A trusty Leica owner, do you carry extra body or extra lens?

dovevadar

dovevadar

DoveVadar
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You have a camera known to withstand some knocking - A film Leica. Do you when going on a travel trip bring:

1. an extra body (if so, what will it be)?
2. whole set of different focus lenses?
 
Thanks for the thread! I'm actually facing that very question right now. I plan to take an MP + 50mm and a Contax T3 (for 35mm and, if necessary, flash). I'm curious to hear other opinions as well.
 
I haven't really traveled with my Leica gear yet, but I'll hopefully be asking myself this question within the coming year.

So far, I plan to carry:

0.72x MP
0.58x M6 TTL
50/1.4 Summilux pre-asph
35/2 Summicron ASPH
25/4 VC Color-Skopar

And possibly a 50/2.8 Elmar-M, for a "no-bag" pocketable option.
 
2 Leicas? why not a bessa or a hexar as spare?

2 leicas will really draw some attention on the street...

marke said:
I haven't really traveled with my Leica gear yet, but I'll hopefully be asking myself this question within the coming year.

So far, I plan to carry:

0.72x MP
0.58x M6 TTL
50/1.4 Summilux pre-asph
35/2 Summicron ASPH
25/4 VC Color-Skopar

And possibly a 50/2.8 Elmar-M, for a "no-bag" pocketable option.
Click to expand...
 
yes. Im planning a trip and thinking of getting a 2nd body. But it has to be m-mount so I just have to carry 1 set of lens.

shenkerian said:
Thanks for the thread! I'm actually facing that very question right now. I plan to take an MP + 50mm and a Contax T3 (for 35mm and, if necessary, flash). I'm curious to hear other opinions as well.
Click to expand...
 
Out of habit I carry two bodies "in regular use" and three when on a trip. Usually wide,normal (35/40) and a 50/75.
The bodies are all the same mount, usually M-mount and one body serves as a back up in case one of the two working bodies acts up. Depending on where and for how long I am going (one week+) it would be a Bessa R4M for wides (21 and/or 28), a M2 for 35/40 and a MP for 50/75). It all depends too on where I am going, Europe has narrow streets and alley's so the 21 is occasionally supplemented by a 15f4.5 ( it is small enough that it can rattle around in the camera bag without problem). At least one of the lenses would be a higher speed f1.4 or f1.2 - usually the 35 as that is my primary lens.
I dont carry multiples of the same focal length - camera bodies can act up. lenses rarely do.
As I have gotten older, I have started reducing the weight of stuff I am willing to cart around. It has to be able to go into my shoulder bag without having me listing heavily to one side.
Everything is tried out before going, bodies have a roll or two going trough them, lenses are checked out and any batteries are replaced with fresh ones before leaving - and even the spares are checked as batteries are prone to discharge or die in its packaging.
The trick is to establish a "standard" kit and keep using that until it becomes second nature. Nothing then worse looking like a tourist. peering at a small screen on the digital or trying to change lenses in the middle of a busy piazza in Italy.
AND never park the rental car, open the trunk and sort through stuff. Always stop a couple of km away, sort out the kit and remove anything looking "touristy" from the interior of the car (maps, jackets etc) and leave the view of the interior clean.
If you are a film shooter. estimate your consumption of film and double it! Standardize on the film too and get to know it before leaving. Experimenting belongs at home, not on a trip you have forked out big bucks for.
 
Normally, I just carry one body and one or two lenses... but for a 2 week trip to Panama, I'm taking two bodies. All my lenses are LTM with adapters, so I'm taking the M4-2 and a Canon P. The P will mostly live with the 50/1.2 on it. But will also serve as a backup in case the Leica has issues (which I doubt).

4 lenses total - 35/1.8, 50/1.8, 50/1.2, 21/4
 
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I'm with Tom on the weight issue- one of the reasons I just bought a used M6 and a few lenses. If money were no object, and I didn't want something like my Canon G9 for other reasons as well, the 2nd/3rd body would make sense, even though larger and heavier than the G9. I take my G9 as my backup for the reasons cited above, as I never like to be dependant on one-of-something if what I'm doing matters. No, it ain't as elegant or "pure", but it works for me. As the saying goes, your mileage may vary.

Rick
 
dovevadar said:
2 Leicas? why not a bessa or a hexar as spare?

