China for 6 weeks. Best gear choice?

[newsgrunt]

Either the Leica w/ 21 and 35 OR the Xpan.

Panasonic LX 3 for all digi records or any video. There will be many times when all you'll want is a quick photo and the LX3 will take care of this.

 

[mcaplin]

Done China (and Tibet) with both film and digital, digital was more successful as electricity for charging batteries and spare sd cards are more readily available than decent film labs. If M9 too expensive, what about M8? With 24 and 50, should cover anything, particularly as the M8 IQ should give you reasonable latitude to crop. Big DSLRs are also potentially more likely to attract the attentions of paranoid secret police at the moment, although the likelihood of this is probably much lower than the media would have you believe.

 

[dfoo]

although the likelihood of this is probably much lower than the media would have you believe

Believe me you are more free in China with respect to photography than you are in the US or Europe.

 

[Dave Jenkins]

A year ago at this time I was toting a basic Canon outfit, a 5D, a 20D, two zooms, and a 50mm macro around Israel and Jordan. Never again!

Trudging through Petra, the amazing city carved into stone cliffs, cursing with every step my increasingly heavy camera bag, I chanced to meet a German who was carrying nothing but an Olympus Pen E-P2 with the 14-42mm kit zoom. We talked for a few minutes, and I asked if I could hold and look through his camera. That did it for me.


From now on, my travel kit will be a pair of E-PL1s with a VF-2 viewfinder, a 12-60 zoom, and a Panasonic 20mm f1.7 in the lightest bag I can find.

My experience is that the more equipment you carry, the worse your photography is likely to be.

And absolutely do not try to mix film and digital on a trip like this. The photographer who tries to cover all the bases winds up covering none of them to his own satisfaction.

 

[furcafe]

Sounds like a great trip.

The 35/1.4L is a pretty big lens, so you might want to go for something smaller & lighter. I know Canon doesn't have a pancake, but maybe the Cosina Voigtlander 40/2 Ultron (if you can handle manual focus) or a Canon 35/2 EF--sure it will be slower, but you can crank up the ISO on the 5D. I'd also bring the G10 for backup.

As for mixing digital & film, I've never had a problem mixing the 2 because I use them for different purposes, usually film for daylight & digital for low-light & night shooting. Limiting film to daylight shooting also lets you use slower film that's less susceptible to X-ray fogging.

Thanks everyone for the advice. Its been great reading all your suggestions.

X100 would be a nice choice, but its highly unlikely one will be available in Australia within the next 10 days.

So far its looking to be the 5D and 35L, and the ZI with 50/2.

 

[filmfan]

Easy... M6+35mm

 

[williams473]

Camera choice is up to you, but if you're shooting black and white film, why not process in China? I have done with no problem overseas - in the bathroom - take a changing bag, some D-76 and other powedered chemistry that should make it through security. That was pre-9/11 though - maybe photo chemistry won't fly anymore? Anyway, that eased my mind knowing I was going home with fixed images in sleeves, versus latent images that "shouldn't be affected by this imaging device." Gulp.

 

[SupachaiA]

On my last visit to China, I brought Nikon FM2 with 35mm and 105mm with lots of films B&W and color. If I have another chance to China again I'll take M6, 35mm (lots of films) with a PS canon S95 for 105 range. Have a nice trip!!

 

[NLewis]

I'd go with one RF body and one lens, either the 35 or 50. I'd tend toward the 35. Maybe bring the G10 for backup.

If you don't want to carry film, then the 5D and 35 only. Personally, I wouldn't want to carry an SLR on a trip like that.

 

[Ray Van Nes]

I agree with the sentiment take either film or digital. I have made four trips to China with film with no issues. Mind you, my wife speaks Mandarin and have had the film hand inspected at most airports. They are generally accomodating.

On two trips I took my Rollei TLR and once an Agfa Isolette III. On others, I took my 2x3 Speed Graphic and lenses which I took as carry on in a Lowe pack.

 

[kxl]

Wanted to resurrect this thread...

I'm off to the Philippines and China in a couple of weeks, and in addition to my NEX5 and kit lens (Thanks John), I am bringing my ZI with:

1) ZM 18/4 -ZM 25/2.8 -ZM 50/2.0

2) Leave the 18/4 in favor of a CV 90mm/3.5

3) 18/4 - 35/1.2 - 75/2.5

I am comfortable with either a 35 or a 50 as my primary lens. I typically use a primary lens for at least 70% of the time when I am "out there."

I will have my NEX-M adapter with me. Film will be Neopan 400 and Neopan 1600 (yes, I have a freezer full of both films 😀)

Your thoughts -- option 1 or 2 or 3?

 

[rxmd]

Wanted to resurrect this thread...

