Tiny Travel Lens Choices

[Coldkennels]

I just did a trip to France with a two system kit, each with two lenses; a Leica IIIf with the 5cm Summar and a Voigtlander 28mm Color Skopar and an X-Pro 2 with a 35/2 XF and 18/2 XF.

I barely touched the wides (swapping only to the 28mm Voigtlander in Troyes, a city so old and so tight that it really needed something wider than the Summar). I probably could have gotten through the whole trip with just the IIIf and Summar, to be honest. I'm always amazed by how small that lens is for a 50mm f/2.

 

[valdas]

When I really travel light I take Contax T, Minolta TC1 or Rollei 35S. Acceptable quality? No compromise quality I’d say.

 

[Evergreen States]

Fuji X-Pro3 and either the 1.4/35 or 2/23. Or both, if I'm feeling adventurous. I took my GA645 and iPhone 13 Mini to Walla Walla last month and hated it. I want to do as little thinking as possible, with a camera that doesn't fight me.

 

[boojum]

To travel, the camera would probably be an M9 but when the Pixii gets here I bet it will be the Pixii. Same lenses in either case, the Canon LTM's at 28, 35 and 50 mm (1.8). Add in a CV 35mm 1.4 and maybe a Jupiter 12. All small lenses taking little space in the kit bag.

With more space I'd add in the Sony A7M III with 55mm Sony/Zeiss 1.8 and the Sony 24 - 240 zoom in another bag.

Add the laptop in its bag with external backup HD. Then luggage and the dog copilot-navigator. Time to hit the road. Nevada's Route 50 is in my sights.

 

[besk]

For some situations I feel insecure guess focusing - therefore my compact camera must have a rangefinder. My favorite is the Leica IIIf with Voigtlander 50/2.5 and 28/3.5 lenses.

 

[Hari]

Barnack's choice: Leaca II with Elmar 5cm 3.5 (uncoated).

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

The 35/f2 Ultron (I or II) is a great option if you want a very compact, modern 35mm

 

[brusby]

It'd be great to see more photos showing how the very smallest lenses compare to their larger siblings in actual use and image quality.

My choices for this last trip were 50mm Elmar f3.5, 28mm f5.6 TTArtisan, 90mm Elmar f4 three element.

If I were to bring a 35mm it'd probably be Summaron f2.8. Tough decision there, though. The pre-asp lux and Summicron are equally as small and faster. But I just find something about the Summaron images so appealing and really beautiful.

 

[agentlossing]

Here are some examples with the tiny LTM 35mm f2.5 Color Skopar:

2341449-R1-18-18A by Andrew Lossing, on Flickr

2341449-R1-21-15A by Andrew Lossing, on Flickr

2341449-R1-30-6A by Andrew Lossing, on Flickr

I think it works about equally well with B&W and color film. Digital sensors I have no experience, but it's possible that the newest version might perform better on digital than the old LTM one, as that seems somewhat consistent with CV lenses. But that's just a guess.

img990 by Andrew Lossing, on Flickr

Untitled (3) by Andrew Lossing, on Flickr

Untitled (29) by Andrew Lossing, on Flickr

 

[Bingley]

I heartily concur with agentlossing’s comments on the Voigtlander Color Skopar 35mm f2.5. Over the years, I’ve had various versions of this lens… the original, the M-mount pancake, and the LTM pancake… and all have been good. It’s a strong performer:

Leica IIIc, Voigtlander Color Skopar 35mm f2.5 PI, TMax 100 @ iso 200 in Diafine:

Cypress by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

 

[Bingley]

As for the performance of this lens on a digital camera, I offer this up:

Leica M-E Type 240, Voigtlander Color Skopar 35mm f2.5 PI:

Morning, Fairyland Point by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

 

[Bingley]

Someone suggested showing sample photos from tiny lenses… The Voigtlander Color Skopar 50mm f2.5 (in either LTM or S mount) is one of the great optics for rangefinder cameras. Its small size and robust construction also make it a great choice for a travel lens. Here are two sample photos:

Leica IIIc, Voigtlander Color Skopar 50mm f2.5, XP2:

Path by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

Looking down canyon. by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

 

[boojum]

Here are images from the Canon 28, Canon 35 and the CV 35 1.4. These are reposts but in succession for comparison and evaluation.

​

 

[brusby]

Nice examples everyone.

A couple of recent architectural type shots from Leica 21mm f3.4 Super Elmar. Not as small as the collapsible Elmars but I don't know of a smaller wide that has such nice image quality.

