TBMD

Inquiring minds wanted to know (hi Yesenia and Anon!) what I packed for my 2.5 week European spring vacation, so maybe others would find this helpful as well.

What I had in mind was to be practical and pack as efficiently as possible, while being somewhat-stylish.

1) I packed light because dragging our luggage in and around 4 different cities is not fun. We didn't rely on cabs because most of the hotels we stayed in were within walking distance/easily accessible from transportation hubs. I was able to fit everything into one carry-on sized suitcase (rolled items to reduce wrinkles and save space) and a Longchamp Le Pliage large tote. I also stored a folded tote in one of the pocket compartments of my suitcase, just in case I needed extra storage on my return flight home. My one suitcase worked out for the best because we often had to go up and down flights of stairs (no elevators/escalators around.)

2) To dress appropriately for the weather. I learned my lesson the last time I went to Japan in December and had only packed a leather jacket and a sweatshirt as the heaviest layers (face palms.) From my research, I was prepared for colder weather in England and France, but warmer weather in Italy. Expected May temperatures ranged from 55-80 degrees Fahrenheit across those three countries. There was also a high probability for rainy days.

- Cold weather days: sweaters, sweatshirt, long-sleeve tops, jeans, scarf. I avoided packing duplicate items in the same colors (ie: didn't pack two pairs of blue jeans), figuring I wouldn't have a problem re-wearing items.

- Warm weather days: t-shirts, shorts, skirt, dress, flip-flops. As much as I love light-colored bottoms, I knew it would be hard for me to keep them clean for a long duration, so I stuck to dark colors. One pair of shorts and one skirt ended up being sufficient. I packed three t-shirts because they're great layering pieces under long-sleeves or would work as standalone tops on warmer days.

- Rainy days: small-sized umbrella, water-resistant jacket with a hood. I chose a lightweight jacket because I didn't mind layering sweaters and long-sleeves underneath for extra warmth. The thin jacket could also be easily rolled up and tucked away in my tote when I don't need it. The most important thing for me was choosing a jacket with a hood because I don't like getting my hair wet.

Of the 24 items* I packed, I ended up wearing every single piece at least once; many I wore several times by either repeating outfits or by slightly changing an item here or there. The key was to pick basics from a color scheme that are easy to layer and mix-and-match. Along with "neutrals" (denim, white, gray, black), I stuck to variations of reds/yellows/blues -- any combination of the three are colors I could create outfits around.

I've been toying with upgrading my little point-and-shoot for awhile now. DSLRs seemed like the next logical step because point-and-shoots just aren't equipped to take those cool blurry background type of pictures. So what was holding me back from taking the plunge? The daunting task of learning all the manual controls and photography lingo while lugging around a heavy camera.

Enter mirrorless cameras. If a point-and-shoot and DSLR ever made a baby, this neat little gadget would be it, with a combination of traits from both parents. The selling points for me were:
- Size: The body is bigger than a point-and shoot, but still much smaller than a DSLR, which allows me to continue carrying a camera with me everywhere I go.
- Picture quality: The ability to use interchangeable lenses allows for DSLR-type pictures, but I suppose this depends on the lens quality.
- Ease of use: There are automatic settings like point-and-shoots but also manual ones like DSLRs (for when I stop being a scaredy-cat).

After I've determined that mirrorless cameras have what I'm looking for, the next step is to find the exact one that best suits my needs. There are currently five brands on the market, but I found this article to be the most comprehensive at the time of publication (excludes the new Nikon). If you only have a few minutes, this article gave a nice summary.

In the end, I decided to go with the Sony Alpha NEX-3. The picture and lens quality is supposedly among the best in its class. The user interface is better suited for people upgrading from a point-and-shoot (like myself), as opposed to downgrading from DSLRs. The tradeoff I did make was the camera size. Sony has the smallest body but with the stock lens attached (biggest of all the brands), it's hard to pass for a compact camera.

I've been having so much fun playing with my new toy the last few days. Learning the camera setup hasn't been too difficult. The automatic setting "dumbs" things down for me nicely ("bkground defocus"?!), cool features like the sweep panoramic mode, but most of all, the picture quality is crisper than my point-and-shoot (with my skills, it's hard to tell unless I put photos side-by-side, lol).

Two goals for me in the near future are:
1) Figure out how to use the self-timer properly to focus. It's all fun and games when I'm behind the camera, but frustrating when the self-timer is set. If I had known how troublesome it is to take self-portraits, I would've paid more for the NEX-5, which at least could be used with a remote.
2) Slowly learn the manual controls and push the limits of what this camera is capable of. For now, outfit pictures using the automatic setting on a self-timer with wayward focus: