Travelling light - Epson RD-1 and Olympus

I have far too much equipment... doesn't everyone who is more than keen on photography? And all too expensive.
The big problem, though, is what to take on a short trip to somewhere such as Venice (a short trip that is if you happen to live near Gatwick Airport like me). I like to travel very light, usually one bag as carry-on luggage, which is a challenge.

GO DIGITAL
Rangefinders, such as the Leica M6, with a selection of sharp lenses are ideal travel cameras, if you have the money, but film can be restrictive. Don't get me wrong, I love a good sharp slide film, such as Fuji's fantastic Provia 100F, but digital is more versatile and, quite frankly, easier and cheaper to handle. Digital v Film? Sorry no arguments here - I use both, I love both and each has its place in the world.

BIG, BIG FILES
For my Venice trip I decided to take the brilliant Epson RD-1 (a digital Leica M mount rangefinder), 28mm, 50mm and 90mm Leica lenses plus the 28-35-90 tri-elmar. OK, the Epson (right) is only 6 megapixels, but the files are so good that I've extracted images of up to 80mb! Yes, I shoot in RAW and convert to Tiff using photoshop CS2 and Epson's own raw software.

SORRY LEICA LOT
Now I'm going to really annoy the Leica crowd... I left my Leica M6 at home and took the Konica Hexar M- mount film camera with a couple of rolls of Provia 100F for those moments when I felt a bit nostalgic and wanted more tone in the picture. Also stuffed in the bag was an Olympus 500 digital SLR (8 megapixels) and one lightweight zoom lens (36 to 360 mm at 35mm equiv.) for the long shots. This is a nice, compact alternative to my Canon equipment, which would require a separate airplane!

DINKY SNAPPER
Mustn't forget the tiny Leica D-lux 2 (right) that's always in my pocket. You never know what you'll spot.

WHERE'S MY SHIRT?
Oh, there's just enough room in my luggage for a few clothes...