Film Only, or Mix and Match?

healyzh said:
I'd leave the Nikon F at home. The Leica with the 35 and 90, plus the S90 seems a better choice to me.
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I second this combo. I've taken my S90 on trips to the Yucatan and Grand Canyon. Very versatile camera: 28 - 105 focal lengths and you can shoot in RAW.
 
I'm planning a trip to Scandinavia and England this summer w/ my wife and daughter. The plan, photo-wise, is to take the M2 and Oly Pen E-PL1 for backup/indoors/color. I'm still thinking about lens combinations, but taking the E-PL1 means I don't have to take a separate tele or portrait lens: 35 becomes 70 on the E-PL1, and 50 becomes 100. I will also take the Panasonic 20/1.7 for the E-PL1.

My present plan is to take 25-35-50 for the M2, although all the recent threads around here on 40 have me thinking about a 28-40 combination instead. Having the fast lens for the E-PL1 means that I can take some of my favorite small, slower lenses for the M2, and still have a set-up for night time.

So I'm thinking mix and match might just work for me.
 
That reminds me; no one's mentioned those strange cameras that were popular once with the extra lens inside that was to the side (of the optical axis) until needed when it swung over into the optical path. So the thing would offer either 35 or 85mm (say) but only one or the other and nothing in between.

My son had one years ago that I borrowed when the CL went back to Luton and I was most impressed. It was made by Pentax but I can't remember the model number. I think the type used to be called twin lens or similar. They'd be ideal for travel.

Regards, David
 
Going to Rome in May. Will take Leica M3 with 35-90 glass. (I have gotten comfortable using a 35mm lens on the M3). I might sneak in a Ricoh GX200 in the bag but maybe not. Digital is great but when traveling I have to remember charger, etc, etc, etc.
 
kshapero said:
Going to Rome in May. Will take Leica M3 with 35-90 glass. (I have gotten comfortable using a 35mm lens on the M3). I might sneak in a Ricoh GX200 in the bag but maybe not. Digital is great but when traveling I have to remember charger, etc, etc, etc.
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Wise choice, Akiva, and I am glad you made that decision. Good advice for this thread as well.:)

BTW, for the OP, I love Johan's post about letting your daughter use the digi cam.
 
I think digital was invented for photographers who must pass x ray inspection.

I would travel as light as possible if I elected film. Leica plus two lenses. NEVER put it down even in a bathroom.
 
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Why restrict yourself to one or the other? Both take pictures. They are different from each other. Enjoy using them and enjoy the differences. My $.02 with.

With best regards,

Pfreddee(Stephen)
 
Daughter Has S90. Guess I Must Struggle with Leica M8.2

Daughter Has S90. Guess I Must Struggle with Leica M8.2

Yes, my daughter has pretty much locked onto the S90. She graduates from University of Missouri/Columbia in May. Originally, she picked that school for journalism and I bought her Nikon's first consumer DSLR (D40 or 60, can't remember) about six years ago. She knows what an f stop is but always thought the dSLR's are too big. And now she plans to pursue a PhD in psychology (things change, especially at 21).

Am still awaiting the Leica M8.2. UPS had some type of malfunction yesterday. I am not 100% certain I am going to keep the camera (still like film). If I do, then M8.2 and M2 for Turkey with 15/21/35/90 lenses. Using the 8.2 crop factor, I would have a range of focal lengths from 15 to 120mm. And am wondering about adding the 135f2.8 with goggles for the M8.2.

I am hoping the new M8.2 helps spark the creative juices. Sometimes a new piece of gear helps in a new way of seeing, sometimes not. It would make me learn photoshop and image manipulation and drag me into the 21st century.
 
Back to Film

Back to Film

Well, I had the M8.2 for 24 hours and returned it to Tamarkin. For a camera which cost $3900, it simply had too much noise above ISO640. I am thinking film only in Turkey while saving for either an M9 or seeing what the Fuji X100 looks like.

Of course, I owe it to myself to try a Nikon DSLR, right?
 
rpilottx said:
Well, I had the M8.2 for 24 hours and returned it to Tamarkin. For a camera which cost $3900, it simply had too much noise above ISO640. I am thinking film only in Turkey while saving for either an M9 or seeing what the Fuji X100 looks like.

Of course, I owe it to myself to try a Nikon DSLR, right?
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If you really want something with super-high-ISO performance, You also owe it to yourself to try a Pentax K-5 or K-r DSLR, unless you really, really need full frame.

Pentax's support of legacy glass is pretty epic, as is the near total interchangeability of lenses between the Film and Digital SLRs in their lineups. If you're going to shoot a mix of film and Digital, Pentax is the way to go, if you ask me. That's what sold me on the system when I got into it.
 
