Across the World with one FL

semilog said:
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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Exactly how I see it and I intend to put my MP through the hell😀 And I don't care that it's a brand new a la cart..
 
Peter R said:
Actually, reading this thread 'properly', sounds like you're already comfortable (and financially sensible) with just taking the one body and 50mm you have.

In which case the best additional advice here for traveling with one lens/one body has been about taking a couple of important filters - they do seem to offer a lot of 'plus' in return for very little extra gear hassle.
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Peter, comfortable - NO.. financially sensible - hope so .. I got bunch of filters and variety of film, so fingers crossed..
 
Sorry, but backup cameras simply make sense on these long trips. I had all my Leica and Minolta gear stolen on my first day in Prague. I fell asleep on a train in Poland and dropped my Olympus on the floor, damaging it beyond repair. I slipped on a boat in Maine and dunked my Minox 35 in the lake. My Yashica GSN jammed during the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. I dropped my Minolta Dimage on a marble floor in a Dublin pub. Wine was spilled on my Nikon in Tuscany (worked for the rest of the trip and later died). These accidents occurred over a 40 year time frame, but s_ _t happens, so be prepared!
 
Freakscene said:
The question of how important the photos that you will take are to you is very significant. If you're travelling and some good photos on your return are a bonus, well do whatever you like, but if you'll regard the trip as a huge waste of time and resources if you come back empty handed, have a good think about preparing.

One major thing to bear in mind is that no Leica M is sealed. They're like seives, as far as cameras go. when i got back from Africa last year:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/freakscene/Africa+2009 there was ~25 g of fine dust and sand in my MP. The camera didn't seize, but there are plenty of places where it can get jammed where it would have. I took 90% of the photos in that gallery with the MP and a 50/2 Hexanon. The combo suits me. But I recommend taking a backup body and flexible, familiar film choices unless you're happy to potentially get results you're unhappy with when you return. That would completely gut me, but I have no idea what you think.

A Pentax MX and a SMC 50/1.7 or 50/2 can be had very cheaply.

Marty
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Marty, the most important thing in this trip for me is to have lots of fun.. 🙂 But I also want to challenge my self and bring home some great photos.. As I mentioned before, that on the end of my journey I'll end up in the desert festival for a week or so and will SWIM in the dust. When I come back home I'm planning to send my MP for a free service to Leica, which they offer for 5 years with a la cart program. I'm sure they do a great job looking after my MP. I still like to believe that with the money I've spend on this equipment it should be reliable enough to travel across the world.. Will see
 
Oleg, bringing the 50 will be good enough but I have reservations having the MP as the only body. Perhaps you should just bring one type of film along since you are going to have one body. In this way, you don't have to keep switching film from place to place and end up with colours for some locations and b&w for some. That's my 5 cents worth.

oleg C said:
Going across the world on 3 weeks trip with 50 cron and MP only. I like 35/75 FL classic combo idea, but don't want to spend $$$$ @ this time just for this one as I'm waiting for a new 35 lux and 75 lux is on the list as well. This is my first trip with the rangefinder rig. Will end up in the desert festival where I would like to cover portraits, landscapes, architecture, candid and have a heaps of fun, off course. I have stocked up some Tri-X, Neopan, Porta 160, 400 - NC,VC, etc. I'm confident it can be done with one FL and I like the challenge. But sure I would also love/need to have some tips.. Cheers, Oleg
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oleg C, thanks for this thread, I'm also going to a desert festival at the end of this month 😎 Still haven't quite decided what to bring, going back and forth.. back and forth..

Can't comment on the 1st 2 weeks of your travel, will it be more rural or city locations? Alone or with friends?

Ljós said:
What Thoreau said about focal lengths 🙂
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary Sandhu
50 if you don't know anybody.
35 if you think you might meet some new friends.
28 if you're going with friends

Gary this reminds me of Henry David Thoreau:
"I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society."
🙂
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^^ Gary and Ljós, that is absolutely fantastic, great perspective!


