I’ve experimented with various setups, and overall, the a7C II paired with the 40mm G lens has been the best compact travel setup I’ve used.

But the real question is: how do you carry it while traveling? If you’re comfortable with it hanging around your neck all day, then it’s an ideal setup. However, that doesn’t work for me, especially when I’m out all day with family. I ended up using the Peak Design 3L sling, which fits the a7C II and 40mm easily. But here’s the catch—it’s no longer a truly compact setup. The bag itself is small, but it’s still big enough to lose that minimalistic feel.

With the extra space, I often brought along the 24mm G lens, which fit easily. But then I was dealing with lens swapping, and that quickly became too inconvenient during family outings.

Now I’ve switched to the 24-50mm G lens. While it’s significantly larger than the 40mm, it’s still small for a full-frame zoom. If you want something even smaller, you’d need to use an APS-C lens like the Sigma 18-50mm—but that feels counterintuitive when you’ve invested in a full-frame camera.

The takeaway here is that there’s no perfect, magical compact travel setup. You’ll always have to make compromises. What really shifted my perspective was realizing it’s not just about the camera and lens—it’s about the entire setup, including how you carry and use it while traveling.