47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

If you don’t mind spending money, do yourself a favor, buy a compact or a bridge and leave the DSLR and lens home.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Excellent idea. A compact with a built-in lens with a good focal range would be perfect. You have dozens of good choices.

Compact long zooms -
https://www.t3.com/features/best-compact-cameras
https://www.techradar.com/news/best-travel-camera
https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-superzoom-camera/
https://www.ephotozine.com/article/top-10-best-pocket-zoom---travel-zoom-cameras-2016-19720
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/2016-roundup-consumer-long-zoom-compacts

azted Loc: Las Vegas, NV.

Yes, that or the RX100 series.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

On my last vacation I took 2 cameras, my 80D with 18-300mm zoom and a Lumix DMC-ZS100. When out and about I used the ZS100. While it worked great, I would have liked more zoom range. So I now have a Lumix DCZS80. I recommend it for those times you don't want to lug around a DSLR (or mirrorless ILC). Even with only a 1/2.3" sensor, it is adequate for most shots. And I can put it in a (large) pocket.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Because, like almost no one uses a camera in the real world, DXOmark tests sensors under static conditions in a controlled environment for very limited purposes.

Pepsiman Loc: New York City

I agree. Have a great trip...

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I guess all those working pros with those big white Canon lenses at every sporting and news event don’t read (or don’t believe) DXO

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Canon managed to acquire a few fanboys of their own by providing good pro-level lenses, which got quite a few people investing in Canon glass. And ten years ago Canon cameras were as good as anybody's. Lately they've been having to play catch-up but that could change very easily.

The technical aspects of cameras don't tell the whole story but most pros wouldn't dismiss technical specifications as being irrelevant. For those that understand the figures, dynamic range, colour depth and low light performance do tell us something about how good a camera's output is going to be.

gouldopfl

Getting an RF lens really depends on what EF glass you have. I have only purchased one new lens. My EF lenses work great, some perform a little better than on an EF mount camera. The lenses might be a tad lighter than EF mount, I didn't see the weight difference enough to buy new glass. My biggest frustration is that neither Sigma nor Tamron have RF glass after 3 years. I don't know why Canon can't give up their specs on the RF mount like Sony does on their mounts.

Canon makes excellent glass but only a professional can afford it. Both Sigma and Tamron make excellent glass, much of it that the hobbyists can afford.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

I have a Z mount lens (24-70 f/4) that out-performs it's "holy trinity" F mount equivalent in almost every category (but not distortion, vignetting and maximum aperture). It can be bought second hand for £460 and isn't that much dearer new.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

It’s more than a few people. Have you checked the market share for Canon vs Sony vs Nikon recently? Just guessing that there have been more 1Ds, 1DXs and various iterations of 5Ds used by professional sports writers, working Journalists, portrait/wedding and wildlife photographers than all other brands combined. I’m not a Canon Fanboy, but neither am I a fanboy of dismissing the number one manufacturers of cameras and lenses in the world based on DXO, some of whose measurements are flat out wrong. Have you actually read their testing methodology for DR? Perhaps you (or they) can explain how a camera with a 14 bit A/D can have a DR more than 14 bits as they report? Instead, I suggest you go to Photons for Photos and look at their measurements and methodology, and if you disagree with them, send a PM to Bill Claff who runs the site - he’s a UHH member

But let me proffer this: compare the performance of the R5 to your choice of Nikons or Sony’s and tell me if you find the DR or high ISO performance lacking. But instead of DXO’s indefensible measurements (if that’s how you judge a camera), use the data from Photons to Photos.

Finally, let me add that I love Nikon cameras. Grew up using Nikon’s and Nikormats, and I have an F, an F3 and a half dozen Nikon lenses in my office. I’m also impressed with Sony’s offerings, Fuji (which I use) and several other brands in addition to my FF Canon. The fact is that modern digital cameras are so good that you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference in actual performance in the field between the high end models from Canon, Nikon and Sony, so let’s stop this silly dismissing the number one camera brand in the world as inferior. It just isn’t so - pros know it and ACCURATE measurements prove it.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

And just so you’ll have some real data to go with my contention that Canon’s offerings are the equal or better of anything from Nikon (or Sony), even in the mirrorless world, here’s the DR graph of the best Canon, best Nikon and best Sony MILCs.