I'm off to the Philippines and China in a couple of weeks, and in addition to my NEX5 and kit lens (Thanks John), I am bringing my ZI with:

1) ZM 18/4 -ZM 25/2.8 -ZM 50/2.0

2) Leave the 18/4 in favor of a CV 90mm/3.5

3) 18/4 - 35/1.2 - 75/2.5

I am comfortable with either a 35 or a 50 as my primary lens. I typically use a primary lens for at least 70% of the time when I am "out there."

I will have my NEX-M adapter with me. Film will be Neopan 400 and Neopan 1600 (yes, I have a freezer full of both films 😀)

Your thoughts -- option 1 or 2 or 3?

Too much stuff. Four lenses, two systems? Also, you may have a freezer of film but you can't take it with you.

I'd prefer a wideangle. Just 18 and either 35 or 50. No Neopan 1600. If you want to take the Nex, it is much better at high ISOs than your rangefinder.

 

[Teuthida]

Whatever you choose, DON'T CARRY TOO MUCH.

When I was in China I used 2 Leicas (M4-P, MP) and 15-35-75 lenses. My wife carried 2 Voigtländers and 28-50-90. This was in pre-digital days. If I had to go back I'd use M9 (sorry) and MP.

Cheers,

R.

Seconded. I spent 8 weeks in 2006 hiking up the Yangze River. My advice: pack light. One camera, two lenses 28/50.

And avoid the hotels. Stay in hostels. Very cheap, very abundant, and it'll give you a much better chance of meeting other people who can tell you of great plces to go. You'll also meet more locals because you wont be the the hotel cacoon all day.

Take buses and trains. Go 3rd class on the trains. You'll be with the locals. Also, seek out Buddhist monesteries in the hinterland and stay there.

Bottom line: avoid the standard tourist cacoon and you'll have an AMAZING time.

 

[Archiver]

Thinking about it, I just couldn't take one camera only, not for a six week trip to China. (OP, what happened? What did you take?)

If I was going to take a one camera system of 28 and 50, the Ricoh GXR is made for it. Two modules and one body in a very light package. But the video is crap and it lacks a long tele, so I'd end up bringing the Fuji X10 as well. That way I'd gain good video and a reasonable zoom range.

One alternative is to take the M9 with 21/2.8 and 35/1.4, and the Fuji X10. This would yield much wider angles in full frame, as well as much wider aperture for night shooting.

I love putting together gear combinations...

 

[David_Manning]

From my own travel and shooting experience, it sounds like a documentary trip, not a vacation, so...

5DmkII plus 28mm and 85mm primes. X100 for short strolls, evenings out, or difficult places to shoot (when you need to be unobtrusive).

Carry the markII over your shoulder with the 28 attached. Put the 85 in your jacket or vest pocket. 28 is perfect for narrow rural streets, 85 for details and the occasional portrait.

Secure the markII in the evenings and toss the X100 in a jacket pocket (or hang it over your shoulder). It has a little fill flash for night, terrific IQ.

Don't mix digi and film...headache for post-production (books, prints, etc.).

I know you said you might not be able to find an X100 in the next ten days, but you might be able to score a lightly used one from somebody waiting for an X-pro 1.

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[David_Manning]

OMG...I can't believe I just replied to these posts and didn't see the OP date! Archiver, you suckered me! 😉

 

[Don Parsons]

So what did you take and how did it work out?

So what did you take and how did it work out?

Archiver-What'd you take, how'd it work and what would you do differently next time.

 

[semilog]

On my last two trips to Asia (Japan and Korea), I've taken an M6 and a couple of bricks of black and white film. In Japan I had a 50 and a 35, in Korea a 35 and a 21. I like the wide combination better and shot the 21 almost exclusively. On both trips I ended up buying some color film. Urban Asia is just too colorful to only just black and white. A small digital camera might be useful or it might not.

Next time I go I'll also bring a small film point-and-shoot, mjuII or similar for bad weather, as a backup, and because it has a strobe.

People bringing digital devices abroad -- especially people in science, the tech busineess, or politics -- may also want to read this. It makes a mechanical film camera suddenly much more appealing!

 

[Keyne]

Sell the Ikon and the G10 and get an M8 to go along with the M6.

 

[Archiver]

@ Dave Manning - hahaha, I replied to this thread twice, myself. I thought it was a recent thread and later found that I had replied to it before!

I'd like to know how the OP got on. If I had to stick with the choice of the OP's gear, I would take the G10 and the 5D Mark II with the 35L, and leave the Zeiss Ikon at home.

As much as I love the look of film, I don't fancy carrying six weeks worth of film with me through China. A few weeks, maybe, but if I had film on a trip like that I'd want to shoot one roll per day. I did that when I went to China for two weeks, and 14 rolls of film is one thing; 42 rolls of film are another.

The 5DII and 35L can easily make panoramas with stitching software, and the 21mp make for some good cropping potential. The G10 provides surprisingly good image quality for a small sensor, particularly in bright daylight, and it is very quiet, something the 5D is not.