How many lenses do you own? Do you carry and do you double up?

I carry MP and 35mm summilux ASPH daily. sometimes throwing in 90mm Elmarit-M into my OD green Domke. If I think I'll be doing some reportage I'll drag along a motorized M6 .

I have made consious effort to reduce my holdings and work solely with 35mm and 90mm lenses.

Chapeau.
 
I find it amazing at how many lenses some on here own and will try to tote with them while shooting.

If aaron Huey did that on his "America" trip, he would have missed a great many shots:

http://www.aaronhuey.com/pages/portfolio.html

He did it all with a single M6 and 35mm. That is the essence of the Leica, simple and to the point.....let your vision do the rest.
 
Currently...
28mm Biogon
35mm Biogon
50mm Summicron

Thinking of picking up a 50mm Elmar Collapsible for a compact M3 setup.

If I carry only one body, it's either an M3 w/ 50mm or M6 w/ 35mm
If I carry both Ms, it's the 28mm on the M6 and 50mm on the M3

Now... that R-D1 is just going to "mess things up" for me...
 
I recently sold most of my lens, because I found out which I don't really use.
That being said all I have now is a:
28 Zeiss
35 Zeiss
50 Summicron
50 Elmar 3.5 (yes and ooooooooooooold one)
 
Hmm, I have gapping hole between 15mm and 35mm....I feel GAS coming on

1x CV Heliar 15mm
1 x Summaron 35/3.5
1 x Canon 35/1.5
1 x Canon 35 /2.8
1 x Jupiter 12 35/2.8
1 x Summicron 50/2 DR
1 x Canon 50/1.2
1 x Summilux 50/1.4
1 x Elmarit 50/2.8
1x Jupiter 3 50/1.5
4 x Jupiter 8 50/2
1x Heliar Classic 50/2 col.
2 x Industar 26m 50/2.8
1 x Industar 26 52/2.8
2 x Industar 61 53/2.8
1 x Canon 85/2
1 x Elmarit 90/2.8 col.
1x Elmar 90/4 col.
1 x Hektor 135/4.5

Having said that I only really use the Summilux 50 and the Canon 35/1.5
 
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Like TomA, I am in the throes of deciding what kit goes with me next week on a trip to Asia (China, rather than Japan). I have been selling furiously these last few weeks to pare down my selections, much to the delight of a number of buyers on this forum 😀

Now that the dust has settled, my primary lens selection is now down to three:
28mm Biogon
35mm Summicron
50mm Summilux

I also have 2 other 50's and a 90 that will be staying at home.

I generally like to use one lens with one body. The Biogon will be assigned to the R-D1, the Summicron to a M2 and the Summilux to a M6. The 28 and 50 can be reversed on the M6 and R-D1 to give me a wider or longer reach, respectively. The M's will be fed Tri-X and Provia 400X. I may also grab some PanF+ before I go.

Truth be told, I could live very easily with just one M body, a 50mm Summilux and a hoard of Tri-X.
 
KM-25 said:
He did it all with a single M6 and 35mm. That is the essence of the Leica, simple and to the point.....let your vision do the rest.
Click to expand...
'Essence' of the Leica?

Why do they make other lenses then?

Some people NEED other lenses to illustrate things. Interiors with a 35 or maybe a 50? No thanks. I'll go for a 21, 18, 15 or 12 (or a Tri-Elmar 16-18-21). Not all, but at least one. A picture of HH Dalai Lama on the roof of the temple at Losar with a 35 or 50? No thanks: much rather have a 90 or 135.

For that matter, at the request of the Tibetan Government in Exile, Frances and I shot half a dozen portraits for the equivalent of the National Portrait Gallery of Tibet in Exile. I was glad we had the 90/2 Summicron with ua...

For a technically undemanding series of snapshots with minimal time pressure -- and that's all the 'America' series is, from a technical point of view, regardless of your opinion of the photographer's eye (which in his case I do not mean to denigrate) -- then sure, I'd be happy enough with my 35/1.4 or my 50/1.5 Sonnar.

And while I'd be happy pootling along with one camera for amusement's sake, cameras can and do break down: I've had it happen to me, even with Leicas. That's quite apart from being to finish the film in one body, and grab the other body. In the middle of a demonstration, that can be quite an advantage.

I don't have a big backup team to rush me a new camera -- and even if I did, I'd be a bloody fool to be hundreds of miles from the neareast Leica dealer without a camera, when a spare body takes up so little room and costs so much less than sorting out a potential problem any other way. Talk about cheap insurance!

I have nothing against anyone who is so ultra-purist that they use only one camera and one lens. But I lost track many years ago of the number of pics I've had published, so I'd suggest that there may be other ways to do things.

Cheers,

R.
 
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Honus said:
Truth be told, I could live very easily with just one M body, a 50mm Summilux and a hoard of Tri-X.
Click to expand...

Robert, recently I have gone through a time where I have tried to exhibit extreme self-discipline toward my gear with this very thought of yours in mind. I sold/traded a load of gear to get down to my minimalist kit, as in my signature. I must admit that I do miss having a second body, though. It comes in so handy for running two types of film; accordingly I will be looking to acquire another M2.