And you don’t even want to see the comparison of Canon’s flagship Pro DSLR (1DX mkIII) vs a Nikon D4s, D5 or D6, but I’ll post it anyway to put an end to this “Canon has inferior sensors and DR performance compared to Nikon” BS.

krashdragon

Gee, we' re getting complicated here... 🤣🤣🤣
Ok. the 6D and the 24-105 and the 100-400 are just too much for an old fat lady... me... to lug around.
My little Canon S95 just doesn't quite have enuf reach.
The Canon whateverH50 is a bit bulkier than I'd like.The bridge zoomy one..

We're just going on a stupid train ride... both of us have driven in all 48 continuous states... we're truck drivers.
We just want to sit on our fat asses and let someone else do the driving while we do nothing. Ok, eat, drink, and enjoy the scenery... no tours, no wandering around cities with old people disintregrating hips and knees.. we've been stuck in traffic in almost every big city in the country, have been sworn at by all kinds of people who think 73 foot long vehicles should be able to stop instantly, and backed into way too many warehouse docks in all kinds of places.

We'll pbly go from San Luis Obispo, Ca to Seattle, the overnite to Chi. Change trains, then stop in Cleveland to see my son and his g.f.
Havnt figured out the NE yet, but some lobster and visiting a yarn shop or 2 would work. BF used to be a Navy chef on the USS Enterprise and the USS Carl Vinson, so food is a priority...
Then down to Jax to visit my boss and his family. Bus to NO, cause they're not rebuilding the bridge wiped out by Hurricane Katrina. NO to San Diego, then back up to SLO.
Might do a little bit of touristy stuff in the north east.
Simple go around, figuring out the train schedules will be the hard part.

As an aside, my 2020 Volvo truck broke down in Rapid City, SD. I spent a week at The Hotel Alex Johnson ( supposed to be haunted) and did a bit of shopping. Got a rental truck, but my truck got to stay in Rapid City for almost a month, I just picked it up yesterday so I think the Dakota's are covered. 😄

Will check out some of the better bridge cameras, and a few of the others that were mentioned. I figure if I get one sometime this summer, I might even learn how to use it by the time we leave. Hopefully! 😊
Thanks to all for all the suggestions!

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

This extra information is very interesting. I've done the trip from Seattle as far south as Los Angeles, then to Phoenix, when my wife was ready to fly the rest of the way home to Dallas. Also have ridden the San Diegan from Los Angeles to San Diego and back. This will be a side trip for you. San Diego is not on the transcontinental route. We have not yet ridden the Empire Builder across the northern route, nor done a lot in the eastern US.

The Coast Starlight (Los Angeles - Seattle) is about 20 hours, as I recall. The key with all train trips is how they fit with daylight hours and then how they fit with daylight hours when they get behind schedule, which is not a rare thing. So it is good to have a plan, but it is somewhat likely that you will have to adjust that plan.

SLO is a good starting place. Even though the train is called the Coast Starlight, it doesn't spend a lot of miles really close to the coast, so you have to keep your eyes open. Looks like in the current schedule, it leaves around 3:30 and gets to San Francisco (actually Oakland, I think) just before dark. Morning comes somewhere around Klamath Falls, and arrival in Seattle is around 8:00 in the evening. So you get most of western Oregon and western Washington in the daylight, including the Tacoma Nrrows Bridge ("Galloping Gertie.")

The Sunset Limited leaves New Orleans at 9:00 AM, gets to Houston a little after 6:00, and to San Antonio around midnight. There is a mid-trip inspection & service there, and it departs just before 3:00 AM. Daylight comes somewhere around Del Rio, and it gets dark near Maricopa, Arizona, which is the Phoenix stop. (The train no longer serves Phoenix directly.) Arrival at LAUPT is about 5:30 AM, but in the past, you were allowed to stay on board a little later. The San Diegans depart from the same station where the Sunset arrives. I have to tell you that except for Port Arthur - San Antonio, you will not be crossing a particularly picturesque portion of our state. You will be between and among a lot of our best attractions, but they will be 100-200 miles away.

I hope you enjoy your trip. I'd like to do the same someday. Let us know how it goes. I have always found travel by train to be very comfortable and relaxing. Space is not unlimited, but it is also not at a premium, like on an airplane. If you don't decide to buy something new, you will have plenty of space to comfortably use what you have. Also...please take a picture of the tree at the SLO depot and post it for us. It is a very cool tree. (Is it still there? It was about 25 years ago that I last saw it, and I couldn't find it on Google Earth.)

Neither of these two train are daily trains. They run three days a week in each direction. So a layover is for a minimum of two days and could be for three days.

anotherview Loc: California

Ditto: "Just my opinion...I would keep it simple with the 6D and the 24-105."