Gear for travel?

[Krosya]

Well, it's one of those threads again - what should I take with me?
I plan on going on vacation and wonder what others can advise as far as what I should take with me.
I'll be in Romania, and than possibly - Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece. While I have been to Romania before, I have never been to the other countries. So, I'm not sure what I should take. Kicker is - it's not just a travel pics i'll be taking, but I'll also be attending a wedding and while I'll not be an official photographer, I'll be expected to take some pics. I have done some weddings before and it was mostly Hassy or SLR that I used.
So, the question is - whats the optimum set of gear I should take, that will cover all those situations and will not be too much to drag around - it's a vacation after all.
I want to stay with just film cameras.
Choices:

Med. Format:
1. Welta Wetur folder - I think I'll take it in any case, as it's small enough.
2. Hassy with 80mm lens
3. Kowa SIX with 3 lenses - 85,55,150.
4. Kalloflex TLR.

RF bodies.:
1. M5
2. Hexar RF.

RF lenses:

1. ZM 21/2.8
2. Hexanon 28/2.8
3. CV 35/1.2
4. hex 50/1.2 (I'll take this one for sure)
5. hex 90/2.8- nice for portraits
6. hex 35/2
7. Rokkor 40/2 (nice small lens to keep handy?)
8. Nikkor ltm 50/1.4
9. Nikkor ltm 105//2.5 - nice for portraits, as well.

So, out of all these - what combo do you think is the best, considering locations and tasks I need to do?

 

[FPjohn]

If you wish to travel rather than photograph, you have an idea option,
which I envy, in the M5 with the Rokkor 40/2. IMHO of course.

Best of light.

yours
FPJ

 

[David_Manning]

M5 and the hex 35/2, on C-41 process b&w

 

[FA Limited]

C-41 process b&w

greek islands w/o color film is an opportunity gone begging

 

[David_Manning]

I agree on the P&S. That would cover the color stuff.

 

[reuno]

Go light. Hexar + Rokkor 40 and the 50 1,2 for shooting on the evening

 

[maddoc]

28/2.8 + 50/1.2 + M5 + Hexar RF. 🙂

Enjoy your trip and post some photos !!

 

[Cron]

take both bodies - Hexar and Leica, one lens on each of them;
lenses - 21,28,50, 90 would do it for me.

 

[Krosya]

Thanks for comments/advice.
A couple of follow-up questions, since most advise to go light - what about the wedding part - no MF for that? Think 35mm will be enough?
Also should I go with 21 or 28 lens - which would be better for Turkey/Greece?

 

[Al Kaplan]

I don't agree with Cron. That's a nice covers everythiing selection. Travel as light as possible. If it was me, I'd pick up a 15mm Heliar (they're relatively cheap) and stick the 50/1.4 Nikkkor on the second body. As an alternate take the 21 ZM and 50 Nikkor (if you're relatively cheap).

http://thepriceofsilver.blogspot.cron

 

[robinsonphotography]

I'd probably take both RF bodies, load one with a 28 the other with a 50, and walk around like that most of the time. Worth grabbing something in the middle (40?) so you can have a single body setup that works well, and also something long for a few portraits (maybe during the wedding?). Most importantly, just bring a ton of film--some color, even more B/W...but that's just my personal preference.

 

[Krosya]

I used to have a CV 15 but could never get comfortable with that FL, plus its too slow for my taste anyway. So, closest I can do is 21/2.8. But I wonder if it'll be too wide, so maybe 28mm?

 

[Austerby]

If you're not the official wedding photographer then they may be looking for you to produce more reportage type shots of the guests and the day rather than the conventional captures so in that case the RFs would be ideal.

If you're going to the Greek islands the main settlements, particularly in the Cyclades, consist of narrow, winding streets - as much to defend against the Meltemi wind as well as pirate attacks, so a wider angle lens is better than narrower. I find 28mm better than 35mm here and 21mm may be better still.

The islands are lovely but the houses are very bright white in the sun so treat as if shooting snow or bright beach scenes and don't be fooled by the meter readings.

I've taken some lovely black and white shots of the islands so they're not just all about colour - the local postcards tend to have cornered the market in colourful pictures anyway.

I'm off to Greece next week, yachting around the Cyclades, and will be taking my M3 with the VC25mm and 50mm Summarit f1.5. I will probably use my last two rolls of Kodachrome on the trip, otherwise I'll have some Adox CHS25 and some Acros 100 I think. I'll also take my waterproof digital olympus P&S for the boaty and party photos.

I think the same kit would work well for Turkey too - the souks have great photo opportunities and tend to be narrow, contrasty and busy so your 50/1.2 would be great at isolating detail and your fast 21mm would be good to get in the wider shots.

 

[Mablo]

Travelling light is my religion. I'd take one light body and not more than 2 lenses. I'd choose 21mm and 50mm.

 

[FrankS]

I would never go anywhere significant without a backup body and fewer than 2 lenses. The rational for that is: Travel is a golden opportunity for photography, and stuff breaks at the most inopportune time.

 

[Krosya]

Thing about 21 - I'd prefer not to have extarnal VF. I can sort of get away without one with Hexar RF, but not fully, as it's VF is not wide enough. Thats why I consider 28mm. Yet I do really like results I get with 21mm lens - it can fit a lot on a frame. What to do what to do? 😉 And I'm not sure I want to take with 21 and 28.

 

[Al Kaplan]

Use the 21mm external viewfinder and tape over the eyepiece in the camera. You won't be needing the rangefinder anyway with a 21.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Two M-fit bodies, 3, 4 or at most 5 lenses. No duplicated or near-duplicated focal lengths. Anything more is too much hasssle to carry, keep secure and keep changing.

In May/June I went through Italy, Slovenia, Serbia, Kosova, Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Germany and back to France. I followed the advice given above and didn't regret it for a moment.

Have fun!

Cheers,

R.

 

[Tin]

On my last trip to the Eastern Mediterranean area, it only took one film camera with one lens (Bessa R2 and CV 25/4), although I had a digital camera to cover the remaining angles (24 - 120 mm equivalent with the Sony R1). In your case, I'd suggest bringing two film camera bodies with the 28/2.8 and the 40/2. Bring a digital, as others had suggested, to cover the occasional telephoto situations.

On an earlier trip to Europe, I had carried the CV25/4, CV35/1.7 and an Elmer 90/4. But I found out that I used the 90/4 for no more than 10 shots---mostly sunset shots. That would have been covered with a digital. Hence I skipped the other lenses in the subsequent trip.

 

[FrankS]

My friend Guy went on a trip to the Far East including China. One of his 2 RF cameras packed it in. Luckily he wasn't "travelling light" and was able to continue photographing with his second camera. IMO, significant travel is like wedding photography: You just have to have a backup.

With 2 cameras, one can be used for colour film, the other for B+W, OR one for wide angle and the other for normal lens to save time spent switching lenses.