M2409253 by Brusby, on Flickr

Just a touristy capture of Denver's Union Station
M2409435 by Brusby, on Flickr

 

[Deleted member 65559]

Judging by the size/weight of carry-ons i've seen people struggle onto planes with, i'd say there's not much in the way of camera restrictions. By nature any rangefinder has size advantage compared to a DSLR. Tiny is all relative. The 35 Summilux & 35 Summicron Asph are small but heavier. For years, all i had was an M2 and a 35 Summicron, so there wasn't much time spent deciding what to take. Some of my favourite tiny lenses are the CV 21mm f4, the CV 28mm f3.5 is a gem, the 35 & 50mm Elmar, the CV 50mm 2.5 & I think the new CV Heliar 40mm f2.8 will be a winner. As far as room in the carry-on, you can always buy another pair of socks or rinse things out in the hotel sink....if you don't have room for the camera, then you're bringing too much stuff. These days I most often carry a medium format camera since i like printing from bigger negs, so my 35mm choice to go along with it is a Leica CL with a 21 or 35.
BTW Brusby, I really like your photos w the TTArtisans 28mm.

 

[bluesun267]

Latest acquisition: Leica Summarit 35/2.5. For a compact 35mm M combo, it's no Summicron V4 (nor Summaron) size-wise. Lands somewhere between those earlier 35s and the current Summicron 50. I find the ergonomics really good so far. Makes the Ultron 35/2 feel like it's lubricated with elmer's glue by comparison. And wow so sharp! but I will need to shoot more to get a handle on it.

 

[DownUnder]

Is it my imagination working overtime (again, says my ever patient partner), or has there been a recent upsurge in the numbers of photographers, especially younger ones, using film cameras again??

Of late in Melbourne, I see more and more young people (mostly Asian) carrying 1980s and even 1970s SLRs. Most have prime lenses, likely 50mm, and not the huge zooms so popular 30-40 years ago when it seemed everybody who was anybody had to have a 80-400 'cannon' ( firearm, not camera brand) on the Pentax, Minolta or whatever they had. All those film cameras then more or less disappeared from public view in the mid-to-late '00s when the first decent quality DSLRs hit the market, but now seem to be returning to favour - even with the absurd crazy prices for film here in Ozzy.

Which makes me think it's time to dust off the Nikkormats and the Rolleicord again, and hit the city streets.

The one and only problem with shooting film, of course, is everybody tends to notice the unusual camera, and stares, or wants to "talk analog", which can be fun, of course.

A few truly glorious images in this thread, BTW. I will be returning again, for more eye-feasting.

 

[bluesun267]

Is it my imagination working overtime (again, says my ever patient partner), or has there been a recent upsurge in the numbers of photographers, especially younger ones, using film cameras again??

Of late in Melbourne, I see more and more young people (mostly Asian) carrying 1980s and even 1970s SLRs. Most have prime lenses, likely 50mm, and not the huge zooms so popular 30-40 years ago when it seemed everybody who was anybody had to have a 80-400 'cannon' ( firearm, not camera brand) on the Pentax, Minolta or whatever they had. All those film cameras then more or less disappeared from public view in the mid-to-late '00s when the first decent quality DSLRs hit the market, but now seem to be returning to favour - even with the absurd crazy prices for film here in Ozzy.

Which makes me think it's time to dust off the Nikkormats and the Rolleicord again, and hit the city streets.

The one and only problem with shooting film, of course, is everybody tends to notice the unusual camera, and stares, or wants to "talk analog", which can be fun, of course.

A few truly glorious images in this thread, BTW. I will be returning again, for more eye-feasting.

It's not your imagination. I was shocked a couple years ago to find my local camera store (selling both film & digital) crowded with young people, some even middle-school age, looking at, and buying, used film cameras.

 

[fmfche]

There are a lot of great small compact lenses available from various manufactures with production from 1930's to today. I've a bad habit of collecting more lenses than I can use however, a few 50's that stand out to me are the 5cm elmar as being light and as classic as it gets, 50mm skopar for great ergonomics and image quality, and the nikkor 5cm F2 as a classic sonar. For the longest time all I shot was the nikkor 5cm f2 as it was my only lens besides a 35mm skopar. I recently acquired a second copy as they can still be had for a very fair price.

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

Is it my imagination working overtime (again, says my ever patient partner), or has there been a recent upsurge in the numbers of photographers, especially younger ones, using film cameras again??

Definitely. From experience I’d say it’s been like this for the last 5-10 years. Certainly the community of young film shooters in Aus has grown exponentially since I shifted from digital to mostly film around 2013-14... They’re just not members of RFF (or likely know it exists).