Camera for Travel: carry it small instead of a 70–200

I would buy the Z5 II today and put the short 28mm on it. The body weighs about 700 grams, and the lens is short enough that the camera stays a camera and does not become a tube. The 50mm f/1.8 sits beside it, for a face or for the evening. That is how I walk the day with the older Z6 II. The Z5 II is simply the body I would rebuild the same idea with in 2026, without paying extra for a lot of video.

Two other trips make just as much sense to me. The RX100 VII, when you sometimes have to pull in something far away and otherwise want nothing on your body. About 300 grams, the zoom is already in it. The X100VI, when you can live the whole holiday on one focal length and do not want anything beside it. Viewfinder, steadiness in the body, about 520 grams. The photo above shows a Z5 II with the zoom from the box. That is not the lens I would put on for the trip. Off with it, 28mm on.

Buy

Z5 II, RX100 VII and X100VI

The Z5 II together with the 28mm, when the bag should stay small and you still want the large sensor. The RX100 VII, when the built-in zoom should replace a heavy 70–200. The X100VI, when one camera and one focal length are the whole trip. The two Nikon lenses sit under the drawing. What they cost today is in the shop.

Vergleich	Nikon Nikon Z5 II (body)	Sony Sony RX100 VII	Fujifilm Fujifilm X100VI
Bild
Empfehlung	Travel kit	Pocket zoom	One lens
Sensor	Full frame, about 24 MP	about 300 g	about 520 g
ISO-Bereich	in the body	built-in zoom	fixed
Autofokus	two	smaller than full frame	in the body
Detail	about 700 g
Stärken	+Small once the 28mm is on +Two cards +The 50mm can sit beside it	+Actually comes with you +Reaches what is far away	+Nothing to swap +Viewfinder and stabilisation
Schwächen	−A long zoom cancels the point −No dedicated long review yet	−The small sensor shows in the evening	−No 50mm for the evening, no zoom for a stage
Geeignet für	Travel days with a short lens on and one prime beside it.	Trips where you sometimes need reach and otherwise want to feel nothing.	A whole trip on one focal length.
Wo kaufen	Amazon→	Amazon→	Amazon→

A bright 70–200 is a tool for things you cannot walk up to. A stage, sport, an animal that stays away. It often weighs between one and one and a half kilos, and it is long enough that the bag has to be built around it. On a trip you carry that weight from breakfast to the last bus. Most pictures you make along the way are closer than 70mm: the street, the table, the person next to you, the facade you are standing in front of.

The zoom then stays in the pocket, because getting it out costs the moment and your shoulder is already busy. You hauled it so you would have it, and you end up shooting with the short lens that was on anyway. That is not a character flaw. That is physics and a full day. If you know you need something far away, a small camera with a zoom is the lighter answer. If you do not know, leave the 70–200 at home. The pictures you miss because the big camera is in the room are the expensive ones.

28mm on full frame is wide without being a fisheye. You see the square and the person in it. You do not have to cross the street to get a house in the frame. For a single face it is often too wide. Then the 50mm comes out. It is tighter, the f/1.8 opens further, the background goes softer, and more is left in the evening. Two primes, no ring to turn. You decide with your feet and with a swap that, in a small bag, is one movement of the hand.

Nikon's 28mm f/2.8 is short. The camera stays a camera and does not become a tube. The 50mm f/1.8 S is bigger, but it is still a prime and it lies next to the body, not in its own backpack pocket. On the Z6 II that is my normal set. On the Z5 II you build the same thing. If you film a lot and want the newer hybrid body, read the Nikon Z6 III review. For photos on a trip you often do not need the extra money.

On the body

Nikon

Nikon Z 28mm f/2.8

The short lens that keeps the camera a camera

A prime, not a zoom. 28mm on full frame shows the street, the square and the room without you stepping across the road. The lens is short. On a Z6 II or Z5 II the camera stays a camera. The picture is a symbol, not a manufacturer photo.

Was überzeugt

• +Short enough for a small bag
• +Wide without being a fisheye

Was Du wissen solltest

• −Often too wide for a single face

Editor's Statement

“On the camera while you walk”

Verfügbar bei

Amazon→

Beside it

Nikon

Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S

The lens that comes out when the street becomes a face

50mm is tighter than 28mm. A person, a detail, dinner. The aperture opens wide, the background goes softer, and in low light you have more room than with the 28mm. It is not a pancake, but it stays a prime. On my Z6 II it sits beside the camera, not in a second backpack pocket.

