Gear to Bring to Israel and Petra, Jordan

[Johann Espiritu]

Hi all,

I will be traveling to Israel and Petra next month, and would like to keep my gear down to a minimum (by my standards at least), and would like advise on those who have been there or similar destinations.

1.) Will dust be a problem with my M9? Should I avoid switching lenses in the field?
2.) How much should I be prepared to hike?

So far, I am down to deciding between these two kits:

(a) Leica Trio: M7 + M9 + X1, or

(b) Leica M + Compact Kit: Leica M7 + M9 + Ricoh GX200?


M lenses I plan to bring will be 28 Biogon, 35 Summicron ASPH and VC 15mm. I may or may not bring a 50 Planar.



(Note: Everything has to fit in a Domke F-803)


Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!


Cheers,


Johann

 

[raid]

Leica M7 + M9

28 Biogon, 35 Summicron ASPH and VC 15mm+ 50 Planar.

Rugged shoes
plenty of film
travel to Jordan, then Israel.
spare batteries
dust proof camera bag

 

[Dave Jenkins]

Count on walking 6--8 miles in Petra.

[FONT=&quot]My wife and I went to Israel and Jordan in April, 1010. I carried a basic Canon outfit of a 5D and two zooms, a 50mm macro, and a 20D for backup and for my wife to use.
Trudging up a hill toward some impressive temples in Petra on an oppressively hot afternoon, cursing with every step my increasingly heavy camera bag (a Domke 803!), 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 since I had been reading about the Pen digital micro 4/3s cameras, I asked if I could hold and look through his camera.

"Wow!" I thought to myself as the little camera rested sweetly in my hand, "Why I am carrying this load around? I'll bet the Pen and two or three lenses would weigh less than a 5D with a 50mm lens."

I'm 6'2", about 230 pounds, and operate a small farm in addition to doing architectural and commercial photography. When I photograph on location I carry as much equipment as the job requires. But I don't believe in carrying any more weight than necessary.

So did I buy an Olympus? Absolutely! I got an E-PL1, and am in the process of putting together a small outfit that will be my travel kit from now on. As for image quality. my own tests and tests I saw on the Imaging Resource site indicate that the Pen is very close to the 5D. Definitely good enough for government work, as we say.

Whatever you decide to take, keep the load as light as possible. You'll curse yourself if you don't.

[/FONT]

 

[raid]

This is a wise advice indeed. Travel light. Very light.

 

[Johann Espiritu]

Thanks for the replies. Packing light is definitely a priority! In any case, however, I will need to bring with me a high-quality 35mm (or equivalent) lens for a project I am working on called BUSTed (samples here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjvvZRyj).

Right now, I am leaning on ditching the M7 altogether and going for a M9 + X1 + GX200 combo, and deciding on the day's needs, bringing 2 out of the 3 but always with either the M9 + 35 'Cron or X1 with me (for BUSTed).

So now the kit looks like: M9 + X1 + GX200 (with 35, 28, 15 and 50mm, in that order of priority).

 

[jonmanjiro]

Yes, whatever you take, keep it light. My better half and I walked for miles and miles over two days when we visited Petra in December 2009 including hiking all the way up to the monastery the second day. The view was amazing, and totally worth the climb. I was glad I was only lugging two Zeiss Ikons, three light lenses, and a Powershot S90. In retrospect, I should have left the digital S90 at home and concentrated on shooting film. My Astia slides of Petra look stunning.

On the way back from the monastery we were pretty tired, and consided getting a camel ride to the entrance, but at 20 Euro each 😱 we passed and found the energy to walk the last few miles.

 

[andredossantos]

I would take 2 M bodies simply so I didn't have to switch lenses while out. But I HATE switching lenses, YMMV. If I were you, I would take both the m9 and m7, all the lenses, and would leave the compact at home.

 

[Jubb Jubb]

Depends if you want to shoot digital.
The M9 + 35 summicron is a good setup. Why not just shoot that?...

 

[Dave Jenkins]

Just for the record, coming out of Petra is about three miles uphill all the way.

 

[Chris C]

I'm a huge fan of traveling very light and often with only one focal length and just a mju II as a backup in case anything goes wrong (I suspect one day it'll bite me but it never has). There's nothing worse than lugging around too much gear, especially in the heat.
If I was in your boat I'd take the M9 with 35mm attached, the M7 with 50mm attached and the 15mm in the bag for when you need it. The X1 and GX200 seem to overlap a little with the M9, and 28mm and 35mm are interchangeable for me.
But that's just me.

 

[raid]

I was the only tourist in Petra on the day during which I visited Petra.
The Badool Bedouins welcomed me, and I chatted with them for several hours. We talked about past wars in the region.

My guide Salem (on my avatar) guided me through Petra. He was on donkey back,while I walked.
I also got wonderful slides, and I published an article on the trip in Shutterbug. The 50mm lens is very important for some good portraits of the locals. I used a 80-200 zoom on a Canon F1N with Fujichrome 50 and 100.

 

[kermaier]

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

 

[Johann Espiritu]

Thanks again for all the advise. Right now, I'm looking at just bringing the Leica digital duo of the M9 + X1 with the 15, 28, and 35.

My big concern will be changing lenses in the field, so my walkabout set up will likely be either (1) M9 with 28 + X1, or (2) M9 with 35. The 15 will stay in the coat pocket and will come out rarely but be greatly appreciated when it does.

 

[Neare]

Yeah travel light is the best way. Hopefully you'll have a place to put your bags down, if not keep the bag small. It'll feel like summer over there still but in most places it's a dry heat.

I never noticed so much dust so I don't think it'll be that much of a problem, but just be award of the areas you go into as the landscape is incredible diverse. So there could be dust when out in very open areas but consider it safe in the populated areas.

 

[sanmich]

but at 20 Euro each 😱 we passed

You could have sold the camel to other tourists when back...😉

 

[sanmich]

About the gear...

I would travel light, but would not fully rely on batteries (read, I would take a film camera).
One thing I would never do is use the Domke (I have some of them, and love them for day to day use)
Any basic backpack will much easier on your lumbars.

 

[Johann Espiritu]

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.

Great advise, and I will most likely be doing something like this. What's a shaving brush? Literally the one you would use to shave? I've never tried that on my cameras! 😉

Taking the Ziplocs is a good idea. Thanks again!

 

[Roger Hicks]

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.

 

[kermaier]

What's a shaving brush? Literally the one you would use to shave? I've never tried that on my cameras! 😉

Yes, you could use an old-fashioned shaving brush, but I use this DeWitt's brush that I picked up at B&H. It was indispensable when I traveled to Israel 4 years ago (also in August) and brought a Rolleiflex 3.5E. Don't use it on your lens glass, though -- it's strictly for removing dust and grit from non-optical surfaces.

::Ari

 

[back alley]

i use a make-up brush from the dollar store...