Lenses for my travel kit

[Bailey]

It's looking like might be taking a trip to southeast asia for a few months. I'm trying to figure out a good, light weight combination of lenses to bring. Originally, before I bought my CL, I had been thinking that I would get an R2 with the 35mm pancake, a 75mm, and that little cv 15mm. But I ended up getting a CL and it came with the 90mm and the 40mm. Since then I've gotten a 25mm and 50mm 1.4. But now I'm wondering if any of these lenses are really ideal for a good travel set.

Most of the time when I've travelled in the past I've just brought my olympus XA (which I still plan on taking as a pocket backup camera) or a point and shoot. So, I'm not totally sure what situations and lens needs are going to come up the most. I do know, though, that I want keep it relatively simple and not too bulky.

So what do you guys keep in your travel kits? And when do you find those lenses come in handy the most?

Also, if there's anyone that knows, are Leica and CV lenses easy to come by and cheap in Hong Kong? I'll be going there first most likely, and I've wondered if I'd be better off buying there.

 

[back alley]

if i wanted really small i would go with the cl/40/90 kit.
the cl and the 40 could easily account for 90% of your shooting but the 90 is so small & light that i would keep with me also.

joe

 

[Bailey]

Yeah, I've thought about that. I guess the problem I have with the 40 'cron is that it's not as small as the cv 35 or the kobalux 28, and it's not as fast as the nokton 40. I guess it's a good compromise, but, like all compromises, doesn't really fully do any of the things you want. It does take nice pictures, though, which I suppose is the most important thing.

And the 90 elmar takes beautiful photos as well. But so far I haven't really gotten the knack for when I should be using it. It seems like a lot my photos with it are really tightly cropped portraits. That's why I thought maybe a 75 would be more natural.

I'd also like to have a good super wide for dramatic cityscapes and such. I had been thinking 15, but now I'm wondering if that might be a little too wide.

 

[sebastel]

joe's right.
max aperture 2 is sufficient for almost all cases (supposing u can use fast film, ISO 400), especially when you want to carry as few as possible...
but if you want that nokton anyway, just go for it.

both the 15 and the 25 are very compact, too ... if you need to only chose one, 15mm offer the more extraordinary, so that would be my choice ... you still can crop (even if that means to reduce overall quality in the cropped pictures).

since i like the wide angle more, my choice would be CL, 40mm and 15mm, and then think about bringing the 90mm, too - (probably yes).

i'd not get a new lens (unless you find a good opportunity "on the road").
hope this helps with ur considerations.

cheers,
sebastian

 

[Bailey]

Thanks for good advice, guys. I'm starting to think, maybe the best thing would be to sell the 25 and buy a 21. Then bring that, the 40, and the 90. Still though, it would be nice to have something a little more compact than the 40...

 

[Simon Larbalestier]

I think HK is good for Leica and CV stuff. I have a dealer friend here in BKK who always gets me stuff from HK much cheaper than buying in the UK.

For travel i tend to favour a fast 50 and a fast 35 and if space a 28.
If it was a choice of only one lens i'd favour the 50 as 80% of my edits are from the shots with a 50.

 

[waileong]

Lenses

Lenses

You cannot talk about lenses, or film, or even cameras, without knowing what you want to shoot.

Landscapes? Portraits? Cultural dance performances? Inside of temples? Street photography?

What really are you into?

I know, it's hard to predict in advance, plans can change on the spot, but you should know what excites you.

If you're the kind of guy who wakes up at 3 am in the morning to hike up to a volcano in Indonesia to take pictures of a sunrise, then obviously a 90 mm lens should be in your bag, maybe even a 135 mm (just set to infinity focus and use a 135 mm finder if you need to). Tripod, bean bag, etc. would be a must, as would be a cable release.

If you want to shoot inside temples, bars, clubs, etc. then a wide 21 or 24 mm may be needed. It may have to be fast too, as you may not be allowed to use flash.

Etc.

Once you figure out what you really want to shoot, that will help you decide what type of camera, film, lens and filters to take.

More importantly, worry about other things like weight of equipment, humidity, theft/robbery, etc.

Wai Leong
===

 

[Simon Larbalestier]

You cannot talk about lenses, or film, or even cameras, without knowing what you want to shoot.

Landscapes? Portraits? Cultural dance performances? Inside of temples? Street photography?

What really are you into?

I know, it's hard to predict in advance, plans can change on the spot, but you should know what excites you.

Wai Leong
===

I dunno this is all a bit too easy to say - how do you know what you want to shoot if you're visiting a place you've never been before? research is fine to a point but i think you need to experience a place and its culture before you can respond to it in a visual way.

One thing i've learnt about SE Asia is the high contrast between dark interiors with very bright light streaming through windows e.g. temples and people's homes and contrasty bright exteriors such as landscapes and street scenes.

Weight is certainly an issue to factor in.

IMHO Best bet would be two bodies (one of them being mechanical if possible) and 2-3 lenses as fast as possible, a separate light meter (spot meter being a good one for SE Asia) and a plenty of back up batteries. Film can be got en route but you should factor in the space it will take up when selecting what bag (s) to take.

Some sort of waterproof protection as well in case you get caught in the moonsoon showers and ziplock bags for exposed film.

if you shoot b/w - a green and an orange filter will help separate values when outside.

Most importantly make sure you kit is properly insured.

 

[waileong]

It's not about the place. It's about you.