I find the 50 + 35 focal lengths to do everything. The 25 Biogon I have is a great lens, but I am just such a hardcore 50/35 guy that I use my ZM 25 so rarely. Perhaps when the weather improves, I will enjoy using it more with my beloved Adox CMS 20.
Regards,
Thomas
 
I like Roger's practical reply, which seems to be 'take the lenses you need for the job in hand, and perhaps a spare or two....'.

In my case I only have one body + 1 lens (M6ttl .85 + 50mm Summarit) so perforce I am a purist. I think it will be next year before I can afford anything else, so I shall spend this year taking the pictures I can take with the 50 Summarit and not stress about the pictures I'm not taking with other lenses....

I did have an M2 for a few years, but simply could not hack it without a meter (my shortcoming, not the camera's). With that I had a Summicron 50, a CV Ultron 35, a CV 25 (?) - one of the non-coupled ones - and a CV 90. In practice I used the 35mm 40% of the time, the 50mm 59% of the time, and the other two about 1% between them. Hence the decision to start with a 50mm this time.

At one time I had ambitions to keep the M2 (which was fairly early - 1961? s/n under 1,000,000, certainly) and build a collection of similar age 2nd tier Leica lenses: I was thinking a 50mm Elmar, a 35mm Summaron (f2.8), and a 90mm Tele-elmar. But in the end the M2 had to go.
 
What I currently carry on the street for the last year and 1/2 is 3 cameras with 3 lens. Leica111F with VC21, M3 with 50 lux, and M6 with 35 cron. All of this equipment fits in a Domke 5? bag( used to be their smallest bag. I love the 111 F, and although the 21 has not been taken off that camera in 9 months, I also have in ltm: 35/2.8canon, 50/1.8 Canon, 85/2 Nikkor, 90/4 elmar, 100/3.5 canon. All 3 long lens are nice and the 3 cost in total 340 bucks. 75% of my shots are taken with a 35Cron. I have adapters for the LTMS
 
I have and use two lenses, a 35 and a 50. Sometimes I will miss a picture because I don't have the right lens - a 28 or a 24 perhaps. When that happens, I think 'sod it, I 'll go and make a few other pictures instead for the ones I lost'. Something is going to work in the end, hopefully.

Two bodies, two lenses for me.
 
i decide on a lens for each roll i shoot and only carry that one. if i want to use slide film or something, i use a different body and lens.

15 VC heliar LTM
35 Leica summicron ASPH M
35 Leica summaron 2.8 LTM
40 VC nokton ASPH
50 Leica summilux 1.4 LTM (2000 reissue)
50 Leica collapsible summicron M
50 Leica collapsible summicron LTM
50 Leica summicron rigid M
50 Leica summicron rigid black paint M
50 VC color skopar 2.5?
75 VC heliar LTM
90 Leica summicron V2 M
135 Leica hektor M

i didn't realize i had so many 50s!
 
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I have two RF lenses, both 50s. One is a Summar, the other a Summitar so it's pretty much a choice between coated and uncoated when I'm shooting. So far I've only ever taken one with me at a time.

I'm generally quite acquisitive when it comes to camera gear 🙄 but I haven't yet felt the urge to try other focal lengths. Maybe it's because I'm using a IIIa, but the photographic snob in me likes to think I'm just being sensible (ha!) in trying to master what I already own. In fact, the only LTM purchase I've been vaguely (very vaguely) contemplating is another 50, perhaps a faster one. Oh yes, and one of these days I might get an Elmar for the smallest possible body/lens combination... :angel:

Incidentally, this is in sharp contrast to my Pentax SLR/DSLR system, which includes three bodies and nine lenses of which three are 50s and seven are good to outstanding primes.

Matthew
 
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KM-25 said:
I find it amazing at how many lenses some on here own and will try to tote with them while shooting.

If aaron Huey did that on his "America" trip, he would have missed a great many shots:

http://www.aaronhuey.com/pages/portfolio.html

He did it all with a single M6 and 35mm. That is the essence of the Leica, simple and to the point.....let your vision do the rest.
Click to expand...


Thank you.

Chapeau!
 
There was a time (about twenty years worth) that all I knew was a Yashica and 50mm lens. Creativity did the rest.

Now money seems to get in the way too often, a necessary evil some say, but a reality nonetheless.

Tom: Enjoy your trip.

Chapeau!
 
zeiss ikon...zm 25/2.8...zm 35/2...zm 50/1.5
bessa r4a...cv 21/4...25/4 p...28/3.5...35/1.4 sc...35/2.5...50/2.5
minolta cle...rokkor 28/2.8...40/2

seems i own 11 lenses.
i don't normally double up.
if i were to travel i would probably take the zeiss kit, it's the perfect kit with 25/35/50 lenses.

for my normal weekend shooting i max out at 2 lenses but more often than not i carry only one, on the camera.
 
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