Travel Gear (try to keep it simple)

Thank you Francisco.
We will be exploring new grounds during the upcoming trip. It will vary from cities (Milan, Lyon, Zurich, Bern) to some mountain areas (Lauterbrunnen) and in between (Lugano).

"same" would be Lux 35/1.4 and M9. I will keep them both.
"new" would be Zeiss Hologon 16/8. [Robert wants to see the lens] :)
Also, Milan has a nice looking cathedral and other architecture. Same applies to Lyon's Old Town and parts of Zurich.
I could add the 75/1.4 Lux or Canon 85/.15 or Nikon 105 or the tiny Canon 100/3.5? Maybe not.
If I want to take some risks, I would take only the Hologon on the M9 and the rigid Summicron on the M9.
 
Corran said:
Here's a typical setup, with my 4x5 and 4 lenses with 18 sheets of film, Rolleicord, and Nikon SP with 4 lenses. 35mm/120 film is in a little side pouch and tripod attaches to the outside. I swap out pieces depending on what I'm doing. Sometimes instead of the 4x5 and Rollei it's just my Pentax 67ii and a few lenses. Sometimes it's my Leica M6. Sometimes if I'm going on a longer trip to varying locations I'll have a couple of bags with different kits in them - a view camera bag for landscapes, a small 35mm bag for just walking in a city having fun. This all fits as a carry-on for a flight.

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Corran,

Now that's what I call being prepared.

Steve
 
Last fall on a trip to Europe, I brought two cameras. One digital (Canon) one film (Leica) each with one lens, a 50 f1.4 for the digital and 50 f2 for film. Brought a light meter for the film camera. Only black and white film. Spare battery and charger for the digital camera.

We traveled from Prague to Paris, then back to Minneapolis. Never had anyone hand inspect my stuff. Even at the airport in Paris.

It was lots of fun. Made plenty of photographs.
 
I may use 2 digital cameras and 2-3 lenses total, Bill. 35/1.4 and 50/2 and on the side, the 16/8 for enjoyment of architectural photos.
 
ChrisPlatt said:
When possible I buy film at my destination and have exposed rolls processed there or shipped home undeveloped, bypassing airport security issues.
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I find it harder and harder to buy film on the go these days. Especially when you are not in bigger cities. Developing them locally is an even bigger challenge. At least in Asia.

These days, when I feel lazy (which is pretty often), it's just an Olympus Pen F (M4/3) and a tiny Panasonic 12-32mm for my travel needs. Occasionally, I will add a Panasonic 35-100mm, which is smaller and way light than any of my 50 Lux.

Cheers,
 
Packing some gear for a USA car trip made me think of this article. I loaded my M9, M6, and three lenses, and the Leica D-Lux 6, along with film and batteries into my Think Tank Retrospective 5. Then I wondered whether I really wanted to use that bag. I unloaded and switched to a Domke F-6. Then added a fourth lens. I wasn't going to bring the X100, but I couldn't close the bag until I put the X100 in as well. It's the funniest thing, but I seem to get separation anxiety if I don't include the X100. I think I'm bonded to it!

So I guess the moral is, if you are bonded to a certain camera, don't leave it behind!
 
This is a good point, Rob. I will use what has been working well for me and what I am very much accustomed to be using. The 35/1.4 Lux and the rigid Summicron 50/2 are my most used lenses. I will miss either one if left behind. I am used to having the Lux on the M9 and the Cron on the M8. It just works for me this way.
 
I always struggle with travel kit because one always wants to have gear which meets a range of needs that are not always predictable in advance.

First, I like to have something quite wide which is not normal for me but good when traveling - I learned this from a recent trip to Bali when I took an M4/3 camera and had nothing really wide enough on a few occasions. (Up to then I had always taken my Nikon DSLR but - oh my aching back! So, M4/3 it was last time and I suspect in future also). Having said that I usually prefer to shoot in a normal lens to medium tele range. I also found it is useful to have a lens that is considerably longer than normal for a few shots. Fortunately that is quite easy with M4/3 due to its cropped sensor. And also I found that I really like to have something available for low light. That's not too hard lens wise as there are many sufficiently fast lenses available for these cameras, but M4/3 camera sensors are not really up to par (even now) when it comes to shooting at night as there is still a lot of noise in the images. So I think next time I will take two smallish format cameras. An M4/3 camera with a couple of normal and short tele lenses (30mm and 75mm should do it) plus a 135mm lens in LTM or M mount and an adapter. Last time I had a Canon 135mm in LTM and its performance confirmed its great reputation. This kit will be for usual day to day shooting.

