tips for Europe trip

[jd7]

Hi all

I will be in Europe next month - Paris, Vienna, a few locations in northern Italy, then London for a few days on the way home. It is not a photography trip - it is a mixture of work and holiday - but of course I would like to come back with some good photos if possible.

For photography gear, I plan to take my 6D, 24-70/4 IS, 35 Art, 70-200/4 IS, and a couple of filters. I do not plan to take a tripod. I don't have a good, light, travel tripod, but to be honest even if I did I am not sure I would take it on this trip. I doubt I would get to use it very often, and we will be moving from place to place fairly often so I don't think it would be worth carrying.

Any thoughts on whether I should just leave the 70-200 at home? Will I miss an UWA and/or a faster telephoto?

Should I take a flash? My thinking is I am unlikely to use it very much really so it is not worth carrying. Maybe it would be more useful in places like churches though than I am allowing?

More generally (ie not necessarily specifically related to photography), any advice on places to go / things to do / things to watch out for, while I am on the trip?

I know these sorts of questions get asked all the time, and I have had a look through some old threads, but I thought I'd throw it out there and see if anyone had any comments or ideas to suggest.

thanks!

 

[d]

Hi jd7,

At the beginning of this month I arrived home from a three month trip to Europe, and I feel like I didn't use half the gear I took with me! Unless you have a specific use in mind for the 70-200 f/4, I suggest you can safely leave it at home. I had my 70-200 f/2.8 IS II with me pretty much everywhere I went, but I don't think I really used it for anything. Likewise I had my Samyang 14mm 2.8 in my bag but didn't find a need for it either.

Main focal lengths I used were 24mm and 35mm, with my 85mm going on occasionally for portraits of some friends. I was also using my Ricoh GR quite a lot (equiv. FOV to a 28mm FF lens) - actually a lot more than I was expecting to; it's a great little camera!

I took my 600EX-RT flash along as well, and it too just stayed in my camera bag.

So, I think you'd be fine with 24-70 f/4 plus the 35mm Art, and your filters. Off the top of my head I can't think of any situation where my 24mm felt like it wasn't wide enough, and even if you do find a location like that, you can always try turning the camera vertically and taking a few shots to stitch together later.

I've found in my travels that the less gear I have with me, the more time I spend actually taking pictures and enjoying a place, since I'm not swapping lenses around constantly and worrying about my setup.

Given recent events in Paris/Brussels etc, I'd be exercising a bit of extra caution when moving around bigger cities. I'd try to avoid lingering for too long amongst dense crowds of people, in front of shops/buildings with large glass windows, next to rubbish bins etc. Might seem a bit paranoid, but it could just keep you out of harms way in the unfortunate event of another attack.

Hope you have a great trip and make some memorable photos!

Cheers,
d.

 

[Maximilian]

Hi jd7!

First of all I hope that you have a good time in Europe and that you can enjoy your trip.

Now to your questions:
It looks like you'll say at (big) cities most of the time, so I'd guess that people, buildings and everyday situations/streetwill be your main subjects.

I don't know what you like to take pictures of, but I agree with d, that a tele zoom would be the least used lens of your combo, unless you want to go into parks and nature and like to do animals or people from a distance.

If you have one, I would add a small, faster tele like 85/1.8 or a 100/2.0 to your combo for indoor shots where f4.0 is too dark and your 35 too wide.

A flash would only be needed if you want to take pictures of people indoors.
If you think about flash for indoor building shots, I'd say no. Churches are too big for normal flashes and you won't get propper lighting without lightformers.
Here I normally put the camera on stable ground like benches, pedestals and use longer exposures and time trigger to avoid high ISO and shaking.
In most museums flashes (ans sometimes even taking pictures) are not allowed so you wouldn't need here either.

I hope that helped a bit and now I wish you a pleasant trip.

 

[jd7]

Thanks d and Maximilian!

You two have made me feel more comfortable about not bringing the flash, and not having an UWA.

For wider I generally prefer panos so I haven't owned an UWA since I moved from crop to full frame. There are times when that ultra-wide look is great though, or a pano isn't practical, so one day I will add an UWA to my kit. It's not seeming like there is any rush to do it for this trip, though.