2 leicas will really draw some attention on the street...
Click to expand...
True, but I suppose it depends where you are. I like to have a "duplicate" body that can serve as a backup. That way, the lenses I've brought aren't rendered useless if body #1 gets hung up. Also, having the two different VF magnifications allows me to keep a different focal length lens on each camera, so that I can quickly adjust for what I need.

If I weer to take only one M, then my second body would be my Leica Mini II. It's a great little P&S.
 
When I'm just going about my everyday things and places I always carrry a camera and one lens. For awhile it was a Bessa L with a 15. Lately I've been alternating between an M2 with a 21 f/3.4 Super Angulon and a Leica CL with the 40mm Summicron. For a trip I'd add an M3 and a second M2, and an 85mm f/2 Nikkor, 35 and 50mm Summicrons, and very likely the 135 f/2.8 Elmarit if I expect to be doing a lot of outside photos, leaving the CL/40 at home. The M bodies would spend most of their time wearing the 21, 35, and 85mm lenses. Also a couple of Vivitar 2500 flashes with exra batteries and spare cords, a slave trigger, two Weston Master V meters with incident atachments, and a Leitz Table Top tripod with the small ball head. I always keep a LTM to M adapter in my bag for putting the 15 on an M body in case the Bessa L dies on me.
 
Depending on the length of the trip & other considerations (e.g., how much time there will be for serious shooting, how much strenuous physical activity will be involved, etc.), I will typically bring either 2 bodies, each w/a different lens, or 3 bodies, each w/a different lens. Nowadays, @ least 1 of the bodies will be the M8. Similar to Tom A, my lenses will vary depending on environment (e.g., more wides for crowded cities, maybe a telephoto for open spaces), but I always have @ least 1 50mm (or normal equivalent on the M8, usually the 35/1.4 'lux ASPH).

If I have the luxury of not doing too much heavy lifting, I may also bring along a medium format folder or TLR, a "novelty" camera like a Pen F, or even just an "exotic"/specialty lens (e.g., Noctilux). I also recently picked up some high-end point & shoots (Natura S, 28Ti, etc.), so I may put some of them into the rotation for future travels.
 
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Depends how much room I have in my carry-on. For business trips, one body and one or two lenses - too much other stuff to carry. For pleasure at least 2 bodies. Often one of them an SLR for tele use.

Roland.
 
Nearly always I just take one camera and one lens - most often a Rolleiflex. But if I was going on a big trip, I would take another camera as well, in the past a small af compact for snapshots.
 
hmm.. interesting.. dont you guys find carrying 2 different system (RF & SLR) very heavy? why not a common mount body that can share lenses.?
 
Per my earlier post, if I bring a non-M or LTM camera, it will be because I won't be doing too much heavy lifting, like a cruise or visiting a major city, or there's some special situation that calls for a different system (e.g., SLR for long telephoto or macro, medium format for really big enlargements). Also, I rarely carry more than 2 cameras + lenses @ a time, preferring to use my hotel room or wherever I'm staying as a base of operations.

dovevadar said:
hmm.. interesting.. dont you guys find carrying 2 different system (RF & SLR) very heavy? why not a common mount body that can share lenses.?
Click to expand...
 
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ALWAYS. Fetishism I guess. Ask a lady if she likes to wear one or 2 nice rings ?
And most of the times 2 different films in there, B&W and Color, or 2 types of B&W, low speed and high speed, and sometimes the same film but 2 different lenses.
And always another lens in the cargo pants 🙂
Hey, you just live once !
 
Locally and for personal photos, just one body and 2 lenses, 35 and 50. I use the Leica lens mount thingy on the bottom of the baseplate to hold the small 50 summicron. On trips or for any editorial work or weddings, its 2 M6 bodies, two 35mm lenses and two 50mm lenses. The two backup lenses stay at the hotel. I keep it simple, but must have back-ups. Beyond that basic kit, I might add a Konica RF, a motor for the M6, and a 75 summilux, all depending. (Hey to Tom A.)
 
I travel with two camera bodies and about four or five lenses... Once in my destination, I only walk with one camera and maybe two lenses.

However, the last time I went to Europe, I did stuff two bodies (with a lens each) and one additional lens in an FX5B. It all went very well... 🙂
 
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