wgerrard
Veteran
When I go out and about locally, I carry one body with one lens. I can do that because I know where I'm going and what to expect when I get there. No bag, although if I'm driving I will use a small bag to keep things safe while in the car.
On vacation and other travel that lends itself to walkabouts, I go around with a body and three lenses in a bag. I'm certainly not fond of carrying the stuff, but I'm typically spending times in cities and won't know what I'll be shooting from minute to minute. In that circumstance, I seem to have settled on 3 lenses: the 35/1.2 Nokton, a 50 (either the Zeiss Planar or the Nokton 50/1.5), and the CV 21/4. The 21/4 is so small and light that there's always room for it.
Do I need three lenses? No, but I want three lenses. I'll probably put up with the hassle they entail until I hit a tipping point and decide my trips would be more enjoyable without two of them.
On vacation and other travel that lends itself to walkabouts, I go around with a body and three lenses in a bag. I'm certainly not fond of carrying the stuff, but I'm typically spending times in cities and won't know what I'll be shooting from minute to minute. In that circumstance, I seem to have settled on 3 lenses: the 35/1.2 Nokton, a 50 (either the Zeiss Planar or the Nokton 50/1.5), and the CV 21/4. The 21/4 is so small and light that there's always room for it.
Do I need three lenses? No, but I want three lenses. I'll probably put up with the hassle they entail until I hit a tipping point and decide my trips would be more enjoyable without two of them.
I like to travel with a 35, 50, and 85 or 90. For a day trip, often go out with just a 50. But on an extended trip, going somewhere, the choice of lenses allows more flexibility. Often, I'll pack a fixed-lens RF in place of the 35 or the 50.
W
wlewisiii
Guest
Right now I only own 50's 
I don't find it especially limiting - in 99% of the cases my two foot zoom will suffice.
William
I don't find it especially limiting - in 99% of the cases my two foot zoom will suffice.William
btgc
Veteran
On weekend I feel good having 25-50 zoom lens, mostly using it at 25 or 50 settings (developer and fixer in one package, so to say).
I agree 45-50 is great for a single-lens adventure. Yes, I like 28mm but if there's mood to go with one lens, it would be 48mm.
I agree 45-50 is great for a single-lens adventure. Yes, I like 28mm but if there's mood to go with one lens, it would be 48mm.
BTMarcais
Well-known
My last trip to the netherlands (vacation and to see friends and family) I took the M3, 50mm collapsible 'cron, 90mm collapsible elmar, and an old zeiss folding 645 w/ a 75mm lens. No wide angles.
pictures
Almost everything w/ the leica was shot w/ the 50, and while I always had traveled w/ a wider lens before, I had no real problems. The 50 is my walk around lens most of the time, and is just the most comfortable for how I see. I'd have no trouble traveling with just that.
The problem would be deciding WHICH 50 to bring...!
-Brian
pictures
Almost everything w/ the leica was shot w/ the 50, and while I always had traveled w/ a wider lens before, I had no real problems. The 50 is my walk around lens most of the time, and is just the most comfortable for how I see. I'd have no trouble traveling with just that.
The problem would be deciding WHICH 50 to bring...!
-Brian
k.a
Well-known
i spent a week in new york with my old olympus e-420 and the 25mm (50mm ekv.) and was very pleased with the results
DeanSilliman
Member
There are some really, really amazing shots in there and the collection as a whole is fabulous.
Dean
(A fellow 50mm-aholic and So Cal resident.)
wiedo
Established
Nice to see my country trough 'tourist' perspective, it's beautiful.. opens a new world for me
. I'll try to do something with is.
kshapero
South Florida Man
Last summer in New England with only a CV 35/1.4
kdemas
Enjoy Life.
In '06 I did Paris with an M7 and a 50/2.8 Elmar almost exclusively. Primarily daylight shooting and happy with the results.
If in a big city Id probably opt for something a bit wider, a 35mm, as a walkarpund lens. Makes getting full architecture shots easier (possible) in tight cities. I now enjoy my Zeiss 25mm on my M8 when in Paris as my most used combo.
If in a big city Id probably opt for something a bit wider, a 35mm, as a walkarpund lens. Makes getting full architecture shots easier (possible) in tight cities. I now enjoy my Zeiss 25mm on my M8 when in Paris as my most used combo.
robbeiflex
Well-known
Wow, over 50 posts in a day! In that case I have to put my two cents in worth too.
For a long time and a lot of short trips I've been shooting with only a 50 and enjoyed it very much, but in big cities I find it a bit tight and plan to try a 35 a.s.a.p.
