Travelling light , down to heavy gear !!!

I was a big fan of root, big photographic equipment but since some years ago, I totally changed my mind about what stuff should I bring with me.

For a very long time, I used to travel with a dSLR, a couple of lenses and a compact camera, for example, a Canon with a 24-70 L and very likely a 17-40 L, but although excellent for nature and landscapes, this combination can be very annoying for "normal" travelling, like for example, to visit European cities. It's just too heavy, brings a lot of attention and honestly, you will hardly notice any improvement in your photos.

Then I decided to forget about carrying two or three lenses and instead, opted for a Canon 24-105 IS STM. Okay, just one lens, but still heavy and clumsy.

For the same weight I could carry all my micro four thirds equipment, now composed by a Panasonic GX85, plus four lenses, covering from 9mm to 250mm, and still able to include my venerable (and much adored) Panasonic LX100.

Okay, in 90% of the situations this MFT setup works fine, it's very comfortable to use and can fit in a small bag, and WAY better than any conceivable mobile phone. But not so great for what I like the most: Low-light photography.

For some reasons I explained in an old post, I decided for the Sony A7 (I have both the II and III) and opted to not use Sony's glass, using instead, the canon lenses I already had although with the Sigma MC-11 Canon to Sony adapter. 

At that moment my Canon lenses were the EF 24-85 3.5-4.5 USM, EF 17-40 F4 L, 40mm F2.8 STM complemented by some cool manual focus old gems.

I got stunning results from this setup, but the problem was that unfortunately the final weight was way above of what I consider comfortable to carry around and still clumsy.

After digging for some months, I ended up with a very good balance for a basic all-round travel kit:

- Sony A7 III

- Samyang/Rokinon 18mm F2.8

- Samyang/Rokinon 24mm F2.8

- Sony 28-60 F4-5.6 OSS

- Minolta MD 50mm F1.4 (with adapter)

- Minolta MD 135mm F3.5 (with adapter)

Nice weight, compact, not expensive and with a more than adequate performance for my needs.

The five lenses above mentioned are inexpensive, lightweight and have sharpness far beyond I usually need.

I still carry a decent compact, the LX100 or A Sony A6300 with the 16-50 PZ.

Depending on where I will be travelling, some lens variations may be expected, maybe a macro, who knows ?