Well, I am back to square one. My daughter and I leave for 10 days in Istanbul in two weeks and I just ordered a Leica Dlux 5. I tried an M8.2 and a Nikon D7000 and had a X100 on order but realized I really enjoyed the Canon S90 I gave my daughter at XMas and I did not like the expense or size of the other cameras. And for the amount of photography I do, another point and shoot would be great. And the Leica comes with a nice software package which will enable me to learn digital techniques.

Presently, I plan on taking one of the M's with 21/50/90 and probably load it with black and white. (But the 15 and 50 are so easy to pack I hear myself saying). I will use the digital for color while contemplating buying an analog darkroom to rediscover my youth.
 
I may be going to Paris in April. Since I've already been there and shot it digitally, I'll be using film this time. Tri-X in the OM, Ektar in the Stylus Epic.
 
rpilottx said:
Well, I am back to square one. My daughter and I leave for 10 days in Istanbul in two weeks and I just ordered a Leica Dlux 5. I tried an M8.2 and a Nikon D7000 and had a X100 on order but realized I really enjoyed the Canon S90 I gave my daughter at XMas and I did not like the expense or size of the other cameras. And for the amount of photography I do, another point and shoot would be great. And the Leica comes with a nice software package which will enable me to learn digital techniques.

Presently, I plan on taking one of the M's with 21/50/90 and probably load it with black and white. (But the 15 and 50 are so easy to pack I hear myself saying). I will use the digital for color while contemplating buying an analog darkroom to rediscover my youth.
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(1) Whew! Short, steep learning curve (but should be 100% possible with digi)

(2) I always kept the faith, brother! Darkrooms ever since 1966!

(3) Even though I have only a borrowed or surrogate 'daughter' (daughter of an old friend, born on my 40th birthday, who regards my wife and me as 3rd and 4th parents after her father, mother and stepmother), one of the best times of my life was when Frances and I did a European Grand Tour with her in the Land Rover in her gap year in 2009 (France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Kosova, Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and back to France). I wish you the same joy.

Cheers,

R.
 
rpilottx said:
Well, I am back to square one. My daughter and I leave for 10 days in Istanbul in two weeks and I just ordered a Leica Dlux 5. I tried an M8.2 and a Nikon D7000 and had a X100 on order but realized I really enjoyed the Canon S90 I gave my daughter at XMas and I did not like the expense or size of the other cameras.
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I used to take loads of digital equipment on vacations... then I also got the s90. It's such a great camera to use while on vacation. Not much space to worry about, easy to use, great image quality, more time to enjoy your holiday than worrying about your gear. Plus there's a great underwater housing available for it that I bought for Hawaii which gives it a whole new dimension of awesome.
 
Saga Continues

Saga Continues

I purchased the S90 last May after getting up to a photo store in Missouri (El Paso has 800000 people and no photo equipment retailer). I used it on a two month motorcycle trip to Alaska and was stunned at the technology and ease of use. My daughter went to Europe at XMas and her digital was on the brink so I loaned her the S90. Have not seen it since.

When I bought the S90 I was looking strongly at the Lumix LH3 so I thought I would give it a try this time. I found a good deal on a mint Leica DLux 5 at Precision Camera so with the great software that comes with the Leica and 3 year guarentee, I figured the extra money was worth it for the Leica logo.

More and more, it looks like the M's will be used for black and white. Now do I want to try a hybrid darkroom or just stay in analogue. I need to buy some TriX for Turkey.

And my daughter graduates from Mizzou in May. She has been bitten by the travel bug so we are going to Iceland in June on a family trip (Iceland was originally scheduled for March but weather was a factor. And we were talking about Nepal in June but airfare of $2500, trekking in monsoon season, and reports of leaches changed my wife and daughters mind about destinations). Iceland looks like a great destination with lots of daylight and plenty of things to do outside.

Since I retired from flying for Homeland Security a few years ago, I have lots of time to indulge my passions of travel, photography and motorcycling. So I am planning a motorcycle trip to Nova Scotia in September and perhaps a visit to friends in Nepal in October. Am thinking the DLux 5 will be a great travel companion.
 
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Update: Have the DLux5 enroute and I just traded one of the M's for a blad. I figure the M2 with 21/35/90 and TriX and the DLux5 for color. Thanks for all the input. Rich
 
Have just received a blad so am thinking Dlux5 and blad for Istanbul. I have not shot with medium format since the mid-80's and have ordered 10 rolls of TriX.
 
I am presently in Istanbul. What a great city. History is everywhere. I ended up bringing the blad and Dlux5. So far, I have only seen one other film camera while visiting the sites. It was a M6 or M7 carried by a young man under 20. Am still getting my feet wet with the blad so am thinking I should have brought an M with a couple lenses for my film camera. Not that the blad is not an excellent machine but having used a M for years, all the controls are second nature.
 
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