I think Marty makes a good point about photographic purpose. It sounds like pushing yourself is one goal, and it will certainly be a rich environment. The licensing and terms for the event might be a factor in gear choice. If it's the same one I'm thinking, then "Personal use still cameras are permitted and do not require a written agreement, but any image use beyond personal use must be approved in writing post-event." So I'm approaching this from a purely personal perspective. It is the experience over those 5-7 days that I'm hoping to capture and take away. A great image or two would be wonderful, but one thing I've especially learned here at RFF is that creating a great image doesn't necessarily require the best gear.

Nice that youre using film, charging a digital in the desert could be a real pain. A friend said the dust wasn't too much of a problem, but kept his camera in a sealed bag when not in use, and when the goggles were on such as during a dust storm, the camera wasn't in use. I'd kind of like to shoot right in a dust storm!

Do you have a relatively sealed case/bag for the MP? That might be more important than the 28 / 35 / 40 / 50 choice. Something cheap that is functional with good access would be great.

I'm assuming you'll be with a group for the desert portion of your trip - are any of them photographers?

The idea of picking up a relatively cheap wide for daylight use is nice. Also, you'll likely be back at camp following each day in prep for the evening, and can change film speeds / types, sticking with the same body.

Lit structures at night might be a challenge given you are shooting film and are limited to F2. Will you be biking by day and walking in the evening? Tripod is a PITA, but monopod could be helpful at night. A clamp mount on a bike could provide good support for some longer exposures.

I hope you have tons of Fun and then some!! 😀
 
The MP is a good camera, by any standard. But stuff can happen of course. My 0.58 MP is one of the first black paint with that finder. It did suffer from the dreaded "dust in the finder'. Leica sent me new seals and I changed them - after having blown out the dust. Many years later and 1000's of rolls - it is fine.
It did pop off the film-pressure plate , but I managed to get it back in place. On a few occasions it has jammed on the advance - one due to a largish piece of film stuck in the track - another time for no reason. Some fiddling with the shutter speed dial and gentle pull on the curtains - got it back in action.
Never had the rangefinder go out of whack, never had problems with meter drain of batteries. Still silky smooth advance.
The problems are normal for a camera that gets bashed around quite a lot (airplanes, cars, trains etc) and sees a lot of use.
Is it "mechanical perfection" - I doubt that - but it is a sturdy, reliable camera and it often serves as my "main" camera with a 35 on it. Usually the Nokton 35f1.4 SC or lately, the C-Biogon 35f2.8.
Would I rely on it solely for an extended trip - No! But then I would not trust any essential mechanical or electronic device under those circumstances without a back-up along.
 
Examples of one/one I've taken on international trips:

1) Yashica slr/ 50mm lens
2) Nikon EM/50mm lens
3) Hassie/80mm lens
4) Nikon FM2/35mm/2.0 lens
5) Leica M7/50mm Summilux

(Never camera problem. kinda weird b/c I consider myself a 35mm dude)

Film: (mixed bag)
1) 50asa
2) 200asa
3) whatever the counter guy sold me.

YMMV.
 
I have to add, that my hand luggage includes skydiving gear, which is way over 20kg & 10k and that is been another reason to keep my photo gear as lite as possible. I didn't expect this much of the helping advise when I started this thread and thank you all !! I always wanted to buy my self in to the Leica gear and now I will give it a go.. Yeah! I have also say that I can't get out of my mind the very first post in this thread by "alan davus" : "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. I travelled for 7 years in the '70's with one body and a 50 and looking at my transperancies 30 years on, I don't feel I deprived myself in any way. Have a great trip."
It happens to be that I needed a lens for my new MP and there was a bargain that I got from RFF member - 50 cron... It's like the Frank said " If you make it there you will make it anywhere ", ha ha.. I do believe that if you can get on the top of 50FL game, you can master any FL... just my opinion
 
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Oleg C,

Take whatever lens you feel most comfortable with. If that is 50, then take it. If, however, you feel most comfortable and "see" with a different focal length, then go buy it and take it. You can always sell it later to fund the new 35 Summilux.

