Across the World with one FL

Sounds like a cool trip and quite a challenge.
Personally, I'd feel a bit crippled photographically if I limited myself to a single FL. When I travel, I find too many instances where I want to use either a wide angle or a telephoto. Each is capable of producing images the other cannot.
 
Gary Sandhu said:
50 if you don't know anybody.
35 if you think you might meet some new friends.
28 if you're going with friends
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That's very astute!

Personally, I don't understand the choice of limiting the focal length available to one, but then taking a whole bunch of different film types. If you are after freedom from technical choices, go with one film, one lens, and one film type.

I'd be more inclined to take a couple of lenses and just one film type than the other way around. But that's just me.

Also, depending on the importance placed on photography during this trip around the world, I'd take a backup camera. Yeah, 2 lenses, each on a camera, and one film type. That would be perfect for me.
 
what about adding a little CV 21 ltm in your pocket, without finder, maybe do some whole vf testing to estimate amount over, for those wide scenic photo opps.
 
What Thoreau said about focal lengths :)

What Thoreau said about focal lengths :)

Gary Sandhu said:
50 if you don't know anybody.
35 if you think you might meet some new friends.
28 if you're going with friends
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Gary this reminds me of Henry David Thoreau:
"I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society."
:)
 
If the camera is new, make sure you put at least a dozen rolls through it (including some transparency film) and knock it around a bit before you leave. Just to find any bugs before it is too late to fix them ! Even assuming you have used all those films before, I'd suggest going with one sort each b+w and colour, or just one overall, as it simplifies things somewhat. You can probably get supplies of film posted (ideally from sources in the same country as the drop-off address) to hotels etc. in advance which avoids the need to carry a ton of film. Local processing might be more tricky to arrange, depending on where you end up.

I'd also suggest a little point-and-shoot with a flash as well, then you have a few more options and some flexibility with film type, pocketability and light.

Have a great trip, though three weeks isn't very long !
 
Have fun on your trip.
Please keep us posted after the trip with photographs and story of your 1 camera 1 lens adventure.
 
Best wishes and good luck on your trip too!

I just hope that the story doesn't go like this:

Arrived at ________, a photographer's paradise, then my camera jammed.
 
alan davus said:
Oleg, the only advice I offer is ignore all the advice you are liable to get about taking at least another lens or two and of course that you MUST take a second body just in case.
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Assumiing you've used your camera already quite a bit and it has been reliable so far, I'll second that. Have fun, and share some photos when you're back !

Roland.
 
One camera with a 50 is my preferred kit, for everything. FL is very 'personal'.
I have been all around everywhere, for many years with kits like this, different marques, no problems.

Now many, many people do the same, without problems, but why do Leica users always feel it is necessary to take also a 'back-up' body. Surely, the Leica MP is the summit of simple mechanical camera reliability and excellence, no?
 
The idea of a backup body has nothing to do with Leica photographers!
Whether or not to take a backup body hinges solely on how important is photography to you on this trip. It can range form very important to not very important. If one was doing a paid photography assignment like a wedding, having a backup camera is a no-brainer. If one is out for an evening stroll, taking one camera and having it jam is no big deal. I would imagine that on a trip around the world, the importance of photography would rank somewhere between these two examples. For me, it would be much closer to a wedding assignment than to a stroll, so if it were me, I'd be taking a backup, totally regardless of brand.
 
FrankS said:
That's very astute!

Personally, I don't understand the choice of limiting the focal length available to one, but then taking a whole bunch of different film types. If you are after freedom from technical choices, go with one film, one lens, and one film type.

I'd be more inclined to take a couple of lenses and just one film type than the other way around. But that's just me.

Also, depending on the importance placed on photography during this trip around the world, I'd take a backup camera. Yeah, 2 lenses, each on a camera, and one film type. That would be perfect for me.
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Frank, to make it sound even more challenging, I have to admit that I have NEVER used above mentioned films before.. :eek: So this trip will be "film field test" for me as well.. Isn't it FUN !!!
 
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Back in the day when I could only afford only one camera and one lens (50mm) I got used to it pretty fast. In 20 years with that combo I felt I had only missed a few shots.
 
maddoc said:
I would agree on the 50 Summicron-M but an Leica MP for an important trip as the only body .... :eek:
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Speaking quite seriously: if an MP isn't good in that application, it isn't good for anything. That's what the darned thing was (or at least should have been) made for.

I've shot for a dozen years with a single M6 that I've taken everywhere: rambling, cycling, backpacking, skiing, rock and mountain climbing, commuting, to weddings and birthdays and bars. Hundreds of rolls of film, without a hitch, and it's no display princess. I don't baby it. No CLA, not a hiccup.

The MP is supposed to be a better camera than the M6. Where's the problem?
 
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