Leica Beginner Question...

I agree with Tom: for comfortable and efficient shooting, you should use two bodies instead of one, and for security too... With $3000 you could get an M6 with the great 35 1.2 Nokton (both for $2000), and another body for a tele... For example, with the narrow view of a 90mm (not too much sky to fool the meter), it would make sense -in such an adventure full of unexpected situations- having the option of AE, so the 1:1 viewfinder from the R3A could be very useful with the CV 90 Apo Lanthar (both for $1000). Both lenses are great... At least for me, an R3A, the Nokton and the Apo Lanthar, would do more for my shooting than a single Leica 35...

Cheers,

Juan
 
the Oly XA is an awesome idea! Definitely. So are lots of plastic bags 😀


Livesteamer said:
I am curious what film you are intending to use. This has been interesting as I am looking forward to a week of hiking in the Rockie mountains this summer. Part of me says just an M6 with 35mm and the other part of me wants to bring 2 M6's, three lenses and a Retina IIa or FM2n. Joe
Click to expand...

Tri-X 400. Might bring a roll or two of color if something really, really justifies it. I will be shipping rolls out as soon as they are shot as well, and have them shipped in from time to time.

Whatever setup I get, I will be carrying and shooting daily for the next 3 months, I really think that will be important.

I am considering taking my HPRC Case and attaching it as either a handlebar or rear racktop system. Either would be quite accessible, and the thick foam inner should protect the camera quite well.

41Q3OehDDWL._SL500_AA280_.jpg


Either that, or just get a backpack, although I am not sure I would want to carry a pack throughout the trip...

544420.jpg


This forum is awesome, thanks so much for all of the information! I will be sure to post up photos here. If anyone is curious in following the trip my website is

www.graemerides.com
 
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Whatever you do, when you come by San Francisco, let us know, a bunch of RF users in the bay area - we meet quite a bit.
 
I will be traveling straight through San Francisco for sure. I will try and hit a library north of there and let you guys know when I am getting close.
 
Just curious - what is your primary objective of the trip? An honest answer will go a long way toward helping you figure out your gear. If you're riding first and shooting along the way just for yourself, then go minimal. If your purpose is serious documentation and the images will be used for more than personal memories then bring what you will really need and cut back elsewhere.

Chris
 
Chris,

Definitely shooting this for more than personal memories. Hoping to get some portfolio stuff done with this trip.


But I do realize the ride is going to be a gigantic physical endeavor (I am riding it on a fixed gear bike) and I have to factor that into everything as well. But the bottom line is that I want to shoot this "professionally", not just to make a scrap-book out of. So the idea of physically being able to finish the trip, while shooting as much as I possibly can (hopefully lots of environmental portraiture of the people I meet) is the goal. I think both of those aspects are pretty equally yolked as far as what I need to get done is concerned.

I have aspirations of becoming a professional photojournalist, so I want to make this trip count.

Also taking a trip to Israel this summer with basically the focus being on photography.

I love the simplicity of just having one lens and one camera. At the same time, taking a 90mm lens along with me would not be that much more effort at all. Just keep it bagged and in my case.

Overall, I think my ideal output would be something like this...

http://www.andrewquerner.com/

Something like that "Wood Buffalo" set could absolutely happen on a trip like this... in my mind.
 
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Personally I'd strongly consider a *new* ZI bundle with 35mm biogon for $2300.
Add a decent 90mm tele-elmarit for $300-$400 and you have a great lightweight system that takes dime-store batteries available everywhere.

btw, I'm green with envy about your plans.
 
So I think I am going to definitely go M6 with a 35mm Summicron.

I was thinking that I might want to throw in a 50mm lens too, as the combination of these two lenses have worked really well for me in the past. I think the focal lengths are different enough in my shooting style to not overlap.

So is there a 50mm lens for ~400ish that is the bang for the buck choice? Thinking somewhere around f2 or below.

Then I can just finally order something and tear this bandaid off.
 
Israel will be good test. If you can cart around a couple of bodies and lenses in that heat - you can carry them on a bike. If you want to make a career of photography - you have to a have durable gear. No client pays for the mistakes and they dont believe in excuses either. Look at it as a "essay" trip - write a shooting list of what you want to shoot and then add what you think an editor would like. Look at your future market - you have to sell a "package" - both words and pictures in todays highly competitive market.
You will need more color - black and white is not really sellable - however much you like it (and so do I). Start an on-line "blog" and even if you only use a small digital p/s - use it to create interest in your project.
Photography has changed from the days of the guy dropped into a "zone" with a M-camera and a 50mm lens and the proverbial bag of TriX and came out with a book, a couple of major essays in Life, Nat'l geo and a Pulitzer Price. Magazines are hurting for money and pay accordingly (or simply buy stock from Corbis/Getty), on-line publications pay even less - if at all.
It is a profession where "many are called - but few are chosen" - and the ones that get chosen know how to market themselves!
Bicycle trips are not new - Prudhoe to Tierra Del Fuego has been done. Vancouver usually have a fair bit of Alaska bound cyclists every summer. You have to look at it from a point that all the rest have missed - and sell it. It is a tough market out there and not discourage you - as someone has to do these things - you have to be better than all the others and that means preparation, planning and to be prepared for the unexpected.
Gear is important - but only if it works for you. Durable gear, back ups and back up plans even more so. Look at your camera as you look at your bike. What can go wrong? What spares do I bring. Can I fix it myself or can it be modified so that I can if needed (both bike and cameras). There are few camera repair places in Alaska and BC outside of the bigger cities - and long distances between those that still exist.
Set up mail drops along the route so that you can ship stuff out for fixing and get it back when fixed. Talk to repair guys you already know - set up a system for this. You might not need it - but it is better to be ready if needed. Travelling is a job in itself and if you want to produce something from the trip that is more than "snaps" - you have to do the gruntwork ahead of time.
I once met a guy in Australia who was doing the "square" - 28 000 km - following the coastline - documenting it with a 4x5 camera, tripod, developing tank - on a bicycle!!!! Impressive - and he processed and contact printed whenever he found somewhere to do it - usually campus darkrooms or other photographers and carried a small 5x7 "booklet", spiral bound that he used as a " ice breaker" when he met people on the road. Australia is actually tougher as you can only strip down so far to cool off - in the Artic/sub Arctic you can layer the clothing - and by not washing it ( and yourself) you keep the mosquitos and blackflies at bay.
Sounds like fun though and good luck.
 
