Gear advice for travel?

[Dave Wilkinson]

A recent post on another forum, that I'm taking the liberty of quoting - I thought it very appropriate here! 😀

"You don't know me from Adam; you know nothing about my tastes, preferences or skills but that won't stop me asking you, whom I have never met, and know nothing about, what lenses I should take for my once in a lifetime, never to be repeated trip to ( insert as applicable ). The lenses I have are ( insert as applicable ). Please feel free to make assumptions, advise even though you have never yourself been to ( insert as applicable ) disparage the selection of lenses that I have beggared myself to aquire and of course recommend new lenses that I do not own, because you think I have more money than sense.

Oh, and while you are about it, what do you think I should have for tea?"


Cheers, Dave 😀

 

[Jason Sprenger]

If for a sightseeing trip where photography is capturing the memory of the experience, I recommend taking a 35mm Zeiss Ikon with a fast-ish 35mm lens, a ZM 35/2 or maybe the CV 35/1.4 which I don't even have. I don't like wider lenses because of the perspective distortion, but a 50mm often isn't wide enough for sights. If another lens can be carried, a 50/1.4-1.5 might be nice for interior objects.

If photography is the primary aim, don't mess around, bring a 4x5 large format camera with a graflok back. A press camera like the Crown Graphic might be nice for both grab-shots with the rangefinder and landscapes with the ground glass, albeit a little weak movement-wise in handling architecture. For lenses, the Rodenstock 150/f5.6 APO-Sironar S is tops and I hear the 135mm is pretty good too, if you prefer 135mm. Optionally, for a wide, bring the Nikon 90/f8. The Nikon 200/f8 M is also nice to have when something a little longer is needed. Don't forget a few Grafmatic film holders, a Velbon 540/640 tripod, and as many boxes of film as will fit in your carry-on.

 

[totst]

1 body, at the most 2 lenses, long/ wide, normal/wide and a whole suitcase of film. 🙂

 

[oftheherd]

I don't know anything about you, but that just makes it easier to give you advice without predudices. Without a doubt, the best camera for your trip is (insert your own favorite). No other camera can possibly capture the essence of (insert questioner's destination) or any other location in the world. Any other camera is crap.

The best lens, bar none, is (insert whatever you think sounds good, whether you would really carry it or not). It will work in all possible circumstances, too much or too little light; its size is optimal; and it is the sharpest, contrastiest, and at the same time, smoothest rendering, lens ever made. You may not have it in which case you should rush over to ebay and find the highest bin price for later bragging rights.

There is only one film for your trip, and that is (be sure to mention some obscure b/w, grainny film that nobody has heard of so no one can disagree). It will give you that classic look you will want on a once in a lifetime trip.

Oh, and for tea, green, caffein free, organic from(make up some exotic sounding name so no one can find it, but you can bragg about its taste and efficaciousness).

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Comfortable footwear.

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

Just had a puzzling thought!......how come no one here ever goes on holiday,-or vacation...it's always a 'TRIP', must sound more professional or business-like - I suppose....😕
Dave

 

[user237428934]

A RF with 1-2 lenses for fun. A DSLR with 2-3 lenses when you want to react fast and probably want to shoot a football game or race in (put your destination here). A large format camera with 2-3 lenses for real camera work. A P/S when you want to act like a typical tourist. Not to forget a panoramic camera in case you want to capture a nice panoramic view.

 

[user237428934]

Just had a puzzling thought!......how come no one here ever goes on holiday,-or vacation...it's always a 'TRIP', must sound more professional or business-like - I suppose....😕
Dave

Bah. Vacation sounds like family, boring, wife hates cameras, no time to take photos because you have to play with the kids, etc. etc.

 

[Murray Kelly]

We just had 2 months on the road thru Europe and it was more of a trek.
We had a digital which I borrowed often for convenience, but the film camera was a Bessa and the Snapshot Scopar 25/4. It could get all those shots that the digital couldn't quite cover. Wide angle if you have to take only one lens. You will almost never need a long lens.
Well, that's my experience.

