Lens Choice for a few days in Paris

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mkorabo

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I will be travelling to Paris this weekend for work but will have a couple of days to walk around and photograph. I will be taking a Hexar RF and either a 35 Summaron or a 50 DR Cron. Films are Tri-x and Acros 100.

I need to travel light and want to really use one camera one lens for the trip (i have a DLUX 4 as a back up), 35 was my most used focal length with my SLR and as such i see well with a 35, but there is something nagging at me to use the DR Cron with Tri-x in Paris. (classic combination!)

Any thoughts are welcome.
 
When I asked similar question last year, many recommended wider angle lens because the alleys of Paris are very narrow and you can't back down.

I brought both 35mm and 50mm, but ended up using 50mm (Elmar-M 50/2.8) almost exclusively just because I am a 50mm kind of guy. If you are into 35mm, maybe 35 or 28mm would be better choice.

I shot all rolls pushed to 1600 so F2.8 was quite fast enough for me, but that's just me.
 
mkorabo said:
I will be travelling to Paris this weekend for work but will have a couple of days to walk around and photograph. I will be taking a Hexar RF and either a 35 Summaron or a 50 DR Cron. Films are Tri-x and Acros 100.

I need to travel light and want to really use one camera one lens for the trip (i have a DLUX 4 as a back up), 35 was my most used focal length with my SLR and as such i see well with a 35, but there is something nagging at me to use the DR Cron with Tri-x in Paris. (classic combination!)

Any thoughts are welcome.
Click to expand...

Travel light and secure. There are plenty of people there who would luv to relieve you of your gear.
 
When I went I took a 15, a 35, and a 50. The 50 only got used a handful of times. I'd say the rest were 70/30 for the 35 and 15 respectively.

I like wide though. That trip was the one that convinced me that I'm not a 35 + 50 guy. When I got back, I sold the 35 and bought a 28.
 
35mm is a great lens for Paris--with the narrow streets and closeness to pedestrians. On my m8, I normally prefer a 50--but, in Paris, I tend to use a 28. Hence, my rec of a 35 on your m body.
 
Take the 35 and just the tri-x. Light is scarce in Paris these days. I was just there two weeks ago. Wish I was back. Try some street shooting in
Auteuil (16th Arr.) Nice quiet part of Paris without the tourists. Enjoy!
Vic
 
In Paris (and in France in general) I had along 25, 28, and 35mm CV lenses, and a 50mm collapsible Summicron, for the Barnacks. I also had along a 40/1.4CV for an M body. I brought adapters so I could use all the LTM lenses on the M body, when desired. All lenses but the 50 got a lot of use. The 50, I probably used twice. I'd recommend the 35mm as a single lens choice, and not the 50, for the reasons stated--the streets are narrow. Remember, France is only the size of Texas, and everything has to be proportionately smaller (an observation made by one of my French instructors who was originally from Toulon).

Most days my standard outfit was a 35mm on one IIIc, and a 28 on the other. The camera not in use went into my Royal Robbins vest pocket. Some days the 25 replaced the 28. In my mind, 25mm and 35mm are ideally spaced. They are far enough apart so I don't have to guess which one is needed for a shot, but close enough to not leave a hole in the middle between them.

The 40/1.4 CV was usually my choice, on an M body when I wanted a built-in meter and the versatility of a fast lens.
 
Last time I was in Paris, I had an OM-1n + 28, 50 and 85, and a Mamiya 6 + 50 (28mm equivalent).

I used the Mamiya + wide angle about 98% of the time. But then again, that's just me: I would go with your favorite focal length and just stick to that.
 
I agree with Rob F and Leigh. The 35 of the lenses you've got. But since I was last in Paris I got the ZM 25: not just the perfect focal length for Paris, but the sharpness and contrast of that lens are so appropriate to the crispness of French architecture, dress and thought. The DR 50mm would give you an opposite look, also nice, but not what I think of when I think of taking pictures in Paris.
 
My favorite pictures of Paris were taken by HCB, and we all know what kind of lens he used.

"Light" is a relative term. After a few years of carrying a ruck around in the Army I don't have any trouble carrying a couple of cameras. In Paris I would carry the same kit I carry anywhere else; 2 Leica Ms, one mounted with a 35mm Summaron, and the other with a 50mm Summicron. I find it much easier to carry two lens-mounted cameras than to carry one camera and 2 lenses.

Both of these cameras together weigh less than my digi Nikon and it's 24/70 2.8 lens.
 
A 50. That's the only choice. Forget all other recommendations. HCB shot Paris with a 50. I think it's a law there that Paris must be shot with a 50.
 
i'd shoot the 35 myself, paris has lot's of close quarters where it would be better, and in more open areas it works well for getting in close to people
last time i was there i shot more 35 on my fed and 28 on my k10 than anything else (though I did use a 200 with the pentax a fair bit at pere la chaise for isolating details)
 
mkorabo said:
I will be travelling to Paris this weekend for work but will have a couple of days to walk around and photograph. I will be taking a Hexar RF and either a 35 Summaron or a 50 DR Cron. Films are Tri-x and Acros 100.

I need to travel light and want to really use one camera one lens for the trip (i have a DLUX 4 as a back up), 35 was my most used focal length with my SLR and as such i see well with a 35, but there is something nagging at me to use the DR Cron with Tri-x in Paris. (classic combination!)

Any thoughts are welcome.
Click to expand...

The Summaron is so small, I would say bring both. If you're anything like me, you'll get a feel for one or other of the lenses as soon as you arrive, and end up using that lens almost exclusively for the trip.
 
You said it yourself: 35mm is your most used focal length. I wouldn't complicate things and take a lens I use often and know well. As for film? Probably any ISO 400 will do (more versatile).
 
From http://www.rogerandfrances.com/short/z short schrift archive.html

Few topics generate more responses on the photographic forums than "I am going to Delhi [or Paris, or Istanbul, or wherever]. What cameras should I take?"

The curious assumption is that you are going to take different pictures from any you have ever taken before. If this is your first trip abroad, it seems a reasonable assumption that you will take the same sort of pictures you take at home, but in a more exotic location. If you have been abroad before, equally, you should have some recollection of what you shot when you were there.

You have only to remember two things. First, if you take too much, you have to carry it all; security is a concern, even when you put the bag down in a restaurant; and you're always having to decide what to use. Second, if you take too little, you risk insufficient versatility and the risk of your one camera breaking or being stolen. Two cameras, two to five lenses, and you've got it. How hard is that?


Or in your case, given your stated preference, one body + 35mm.

How are things going to change, compared with what you normally shoot? I normally shoot full frame Leica with 35 Summilux, so guess what I take to Paris, 3 hours from where I live.

Cheers,

R.
 
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