Lake Como RX100 VII

Crossed the Splügen Pass from Vorarlberg into Italy. Full summer heat wave when we reached the lake. The Italian side of the pass is tight, unlit, and the camera came out at the first viewpoint. After that, the water.

The Pass

The Swiss side of the Splügen is a proper road. Wide serpentines, consistent tarmac, views that open above the treeline once you're high enough. The border is at the summit. That's where the character changes.

The Italian descent drops into a gorge with 300-meter walls and sections barely one car wide. The tunnels are unlit. Oncoming traffic picks its own line through the hairpins. There are five or six serious bends before the valley opens up toward Chiavenna, and each one demands more attention than the last.

The RX100 came out at the first clear viewpoint. You can see the road you just came down stacked below you in three tiers. Hard to miss that shot.

The Lake

Lake Como is a specific shade of blue-green. It changes by the hour and by the angle. In a summer heat wave with the sun overhead, the water surface reflects everything back and the 1-inch sensor in the RX100 handles it without blowing highlights. I wasn't sure it would.

The 24–200mm range earns its place here. Wide for the water and mountains together. At the long end, villages on the opposite shore compress into something that looks painted. You pull the camera out constantly — on the ferry, in the middle of a street, from a moving boat. A small camera lets you shoot like that. A bigger one stays in the bag.

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The Ferry

The car ferry is how you actually see the central lake. Three towns form the main route: Menaggio on the west shore, Bellagio on the peninsula, Varenna on the east. Runs every 20–30 minutes during summer, roughly 6am to 10:30pm. Central area day pass: around 15–17 euros for unlimited hops.

My family drove in from their direction and found parking in Bellagio. Once you have a spot, get a day pass for the ferry and forget about the car. Three towns, one ticket, no hunting for parking at every stop. The ferry is also a moving photography platform. The mountains behind Varenna read best from the water.

Bellagio is busy in summer and worth it anyway. Narrow cobbled streets up from the dock, boats lined up on the water, every kind of tourist alongside people who have been coming here for thirty years. Varenna is quieter. The waterfront opens up and Osteria Quattro Pass is there, which is reason enough to cross.

Where We Stayed

Two places, completely different scale. The Edition is a restored 19th-century palazzo in Cadenabbia, directly across from Bellagio's peninsula. Pool on the lake. Mauro Colagreco runs the kitchen. Entry rooms start above 700 euros in shoulder season and go up from there. The location earns most of it.

Casa Marlene is a B&B. No floating pool. The breakfast is made properly and the owner knows the lake well. A better base if you want to actually feel like you're somewhere rather than visiting it.

Where to Eat

The Gear

The RX100 VII fits in a jacket pocket and still reaches 200mm equivalent. On a trip where you're moving by ferry, walking village streets, and stopping at viewpoints on the lake road, that matters more than it sounds. A bigger camera works but you carry it differently and shoot less often.

The summer light on the water is relentless. Midday sun on the lake, everything overexposed if you're not paying attention. The variable ND handles it without pushing ISO into noise. The MagFilter adapter means filter swaps take seconds, which matters when you're moving constantly and the camera lives in your pocket between shots.