Regarding the 70-200, I will think about that some more. I do want to travel light (I agree that too much gear can just get in the way when traveling!), but my time in northern Italy will be in more regional areas and should include some hiking, so I might use it a bit for landscapes and nature there, plus I could use it for portraits from time to time. Also, I have an f/4 IS precisely for use when traveling, so I feel like if I don't take it I should just sell it!! My 70-200 2.8 can otherwise take care of that focal length range. I suppose if I sold the 70-200 f/4 IS, it could go towards funding that UWA

As for Maximilian's idea of a fast short telephoto, I could take my Sigma 85 1.4. The question is whether aperture or zoom range is going to be more useful on this trip. I want to keep to a maximum of three lenses though, so if I took the 85 then one of the others (the 70-200 I guess) would be left behind. (I guess another option would be to sell the 70-200 4 IS to fund a 135L, but I have thought about that a number of times in the past and always decided that, for a travel telephoto, zoom was going to be more useful than wider aperture.)

And to d, the recent events in Brussels, and not so long ago in Paris, are certainly a concern. I will try to avoid becoming completely paranoid, but being a little bit paranoid seems sensible at the moment

Thanks again.

 

[manofiron]

Hi, maybe I can help you a bit..

As for recent bombings etc. - good rule is to avoid certain districts. When you feel unpleasant or frightened - go back. You cannot forsee where and when the next attack will take place - like in other places around the world, this is something "random". Don't make too much of a concern about terrorist threat - enjoy your trip indstead.

Talking about gear - here in Europe most of the cities were built in ancient or medieval times. This means the streets are often very narrow ( some of them maybe 1m wide and 1,5 high - as in Italy for example ), so having UWA i always handy. Panoramas may not do the trick, since there are often people walking back and forth - and so it's worth mixing them in your composition. If you don't plan to take UWA lens, 24mm should be just fine for most captures. You should definitely take your Sigma 35 .14 for shooting in the dark places or for low DOF photos. As for tele lens - Sigma 85 1.4 and Canon 70-200 f4 are almost the same weight and bulk, but I would rather go with the zoom. 85mm with its large aperture may be unnecessary - you have your 35mm which is also fast and you can crop a bit without worrying too much about quality loss. In most churches 24-70 + 35 1.4 will give you enough flexibility to capture most things you find interesting. 70-200 will be great outdoors, especially if you plan going out of the city from time to time. In Mediterrean region it is great for landscapes and for cityscapes made from the distance ( for example in Tuscany it will be perfect for nicely compressed shots ). And it is fine for ad hoc portraiture as well.

Hope I helped, and sorry for my bad English.

 

[Mikehit]

Given the list of gear you have, the 24-70 and the 70-200 would be an ideal travel combination, but I don't really do a huge amount of work with shallow DOF so a lot depends on your preferred style - on the occasions I do portraits I find it hard to fault the 70-200 f4LIS and its only drawback is its relatively long minimum focal distance in tight spaces.
Having started photography with film I still marvel at what we can do with digital and look at cropping as a perfectly acceptable alternative to an optical zoom (especially with something the quality of the 6D) so maybe the 24-70 and the 85mm if you do a lot of portrait work and crop that when you want some telephoto abstracts from landscapes - unless you are printing them to 20 inches and above I doubt you will notice. Of course, that would also be an argument for three lightweight primes (35mm/60mm/85mm ?)

Back in 1990s I travelled for 2 years with a film SLR and three primes (when quality zooms and a 24mm was a luxury). I had 28mm, 50mm and 180mm for anything from Himalayas, to rainforests, to deserts and cities and even now when I look at the slides the last thing on my mind is 'I wish I had had XX lens'. The lesson I had from that is you adapt to whatever gear you take with you, you will take the photos you can, ignore the ones you can't and enjoy the photos when you look at them later.

Have fun!

 

[Maximilian]

... the recent events in Brussels, and not so long ago in Paris, are certainly a concern.
I will try to avoid becoming completely paranoid, but being a little bit paranoid seems sensible at the moment

Honest answer to this (beeing German):
Of course the situation looks frightening somehow. And I don't know how your local news channel coverage is.
But I would say it is as frightening as if a Euopean would become frightened from the numbers of spree killings in the States.
I still say - with a lot of belief - that Europe has - at least - the same level of security as is is in the States.
So please don't become paranoid, visit this wonderful continent and enjoy your trip.


As for UWA (I missed that in my first post):
I'd say that 24 mm on FF will mostly be enough. I wouldn't carry an extra UWA lens with me for maybe some 3 to 10 pictures where 24 mm isn't wide enough.

 

[pj1974]

jd7

You've received some really helpful replies from people.

