Usefulness of 21 in Europe

I have recently loked at what which of my transparencies I scan. Most of them (96%) I made with 21mm Biogon. it's true: I shoot mostly in the narrow slot canyons of American South-West, where even 24mm seems too long, but...
 
I spent the day in Siena with the M9 and umbrella. Heavy rain is forecast for the next three days. So trying to keep the M9 dry, focusing and holding the umbrella everything would have been easier with the X100 on full auto but it is back in El Paso.

It is easy to take too much even if not hiking or climbing. Perhaps I will use my pickup for the next trip so I can take EVERYTHING!😀
 
Visiting museums in Florence today and while momentarily disoriented I discovered the Leica store. Did not buy anything as the dollar to euro ratio sucks as does the 20 percent VAT. Nice store and I may go back for a baseball cap.
 
Well, it's an old thread but figured I'll bring it to life...

Heading to Madrid next week for a long weekend with my wife. It's our 10th anniversary trip and we're going to be exploring the city as much as we can.

So was thinking what to bring.. In the end I figure I'll take my new to me Leica MP with Portra and 21/2.8 Biogon & 50 slux asph. For evening time activities I'll take my X113.

Meaning I'll end up with 21/35/50 package and two cameras. I'm quite certain it'll be a 21/35 when all has been said&done and I reflect back on the trip. Never the less, I don't have the heart to leave my 50 back home as I really like that focal.

//Juha
 
I found having a 21 and either 35 of 50 (mostly 50) a good two lens set-up. They are far enought apart that you either need/want one or the other. This eliminates too much thinking about lens choice (the scene, subject, composition chooses the lens), and you can involve yourself in what's there in front of you. The 21 and 50 worked well on a trip to Japan. And as it does in the UK. I guess it'll work anywhere.

To many lenses can make my head hurt.
 
True, a 35 might work as only lens. But besides the X113 I don't have one.. And since I just got the mp, I was planning to shoot primarily film.

Also (since I live in europe) I've travelled many of the old cities, I fear a 35 could be tight in the old cities shooting narrow streets & big buildings like castles etc.

That being said, the 21 will definitely challenge me in a big way. I shoot primarily a 50 and I've also liked 90 quite a lot.. so suddenly normal/moderate tele kind of guy is shooting ultra wide + always digital guy will shoot film!

Anyway, the idea with 21mm will also be most of the time "f8 and be there". So stick the focus to 2m, aperture f8 and use the camera as p&s with the external finder.

//Juha
 
My favorite focal length is a 50, and have used that with a 90 frequently. Jumping down to a 21 was fine. I did have a 28 briefly and had used that length with SLRs years ago, but that didn't seem a different enough focal length. The 50 is a nice lens to show the view I see through my eyes when looking at a space, object, subject. The 21 gives you a view that you don't see with your eyes - opens the space, the expanse. I found that keeping the view straight horizontally and vertical is preferable. Less over-arching of buildings. The 21 also gives you plenty of room to crop.

I also used it without an external finder with an M4-P. I do have one but it was one less thing to carry around. Visualizing the frame with your eyes is the important part.

Mark
 
Was in Madrid last September (cause of start of this thread). I carried a 21/35/90 with the M9 through Europe. The 35 was on the lens 90 percent of the time followed by the 21 and then the 90.

Am planning another trip in September going around the world. Am looking at an M2 with the same combo or may take a 15 instead of a 21.
 
Your personal shooting style determines which lenses to pack.
I'm an advocate for the 15, 21, 35 set.
I prefer to be very close to my subject, so to me a 35mm lens is slightly "long".
 
On my trip in 2012, I carried the M9 with 35/50/90 lenses. I used the 50 most, the 90 next, the 35 least. I'd have used a 21 or 24 more frequently.

But it changes over time. On a later trip, I used the 35 most, the 90 next, and the 50/21 hardly at all. So the only thing you can really do is take what you think will work and then make the best of it.

G

jlindstrom said:
Well, it's an old thread but figured I'll bring it to life...

Heading to Madrid next week for a long weekend with my wife. It's our 10th anniversary trip and we're going to be exploring the city as much as we can.

So was thinking what to bring.. In the end I figure I'll take my new to me Leica MP with Portra and 21/2.8 Biogon & 50 slux asph. For evening time activities I'll take my X113.

Meaning I'll end up with 21/35/50 package and two cameras. I'm quite certain it'll be a 21/35 when all has been said&done and I reflect back on the trip. Never the less, I don't have the heart to leave my 50 back home as I really like that focal.

//Juha
Click to expand...
 
raid said:
35mm is wide to my eyes. The 50mm lens has always been the standard lens for me.
Click to expand...

Same here. Whether 35 is wide enough or not depends more on what you like to shoot and your shooting style than on the narrowness of European streets. Two years ago, my wife and I traveled to Lisbon and Seville. I carried a 50 and 35 with my M4-2 (both Canon lenses). I wound up shooting the 50 extensively in Lisbon and the 35 in Seville, including on the very narrow streets of the Barrio Santa Cruz. I didn't feel I needed a wider lens for street shooting (although I did have a 28 equivalent focal length lens on my Olympus E-PL1, which I mainly used for indoor shots and at night). That said, a 50/21 combination for the MP and an X113 sounds like a fine travel kit. Enjoy Madrid!
 
Quick update. Just got back from the trip and have to say I used the 21mm most. From morning until late afternoon I was shooting with the mp +21m and for evenings/night I used the X113 so a 35mm.

I tried to use the 50mm as well, but it just felt cramped so I didn't force it.

All in all, I was happy with what I had. Surprized I could use the 21mm so much and it didn't feel weird at all. Also for someone who's been a fifty user for a long time, it was surprizing it felt so tight. If it were a strictly 1 lens for everything, then I think something in the 24-28mm range would have been it - something like the new 28/1.4mm Summilux.

Also everything else ran smoothly, except one user cockup... Pissed at myself for it in a big way! I managed to make a mess of film loading and thought it was working fine... only some 36-40 frames later to notice the film didn't grab and it wasn't advancing. So I basically lost a roll worth of shots. Still, I've got some 2,5 rolls of photos from this 3,5day trip. Now I just need to get them developed 🙂

//Juha
 
Just arrived from Malta-Sicily-Rome. While I usually shoot a 35, I thought I'd make it a little different for this trip and shoot a 21mm (21mm setting on a Konica Dual-Hexanon 21/35). Found the experiment to be a happy one.

Some samples:

Wilted by Johann Espiritu, on Flickr

Window Shopping by Johann Espiritu, on Flickr

Street Ponderings by Johann Espiritu, on Flickr

The Shopkeeper by Johann Espiritu, on Flickr

Piazza Navona by Johann Espiritu, on Flickr

Duomo by Johann Espiritu, on Flickr

Pigeons and Dude by Johann Espiritu, on Flickr
 
I find I carry the 21 less often in my bag since getting a 28. I would take just a 28 and a 50, and did just that last year in France. I might have got more with the 21 but I never lamented not having something wider with the 28 on the camera.
 
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