Poll: What Lenses to bring to Europe?

[AverageJoe]

I've searched a lot on the forum trying to find a similar story to match to a conclusion I'm trying to reach at but no luck so I thought I'd throw up a poll.

My girlfriend and I will be traveling to Europe this fall to not only sight see but visit my sister who is expecting her second child a few weeks before we arrive in Brno Czech Republic. We each be carrying a large hiking pack and side/messenger bag. I'd like opinions/thoughts on what setup to take. It's also important to note my girlfriend will be taking her Canon 870IS compact, 8 gig SD, extra battery.

Here are my options:

Cameras:
Canon 40D
Canon PowerShot G9

Lenses:
10-22mm EF-S Wide Angle w/hood
50mm 1.4 EF Prime w/hood
18-55mm EF-S IS
28-135 EF

Batteries and Memory:
Two battery packs for any of the above mentioned bodies
8 gigs worth of CF
8 gigs worth of SD
Do I need more?

Here are my objectives:
Standard site seeing photos
Architectural Shots
Landscapes/Cityscapes
Wide Angle Shots

Here are my locations:
Munich, Germany
Salzburg, Vienna, Austria
Brno, Prague, Czech Republic

Concerns:
Durability
Overall Weight and size of equipment
Becoming a walking target for potential thieves
I almost always shoot with the widest focal length of my lens

Setup's I'm contemplating:
40D with 10-22mm and 50mm 1.4 (Pros: Great wide angle shots, fast 50mm for portraits of my sister's new son Cons: very little tele-zoom, bulky large lens with hood on, would have to carry two lenses)

40D with 10-22mm and 18-55mm IS (Pros: wide angle and general purpose with some zoom, also good portraits, and image stabilized Cons: Two lenses needed and not the speed the 50mm 1.4 has to offer)

40D with 18-55mm IS (Pros: semi wide angle with better zoom, one lens wouldn't have to switch, smaller lens, lightweight, also good portraits, image stabilized Cons: not the full wide the 10-22mm offers or the speed the 50mm offers)


I can't imagine taking the G9 over the 40D for a number of reasons, the only one up the G9 has is size/weight and movie mode but I'm willing to sacrifice that for image quality/functionality/durability etc.

 

[Tiberius]

It depends on your shooting styles. I do a lot of ultra-wide, so I'd definitely bring the 10-22. After that, it depends on whether you think you could live with the 28-135mm. I shot a European tour on just a D50 and an AF-S 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5. You certainly can live with a limited range, but it's a question of if you'd want to.

 

[Overread]

Well since landscapes is a part of your trip (as is buildings) I would certainly say you want your widangle lens - so definatly take you 10-20mm.
After that consider if you need the convenience of a zoom or the speed of the 50mm. In all the 50mm might be good enough for a fullframe camera, but on crop sensor I find 50mm to be a focal range where one does find that they have to move back to frame the shot - the zoom would remove this problem and make you a little faster at snapping around the place (important if you are with others who are not photomad - they tend to go a little faster )

 

[AverageJoe]

Thanks for the input, here's another question, do I bring the lens hood for the 10-22? It makes the whole camera much bigger/bulkier looking? I've never really shot the 10-22 without the hood on so I'm not sure how much light it deflects:

 

[Overread]

why not bring the hood is the better question - shooting without a hood (especially into the sun) can lead to flares. After that its a great thing for being rightin the way when something brushes past the front of the lens ( and thus does not damage your front glass).
Take the hood by all means do

 

[tempra]

I would take what I can carry, Prague is a lovely city and there are plenty of people with DSLRs wandering about the place - never felt threatened or uncomfortable when I was there.

Munich is another good city, and again, not even a second look whilst wandering around with camera - just be careful you don't fall on it after a couple of steins of beer!

Haven't been to Salzburg, but those crazy Viennese are sticklers for rules, so you should be pretty safe - just use the same rules you would at home, like don't go trotting into rough areas with your camera around your neck.

With three cities to cover, unless you are capable of downloading and backing up your images, I would get more memory - especially if you are shooting in RAW.

My travel light choice would be my 5D and 24-70, wide enough and a good excuse for a walk if I'm not close enough, or on a crop camera the 17-40.

 

[AverageJoe]

why not bring the hood is the better question - shooting without a hood (especially into the sun) can lead to flares. After that its a great thing for being rightin the way when something brushes past the front of the lens ( and thus does not damage your front glass).
Take the hood by all means do

Very true, now I'll bring it just with the "protection factor in mind", thanks!

 

[AverageJoe]

Munich is another good city, and again, not even a second look whilst wandering around with camera - just be careful you don't fall on it after a couple of steins of beer!

No Kidding!, hopefully my girlfriend will be able to keep me propped up! Thanks for your input, this is great info.

 

[AverageJoe]

Alright, here's the final roster:

40D
3 Batteries
16 gig, 8 gig and 4 gig's worth of CF (total of 28gigs)
50mm 1.4 EF
10-22mm EF-S
18-55mm EF-S
Hoods for the wide angle and the prime.
UV filters for all three lenses.
Charger
Cleaning brush with air duster, cleaning cloth.
Plastic bag with whole cut for a camera rain coat.
Crumpler 6 million dollar home to carry all of the above in.

Am I missing anything? Anything I should get rid of?