Preparing for travel....

R

RML

Guest
It seems I'll have my M2 returned to me from a CLA soon. I'm rather pleased with that and it got me wondering what lenses and cameras to bring to Mongolia in October.

I'm thinking of bringing too many lenses. 🙂
CV 25/4
J-12 35/2.8
M-Rokkor 40/2
J-8 50/2
J-9 85/2

This has lead me to too many cameras as well.
Leitz Minolta CL (for the CV 25/4 and M-Rokkor 40/2)
Leica M2 (for the J-12 35/2.8 and J-8 50/2)
Voigtlander Bessa R (for the J-9 85/2)

This'll all fit neatly in my tiny photo bag, the M-bayonets will make switching lenses at -5 to -10 much easier, and the light strong lenses will give me a chance to shoot until nightfall and when I'm going out into town.

Now, I have a 35/135mm LTM-M adapter and a 50/75mm LTM-M adapter, which are on the J-12 and the J-8. So, I'm looking for an adapter for the J-9 (which would mean the 28/90mm adapter) and one for the CV (also a 28/90mm adapter).

Stephen Gandy asks $30 for generic 28/90 adapters, which I think means they come without rear caps. I'll need a couple of rear caps, and at least one deep rear cap for the bulgy-bottomed J-12. But Gandy asks $15 for a rear cap.

Are there any cheaper caps available somewhere? $15 each seems too much to me.

I think I'll get a Scoop from Leicagoodies (http://www.leicagoodies.com/scoop.html) for the M2 to protect my new glasses from being scratched by the metal rim of the view finder.

Or do you guys-n-gals know of a cheaper alternative? 🙂
 
This is probably not relevent to you, but if it were me, I could not go on such an interesting trip without taking a medium format camera. I'd be killing myself wishing for a big negative whenever I saw something I wanted to photograph. I print my own B+W and the difference is very significant (to me.) To alter a venacular exspression slightly: "Once you've tried MF, you won't go back."
 
Frank, Mongolia is my second home and have been there for 5 or 6 times already in the past 4 years, each time for a month or so. My wife is Mongolian, so I get to go there regularly. 🙂

I did try MF but find it too restrictive for my taste, both by the way the gear hampers my style of shooting and the cost involved. But it did make me appreciate square format shots. I regularly shoot scenes with a square print in mind. Maybe in the future I might focus more on getting the hang of MF....
 
God, can't believe I say this but...leave the M2 at home this time.

The CL will give you 25 and 40 - so you got your wide-normal covered.

The Bessa will give you the 85 so you got the medium-tele covered and you can just keep the lens on the body all the time.

I doubt you'll miss the 35 and 50 with those other lenses with you.

And if you like MF and square...check out the Mamiya 6/6MF, the Rolleiflex and/or the 'blad - all excellent cameras and I own two of them (even though I only use one of them).
 
Whaaaaat?! Richard advising me to leave the M2 at home?! Has Hell frozen over? 🙂

I must admit that your choice was my first as well.

But I really want to test the M2 and the 35. The M2 is new so I must use it, right? 🙂 And the 35 has been on the shelf for ages. I almost suspect that I bought the M2 just so I could use the 35. 🙂

Hmmm, it seems I'll have to do some more thinking....
 
I am thinking like a minimalist, one body 2 or three lenses.

That being said, you are traveling to your second home, it is not like you are a tourist, so I may be thinking wrongly.

I would love to hear about your travel to get there, train to the plane to the....
 
Pherdinand, you might be right. 🙂

But I have my reasons. The Rokkor 40 is simply a wonderful lens, and the J-8 50 gives a softness that I really like. And I don't have a clue about the 35, so I want to try it out.

In hindsight I perhaps should have bought the CV 21 instead of the CV 25, not just because of the rangefinder coupling of the former but also because of its wider angle. But that CV 25 is soooo cheap, and goes soooo well with the Bessa L! 🙂
 
Rover,

traveling there isn't too difficult. I take an Aeroflot flight to Moscow, and transfer to an Aeroflot flight to Ulaanbaatar. That's 3 hrs and 8 hrs flying, and some waiting time in Moscow. In about 15 hrs I'm in UB.
My wife will collect from the airport, and in 20 mins we'll be in UB if not at home. Unless we go to our land in the suburbs. Then it'll take another 20 mins or so.

This time we'll have to go to Bejing for some personal business as well. We'll take the train from UB to Bejing, which is about a day and a half. The trip back we'll do by train as well. The train arrives in the centre of Beijing so it's not too difficult to get a taxi.

When I'm there I'll try to post a report or two. 🙂 If I'm brave and trust the local 1-hr labs to process my film, and can get the film scanned somewhere, I might even post some photos.
This is one of those many moments that I wish I had the Epson R-D1. 🙂
 
Biber, the flight from Holland to Mongolia is about 5-600 euro.
I reckon a flight to Moscow will be much less. Perhaps even some budget airlines fly on Moscow. Ask at yout local Aeroflot representative.
 
Remy, that sounds like a fantastic trip !!

And yes, sounds like too many choices to make 😉

If your M2 gets to you with enough time, what I'd do is run a quick test roll trough it using the J12. My experience is that my example is a bit delicate regarding flare/ghosting problems so try to put it in a wide range of circunstances including some 'hard' ones with some strong light source in the frame and see how they come out.

Depending on the results, you may consider a CL/Bessa with 25/40/50/85 or a M2/Bessa with 25/35/50/85. Anyway it's not an easy decision 🙂

I know leaving the CL at home may be painful, as you may know I followed your advice and went for one and I already love it 😀

Keep us posted !!
 
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Ya, I'm pretty sure I'll bring the CL. It works well with the 25, and the 40 is simply made for this camera.

Now I'm wondering about the effective RF base of the M2 and the Bessa R. For the 85 I would prefer the longest RF base, especially as I'm in the habit if shooting at f2-f4 in low light situations.

But still my question stands: does anyone here know of a source for cheap rear caps for M lenses? I'll be d*mned if I'm paying $15 each at Gandy's site. 🙂
 
RML said:
But still my question stands: does anyone here know of a source for cheap rear caps for M lenses? I'll be d*mned if I'm paying $15 each at Gandy's site. 🙂
Click to expand...

Ouch ! Sorry, I forgot that. I've seen some thread about that issue in PN and some guy came out with a great homebrew solution recycling plastic caps from some household material. I think he said the ones from the plastic aspirin bottles were perfect for the M mount.

Non-generic CV adapters are $55, and come with both rear and body M caps but I doubt they are deep enough to cover that J12 rear element...

Does anybody have more ideas ? 🙄
 
I picked up a couple rear caps, they were $7 for two I think on ebay, and only a couple $ shipping. I forget who the seller was. I have done this a couple times, make a list of little odds & ends, search them out on ebay from one seller, combine shipping and make it one stop shopping. No camera shop around me actually has "everything" I want.
 
I have bought several rear lens caps from "americaneagle camera" on eBay and found them to be high quality and the vendor is honest and ships quickly.

He charges around US$5/cap. Shipping will be a bit more to Europe but the caps are light so it won't be too expensive...

Some vendors sell Leica caps and some sell copies. I've received Leica caps from americaneagle.
 
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Thanks, people. I've checked out americaneagle_camera.

For everyone's sake, let's hear some more sellers or places for cheaply prices accessories!
 
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