Teacher22 Loc: Texas

Hey Hogs...I need some good advise about the best walk around lens for my Italy trip..
I will be taking my Sony a7rii and have the following lens to pick from:
Sony 16-35 F4
Sony G 24-70 F2.8
Sony 35mm 1.8
Sony 24-240 3.5-6.3

I'm trying to keep the weight down even though the 24-70 is the most heavy and my favorite. I will be in Rome, Florence and Venice.
Let me know what you think.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Unless you like doing a lot of people pictures, take your favorite lens and leave the tele and the others behind. Have fun!

rustfarmer

Kinda depends on what you like to shoot. I would want the favorite and the tele, as I like to capture details of buildings and such, plus the people and landscapes.

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

I would take the 24-70, all three of those places you are planning to visit will be packed with tourists so you will never get people free shots.
In Florence the streets are often very narrow so it can be difficult to get a decent shot of the tall buildings etc so a wide lens will be vital.
The same applies to Venice to a lesser degree.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

I am not familiar with the Sony system so my recommendations are based on what I would use for a trip.
I do not know anything about the quality of the 24-240 but it seems as a good lens for the trip. In my case I would take for my Olympus the 12-40 f2.8, the Panasonic 7-14 f4 and the Olympus 40-150 f4-5.6 kit lens.
The 16-35 f4 you have is the only lens you cannot leave behind.

Lagoonguy Loc: New Smyrna Beach, FL

Last year on our trip to Tuscany & Umbria I used a Sigma 24-105 f/4 for everything exterior and a Sigma 24-35 f/2 for cathedrals and other interiors. I used two D750's so I didn't need to change lens but I chose which setup I would need for the day and just lived with it. I used a P&S G15 for everything else. We are off shortly for a tour of Albania, Macedonia, Serbia and Northern Greece and I think I have settled on one camera and the same two lens. I did not miss the 16-35 f/4 for Italy. The Sigma lenses are heavy at 31 & 33 ozs and in spite of being a bit bulky they were ideal for Italy. You need a fast lense for many of the interior shots without a flash. My suggestion is to go with the the 24-70 f/2.8 and take a P&S. The streets are narrow and dark so portrait mode is ideal with a 24mm setting. IMHO I don't think the 16-35 would be long enough for everything and the 24-270 is too long and not fast enough for most applications. The 35 f/1.8 may be not wide enough for cathedral ceilings plus I just dislike changing lenses on the fly. Don't forget a raincoat for your camera. Good luck and safe travel. You will love it.

Drip Dry McFleye

When I toured Italy for 17 days a few years ago. I had a Nikon D90 and took the 18-105 kit lens. Unless your trip is more about photography than anything else you want to keep your gear light. You can easily get by with one zoom lens. Based on my experience, I would say you will use the wide end of your 24-70 more than the long end. We toured all the cities on your itinerary and I'm pretty sure you're going to have a great time. We found the Italian people warm and outgoing and the food wonderful!

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Why do people continually ask this question?! Are they just looking for a means to start a conversation or is it their way of telling the membership, they are going on a trip!? Or, maybe they really don't know which of their lenses to take with them. I'd suggest taking all the lenses you think you will need and use. That's what I do when I travel, but then I don't usually fly. If the objective is to get advice on a single lens then that answer is really easy. Take the lens that will give you the most focal length coverage. In this case it would be the 24-240. You have wide at 24 and long at 240 and everything in between. If your concerned it's not fast enough, your Sony camera is a really nice camera and you can crank up the ISO fairly high and still get good images. Enjoy your trip; I'm sooooo jealous... Oh, by the way, get lots of really nice pics while you are there.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

Italy is my favorite place to visit on the continent. If I was limiting it to a single lens, I would take the 24-70. But I would sure regret not having the 16-35. I've never found a long tele to be useful in Italy. But look at your itinerary; look at the kind of pictures you like to take.

But a word of caution: Italy is best seen with all your senses. A camera uses only one of the five....

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

You must have bought those lenses for a reason.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Tough call. I'll say the 16-35mm, assuming you'll be walking through towns and cities.

jccash Loc: Longwood, Florida

Something fast for indoors. 35mm 1.4. Everyday lens like the 18-200mm.

elliott937 Loc: St. Louis

I'd go for the 16-35mm. Assuming you will do post production, you could then crop anything that you particularly want up close.

cthahn

You are the photographer. If you do not know what lens to use then you are not a photographer. Why do you have so many lenses?

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

I traveled to Italy as I traveled everywhere else, with two pocket Sony cameras. One with a 28-100 mm zoom and the other with a 24-750 mm zoom. I kept them in a belt pouch. Got great shots, travel right, travel lite.