There's many things you can do in Asia. Way too many things. You have to decide what you want.

Eg. if you want to shoot predominantly landscapes, then there's tons of sights, from volcanos and lakes in Indonesia to jungles in Borneo.

If you like temples, well-- there's a hell of a lot too.

If you think that you should go shoot everything, what you'll end up with is many pictures of everything, but probably few good ones. On the other hand, if you know what you want, and tailor your equipment accordingly, you will get fewer but much higher quality output.

 

[Pherdinand]

Bring a normal. (I guess the xa has a normal lens, so that should be fine.)
Bring a wide on another body. That 25 sounds fine.
If you like to take closeups from a distance, you could bring the 90 as well.

If you are going for a longer period and you can leave your stuff at some kind of "base" location like a hotel room, you could bring more gear and select what to use on location, every day.

 

[Pherdinand]

Oh, and bring at least a small tabletop tripod with you, one that fits in your pocket but it's good, sturdy. If you don;t have one, buy one. I can suggest manfrotto's tabletop. It keeps even my Rolleiflex (TLR) steady for a few seconds in very dark insides.

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

I am a bit surprised you are concerned about the size of the 40cron. I think it is one of the great lenses for Leicas. The 35 pancake is just a tad smaller in profile, but not by much. Correspondingly, I found the 40cron to be more compact than the 40nokton. Which is great from 2.0 up, but (purely subjective) didn't really impress me at 1.4 (which should have been its strength). How often do you really shoot at 1.4? especially in a travel situation.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with getting and trying new lenses, you certainly won't find discouragement here at RFF for that. At RFF, 'need' and 'want' are 2 lines that frequently live in the same universe 😉

If you keep the 40 cron, try getting the 21 CV, it is a great deal, fantastic optic, compact size, and you pretty much get a terrific 21 VF for free. And it will be distinct enough from 40 to give you some really different shots.

good luck and have a great trip 🙂

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

Oh, and bring at least a small tabletop tripod with you, one that fits in your pocket but it's good, sturdy. If you don;t have one, buy one. I can suggest manfrotto's tabletop. It keeps even my Rolleiflex (TLR) steady for a few seconds in very dark insides.

Pherdinand makes a very good suggestion.

The Manfrotto tabletop tripod ending in 07 is very good (comes with a very capable small ballhead). The other more robust small tripod is the Leica where the 3 legs fold up.

You will find it indispensible when you are doing night city shots.

cheers

 

[Simon Larbalestier]

How often do you really shoot at 1.4? especially in a travel situation.

Tom you'd be surprised here in SE Asia! my last two projects 75% were @1.4 @800 in some interiors and that's in the middle of the day. Sure outdoors it's a different story.....
Gompa Temples in Ladakh i was lucky to get F1.0 @800

 

[GeneW]

It sounds as if you want to travel light (which is a good idea). The XA as alternate and backup is excellent. Maybe keep it loaded with an iso800 film. Agree with Tom about the 21mm. A 21/40/90 kit is sweet and very compact.

Gene

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

Tom you'd be surprised here in SE Asia! my last two projects 75% were @1.4 @800 in some interiors and that's in the middle of the day. Sure outdoors it's a different story.....
Gompa Temples in Ladakh i was lucky to get F1.0 @800

No disagreement there 🙂 For some photographers, 1.4, 1.2 or 1.0 are absolutely indispensible to their work, and they use those apertures consistently and well, such as yourself. (btw, I've always been impressed with your work using fast lenses, particularly the noctilux).

cheers

 

[peter_n]

I too am taking a long trip in that general direction next year. For a really light kit I would take a 28 and a 50. But I'm almost certainly going to take a 4 lens kit: 24, 35, 50 and 90.

 

[back alley]

I too am taking a long trip in that general direction next year. For a really light kit I would take a 28 and a 50. But I'm almost certainly going to take a 4 lens kit: 24, 35, 50 and 90.

that's what i've come to also, the 25/35/50/90 seems to be the ideal kit for me now.

 

[jwinst]

Heres an idea, which may or may not be totally scorned upon by everyone else here.

I was in Malaysia, New Zealand and Australia this summer. I used primarily a digital, but had a Canonet on me for times when I felt like film(most of the time) and times where I could easily be mugged(some of the time . . . eh $20 dollar camera).

Anyways, I didnt burn film too fast, so I Usually had a roll at 800 and carried around a 2 stop ND filter. with that combo, so long as I was vigilant in cleaning the filter that lived in a breast pocket, I could shoot just about anywhere in any light. Temples and such are cool, and dark, but the best shots are where there is light anyways, so I never worried toooo much about having to shoot a tripod or anything lower than 15th or so.

and 15 is awfully wide. My Ideal travel rig would be a 20/4, a 35/1.4 and a 50/1.4. Maaaybe a telephoto to truck out for landscapes, but. I own none of these lenses yet, but ive got an M6 TTL in the mail to me, and a CV 40/1.4 as a start.

Overall, dont worry about your gear. Just stuff you like using which can take a beating or two and have a blast.

 

[Joerg]

I too am taking a long trip in that general direction next year. For a really light kit I would take a 28 and a 50. But I'm almost certainly going to take a 4 lens kit: 24, 35, 50 and 90.

How about replacing the 90 and 50 with a 75? Reduces one lens?
Otherwise Peter's & Joe's combo would be my choice too.

Ciao

Joerg