snaimpally
New Member
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2025
- Messages
- 27
I recently went on a tour of Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia, and Slovenia and took a small travel kit: Lumix S9, Lumix 18-40, Lumix 28-200, and the TTArtisan 40mm f2. All of this fit in a CosySpeed Camslinger waist pouch. In the past, I took a micro four thirds (MFT) kit based around the Lumix GM1 so this was my first time taking the S9 and I wanted to share my impressions.
The 18-40 ended up being my workhorse lens. (I bought it as a refurb from Amazon.) Most of the time, when on vacation, I am looking to get a fairly wide view, and the 18-40 was perfect for this. In addition, the hybrid zoom feature was good enough that I didn't need the 28-200. In fact, a few days into the tour, I pulled the 28-200 out of the waist pouch (and put it in my suitcase) to make it lighter. One thing I REALLY wanted was an auto open/close lens hood, similar to the one that JJC makes for the Lumix 12-32mm. Just twist the lens to open it up and the three parts of the lens hood opens up like the petals of a flower. I emailed JJC and asked them to make one for the 18-40mm.
I did use the 40mm a few times, but to avoid swappng lenses, I often just changed the ISO from "auto" to "6400" to allow me to continue to use the 18-40. Thus, I could probably get away with bringing just the 18-40 lens.
On bright days I did wish for an electronic viewfinder, but I am used to not having one because the GM1 doesn't have a viewfinder either.
I strongly recommend the S9 + 18-40. Great combo when going on vacation.
The 18-40 ended up being my workhorse lens. (I bought it as a refurb from Amazon.) Most of the time, when on vacation, I am looking to get a fairly wide view, and the 18-40 was perfect for this. In addition, the hybrid zoom feature was good enough that I didn't need the 28-200. In fact, a few days into the tour, I pulled the 28-200 out of the waist pouch (and put it in my suitcase) to make it lighter. One thing I REALLY wanted was an auto open/close lens hood, similar to the one that JJC makes for the Lumix 12-32mm. Just twist the lens to open it up and the three parts of the lens hood opens up like the petals of a flower. I emailed JJC and asked them to make one for the 18-40mm.
I did use the 40mm a few times, but to avoid swappng lenses, I often just changed the ISO from "auto" to "6400" to allow me to continue to use the 18-40. Thus, I could probably get away with bringing just the 18-40 lens.
On bright days I did wish for an electronic viewfinder, but I am used to not having one because the GM1 doesn't have a viewfinder either.
I strongly recommend the S9 + 18-40. Great combo when going on vacation.