Peter,
My family and I did a "Best of Italy and Greece" tour last summer. I posed
similar questions to the list back last spring and got lots of great advice.
Here's what we finally took:
12 year old son - Stylus Epic
21 year old daughter - OM-2S, used 35mm f2.0 & 35-70 f3.5 zoom
Myself - OM-4, used 50mm 1.2, 35-105 f3.5 zoom
Absolutely you need a fast lens for churches & museums since you can't use a
flash. That was when I would slip on the 1.2. The rest of the time I used
the 35-105. I also took a 24mm f2.8 which was used for 5 or less shots (out
of over a thousand) and a 70-210 Tokina which wasn't used at all. The 35mm
f2 did fine for inside photography also, but my daughter enjoyed the small
zoom so much that after the first couple of days, that's all she used.
(Needless to say her subsequent inside photos generally didn't cut it.)
I would advise you to take some kind of Point & Shoot with a flash (or a
small flash for your Olympus or Leica). My son could use his flash in
Pompeii. His pictures taken inside the houses were far superior. He was
also able to use it in the evenings at outdoor activities, so (for instance)
his shot of a quartet playing one evening in St. Mark's Square was a keeper.
As far as film goes, we took 100 (Reala), 400 (Supra), and 800 (Fuji Press).
I took along a 2nd OM-4 and planned to keep different speed films in the two
bodies, but that fell apart when I (unknowingly at the time) lost my just
purchased 2-13 focusing screen while standing in line to enter the Vatican.
If I were only taking one speed, I personally would go with the 400 speed
Supra because of the number of shots I took in churches and museums (which
will guarantee you being over f4 with your Zuikos outdoors, that's for
sure).
For us, Rome was the most dangerous in terms of theft. We were on an
organized tour and had been well warned about pickpockets. The city buses
in Rome were where you had to really watch it. The Tour Director and local
guide intercepted a pick pocket while we were on one. Most of the
pickpockets are young as they avoid jail time. One group member lost her
billfold in Assisi, but this probably wasn't from a pickpocket (but no one
knew for sure). (Sorry about the indentation. Can't seem to get it to go
away here.)
Enjoy your trip!
Mike Williamson
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