Was überzeugt

• +Softer background
• +More light in the evening

Was Du wissen solltest

• −Bigger than the 28mm

Editor's Statement

“Beside the camera, not on it all day”

Verfügbar bei

Amazon→

The drawing is the short form. Take the first line that sounds like your trip. The last question is not a new camera. It is the moment the same camera suddenly needs a bigger bag.

Nikon Z5 II: full frame that fits a small bag

Full frame here means this: with the 50mm the background goes softer than on a small compact, and when the light gets thin you have more room. The sensor is the size of an old 35mm negative. The Z5 II weighs about 700 grams as a body, steadies shake in the body, and has two cards. In November 2026 the body often sat around €1,400 to €1,550 in Europe. The 28mm on top costs clearly less than a zoom. That is the set I would carry through the day. On the older Z6 II I already do.

Travel kit

Nikon

Nikon Z5 II (body)

The full-frame body I would buy in 2026 for a small travel kit

About 24 megapixels, stabilisation in the body, two cards, about 700 g empty. I shoot this idea on the older Z6 II: 28mm on, 50mm f/1.8 beside it. The Z5 II is the current body I would buy for that, without the video premium of the Z6 III. Product photos often show a kit zoom. For the trip, take the zoom off and put the 28mm on.

Was überzeugt

• +Small once the 28mm is on
• +Two cards
• +The 50mm can sit beside it

Was Du wissen solltest

• −A long zoom cancels the point
• −No dedicated long review yet

Editor's Statement

“Full frame that still fits a small bag”

Verfügbar bei

Amazon→

Sony RX100 VII: the zoom you do not haul

Once a day something is far away, and the rest of the time you want to feel nothing. Then a 70–200 is the expensive way to be unhappy. The RX100 VII pulls the subject in and weighs about 300 grams. The sensor is smaller. In the evening, and when you want a soft background, you notice that against the Nikon. In return the camera is in the jacket when you walk out the door, not in a pocket because it would be too long. The longer review is the Sony RX100 VII review.

Pocket zoom

Sony

Sony RX100 VII

The zoom you do not have to carry

A compact with a built-in zoom and about 300 g. You swap nothing. What is across the street, you pull in, without a kilo of glass around your neck. In low light and when you want a soft background it stays behind a full-frame camera with a 50mm. In return it is in the jacket when you leave, not in the hotel because it is too long.

Was überzeugt

• +Actually comes with you
• +Reaches what is far away

Was Du wissen solltest

• −The small sensor shows in the evening

Editor's Statement

“Reach, without a 70–200”

Verfügbar bei

Amazon→

Fujifilm X100VI: one focal length for the trip

Some people do not want to swap anything on a trip. The X100VI is built for them. One focal length, a viewfinder, steadiness in the body, about 520 grams. You step closer or you step back. The camera does not zoom. There is no 50mm for the evening and no zoom for the stage. There is also nothing you forget in the hotel, and no pocket you stuff until the bag becomes a backpack again. Expensive if you compare it with a compact. Cheap if you would otherwise have bought a body, two lenses and the big bag. More in the Fujifilm X100VI review.

One lens

Fujifilm

Fujifilm X100VI

One camera and one focal length for the whole trip

A fixed lens, a viewfinder, stabilisation in the body, about 520 g. You do not zoom. You step closer or you step back. The focal length sits, in feel, between a 28mm and a 50mm on full frame. Nothing to forget in the hotel, and no pocket you stuff until the bag is a backpack again.

Was überzeugt

• +Nothing to swap
• +Viewfinder and stabilisation

Was Du wissen solltest

• −No 50mm for the evening, no zoom for a stage

Editor's Statement

“When you do not want to swap”

Verfügbar bei

Amazon→

The Z with a 28mm and the 50mm beside it fits a six-litre sling. For me that is the WANDRD ROGUE 6L. A compact or the X100VI needs less. A backpack is only necessary once a laptop and clothes have to come, not because the camera needs it. The three small bags, and where the 50mm still fits, are in small camera bag. The big backpack, if the day becomes that kind of day, is in the camera backpack test. What else goes in the suitcase: photography travel packing list.