Between 1995 and 2007 I lived in Europe, and I visited many countries during my time there. I'm originally from Australia (and live in South Australia now). It's definitely good advice not to overload yourself with photography gear. I would leave flash at home, and possibly also the tripod unless you really know shots you want / need to do with a tripod.

Photography is very much an individual preference / personal art form. So the photos you take will likely be quite different to photos other people will take (even if they were on the very same holiday, visiting the same places).

My style of photography would lend itself to taking along my UWA (I have a Sigma 8-16mm, which on my 7D is great for capturing amazing wide angle images, equivalent of ~13mm). But your preferred photo style may be different (as you wrote you currently don't have an UWA).

Enjoy your trip. Take photos to both be aesthetically pleasing, but also 'just to capture an area, the moment, the atmosphere' - even if you know the photo output won't be an artistic or technical masterpiece. Often even some 'pretty average photos' can evoke really pleasant and strong emotions / memories / experiences.

Best wishes, and also wishing you safety. (I was also in the UK during some IRA bombs... having a balance of cautiousness is sensible at times).

Regards,

Paul 8)

 

[Deva]

I would second a vote for something wider than 24mm, for example the 16-35mm f4 IS, because you're not going to be able to step back far enough to take it all in in "old world" European cities - or if you can, there'll be something else in your way. The 70-200 will be good to pick out details, and will be invaluable if you're in the right situation - but you won't miss it if you don't have it.

Few suggestions for where to visit - in Paris see the street artists in Montmartre, Napoleon's tomb in Les Invalides, Notre Dame of course, and Musee D'Orsay. In London, the British Museum (you'll want that wide angle for the roof), the Natural History Museum, the National Gallery, Westminster Abbey & St Paul's Cathedral would be my top suggestions.

 

[Leejo]

I can only give some limited advice - as I don't tend to do round trips with my gear - more single City visits.
In Addition much will depend on your preferences an dedication.

I always take more than enough gear - but never regret it - I know how heavy the gear is when I set off each day.

As for usage of individual items - I never get around to using my larger aperture fixed lenses as we hardly get around to doing much each evening other than eating and resting - that's my experience when travelling with the wife/family. I use crop and have an 8-16mm (12-24 equiv) for the interior of churches etc so only used occasionally - normally resting on a pew but have a gorillapod with me if necessary. I have travelled with travel tripods as well - but hardly ever time to use them on a family vacation.
Flash is not normally welcomed in churches either due to old paintings/fabrics etc. However if you are say sitting with the family and want a groupshot etc. it cannot be ruled out completely.

I do go occasionally beyond 85mm/120 equiv. when selecting Details especially from a high vantage/viewing point. I have practically never used Flash - unfortunately as one never has the time...
So I would suggest as other something wider than 24mm if possible, and still possibly taking the 70-200 - better still the 70-300L. Personally I wouldn't worry too much about wide aperture lenses such as the 35mm unless you think that you will have time in the evenings to photograph.

As pointed out some places are rather more concerned about security at the Moment.
I am located in Vienna where it's not a current Problem. I am not going to give you a list of things to photograph here as I don't know your preferences and time available here - if you want to try and catch up when you are here then drop a line

 

[neuroanatomist]

I will be in Europe next month - Paris, Vienna, a few locations in northern Italy, then London for a few days on the way home. It is not a photography trip - it is a mixture of work and holiday - but of course I would like to come back with some good photos if possible.

For photography gear, I plan to take my 6D, 24-70/4 IS, 35 Art, 70-200/4 IS, and a couple of filters.

I travel to Europe on business several times per year, brought my family once last year. My usual kit has been my 1D X, 24-70/2.8L II, TS-E 24L, TS-E 17L, and Rokinon 14/2.8.

I don't have a good, light, travel tripod, but to be honest even if I did I am not sure I would take it on this trip. I doubt I would get to use it very often, and we will be moving from place to place fairly often so I don't think it would be worth carrying.

When traveling with my family (including 3 young kids), I usually carry my EOS M + 11-22 when out during the day, those are generally 'documentary/memory' shots. For 'good photos', personally, I find a tripod essential. For business travel, I'm usually occupied during the day but can often get out to shoot during blue hour (Paris in April, that starts at ~9 PM). In fact, that's the best time of day to shoot anyway. That usually means exposures of several seconds or more, which means a tripod is pretty much essential. If you're shooting in daytime, a 10-stop ND can blur out people but again, that means a tripod.

Any thoughts on whether I should just leave the 70-200 at home? Will I miss an UWA and/or a faster telephoto?

My usual travel zoom is the 70-300L, I have not typically brought it and not felt a huge lack, but plan to on my next trip since I'll be able to spend a day in the Swiss Alps. I think if you intended a photography-focused trip, a telezoom would give the option to pull out architectural details (e.g. gargoyles on the Notre Dame Cathedral) that you'd miss with a standard lens.

Regarding the UWA, as manofiron stated, in most of Europe buildings are big and streets and even plazas are relatively small. If you're planning to shoot architecture, I think you'll find you often cannot back up far enough with a 24mm FoV. Looking over my images, ~30% total and >50% of my 'favorite' images are shot at ultrawide focal lengths. Here are a few examples (click for larger and relevant EXIF); with the exception of the full length Eiffel Tower shot during the 'sparkle show' that occurs at the top of every hour, none of them would have been possible without a UWA (a multi-row pano shot might ahve worked for some, but it's challenging to get good results for those without a proper pano head).









In fact, I expect my next lens purchase will be the 11-24L, since I have found times when even 14mm isn't wide enough!

Should I take a flash? My thinking is I am unlikely to use it very much really so it is not worth carrying. Maybe it would be more useful in places like churches though than I am allowing?

Skip the flash, you won't need it, or if you do you won't be allowed to use it (museums, churches).

Have a great trip, post images when you get back!

 

[pluto911]

I would recommend bringing your 70-200. I threw in my 70-300 (non L) into my bag before vacation a few years ago, and I was glad that I did. It allowed me to take some portraits and focus in on architectural details that would have been lost on my 24-70. I also enjoy the compression that a telephoto brings. I used the 24-70 85% of the time, but I was very happy that I had the longer reach for the rest of those.

I’d also suggest leaving the flash at home — many place will not allow it. Have fun!

 

[Hector1970]

I think the combinations you are bringing are good.
I would bring the 70-200mm because there is alot of detail to be photographed and thats a reasonably okay lens weight wise.
It might be no harm to bring some sort of mini mini tripod like a Manfrotto Pixi if you wanted to take some longer exposures indoor (just rest it on something)
As for the terrorism situation, this is a fact of life for anywhere from now on. Odds are very slim, you are probably more likely to get killed by a bicycle.
I was in Istanbul a few months ago but since there have been bombings there. It wouldn't put me off going back. It was a beautiful place with really nice people. There are no precautions that can be taken. It could occur anywhere, there is no safe places or more risky places.
Enjoy the trip you'll have wonderful memories.

 

[MrFotoFool]

My 2 cents - take it or leave it (I have been 4 times to west Europe).

Leave the flash at home (when I took mine I never used it and finally left it home last trip).

Ignore the one suggestion of 85 1.4 (I took my Sigma 85 1.4 and did not use it once).

Do take a 70-200 (I find this to be a staple).

Do take 24-70, but PERSONALLY I have never needed/wanted wider than that with full frame.

Do take a tripod for night shots (but check ahead for INSIDE churches as some do not allow it).

France - Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame are classics for a reason, the latter is best photographed from behind, either at river level or on the bridge over the river. If you have time to leave Paris, Mont St Michele is the most visited spot outside of Paris for good reason. I went on my last trip and I have a 40x60 print of it in my home as one of my favorite images. My shot is at sunrise, but they also light it up at night. If I ever get to go back, Rocamadeur (in the south) looks very promising and also lit up at night.

 

[C_Raven]

I have traveled a handful of times to Europe in the last years, each time with different gear, so I can share my different experiences.
1) Paris, Bordeaux, traveling alone. Had a 40D with EF-S 10-22 and 70-300 non-L and 50mm 1,8. The 10-22 never left my camera, did a lot of shots with a small gorillapod but many times I wished I had a real tripod.
2) Nice, Marseille, Firenze. All my gear got stolen a couple of months before the trip, so I only had my iphone. Went with my girlfriend, so I missed having a longer focal length and flash for better portraits.
3) Bordeaux, Marseille, Montpellier. SL1 + EF-S 15-85. Bought a tripod after a couple of days in Bordeaux and used it a lot. Missed having a wider focal length for about a 40% of my shots (I like to shoot wide with the camera leveled to get a correct perspective and then crop to get a "fake 24mm T-S" look). Used longer focal length for some shots.
4) London, Brighton: Full-frame body and 24-105, tripod. Again missed having a wider focal length, but not as many times as before. Grateful to have 105 mm (previously had the 24 70 and many times I wished I had a longer focal length).