For those occasions when I need low light (night) performance I will also take my Sony NEX F3 mounting a 30mm Sigma lens. This cheap little camera performs brilliantly in low light due to its bigger sensor and modest pixel count. And the same camera body will be nice when I need something very wide as I can mount a Samyang 12mm f2 rectilinear lens on it and get about 18mm equivalent (the same lens on my M4/3 would be 24mm equivalent). Incidentally the lens I have is in M4/3 native mount and is manual focus. That means I can use a thin m4/3 to NEX adapter and use it on both systems. Getting double the bang for my buck.
 
Raid, Given that you'll be photographing during your family holiday....the simpler the gear selection, the better. you might just get some interesting photos with the Hologon ....
 
1 weeks through Java Island..
A very simple setup .. 2 M body and same exactly 35mm lens... hexanon 35mm .. single coat for bw and multi coat for color..
I brought +/- 15 rolls of film .. 8 color 7 bw ..
its enough for 1 weeks ..

Travel simple setup by William Jusuf, on Flickr


Sincerely
William Jusuf
 
Many interesting and different ideas here, some not much "keeping it simple" but it's ok to have different views.

Personally I always decide first if it is a journey made to take photos, to prepare a body of work about a specific subject or if the journey is made to enjoy the experience of a different country, different people, food, culture, friends...

In the first case of course gear selection must be done in function of the final goal, can include more cameras, lenses and accessories. Also time scheduled in function of the goal, maybe getting up in the night to be in the exact place at the right time...

But in the second case (as it seems to be Raid's case) keeping it simple and adapting yourself to the circumstances very oft gives a better visual results...one camera and a couple of lenses...done...ok add a second body in case of failure of the first one...lightweight you can move more...immerse yourself more in the situation not seeming a "paparazzi" ...

Just ny idea :)

robert
 
There is a factor affecting my choices in gear that has not been discussed so far in this thread. Driving a small car can be advantageous on some European roads, and small cars will have small trunk space. Last summer, we tried out not to check in a single piece of luggage. We used only carry-on luggage and it was fine. Think simple. Given that I am allowed one carry-on bag and one "camera bag/purse/laptop", I am careful not to take with me camera gear that is too large or bulky.

As Robert has stated above, we will be on a family trip more than anything else. It is a cultural adventure for our two daughters, and it is a lot of fun to us all. I am looking forward to meeting up again with Robert and his wife (5th time?). I hope that we will be able to swing by the main Leica store in Milan together. The past Leica CEO kindly connected me with the General Manager there. I may have been 10 years old when I was in Lugano the last time. I then enjoyed some Toblerone chocolate. I recall riding on a paddling boat on Lugano Lake and also using that special train that crawls up a mountain. Time goes by quickly !
 
Just returned from another four day road trip on the motorcycle. Traveling by motorcycle puts extreme constraints on what I can carry since I only have a 22L back of the seat bag and a small tank bag. It's about or a little less than the space of one carry-on bag for an airline, total, and you have to carry both cold weather and rain gear.

Anyway, this trip I took the iPhone 8 Plus and a MiNT (Polaroid SX-70) SLR670a, with two packs of film. The iPhone 8 Plus has a remarkably good camera that is very flexible. The SX-70 is as usual. :)

I made about 90 exposures between the two, and a few are quite nice. The kit took up very little space (iPhone in my jacket inside pocket, SX-70 and film in the tank bag along with my electric vest, sunglasses, wallet, and other incidentals).

G

** Mhe biggest problem packing for a trip with my tiny motorcycle luggage is fitting in space for a pair of shoes! Riding boots are not great for walking any distance in.
 
I also have an iPhone 8 Plus. It has an excellent camera. I will add my sneakers and one pair of shoes for the conference where I will give a talk in Lugano. (about spatial cancer clusters in the USA)
 
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