Peter
I have holidayed in N. Italy (Lake Garda primarily, but with a
visit to Venice) three times in the last five years and included
photography in quite a few churches - my wife is particularly interested in
the marble and other materials. For church visits I would certainly
recommend having a flash available and comment that many of the smaller
churches in out of the way places tend to be empty of other visitors so
that flash is not unneighbourly.
In view of our geology interests I carry an extension tube as I
have no macro lenses, and would also recommend something longer than 100mm
for some landscapes - I use a 75-150 mm F4 for the purpose although I think
its quality will not compare with your 100mm or 85mm lenses. On such trips
I now carry an OM2SP and an OM10 - (the latter failed during my first trip
to Italy when I was not carrying a backup) plus 28f2.8 and 50mmF1.4.
Since Olympus gear is so compact I actually use a large (male
style) leather shoulder bag (bought in Italy on my last trip!) to carry it
around as it may look relatively attractive but does not scream
'camera'. Only problem with this bag is that it has to be put under a coat
if the weather is really wet. The bag I used previously was a leathercloth
shoulder bag which was getting pretty worn but is still serviceable and is
used to store other equipment at home in the UK.
I do not think worries about having bags etc snatched were worse
than in other countries, particularly in heavily built up areas, but past
experience has made me wary of being shortchanged when buying things and I
feel it is more essential than usual to check restaurant/hotel bills. In
particular, it takes some getting used to having most things priced in
thousands - at least until they issue euros - the numbers on the bank notes
are big with 3000 lira being worth about 1 UKP.
Enjoy your trip, I hope to go again.
Brian
UK
brian.gray@xxxxxxxxxxx
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