Gear to Bring to Israel and Petra, Jordan

[kermaier]

What's the marginal weight and size penalty of an M-body and an X1? Small enough, in my view, to carry two Ms. If you can walk 10 miles with an M and an X1, surely you can walk 10 miles with a couple of Ms and three lenses.

Cheers,

R.

Not much of a difference, certainly, but two bodies and 3 lenses starts to feel surprisingly heavy after 10 miles in the sun, with your water bottles, hitch-hiker's guide and towel.

Also -- just my personal, non-pro experience obviously -- is that fewer choices in the field make for better photos and fewer missed opportunities. If I'd carried two cameras with me at once, I probably would have spent as much time screwing around with settings as shooting, and likely would've ended up dropping one camera off a cliff while changing gear. 🙂

::Ari

 

[Livesteamer]

Quite some time ago someone here said to travel with lenses that roughly double or halve in focal lengths. For me that works out as 15 28 50 and maybe a 90. Pack light, Have fun and Safe Travels. Joe

 

[Johann Espiritu]

This is one of those times that I wished Ricoh made a fast 35mm-equivalent GRD.

 

[filmfan]

M7 + 35mm lens and film. There, you are set now.

 

[raid]

Raid, I'm guessing you meant "donkey back"? 😀

I spent 2 weeks in Israel this past August. For transport, I brought a Billingham Hadley Pro, and used a LowePro PhotoSport Sling 100 AW as my daily bag. I had a Fuji X100 and an Epson R-D1 with Canon 25/3.5, Elmarit-M Asph 28/2.8, Nikkor-W 35/1.8, M-Rokkor 40/2, CV 50/2.5 Skopar and M-Hexanon 90/2.8. I did a mix of hiking, touring and city walking. I only carried one camera on any given outing, and never more than two lenses with the R-D1. About 75% of my pictures were made with the X100. On the R-D1, I used the 28mm most, followed by the 35mm, 25mm, 50mm and 40mm (in descending order). The 90mm never fired a shot.

My advice: Take the X1 and the M9, with your 15/28/50 lens line-up. The P&S couldn't hurt as a carry-everywhere backup. But don't carry both the X-1 and M9 at the same time. Use your judgement when changing lenses in the field. There will be dust everywhere. Bring a bulb blower and lens brush, and a shaving brush for the exterior of your gear. Clean everything at the end of each day. Keep a few heavy duty 1-gallon ziploc bags in your camera bag, in case you end up in a non-camera-friendly situation. Use lens hoods religiously, and consider good quality UV filters.

Enjoy!
::Ari

Ari: that would have been weird to be on "monkey back"!

 

[Snowbuzz]

Wow, have a great trip! I so wish I can see Petra some day. Bring back pictures for us please.

 

[Johann Espiritu]

I most certainly will! Thanks to everyone for the tips! 😎