Each trip I have taken I have reduced the size and weight.
We currently have two carry on size ricardo wheled suitcases.
We use to carry each a small backpack carry on as well.

I am revisiting this for the next trip. We will be doing both flying and train when in Europe.

One of the main issues is the technology gear. Ussually my carry on is full of my macbook pro, and my camera gear and gadgets. I have a backpack that fits the lapttop, the gear, all travel documents and photocopys from the books (never take the books it is too much), and room for an extra pair of shoes.

In my partners carry on we ussually put a mix of clothes for both of us so if someting gets lost we have stuff to manage with.

Then we check the two smaller bags.

This trip I am thinking of alternatives....
I am nto sure how I can reduce my travel carry on even if I only take one or two lenses on the trip it pretty much is my carry on.

So was thinking about my partner taking a carry on and then maybe we just check on suitcase and doing away with the fourth bag.

I just wonder if we would have enough room for everything?
Each trip we seem to pack ligghter and lighter.....

I am also open to getting a new bag if this is teh best option.

And for buying things I am thinking the best thing is if we do it to just ship the stuff home...

Hi Shane, I'm sure others will jump on this too, but I have a similar problem as I make the shift to all carry-on luggage. But on most flights (I know Europe can be stickier, so it depends on the airline), remember that you are allowed 2 carry-on items. My husband is the photographer, so he carries cameras, lenses etc in a "personal item" sized bag, and I carry my laptop, accessories and books in another briefcase-like personal bag. Then we each have one larger carry-on bag with our clothes, etc. It's not super-light travel, but I'm hoping it will work for us; certainly better than checking anything!

Do as Rosie says. The method is simple, logical and do-able. Leave some gadgets at home. Choose your lenses wisely. If it's a city tour a tele longer than 200mm is really not required. Wide is more important. Think about getting a simple lens tube package that you can put in a jacket pocket. Look at scottevest.

Are you traveling with a 17 incher? How about getting a netbook. Just dump your photos on there and do the processing at home.

good points....I am thinking of my canon 30d with probably one lens maybe the 24-105. I also have my 17-85 but thinking think the other is a better all purpose lens for travel.
ok cut down to one lens.....this would then enable me to fit it in a small camera bag that would work as my personal item and then I could get away with my carry on as a carry on.....my partners carry on and then perhaps a small personal item.
I really would like to travel this time around without checking any bagage.

I have to check the requirements of some of the airlines in Europe as I think we will be flying with Air Canada, BMI and easy jet. Easy jet could be the problem tho.

so then the question is if my current bags are good enough or should I be looking at something new for the trip such as something from red oxx or the others mentioned on here.

What kind of places are you going to visit? The 30D has a magnification factor or 1.5 or 1.6, no? I'd rather do the 17-85. Having the equivalent of a 24mm in architectural situations and landscape photography is much better than the equivalent of 36 or 38mm lens. Among a ton of DSLR and vintage gear, I have a Canon G9. Had the G10 been available then I would have gotten it instead because of its wider lens. The 17-85 might also be the lighter lens.

As for the optimal camera/gadget/day bag for these situations, this experienced luggage nerds recommends a model he owns: The Tenba Prodigital Messenger Satchel.
See here:http://www.ebags.com/tenba/prodigital_2_0_messenger_small/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=104336

Watch the video (link under product picture). It is an excellent and informative video. The only things he doesn't tell you are that the top zip is also great because you can access the bag while it hangs on your shoulder and with one hand, i.e. without opening the flap. That's the real reason it's there, not for being discreet. The second thing is that the shoulder strap is really very comfortable.

What he could have said is that there are really so many pockets and compartments, though the bag is not bulky at all, that you really have to make an effort to be systematic in your packing or else you easily forget what is where.

The small version is totally sufficient for a 15" laptop. If both of you had this bag, you'd be well set for all eventualities. I have also used it as an overnight bag for casual travel before. Works just great.

Easyjet allows strictly only one carry-on piece. But they are quite generous in terms of maximum checked baggage weight and there is no weight restriction on the carry-on, only a size restriction.
http://www.easyjet.com/EN/Planning/baggage.html

The question is rather which type of "big" bag you will use now that the day/photo bag question is addressed. Will you go shoulder, rolling or backpack convertible? Will you stay under max size or not? As much as I like shoulder bags, these things can get heavy and unpractical if you have two of them to haul. So, I'd go max size (it's three weeks after all) roller or backpack. We recently had a discussion about the ebags weekender as an entry level bag in that category. Also Rick Steves has an offering, as well as MEI, Tom Bihn and Patagonia MLC to name just a few.

For rollers, I really love my Travelpro Plat5 (see full review on this site). For casual travel there might be lighter options though that will be more suitable. Perhaps Eagle Creek. On the more cost effective side you'd have Costco Kirkland bags that are produced by Pathfinder/paragon. Or a simple Samsonite or Delsey. Just watch the weight on those. You want to be under 10 lbs.

I also second Brad's suggestion of a 18-200 travel zoom. There is a reason it has acquired this nick name. I don't own one, either, I admit. But I have so far been a rather categorical travel photographer. Either I travel to shoot, in which case I take a lot of equipment including tripod, or I shoot while traveling, in which case I put the G9 in my coat pocket. ;)

Ya I just checked that with easy jet so regardless on some portion of the trip I am going to have to check baggage there will be no way around it...

We are doing family in Manchester, then the rest of this trip will be spent in Paris, Venice and London.

I don't know why I never considereed the 18-200. I thought it was suppose to be a so so lens but I think I am going to revist that.

as for the the luggage my ricardo 21 inch is pretty good but I worry that it is pretty heavy and am thinking of something much more lightweight but if we are checking it there as not as much worry but one two portions of the trip we will be changing planes when flying with aircanada and also bmi (those will alow a carry on and a personal item) so to reduce the chance of lost luggage I still might aim for carry on accept for the one easy jet flight.

So I am looking at all the various mentions here. maybe ever the RS bag as it is a very good price. There are so many options out there. I will have to research them more first.

A lot of focus for 1 bag travel seems to be in carrying lightweight clothes and bags. But if you're a gearhead like me, you can also apply the lightweigth approach to your gadgets.

SLR: Nikon D40 - small and light for an SLR, only 6MP but excellent ISO performance due to that
Lenses: Nikon 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 VR DX - compact travel zoom, VR stabilization is needed for the long end and the wide end (~28mm equiv.) suits my shooting style (landscape & architecture). Sigma 30mm f1.4 EX HSM - my fast normal lens (~45mm equiv.) for night shots and general street photography
Laptop: Everun Note - the smallest laptop (7" 1024x600 touchscreen) with a dual core processor (AMD 1.2ghz Turion64x2) that'll do image processing decently.

I recently bought a Panasonic Lumix LX3 point and shoot. It has fast optics (f2.0-2.8) for a compact camera and its range (24-60mm equiv.) is well suited to my style. I'm going to take this along with my SLR on my next trip, to see if the image quality hit is okay for when I want to travel lighter with only the compact.