Now, as for only one body, IF you intend for photography to be a big and/or important part of this trip, then I agree with many of the posters here that you should take a second body. If, on the other hand, photography is a second or third priority, then take one body.

A short real life example: Earlier this year my M7 just stopped working. I couldn't get the film advance lever to move. Sent it off to get fixed, and got it back before my trip to Morocco and Scotland, where photography was to be my top priority. M7 worked like a charm in Morocco and into Scotland. Then, one morning, the film advance lever problem returned. Luckily I was able to fix it later that day, but I was glad that I had a second and third body with me.

Determine what your priorities are, and then take the gear that matches those priorities.

Most importantly, have a good trip! No matter what you take, you'll come back with good pictures that are meaningful to you.

Cheers,

Jeff
 
I would say that having first-rate, redundant, absolutely reliable skydiving gear is probably a higher priority than having a first-rate, redundant, absolutely reliable cameras...
 
funny coincidence, am planning round the world trip also. well not plan anymore, tickets are bought already! 😀
while I understand reasons of taking only 50 and MP, could not manage just with that. my kit will be M8 and CV's 15 and 75, and ZM 28 that am expecting to use for most of the trip, others being in the pocket or a bag. if camera breaks or is lost, backup plan is to buy S90 or similar in next airport or big city and continue rest of the trip.
 
ederek said:
oleg C, thanks for this thread, I'm also going to a desert festival at the end of this month 😎 Still haven't quite decided what to bring, going back and forth.. back and forth..

Can't comment on the 1st 2 weeks of your travel, will it be more rural or city locations? Alone or with friends?



^^ Gary and Ljós, that is absolutely fantastic, great perspective!


I think Marty makes a good point about photographic purpose. It sounds like pushing yourself is one goal, and it will certainly be a rich environment. The licensing and terms for the event might be a factor in gear choice. If it's the same one I'm thinking, then "Personal use still cameras are permitted and do not require a written agreement, but any image use beyond personal use must be approved in writing post-event." So I'm approaching this from a purely personal perspective. It is the experience over those 5-7 days that I'm hoping to capture and take away. A great image or two would be wonderful, but one thing I've especially learned here at RFF is that creating a great image doesn't necessarily require the best gear.

Nice that youre using film, charging a digital in the desert could be a real pain. A friend said the dust wasn't too much of a problem, but kept his camera in a sealed bag when not in use, and when the goggles were on such as during a dust storm, the camera wasn't in use. I'd kind of like to shoot right in a dust storm!

Do you have a relatively sealed case/bag for the MP? That might be more important than the 28 / 35 / 40 / 50 choice. Something cheap that is functional with good access would be great.

I'm assuming you'll be with a group for the desert portion of your trip - are any of them photographers?

The idea of picking up a relatively cheap wide for daylight use is nice. Also, you'll likely be back at camp following each day in prep for the evening, and can change film speeds / types, sticking with the same body.

Lit structures at night might be a challenge given you are shooting film and are limited to F2. Will you be biking by day and walking in the evening? Tripod is a PITA, but monopod could be helpful at night. A clamp mount on a bike could provide good support for some longer exposures.

I hope you have tons of Fun and then some!! 😀
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Sorry it took me ages to reply, been flat out..😱 Ok, first week-tropics, second-on the road, third-in the desert with the friends, but not photographers. I got sealed bags for my gear, Leica table-top tripod and YES I'm tempted to pick up CV 21.. hmmm but if I do I would also want to get 35 and 90 FL, so I don't know what to do..!! I got lots of different film, so fingers crossed it should covered it. You have an excellent trip too!! Yeah!!
 
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