Blaster34 Loc: Florida Treasure Coast

LOLOL, never look the other driver or pedestrian in the eye, that's the key... Naples is one of the worst places in the world to drive.....but the food is fantastic.

Gilkar

All UHers give great advice so here's mine. . . I've lived in Italy for 3 months every year since 2006. Every year I swear I'm not going to tote a heavy camera and multiple lenses. Some years I've actually taken that advice. I've always been disappointed with the small point n shoots I've taken with me. I've tried Canon, Nikon, and several others. All have performed well but with limitations. This year I'm going to try the Nikon P900. It's an all in one with a hugemongous zoom (24-2000mm) range. Plus it's light in weight. Italy is hot during the summer and any reduction in weight is a blessing. I've been testing it for the past few days and so far I like what I'm getting. These are just thoughts from someone who's tried it all.

bike42 Loc: Boynton Beach Fl & Bridgewater, NJ

The last time I went to Italy I took my Nikon D500 and a Tamron 16-300. The 16mm allowed me a lot of wide angle capability without being locked into something like a 12-24. I hate changing lenses, and normally only carry one lens. The Tamron worked well for that trip. Recently I did a trip to England, and took a Tamron f2.8 17-70. This lens was smaller and lighter, and I never missed the telephoto capability. I wish it was a 16 instead of a 17, but the f2.8 was a wonderful addition for inside of church's, inside museums, etc.

CWGordon

repleo: you made me laugh. Thank you. It was the buses on the Amalfi coast that convinced me that I should be fearful. The little horn toots they made going into a turn where there could not possibly be room for an oncoming vehicle only warned the oncoming driver of his pending death. Luckily, no vehicle was oncoming and so I saw no one punted off the cliffs into the sea. I was told later that it does happen, but not published much for fear of scaring off tourists. I might have considered driving there had that first couple of buses not shown me the error of my thought process. My God, two buses would have cost how many lives? I didn’t even think of driving by the time we got to Naples! Your story is a totally humorous one, now, in hindsight. I sure think any American visiting there should understand your relative alacrity at driving further.

Bill P

[quote=racerrich3]

Never been south of Rome, so this is a guess. It could be very hot in August. It can be on the high side of warm in Tuscany in August.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

The 18-400 will do the trick. I always bring multiple lenses and my wife uses only her 18-400 and an expert might possibly be able to ascertain which lens was used on the vast majority of several thousand shots. We just got back from a month long shoot in Yellowstone and again the 18-400 did a great job. From flowers to wolves...very nice job.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

I know this is going to sound like scarilege from one photographer to another but don't let the photography ruin a great trip. Eat the food, Drink the wine. Family comes first. Pictures a distant second. BTW Brunello Di Montalcino is the single best italian wine available, every bit as good as chateau rothchild ENJOY

hogilbert

I have the 70-200 G2 and while I like the lens overall it is a little soft at the 200mm and best at 135mm. Also heavy! Based on weight alone and little need for telephoto I would take one or more wide angle lens.

CWGordon

boberic had a great point. So much to see and enjoy. One should be careful to not let a viewfinder dictate what they see. I take so many pictures, at times, that I really have to remember exactly what he contributed. Great wisdom for us to consider.

CWGordon

boberic had a great point. So much to see and enjoy. One should be careful to not let a viewfinder dictate what they see. I take so many pictures, at times, that I really have to remember exactly what he contributed. Great wisdom for us to consider.

teacuppic

I am a 5'5", 73 year old lady. We just spent two weeks on the East Coast, and we were in Niagara Falls, on the St. Lawrence Seaway out of Clayton, New York, and in Cos Cob, Connecticut. My camera was carried with my Peak Design camera strap (I highly recommend it!), and I shoot with a Nikon Z7. I'm not going to try to speak to the full frame vs. the crop frame. You'll hear that from a number of others. I read and asked questions about a good all-purpose lens to take that would allow me to work with just one lens the majority of the time. I chose the AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm1:3.5-5.6G telephoto with the Z Adaptor. Just in case, I also packed my Nikkor Z 14-30/4 (never used it) and the Nikkor Z 24-70/2.8S, which I used to good effect one evening when the lighting was low. There is some weight to the 28-300, but it was never an issue for me. I was having way too much fun capturing wonderful memories with my camera. I just wish that I'd had this camera when we traveled in Italy, and I hope that I'll have another such opportunity. I think that you are receiving some good information to factor into your decision for a new lens. I'm not familiar with the Tamron lenses; I've had great luck with the Sigma Art Series when I shot with my Nikon D7000, so perhaps you'll want to explore in that direction, too. I'll recommend the 28-300, but I know that which ever lens you choose, your trip will be a wonderful, special experience. My two tips: 1. I hope you get to go to Sorrento, my favorite spot in the world! 2. If you go to Rome and visit the Vatican, spend the money for a private guide because you'll be allowed to enter before the Vatican opens to the public, and you'll be able to learn so much about the Sistine Chapel sitting on a bench to the side of the chapel and speaking in conversational level voices...before the masses arrive and make it almost impossible to hear anything or lean your head back far enough to even see the ceiling. You're going to adore Italy!

knelso4

I visited Rome, Florence, and Milan in May with a Tamron 18-400 on a Canon 70D. Results were good except for some full zoom (400 mm) shots that didn't capture a lot of detail. You will find architectural details that really do need the power. Do some testing and reading to find the sweet spot for aperture / zoom.

GKarl Loc: Northern New Hampshire

I traveled to Italy for two weeks a few years ago with a Nikon D7000 and took three lenses. Nikon 12-24, Sigma 24-70 2.8 and Nikon 50 1.4. It worked for me. The 12-24 was the most used. Have fun.

rlovaglio Loc: Augusta, Maine

I traveled to Italy in 2016. I like to travel as light as I can so all I took was a Canon 60D body with a Tamron 18-270. It did everything I wanted it to do and even took a picture of Mt. Vesuvius vent from 20 miles away All the other advice sent to you seems sound, especially that Italy is "close" and the wide side of my 18-270 got a lot of use. I never wished I had any of my other lenses. Extra battery, charger, sdhc cards and polarizing filter were all that was needed, and I don't remember even using the polarizing filter. And don't forget, cell phone cameras are a legitimate tool for the trip.
Go for it,
Ron

RolandDieter

I've been there several times. Almost everything you will want to shoot will need wider than 70mm, although you will also find telephoto quite useful at times. Get the 18 - 400mm ... unless you want to go lighter, and then go for a range more like 18 - 200 or 18 - 300