Traveling to Europe... debating what gear to bring. DSLR or EOS M?

[mangobutter]

I've been using my little M a lot for travel since purchasing the 11-22 IS, but I have one recommendation if you go the EOS-M route - make sure you have lots of batteries. I have two and that's barely been enough for my travels... The camera really eats those little guys.

Also, for me, the only other real let down on the M has been the lack of a 50 or 85mm (equivalent) fast lens for portraits. I also wish it had the ability to process RAW to JPEG in camera and WiFi (which is in the M2), but I'm hoping Canon will add those to the M3 along with a fast normal to medium telephoto lens.

Yes I desperately want Canon to update their M mount lens lineup. We need dedicated primes. I don't mind added size and weight and faster apertures to make up for the crop factor... but I think there may not be a business case for this. A 35L on a 1.6x body becomes a 56mm 2.2. That's always an option.

 

[mangobutter]

I went to Europe this summer and had same dilemma…..went for portability and took the M and 18-55 with the Really Right stuff table top tripod along in my Think Tank Mirrorless Mover bag (an awesome bag for the M system, by the way). If I had my 11-22 efm acrtoss-the-border-acquired lens at that time, it would have gone too.

Anyway, that system allowed me to shoot anywhere….the M even on the little RRS tripod is so unobtrusive I could set up and shoot anywhere without anybody really noticing or telling me "no tripods". I was able to get good shots hand held at 1600 in some pretty dark places (see pics).

The drawback, as any M user knows, is glare in sun. If it had an OVF or even a flip LCD there would have been a few less four letter words uttered….

So its all a compromise. There are plenty of times I saw DSLRs and longed for my 5d3, but my gear easily fit in a small backpack and went anywhere.

Have been all over Europe, and honestly Barcelona is beautiful and if you keep heads up no worse for pickpockets than anywhere else there.

Here's a couple shots, all with the M.

Just saw these. Absolutely great shots. beautiful. where were those?

 

[josephandrews222]

I am really of several minds on this sort of question...and I have given it a lot of thought. Not two cents worth--maybe a nickel.

I have come to the conclusion that, when traveling, I like to get by with the smallest and lightest gear that can still acquire decent images.

In other words, I think about my photo gear while on vacation the same way my wife thinks about...you know what...just enough to get by(!).

I own full-frame and crop DSLRs, a mirrorless (the M), and what was once a pricy point-and-shoot (all Canons). I do not travel the world regularly like many CR posters (I'm envious!), but occasionally travel to FL and occasionally to Europe with my wife and two kids.

It seems to me that, for our vacation style...that what matters is that I commit to a style of shooting on a given day (or portion of a day) and then stick with that style. And usually a given 'style' means a given camera.

Some of our best-ever vacation pix were taken during a week's touristing through Paris...with a Canon S95.

I'm looking at the S95 Paris pix in an Adorama-printed 8x8" lay-flat book as I type this...other than the problems associated with a small sensor (i.e. little or no subject isolation focus-wise), the images are spectacular...and the occasional ability to use fill-flash when necessary was important. With two spare batteries in my wallet (front pocket...we were concerned about pickpockets and saw some in action) and a 32GB card, I was set...and the S95 fits in my (other) front pocket.

Of note...the vast majority of the S95 pix referred to above were daytime pix...the small sensor of point-and-shoot cameras is a real limitation as far as night-time shots are concerned.

So a SMALL pocketable point-and-shoot has its place...at least in my opinion...especially for daylight shooting.

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We just returned from Disney World. I employed a 5DMkIII/35mmf2.0IS combination to acquire night-time images at Disney's Boardwalk area as well as the Christmas light display at the Movie Studio. The quality of the photos obtained in this way is clearly superior to previous efforts using a 40D/17-55mmf2.8IS kit. While in the park, I did not pack the camera/lens combo in anything...no backpack or shoulderpack or anything...just hung around my neck for a few hours. The 35mmf2.0IS lens is not very heavy and I would not hesitate to use the same gear again in the same way again. So a LARGE 5dMKIII-based kit is useful, too.

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Our two kids both have their own Ms, and have (by themselves) traveled to Europe a couple of times. The M+22mmf2.0 combination, in the hands of our 20 year old, has yielded hundreds of images from England, France, Italy and Switzerland that are stunningly good...but of course the M suffers from slow focus problems (which does limit my 'candid' street-style vacation photos of moving family members). But our kids find the small size of the M+22mm set-up terribly appealing--that and the touchscreen capabilities.

When I utilize the M in our travels I always pack the 270 flash...as I've stated previously on this forum I find fill-flash to be essential for our vacation pix that include family members.

Most of the time the 11-22mm lens is on my M when traveling; indoor shots at various places really benefit from the wide-angle capability as well as the IS.

Obviously I think the MEDIUM-sized M is essential, too.

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Small, medium and large--all necessary (I think). If I had to pick one and only one I think I'd go M +22 + 270flash...and ask my wife to pack the flash in her handbag!

 

[Marsu42]

You guys have convinced me to take the 6D. Why not, right? I guess if anything would break, it would be a mirrorless camera versus a tank of an SLR. [...] Also it WILL be raining a lot in London so this is when I'd put the EOS M away.

Make no mistake: The 6d's weather sealing is very weak, if you shoot in rain you're gambling with your camera since the warranty doesn't cover that damage! You might be lucky, but then again you might be not - better get a rain cover or use a bag from the supermarket.

I'll bring the 50mm 1.8 for when I need a "perfectionist" shot (sharpest possible IQ).

Are you sure we're talking about the same lens ... 50/1.8 and "sharpest possible iq" doesn't compute.