Traveling to Costa Rica

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napoleonesq

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Going to Costa Rica in 10 days, and I am debating what gear to take with me. I am thinking of taking both my M8 and M7 but not sure which lenses to take...

What I have

35 1.4 pre asph
50 Noctilux
cv 21mm
cv 24mm
cv 28mm 1.9
cv 15mm


Wish I had a 75mm or 90mm, or maybe I should buy a not so expensive telephoto before the trip?
 
Take the same lenses that work for you at home. Your photo style will not change just because you go to another country. (Yes, I have been to Costa Rica.)
 
I would leave at least half the wides home. They are too close together.

On top of that, I would consider what I was intending to shoot. If it is wildlife in the cloud forest, I would break out a 300/2.8 on an slr. And get some fast film. Otherwise: as Bob said.

(actually, if it were me: 3 lenses 35/50/90 for leica M6. And I might leave either the 35 or the 90 home.)
 
napoleonesq said:
Wish I had a 75mm or 90mm, or maybe I should buy a not so expensive telephoto before the trip?
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With regard to a telephoto, it depends on what you intend to photograph, but if it is wildlife, a 300mm is minimum requirement, and a 400mm would be better. I took a lot of shots of howler monkeys in Costa Rica, and used a 100-300 zoom on a 1.6X Canon DSLR. It is surprising how small the images of these big monkeys appear in the photos.

Oh, forgot to mention the wides. I used a Contax II with a 21mm, 35mm and 50mm, and ended up using the 21mm a lot, the 35mm a little, and never used the 50mm at all.
 
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I just took a 21, 35 and a 50 when I went to Panama for a few weeks. It's rare that I wished for more. But i was not interested in photographing the wildlife. I also was only using film, so I didn't have to worry about the smaller sensor eating my 21 into something less wide.
 
I would take the 50/35 and 21 or 15. I was in Nicaragua 2 years ago and although I was shooting with a dSLR, I enjoyed the wide end of the spectrum. Depending on what you like to shoot, you might miss having the chance to shoot close up details of vegetation, insects, etc.
 
Take the 21, the 35 and the 50. If you have a reason to use a 90mm, buy one and leave either the 35 or 50 at home. Your shoulder will thank you.
 
napoleonesq said:
Going to Costa Rica in 10 days, and I am debating what gear to take with me. <snip>
Wish I had a 75mm or 90mm, or maybe I should buy a not so expensive telephoto before the trip?
Click to expand...

When I went to Costa Rica a few years ago, it was not a photo trip but an adventure trip with my two sisters. I took (based on what I knew worked for me):

Contax G with 28mm & 45mm lenses
Nikonos III with 35mm lens
Olympus Stylus Epic that has a 35mm lens.

I shot mostly with the Contax G. But when I edited the photos down to a very small number I found they were shot with:

1/3 with the Contax G
1/3 with the Nikonos
1/3 with the Stylus Epic

None of the photos shot with the Nikonos were underwater. They were all rafting on the Pacuare river, lunch sitting in the river, surfing, portraits under a waterfall, playing the surf; things that could not be done with any other camera.

None of the photos with the Stylus Epic could have been made with any other camera. They were things like horseback riding (shots while riding, not after you stop the horse), riding the zipline through the tree canopy (not after you stopped), and other places where no sane person would carry a camera.

Remember that lens choice is a very personal thing. I frequently carry only two lenses, a 28mm and a 35mm. I will not contend that everyone should do what I do. But when I lay out the 21mm, 25mm, 28mm, 35mm, and 50mm and pick what I think will serve me best, it always comes down to the 28mm and the 35mm.

Lastly, if you have felt no need for a 75mm or 90mm lens before, you will not need such in Costa Rica. I recently came back from Cuba. My lens kit was 21mm, 28mm and 35mm. Another traveler who also shot M mount had a 35mm and 90mm. I borrowed his 90mm on several occasions. He borrowed my 21mm several times. When returning I realized that I had no real use for a 90mm and he concluded he had none for a 21mm.
 
EdLam said:
Not a good idea to take any camera while zip-lining through the rain forest :D
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I must strongly disagree. You need a camera you can comfortably shoot one handed, i.e. the Olympus Stylus Epic. But you can end up with those unique photos that turn out to be real winners compared to all those "been there, done that" type of photos.

Same thinking applies to above water but wet photos shot with the Nikonos. Everyone sees white water rafting photos shot with a telephoto from the bank. But shoot one by holding the camera out with the spray really flying as you drop in.

I had a Stylus Epic stuck inside my driving suit when I turned a few 145 MPH laps at Daytona International Speedway. But I chickened out when I got up to speed. My only shots were taken while cruising down pit road. I am not stupid and know when I need both hands.
 
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I can't comment on the rain forest, but if it's in town, San Jose', a 35mm on film, or a 28mm on cropped digital, works for me. You can see a few photos from my last trip, earlier this year in the "Latin Streets" portfolio on my site.

I agree that if you are planning wildlife photos [excluding some of the street denizens in town], 300mm would seem like an excellent idea for film.

Good luck,
 
I don't understand the large number of closely spaced wides.

Last visit to Costa Rica was in 1979. Wonderful people, great place and wonderful colors, but that was a different time.
 
quadtones said:
I can't comment on the rain forest, but if it's in town, San Jose', a 35mm on film, or a 28mm on cropped digital, works for me. You can see a few photos from my last trip, earlier this year in the "Latin Streets" portfolio on my site.

I agree that if you are planning wildlife photos [excluding some of the street denizens in town], 300mm would seem like an excellent idea for film.

Good luck,
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Say, Norm, you have some wonderful photos there! I love the lighting.
 
I went to Costa Rica last year with my M8, 28, 35, 50 (my standard traveling kit) and a ZM with a CV 28mm f3.5 lens.
I debated whether to take a longer lens and a tripod or monopod and decided to focus on shooting the setting and not the animals.
I did take a pair of Leica binoculars (ultravid 10x25) that I bought especially for the trip with a Leica rebate and by trading in equipment at Adorama. They gave me a great price and the binoculars are outstanding and made a huge difference.
One trick that my daughters discovered is the park guides have very nice spotting scopes (Leica, Pentax) and if you hold a small digital point up to the finder you can and shoot through them and get good images.
As can be expected, the forest canopy is dense and therefore the light is rather dim, requiring fast film or high ISO.
I have a set of images on my flickr page.
 
I went last year, too.
I took my beat up FE2 and some old Nikkor primes... 35 2.8, 50 1.8E, 55 3.5 micro, and 105 2.5.
I think this combo worked pretty well, although a 28 would have been nice, and maybe something longer than the 105 ... but i went with what i had.
I was there in the end of July, which is the "rainy" season (as opposed to the "less rainy" season). I wasn't worried about the FE2 getting wet, and it did fine.
My main mistake was only bringing a pile of Velvia 100. I think I would have been better off with some faster film... walking through the rain forest and all that, it wasn't terribly sunny.

some pix:
630252859_Mzfzn-S.jpg

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671603229_SKsU4-S.jpg

629388326_dxhdy-S.jpg

629389591_3sX6C-S.jpg
 
For an average speed color neg film, I think that it is pretty hard to beat Ektar 100. Great colors, very little apparent grain, scans really well.
 
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