In conclusion, only bring a flash if you will take a lot of portraits of willing subjects. My lens choice would be a 16-35 f4 and a 70 200 f4/IS. I wish I had the money for that.

 

[neuroanatomist]

France - Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame are classics for a reason, the latter is best photographed from behind, either at river level or on the bridge over the river.

Great tip, one which I found to be true. This was taken last April from the other side of the river, half-way down the stairs leading from Quai de Montebello down to the river.

Notre Dame at Night

EOS 1D X, EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM @ 35mm, 25 s, f/11, ISO 100

 

[jd7]

Well, that's a lot of information

I won't try to respond to each post, but I will try to put all of the great tips to good use. I have spent the day trying to work out if I could fit in a side-trip to Mont St Michel, but unfortunately I don't think I am going to have time

Regarding gear, I think I am now pretty set on taking the 24-70, 35 Art and 70-200. I will think more about squeezing in the tripod though - just wish I had something light like a Manfrotto BeFree. Anyway, I will see how the packing goes I would love to add an ultra-wide, but I don't think it's going to happen (assuming I don't sell the 70-200) - not easily able to throw more money at photography right now.

Neuro, assuming I get some decent shots I will post a few when I get back, but you've set the bar pretty high there! I particularly like the one of Notre Dame (wish they'd get rid of that scaffolding!) and the one of the Rathaus in Basel.

Thank you to all who responded - I appreciate the input.

 

[Ronak1003]

I spent a month in France on my honeymoon last year. Took 6D with Sigma Art 50mm & 24mm. Did miss a few shots since I didn't take along a telephoto but now when I look back at the pictures, I no longer repent not taking a longer lens. My most used lens was the 24mm Art. Those two primes had me covered for most of what I shoot. Unless you're very much into shooting portraits you won't miss the longer focal length. Do try & make a quick trip to Mt. Saint Michel or Etretat. Hope you have a great trip.


P.S. Great Shot Neuro!! Here's one I shot of the same cathedral from the bridge nearby. And I agree, Europe begs for a tripod & night shots.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Neuro, assuming I get some decent shots I will post a few when I get back, but you've set the bar pretty high there! I particularly like the one of Notre Dame (wish they'd get rid of that scaffolding!) and the one of the Rathaus in Basel.

Thanks! Yes, lots of renovations going on in the places I visited last year. Notre Dame, the Basel Münster, the Freiburg Münster, etc.

Here's one I shot of the same cathedral from the bridge nearby. And I agree, Europe begs for a tripod & night shots.

Lovely shot, looks like about a month after I was there, and the scaffolding on that buttress was gone. Yours is at a much better time of day - my family was with me on that trip, which meant a photo outing after kids' bed time and only a limited part of blue hour (which was spent at L'Arc de Triomphe - it was full dark when I got to the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame).

 

[stuDoc]

My wife and I just returned from our honeymoon last week, after spending 18 days spread out between Venice, Florence, Rome, Milan, and Dublin. Because we both shoot, I brought everything in my signature except the 40 and 50, plus a Dell XPS 15 laptop with external backup drive. This was partly an experiment to see which lenses would see more action, but mostly out of sheer stubbornness. Her pack was light, including just the 6D and 35/1.4A, whereas I carried the rest, including a gorillapod focus, 2 umbrellas (the rain kind), and standard accessories (batteries, cards, filters, shutter releases, etc.).

Keep in mind we are both young and fit adults. I'm 31, and powerlift with decent numbers for my weight-class, but by the 3rd city, I was paring down my gear to the bare essentials necessary for each destination to save my back, and she was often reaching into my pack for the zooms after seeing my shots from the previous day.

The Breakdown: the 2 zooms and the 35 Art each saw roughly 30% of the shots, with the SY 14mm and 135L seeing roughly 5% of the shots.

My Advice: for a long trip with plenty of walking/hiking where you will be carrying the gear most of the time, I would suggest f/4 stabilized zooms to cover ultra-wide to medium telephoto, and a single standard fast prime. If you plan on doing long exposures with ND filters or night photography, a compact tripod really does come in handy.

I've only had a chance to process a few photos from Venice and Florence so far, but hopefully these will give you an idea of what you may want to shoot and which lenses will be appropriate. Enjoy your trip!

Here are 8 pics from Venice!