guessing that the da15 would be the next logical inclusion?
- i'm also considering a really slim notebook as well
- what kind of bag to take it all around? i've got a lowepro that is just camera + small accessories pouch
There has been a lot of good responses here already.
I travel a lot, living in Europe that includes Germany and German cities & landscapes.
I'd bring the 2 lenses: the Sig for general walking around, the 35mm f2.8 for indoor low light scenes.
What you need to understand about Europe is:
1) Inside cities you'll have limited distances towards buildings and objects. A very wide angle lens is very good to have. I'd go for a Sigma 10-20mm or a Pentax 12-24mm. It will realy help, also inside churches etc. The Pentax 10-17mm is a fish eye lens, not suited for architecture. You will use 10mm much more than 135mm.
2) Often light is low. Specially in old buildings & churches. Flash is often forbidden and/or not appreciated. A f2.8 lens is good to have. You could consider a Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 or the DA* 16-50mm. My "Europe walk around lens" is the DA*16-50mm....
3) You need to travel light. Visiting cities and landscapes means you'll be on your feet most of the days. Besides a good bag for your equipment, take comfortable & good shoes, and a small umbrella.
4) Public transportation is very good / cheap / well organized in most places, but pick pockets are all around. Take a bag that you can keep close, not too large, not something that attracts too much attention. Have a look at bags that are not specifically made for camera's. I use a Scubapro scuba regulator shoulder bag... It can hold: my camera, 1 extra lens, extra battery, extra card, water bottle, umbrella, thin jacket, Garmin Dakota GPS, apple + cookies.
5) Take a small computer. I use a Sony 11.1" older machine with an external small USB drive for storage backup. It runs a copy of Adobe's Lightroom 3.4. Netbooks (IMHO) do not have enough display resolution. Wifi is nice for comms to folks at home. We usually keep a web-album up-to-date to show family what we did etc.
I hope you have a good trip. Weather is northern Europe has been very bad and cold this summer. Southern part of Germany, France and the Mediterranean countries will be ok for the coming weeks.
- Bert
A few examples from Germany: