TonyBrown

I have a D500 and accompanying heavy lenses. Great for wildlife trips, but too heavy for a walkabout set up. My partner and I have just come back from a month in China and we purchased a couple of Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark iii’s for the trip with kit lenses. They were great. Light weight and excellent picture quality. Also easy to use in M mode. Worth a look and there are some good deals at present.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

4/3rds will easily meet your needs. Delderby has already told you about the Panasonic side of the 4/3rds. But there is an Olympus side to 4/3rds also.

First, you might want to want to rent rather than own. But lets assume that ownership is really what you need. These are some of the latest prices:

Bodies;
E-M5mkII - $900 (please note that this is the only 16mp camera of the group; all others are 20mp)
E-M5mkIII - $1200
E-M1mkII - $1500
All these bodies are weatherproof. With the proper lens and flash, the system is weatherproof. Also, the new E-M5mkIII will also come bundled with a 14-150 f4/5.6 (28-300 in 35mm angle of view terms) for $1500.

Lenses;
14-150 f4/5.6 - $600
12-200 f3.5/6.3 - $850
12-40 f2.8 Pro - $800
12-100 f4 Pro IS - $1150
All these lenses are weatherproof.

Flashes;
FL-LM3 - $70 (this flash comes kitted with some of the bodies)
FL-600R - $300
FL-700WR - $300 (this flash is weatherproof)
FL-900R - $400 (this flash is weatherproof)

My suggested combinations would be E-M5mkIII or E-M1mrII, 12-40 f2.8 Pro or 12-100 f4 Pro IS, and the FL-700WR or FL-900R. If it was me buying, my best pick would be the E-M1mrII, 12-100 f4 Pro IS, with the FL-900R. This combination would allow you to leave the tripod back home and shoot in any weather conditions. But the cost of this combination is $3050. But another combination that meets your cost requirements is the new E-M5mkIII / 14-150 f4/5.6 bundle with the FL-700WR for $1800. This combination is slightly slower and a touch less sharp, has a flash for dark situations, can still leave the tripod at home (but not quite as stable as my first choice), and is still weatherproof. Spend some time at a camera store trying some of these combinations (the E-M5mkIII will be on the shelves soon). A lot of "food" for thought but you will not be disappointed in the results.

Venice is not a big area to cover. There are many side streets and market areas along with the many popular much photographed areas. Many people and places to shoot. Be sure to investigate the many little shops. And also make a trip or two the the nearby islands like Burano and Murano. You should feel like the fox that just dropped into the chicken coop with plenty of fat chickens to choose from.

11bravo

Have been to Venice Carnival 3 or 4 times, though back in the '80's when I lived in Italy. Never went to any events or balls, just street photography. Had a Canon SLR (A1 or maybe my T90 by then, Vivitar 70-210 and a 35-105.)

FANTASTIC color and costumes. Need a telephoto for the close-up shots, wider for the group shots. Number of "posers" (in the good sense), elaborate, professional costumes. But what I enjoyed the most were the family/friends groups. Still remember the American Indian chief, squaw, papoose, with a friend as a full Saguaro cactus, or the castle blocks - large group in cardboard boxes that would form a castle square with upright corner towers.

Be prepared for CROWDS like you've never seen. Venice is ram-jam full. You literally shuffle down the narrow passages through the city, they are full to capacity. Getting a table at a restaurant is difficult, they're all full. I'd go out in the morning, wander around till after lunch, take a nap for an hour, then go back out until late evening.

Meals are a first AND second course. Your pasta is the first, then most restaurants expect you to order a second meat or fish dish (oder at the same time, brought sequentially). Definitely try the prosuttio And melone (thin sliced ham over canaloupe), as an antipasta, rissotto pescatore (seafood over rice), the peshe spada (swordfish), with a tartufo nero (vanilla ice cream golf ball, wrapped in a hemisphere of chocolate ice cream with a dark shell of chocolate sprinkled with chocolate powder).

Definitely a bucket list event.

11bravo

St Mark's square, Piazza San Marco, is the place to see and be seen, but in wandering through town, you'll see costumes. The waterfront near San Marco is another place to see costumed people. Another place is the train station, as costumed groups gather, organize, and head out.

Doge's palace worth the tour, as is St Mark's cathedral.

Book hotel now as they sell out fast.