I hate to be a voice of dissent (but perhaps reason) here, but I wouldn't take an M6, or any RF, on that trip for a few reasons. Firstly, even on a really comfy, cushy steel touring bike like a Surly LHT that has nice wide tires, it is going to catch too much vibration. At the very least, the RF will likely go out of alignment on you. They are great cameras, but they simply can't stand up to that level of abuse day after day, and a lot of the time, you won't know that anything is wrong until it is way too late. Also, that is a lot of money to be risking, probably as much or more than your bike.

I will get booed for this, but I would pick a good quailty rugged SLR for the trip. A Nikon Fsomething, or an FM3a, an Olympus OM-2, or a Pentax K1000 comes to mind. Japanese SLRs are remarkably rugged, are a lot cheaper, and are a lot easier to replace along the way in the unlikely event that they break. Sure, they don't have the je ne sais quoi of a Leica, but as someone who has gone to mexico with a brace of leicas and a boatload of film only to find out that his cameras went out of adjustment on the trip, the je ne sais quoi doesn't mean a damn thing if you don't have images at the end of the day.

Also, instead of a handlebar bag for your camera, check out the zimbale saddlebags. They make a couple of models with inserts that turn them in to full fledged camera bags. Harris Cyclery sells them.
 
After reading through the thread i have to agree with Merkin as well. Just by way of example I'am a RF newbie as well and the M6 i bought went out of alignment a few weeks after i bought it simply by carrying it all over the place in my jacket pocket (i think). I wouldn't give it too much chances on a handlebar bag. Why do you want to go RF? to save weight? be discrete? If it's to blend in, then i would get a more rugged fixed lens RF with a good lens. A canonet QL17/Himatic 7sII/olympus 35SP/konica S3 all have excellent lenses (i've used the first 2 which got me started on the whole RF thing) that could hold their own with other M lenses (flame suit on!!) I would get one of these and get it CLA'd or buy one here that has had a CLA. Shouldn't cost you more than $250 for the camera +CLA. Supplement that with a SLR (nikon/oly) and 3 lens kit and your set. I can't comment on olympus but if your going nikon then any manual body (i would get a F3) and a AiS 24/28mm lens (buy one with the CRC), 55mm micro (2.3 or 3.5) and Ais 105mm 2.5 would be my recommendation.
 
I'm with Merkin, too. Bike rides are bouncy. Surely, too, you will take more than one tumble on the way. It seems, as well, that every time I read a story about a long distance bike ride, the rider has at least one tale about thievery. Frankly, I wouldn't put $3000 worth of hardware at risk like that.

I'll elaborate on Tom's suggestion about establishing a relationship with repair people and suggest that you buy a back-up to your back-up camera and leave that with someone who can ship it to you overnight if disaster strikes. I.e., if you go with an F3HP, buy another one and leave it at home. If you lose the primary F3HP en route, you can call home and get the other one shipped overnight.
 
I'll officially retract my advice as well. If this is a "pro" trip and you want salable images then you need the best modern pro gear you can get your hands on. Get 2 of the best film SLRs you can and save the M6 for another day.

Chris
 
You've already decided on a body and you've made the right choice. A used M6 is worth the price premium; it's leaps and bounds beyond the comparable Zeiss or Cosinas. As for lenses, the Summicrons are nice, but expensive, and the Voigtlanders and Zeiss lenses compare favorably. You can probably get a 70s/80s used Summicron 50 for $400-500 and a 35mm Sumicron from that era for $900-1000.

I can't say whether or not a Leica can withstand the bumps of a bike ride, but it won't be any worse than an SLR. SLRs go out of alignment too; they're only accurate when the ground glass is *exactly* the same distance from the lens as the film/sensor is, and they rarely stay that way.

In fact, compared to an Olympus OM-2 (a camera I dearly love, btw) the Leica will be much more durable. Those Olympuses are nice, but a bit flimsy comapred to a Nikon F or Leica M. Just make sure to keep your camera padded.
 
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