Murray

 

[kshapero]

I went on 2 "trips" last year:

1. Virginia Mts. in the Spring - ZI and CV Heliar 50mm/f2 only.
2. Berkshires in Mass in the summer - CV Bessa R3M - ZM 50mm/f1.5 only.

Simple, happy.

Going to Greece and Island of Rhodes this spring. What should I bring?

 

[javimm]

Been all around Germany for 10 days last summer. Brought a M6, 50 cron an 28 Ultron plus 10 rolls of HP5+ . Girlfriend brought a compact digital. I didn't missed anything 🙂

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

Been all around Germany for 10 days last summer. Brought a M6, 50 cron an 28 Ultron plus 10 rolls of HP5+ . Girlfriend brought a compact digital. I didn't missed anything 🙂

...and how did the photography go? 😱

 

[antiquark]

Gear I took on my last trip:

- Nikon D40x
- 18-55mm zoom
- the smallest bag that the camera will fit into, slung over my opposite shoulder. (A bag's better than a neckstrap if you have to take care of kids.)
- Battery charger. Single SD card. I may have taken a digi P&S (I forget, didn't use if if I did).

For my second last trip I took both a digital P&S (Canon A620) and a film camera with a 50/1.4 lens. Guess which one stayed in the room the whole time? (Hint: the heavier one.)
🙂

 

[yanidel]

Just came back from a month in Argentina ... where I took the M8 together with the 28mm Ultron M, 35 and 50mm Summicron and the ... 28mm Industar 69.
They all saw a lot of use yet the $20 Industar 69 was my clear favorite. Amazing for blue skies, great sharpness and so light (<30 grams) despite being non coupled, bad ergonomics, no IR and many other faults.

 

[Windscale]

Holidays or vacation of course, much more intimate, and very English. Gears - no, should say equipment. You need no cameras for your holidays of a lifetime. Just buy postcards as you go along! You won't take better pictures than them. But if you say a "photographic" holiday of a lifetime, then this is a completely different question. But the wise one who asked this question would already have the answer.

I suppose by "tea" you mean not just the cup but the whole works!

But for ordinary common me, the last few holidays carried the same gear - a converted 6x6 with Schneider-Kreuznach 47/5.6, a Rolleiflex TLR with Planar 75/3.5 and a Digi P&S. And they all went into a small camera bag easily leaving plenty of room for those lovely 120 film.

 

[javimm]

...and how did the photography go? 😱

😀 As strange as it could seem, I was able to focus correctly most of the times even after all the beer I drunk.

Now seriously, the pictures came out great, and we liked the country very much.

I got less dirty looks from her when changing lenses than I got in other trips when I was carrying a DSLR and some big zooms inside a backpack. Now I use some belt pouches and changing lenses is fast and non-disturbing for her.

She even took way more pictures than me with her digicam, so she can't say that I take too many pics anymore :angel:

 

[jmilkins]

ROFL OP. And yet some some of us still couldn't help but answer. And I have to admit that I couldn't help but read the answers. sigh. Tragic really, but I'm not complaining.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

ROFL OP. And yet some some of us still couldn't help but answer. And I have to admit that I couldn't help but read the answers. sigh. Tragic really, but I'm not complaining.

I would take my M6, with 35mm Summicron, with hand made half case, in a Billingham bag, with as much film as I could fit in. But how about the x-ray scanners at the airports? Is that a real problem?

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

I would take my M6, with 35mm Summicron, with hand made half case, in a Billingham bag, with as much film as I could fit in. But how about the x-ray scanners at the airports? Is that a real problem?

So far, I've had no problems on two trips...oops! - holidays! - to Turkey every year, but mainly had slowish film, I believe fast stuff can be susceptible?.
Got held up at Dalaman for quite a while,-the lady at the checkpoint found a strange looking Polaris spot meter in my jacket pocket, and not speaking much English, sent for two colleaques to examine it - despite my mimed attempts to explain!, I think she thought it some sort of triggering device!.
Dave.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Did you have a Luigi case on that light meter?