zug55 Loc: Naivasha, Kenya, and Austin, Texas

We still don't know for sure whether the OP shoots full-frame or APS-C--this is a critical piece of information. Like others, I suspect that it is APS-C.

I am a travel photographer and have shot in many big cities--most recently in Nairobi, NYC, Dublin, Porto, and Berlin. I shoot Sony full-frame. My standard travel kit are the Sony 24-105mm and the Zeiss Batis 18mm. That covers it pretty much for me.

I used to shoot with a Nikon D7100 (APS-C). I primarily shot with an 18-140mm lens but did not find 18mm (27mm full-frame equivalent) wide enough. So I added at 10-20 wide angle zoom to my travel kit.

I agree with others that the telephoto range i not very useful for a trip like this. Wide-angle is.

RolandDieter

With crop sensor you definitely need at least 18 on the wide end and I'd also get something that goes wider. The 50 will be redundant in focal length, so I'd leave it home. When you cruise and go into ports you will most likely be moved along quite quickly and not have time to fiddle with many lens changes. You will use the 18-135 almost all of the time, and, if you get one, a wider lens some of the time.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

From my experience in Rome, you need a zoom such as a 24-105 or 120 (FF) plus a fast wide prime for building interiors. If I were to go back now (and considering it), I’d leave my large (heavy) FF at home and take my Fuji crop body with the 16-80 f4 plus my 23 f2

Robeng Loc: California

Been to Italy a couple of times. Both time I used a 28mm-300mm lens.

whatdat Loc: Del Valle, Tx.

When I travel I take an 18-140 & a 18-300. Each on a different camera. 18-140 on my d5500makes for a lightweight package. 18-300 on my d7500 is considerably heavier but gets me a good reach. Just my thoughts.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Curious why 2 bodies.
Sounds like extra weight, space and cumbersome to carry.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

The 18-135mm will be your general purpose "walk around" lens.

That lens tells me you are using an APS-C "crop sensor" camera, which is an important consideration. Looking at your earlier posts, I confirmed this and see you're using a Canon Rebel T7i. On it that 18-135mm will be moderately wide to fairly powerful telephoto and everything in between. I assume it is either the EF-S 18-135mm STM or USM, which are both optically good (the same, in fact). The main difference being that the USM lens is quite a bit faster focusing, but that may only be important if shooting sports or wildlife action.

If you will be traveling with other people you wish to photograph or simply enjoy photographing the "locals", you may want a portrait lens. I assume what you've got is the budget Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM... affordable, compact and light weight... which on APS-C is ideal for portraiture as a short telephoto with a relatively large aperture (to blur down backgrounds, when wanted). It might also come in handy for low light shooting, assuming a short tele is appropriate.

A very small, light, and very inexpensive lens that might complement the 50mm is the Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM "Pancake". That would give you a moderate wide with a reasonably large aperture for low light, group shots, "environmental" portraits, etc.

And, if it were me, I'd definitely want a wider lens for scenic shots, cityscapes, architecture exteriors and interiors. I carry a Canon EF-S 10-22mm for that purpose. But if you are interested in these types of shots too... compact and lightweight for travel, plus low cost... there is the newer Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM.

Those FOUR lenses... EF-S 10-18mm, EF-S 18-135mm, EF-S 24mm f/2.8 and EF 50mm f/1.8 STM... weigh less than 2.5 lb. That's a full pound LESS than either the EF 28-300mm or an EF 70-200mm f/2.8!

Accessories I ALWAYS take:
- Extra batteries, charger, extra memory cards and means of backup.
- Matched lens hood for all lenses. (They reverse on the lens for easy storage. Be careful, they are very lens-specific. For example, Canon 18-135mm STM and USM use two different hoods).
- Accessory flash. The one built into the camera really sucks. There are small, compact flashes like Canon 270EX that are much better.
- A high quality circular polarizing filter. In this case, 67mm size would fit both the 18-135mm and 10-18mm... the lenses where it would most likely be wanted.
- I carry quality UV filters to "protect" my lenses, but only install them when actually needed. However, the lenses here in some cases cost about the same as the filter, so why bother?
- Macro extension tubes, which can be used with any lens to make it closer focusing, weight little and don't take up much space. I use Kenko and Canon. There are others that cost less which are fine, so long as they have the electronic contacts. Avoid the extremely cheap without electronic contacts, difficult to use with modern lenses like yours.
- Minimal lens and sensor cleaning supplies: swabs, lens/sensor pens, micro fiber cloths.
- Plastic bag(s) and cheap plastic poncho (in case of rain).
- Small, unobtrusive bag to hold it all. I prefer something that doesn't look like a camera bag. Must meet airline carry-on rules. Never check camera gear. Always carry on.

Leave the 70-200 and 28-300 at home.

Geez... there are a billion things to photograph in London and Rome... so take plenty of batteries and memory cards! And maybe get some sort of cloud service where you can upload your images, both as security for your images as well as to be able to clear memory cards for re-use. But SD memory cards are cheap... so might want to just take a handful of them and leave images on them, as well as back them up to "the cloud". Personally I choose to use moderately small cards (around 32GB) and more of them, rather than one or two gigantic cards. That way if any single card is lost or fails, I haven't lost everything.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Sure we do. We know they shoot APS-C because they have an 18-135mm lens. Those are only made for APS-C.

It's also easy to confirm, simply by looking at their previous posts. In one they mention the camera they use, plus they have posted some images where the EXIF data reveals what they shot with.

Of course, it would be nice if people just provided this info when asking for advice. But there are easy work arounds when they don't.



And you use full frame cameras....

The original poster is using an APS-C camera, where their 18-135mm is much more appropriate.

stan0301 Loc: Colorado

For Rome you will find that wide is more useful than long

Bill Emmett Loc: Bow, New Hampshire

My wife and I took a Med cruise a few years back. It stopped in Rome, Athens, Croatia, and ended in Venice. The stop in Rome was the most stressful. The bus dropped us near the Trevi Fountain, from there the guide walked us to several churches and squares in Rome. It was up or down hills and long time on foot. So pack your lightest lenses. The fountain area is well lite and in the open, good lighting. You may want to short zoom for the buildings along the walk. The coliseum will be outdoor, and inside dark hallways. If you go to Olympia, in the Greek Isls, it is all outdoors, and open spaces. If you go to Venice, keep your location in mind, don't back up to far to get that shot, you may back up into a canal. Enjoy your trip.

neillaubenthal

As others have noted…looks like you're shooting crop sensor so I would take the 18-135, the 50 if it was a fast lens and you want to do street or night street photography, and I would probably look for something wider for architecture. I would also probably take either the fast 50 or the wider one if street and/or architecture wasn't a priority for you to minimize gear weight.

dick ranez

Travel light! the 18-135 and a cell phone will be anything you really need. More important than lenses are batteries, charger, data cards, the ability to back up daily and a sense of humor. If you have to add a lens, consider the canon 10-18, it's relatively cheap $, gives you a wide, wide angle and is light and reasonably small enough to fit in a jacket pocket.

charles brown Loc: Tennesse

Been told by people who been there several times you will use wide angle lenses most of the time. Very seldom, if ever, will you need telephoto. Low light will be an important issue. Fast lens preferrable to telephoto.

sfarch

While in Rome I used my Canon 7D and an 18-200 lens- mostly for the Coliseum and the Vatican - a little heavy but worked well for the mixed locations