planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

I've had to cancel (or had cancelled on me) vacations last year and this due to COVID. Next year I'm hoping to actually, finally go somewhere (13-day tour to France w/birthday in Paris) My newest lens is a 24-105 Art. Would that be sufficient or do I need to rent some thing like an 18-300 (or whatever the length is)?

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Its a very good lens. What camera will you mount it on? What are you intending on shooting? If you mount it on a full frame camera you will have nice wide angle capability, but very limited telephoto. If you mount it on a crop sensor camera, the telephoto will be a bit better, but it won't go very wide. At f/4 it not going to be very fast if you plan on taking many indoor photos without flash. It's a great general walk around lens but it not a do everything lens. It will certainly give you better results than any of the consumer do it all superzooms that are mostly relegated to crop cameras. Personally I'm more concerned with wide angle than telephoto, so if I was going to mount it on a full frame body with good high ISO capability, the Sigma 24-105 would probably be the one that I take.

flip1948 Loc: Hamden, CT

Is your camera full frame or crop?

Quixdraw Loc: x

Pretty difficult to suggest a lens for someone else. On vacation, I'm not going for wildlife, because there is a lot where I live so the longest lenses stay home. Usually two bodies one with 24 to 85 or 24-120, the other 28-300. A fast 50 and possibly 18-35 in the bag. Second body sometimes DX. But that selection is based on my style and requirements. Yours undoubtedly different. Best of luck with the choices!

User ID

You have an excellent lens for EITHER format.

Acoarst it can’t do everything, in either format, but it can do much more than is actually necessary. No lens does really everything. You will be on a vacation. A bigger lens or an additional lens would most likely be more of a burden and less of a benefit.

Basically, the pix your lens won’t gather are pix you can easily go without. Enjoy the trip. You’re traveling on holiday, not on assignment.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Both your Sony’s are APS-C.
For me, the 24mm end of the Sigma wouldn’t be wide enough. I mostly use the 18-55 on my Fuji (also AaPS-C) when I go to europe. I never need anything longer, but occasionally want something wider, like the 12mm I just got.
Your shooting style may be different than mine.

planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

I have an a77 (crop) and an a99ii (f/f). If I could stand the weight either both bodies or two lenses, but I'd kind of rather not do that. My 17-50 2.8 would work on either body, but on the 99ii MP would be reduced to 18, rather than 42, but I'd get better light capturing ability - probably lots of churches and castles. The 24-105 on the 99ii and and 70-300 on the 77 would be nice, but heavy. I have a dual harness, though. One other idea is to take a camera a bought for a trip to Israel, a Lumix FZ-200. Light and 25-2400 (using digital zoom) at f/2.8, but there were a number of things I didn't care for about it, though it did give me some wall-hangars. On my Israel trip people used everything form a phone to an DSLR. The extra ISO and MP of the f/f might compensate for the lower f/stop. I guess I'll have to find out if there are baggage restrictions. For Israel, it was one suitcase and one carry-on. I just found out that France has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Europe and still has about 3.5 million ACTIVE cases of COVID. I'm betting on the fact that in another year's time the situation will be significantly improved!

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

Usually a long lens is not necessary in metropolitan areas.

Hip Coyote

I travel quite a bit and speak from some experience. I find that in Europe, I mostly take wider shots in urban and rural areas. The longer range of of 300 lens would be lost on me. For the most part, you will be in churches, cities and countrysides. To me, that screams wide angle. I like close ups in street photography because it forces me to speak to people. I've had mostly positive interactions with people as a result of photography so I tend to get close.
24-105 should cover most focal lengths needed. And remember to put the camera down once in a while and just enjoy the moment, speak to people, and actually SEE the scenery.

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

Don't know when your French trip is planned but Good Luck. My river cruise on the Seine in May was just canceled yesterday. That makes 5 "COVID cancelations" for me so far.
About that Lens Thing, When I (used to) travel, I would take 3. 1) a Superzoom (wide-to-tele). 2) a Wide for vistas and interiors. 3) Something small and fast (20mm f2.8). That covered everything I was interested in.

miked46 Loc: Winter Springs, Florida

that should handle 95% unless you think you need a longer reach

ELNikkor

Because you mention "18-300", it makes us think your camera is a DX, which means you probably already have an 18-55. Don't know why you'd get an expensive FX lens, unless you intend to get an FX body real soon. Either a) just take your 18-55, b)get a cheap 55-200 and take both, or c) get your FX body now and take the 24-105 only with the FX body.

Archboo3 Loc: Central Florida

I have a 24-120 Nikon lens that is my walk around lens. I use it 95% of the time. But I always have a longer lens close by. But if I was going on vacation and could only take one lens, yea I would get the 18-300.

w00dy4012 Loc: Thalia, East Virginia

I carried three lenses with me on trip to Ireland and a Sony A7ii. The lens that that stayed on the camera nearly the entire trip was my 16-35 f4. However, my best image was taken using 12mm fisheye. I used my tele-zoom once. I would think your 24-105 on your full frame body would if you are taking only one lens.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Excellent travel lens on APS-C or FF. On APS-C you may wish you had wider, but you could always do a panorama series and stitch it together later. But, if you only want to take one lens, that would be a solid choice. If you decide you want a second lens, an ultra-wide to wide zoom to cover the range below the 24-105 would be my choice. But you should be fine with your FF (42MP) and this lens. There is nothing you will accomplish with the a77 (24MP) camera you cannot do as well or better with the FF. Also there is nothing you could do with the Lumix FZ-200 that won't be better on the a99ii. Those two cameras are leagues apart.
Remember that the a99ii has boatloads of tech that neither of the other two can match. The a99ii has sensor shift (the a77ii has that as well, but I think you said you have the a77 not the ii)! The a99ii focusing system is years better. The a99ii takes two cards so no worry about loosing data. The a99ii also has a fully articulated screen.