There's a saying "Less is more". And I perceive that as being true in all walks of life but especially where photography is concerned.
One of my problems when going on a trip is deciding which system to take, Fuji, Sony or m43. I'm lucky being able to afford three system simultaneously but on the other hand it does cause some difficulty when going on trips. The question about which system with which lenses to take crops up every time.
On my last trip I took my Fuji system with a couple of primes and the 18-55 f2.8-4.0 kit lens. The one before that I took my Sony system so it's logical to take my m43 system this time around; which is precisely what I'm going to do.
I'll be taking my E-M1 and an E-M5 II. Both cameras will be setup practically the same way so it will be easy to switch from one camera to the other without any problems. There's going to be a lot of walking so I need to keep weight down to a minimum. I would love to take my prime lenses but because the family will be there too a couple of zooms are going to be pressed into service with a small prime for low light stuff.
Now comes the hard part. Which zooms to take and which focal length should my prime be?
I thought about the Olympus 12-100 f4 because it's an all round lens with very good image quality. But...I'd be restricted to a 100mm lens (equal to 200mm in 35mm terms). That may be too short. I've decided on the Olympus 14-150 f4.0-5.6 II. Reason being it's also weatherproof and it will get me out to 300mm in 35mm terms. Weighing only 285g it will also keep the weight down. I've had a little test run with this lens and it looks like image quality is up to standard. This will be my longest lens and it should be sufficient for where I'm going to.
UPDATE:
I've decided at the last minute to take the 12-100 f4. It is the better lens and this little trip will not be repeated in the near future.
My second lens has to be wide so I only have one option and that's the Panasonic 7-14 f4 lens. That will be stuck to the E-M5. With this lens I have everything covered from 7mm to 100mm (14mm - 200mm equivalent).
That leaves my prime lens. I've decided to take the 25 f1.2 although it is quite heavy at 410g. It's one lens that still has to have a good workout and I'm really looking forward to using it. I also love the 50mm focal length so it's going to be pretty perfect, I hope.
UPDATE:
Feeling the weight with all that equipment in my shoulder bag, I have decided to take out the 25 f1.2 and throw in the 12 f2. Small and light I'm sure I'll enjoy the holiday a little more.I can use my feet to get closer, I hope. It's still a fantastic lens though.
I'm sure a lot of you know about the afterthoughts we tend to have. All photographers tend to want to take all their equipment with them on these trips; you know, just in case you need it. Well my afterthought is the Panasonic TZ101 with it's 1" sensor. The last time I took this with me it actually impressed me a lot. That post with some real world images should be coming soon, together with the GX85 experience.
The last piece of equipment to take is a tripod. I don't take a tripod all that often when going with the family but this time it's coming along. It's going to be a small light one that actually fits in/on my shoulder bag.
It's a Fotopro made for Rollei. These come on the market for several companies.
I know, it's red but I kind of like it.
As you can see I've replaced the head with my own Novoflex.
Instead of a plate you have a screw. Easier for me to get it off and back on again.
As for a camera bag, I'm taking one that seems to fit the bill (yes I know, yet another camera bag 
) It's a simple bag that doesn't look like a camera bag.
Doesn't look like a camera bag to me.
Normal separators inside. Nothing special.
Apart from that I'm only taking along spare batteries, a charger, some SD cards (32GB/64GB). I like to take too many SD cards with me than not enough. Cleaning kit and a couple of filters should complete my kit. I have now whittled down my filters to two types: Pol filters and Vari-ND filters. I like doing some long exposures when time and place permit.
I'm not going to say where I'm going but I'm pretty certain I'll post about it with a few images to show you how things worked out.
So to get back to the title of this post: Less is more. I'm sure you all know what I mean here, the more equipment you have, the more difficult it is to decide what to take along. I suppose you can compare it to not seeing the trees for the forest. I think if I would start out again, I would limit my equipment to two cameras and maybe 3 or 4 lenses.
NOTE:
This "less is more" principle creeps into my photography too where I tend to take a lot of images with quite a bit of negative space present. I find in images the more that is in it the less the image appeals to me. If you browse my images I'm certain you will find quite a few examples of negative space.
If any of you out there have better suggestions about which lenses or cameras to take, I would really like to hear your opinion.
UPDATE:
Like I said, less is more, because this chopping and changing is killing me. This trip is going to be a major one for me and I have to cover all bases. I have decided to take the Olympus 75-300 f4.8-6.7 and the Tamron 14-150 f3.5-5.6 with me. The Olympus E-M10 II has found it's way in there too. To accomodate all this I've packed a second small bag that I can take with me when visiting towns and villages etc. Since we are driving I see no problem in taking everything with me. If I was flying, it would be different kettle of fish.
Like I said at the beginning "LESS IS MORE".
