I just got back from about three weeks in Poland, and I have to admit my opinions have changed quite a bit! As a bit of context, I have a Manfrotto Street CSC waist bag (don't know the rule about product links, so please google if you want to see it). For a guy with back and knee problems it's a good size. For grins, I brought the E-M1.2 with the 12-40mm f/2.8, the 40-150mm f/2.8, the 45/f1.8 and a couple Laowas. I also brought a tripod, thinking I'd need it for the beast (also for 360s).
So first surprise -- even after three weeks, I didn't have any particular problems with the weight of the beast - neither in the bag, nor hand-held (the trip overall was a different story - lot of walking!). I actually found the tripod collar useful for steadying everything. It is quite a bit larger than the 40-150mm/f4, but the end result of it - with the f/4 I can include the camera in the bag, with the f/2.8, it goes in the bag, and I wear the camera. Not a huge difference.
The extra reach of the lens with the MC-20 is noticeable. For that reason alone, I'll probably bring it along when I think birding will be a focus.
The second surprise -- the tripod on the other hand was quite a strain and I ended leaving it at the hotel most of the trip. I attached it to the bottom of the bag, at first, but between the weight dragging on the whole bag, and how effective the f/2.8 is handheld, it just wasn't necessary.
Now that said - I think the reason I developed my initial impressions was at the time, I was using the stock camera strap that came with the camera, and that is quite a bit of weight on the neck. I now use a - I guess harness for lack of a better word - that distributes weight quite a bit better.
So, that's that. I no longer will say that the f/2.8 isn't useful for travel - I made it work on the most demanding travel I've had lately. I really, really, really like the fact that the f/4 uses the same filter size as the 12-40mm f/2.8. For that reason, the f/4 might continue to be my go-to travel lens, but I'm still delighted with how well the f/2.8 did.
Here's a bird shot with the beast - hand-held
(And my OM-1 just came in so even better soon!)
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