[Leica] Italy: Camera/lens advice

[Simon Stevens <simon@camera-craftsman.com>]

>My wife and I plan to vacation in Italy this spring.  We'll visit Rome,

>Sienna, Florence, and Venice, with side trips to Pompeii and the
>countryside around Sienna.   I'm already thinking about what camera and

>lenses to take.

Peter, I'm jealous, some of my fondest photographic memories are from
Italy. It's not the answer to the question you asked, but I'd advise
going to Herculanium (Spelling?) over Pompeii. By all means go to both,
of course, but out of the two, the smaller site is much better
preserved, much less crowded and altogether a better place to take
pictures. i also prefer it from a hitorical point of view for the same
reasons.

As far as photography, fFor what it's worth, here's what I'd do in your
situation:

1. Travel light - if you want to experience Italy, expect to walk so you
don't want to carry a lot. Take the Leica in a small bag that doesn't
say "expensive camera" or find a way to carry it in pockets. Don't take
the Olympus (why compromise?) :). Make sure your bag/coat is water
resistant as Spring can be wet.

2. Skip any form of tripod. They aren't allowed in churches and museums
usually and they are a pain to carry. Just use walls when necessary.

3. If you carry a flash, make it really small for occasional shots only.
It's not really something that's good to lug around unnecessarily.

4. Buy insurance, be cautious but take pictures. Cmaeras can be
replaced, your experience cannot.

5. Bring a range of lenses, but I have found that wider lenses work very
well since the streets are pretty narrow for the most part. I'd probably
take my normal 15/35/50/90 range.

6. Consider B/W. All my best pictures in Italy have been in B/W - it
just seems to work, somehow.

7. If you want to use color negative film, I'd probably go for something
with more muted color than Gold and with lower contrast. I personally
like Portra NC 400 as a general film. Otherwise I agree that slides are
a better choice.

8. When in touristy places, be prepared to get up early. One Spring I
walked from the train statiion to St. Mark's Square in Venice starting
at 4:30 a.m and ending around 8 a.m. The whole time I saw 2 people. It
was a wonderful experience, and the only way to get uncluttered pictures
of the city. Plus you get that early morning light.

8. Don't go anywhere near an organized tour! Just buy a guidebook and
read up ahead of time.

Have fun!

Simon Stevens