We leave for Italy a week from today (woo-hoo!). I'm trying to decide which lenses to bring with me for my Canon xti. My walkaround lens is my 17-50 2.8, but I'm trying to decide if it is worth the trouble to bring my 55-200... or should I skip the 55-200 (it's slow) and bring my beloved 85 1.8?! But will I need the telephoto range of the 55-200, even though it is slow?? Or will I miss the speed and clarity of the 85/1.8? GAHHHHH!

Last summer we wpent a week in NYC I took only the 17-50 2.8 and didn't miss the other lenses.

I'm also considering purchasing a gorilla-pod for some night time shots - any experience with this little gadget??

hi carol i don't know which lenes to take but my mom and i are going on the best of italy with you. we are so excited because there is only 1 more week.

That's great, LinZ! Our plane takes off in 6 days and 22 hours

Where are you coming from??

Carol,

In a nutshell, what you have (17-50) is roughly what you will primarily need. You will be doing a whole lot wide and not much telephoto. Telephoto opportunities on escorted tours are usually far and few in between, not that they don't exist.

Taking multiple lenses makes sense when you are going alone; with you being sole the decision maker of "what, where and how much time". In most of these tours, that isn't the case. Changing lenses will prove not only to be difficult but also risky, from dust, safety and damage viewpoints.

On my European Festival TT last year, I used a Sigma 18-200 lens on my XT and found myself rarely going over the 55mm mark. This year I used a 17-85 on my 40D and didn't make much use of anything above 50mm.

My advice would be to stick with your 17-50 if you want to travel light. I am way too chicken to change lenses in crowds, leave alone crowds in Italy.

I have also been through the "have it and not use it versus need it and not have it" dilemma. After 2 TTs, I have found this hard way "if you don't need it, you are better off without it".

Leave tripods and things like gorilla pods behind if you are going to be in a group and crowded places. Not only will you not have the opportunity to use them (if your tour is anything more than "lively" paced) but the chances of stupid people walking in front of them or (worse) dropping them are higher.

Your lens is fast enough for most night shots.

we are coming from northern california, so it's a long trip but well worth it. have you been on any other tours through trafalger?

This will be our 4th Trafalgar Tour, but our first time in Italy!

We'll be looking forward to meeting you - look for the 2 red-headed floridians... I'm traveling with my almost 18 year old daughter.

See you Monday!

Xponent is perfectly correct - if you only take one lens then make it a wide angle lens - it is often possible to get closer, it is not always possible to get further away - in my experience 90% of the time you will be wishing that you had a wider angle lens!

i am almost 18 also, my birthday is on the 19th, tommorow actually. i'm excited to meet you guys in just a few days.

Happy birthday, LinZ - my daughter, Kaitlin, is thrilled there will be at least one other person her age on the tour! She's actually almost 19 - pardon my typo above!

Anyone else feel that this thread would have been better in the "Meeting Friends Before You Travel" section?