For a long time and a lot of short trips I've been shooting with only a 50 and enjoyed it very much, but in big cities I find it a bit tight and plan to try a 35 a.s.a.p.
tbarker13
shooter of stuff
If I were going on a serious vacation/photo trip, there is no way that I would limit myself to a single lens of any FL. It's one of the appeals of RFs. The lenses are small enough that it requires little extra in the way of weight/packing to toss in an extra lens or two.
There might be days when I'd go out and about with a single lens and camera. But I'd want options. There is a reason we have different focal lengths - a 90mm lens sees the world differently than a 28mm lens.
(Of course, I might feel differently if I were hiking for a week and carrying everything on my back.)
There might be days when I'd go out and about with a single lens and camera. But I'd want options. There is a reason we have different focal lengths - a 90mm lens sees the world differently than a 28mm lens.
(Of course, I might feel differently if I were hiking for a week and carrying everything on my back.)
helen.HH
To Light & Love ...
YES,YES and YES to a 50
A 50 Rules SUPREME ...
its the PURRfect distance between me & what I see
I LOVE the Intimacy and the size of the Subject with a 50
on occasion a 21 superangulon might be a complimentary companion
A 50 Rules SUPREME ...
its the PURRfect distance between me & what I see
I LOVE the Intimacy and the size of the Subject with a 50
on occasion a 21 superangulon might be a complimentary companion
Bingley
Veteran
For short trips and business travel, I'm a one camera, one lens kinda guy.
But for vacation travel, not so much. I try to balance the enjoyment that comes from the use of camera gear with the pleasure in traveling light and not having "too many" choices. I too shot exclusively with a 50 while living and traveling in Europe for most of the 1970s, but that was mainly b/c I was a starving student and couldn't afford another focal length lens. But that's not the case any longer, and I can now enjoy photography with other lenses, as well as with the venerable 50.
So, I'm with Raid, in that I've found that a 50 and a wide angle makes a very useful kit, and can accommodate different shooting environments. Not too much; not too little. For me, it's been a 50 and a 28, although I just got a 25 Snapshot Skopar that I'll be taking with me on summer vacation travels. The constant is the 50, though: it's the anchor lens. My dilemma is like Brian Marcais': WHICH 50 to bring!
But for vacation travel, not so much. I try to balance the enjoyment that comes from the use of camera gear with the pleasure in traveling light and not having "too many" choices. I too shot exclusively with a 50 while living and traveling in Europe for most of the 1970s, but that was mainly b/c I was a starving student and couldn't afford another focal length lens. But that's not the case any longer, and I can now enjoy photography with other lenses, as well as with the venerable 50.
So, I'm with Raid, in that I've found that a 50 and a wide angle makes a very useful kit, and can accommodate different shooting environments. Not too much; not too little. For me, it's been a 50 and a 28, although I just got a 25 Snapshot Skopar that I'll be taking with me on summer vacation travels. The constant is the 50, though: it's the anchor lens. My dilemma is like Brian Marcais': WHICH 50 to bring!
-doomed-
film is exciting
For the longest time all I had was the 50mm so that was my go everywhere do everything lens, I took that and my old M3 on a vacation and it turned out to be all I needed. Perhaps the limits of just the one lens let me just shoot, no choices about what lens to use , just grab and go.
Rico
Well-known
My FM2 kit had exactly one lens (50/1.4 Ais), and it managed three months of 1980's South Africa with no problem. These days, I prefer a 35, but one FL is still mighty attractive.
ChrisN
Striving
From 1980 to 2005 I owned one camera with one lens (a 50mm). I never missed the others I didn't have.
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Juan Valdenebro
Truth is beauty
Of course it can be done... But I haven't... Closest was a long, several countries trip with a 20mm only... Never wanted any other lens during the trip, and I'm very happy with those rolls; they share the same feeling all the time: being there, space narrative... Had I used a 50 only, the feeling would have been a very different one: more intimacy, distance, isolation of scenes or feelings... You know what you want... If you want to record a visual memory of the places, you'd better go for a 35 at least... For people as individuals, the 50.
Cheers,
Juan
Cheers,
Juan
umcelinho
Marcelo
Possible, yes. I use a 35/1.4 on my R-D1 and a Summicron DR on my M6. I really like wide angles, though, so when travelling I can't help taking a ultra-wide with me.
After I bought the M6 with a 50mm, I spent from March to July shooting 50mm only. Sometimes I would put a Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim in my pocket for wide angle moments. Went to Paris with that setup and it was fantastic, as the VUWS is amazingly light, amazingly wide (22mm) and despite having a plastic lens it gives beautiful results. And it's so darn cheap...
In July I was going to travel through Italy and Greece, so I decided to get a lens that would allow me to capture those scenes where you look all over and think "wow... if only I could register this whole beauty". So I got a LTM 15mm Heliar. It was pretty useful and it is really cheap and small. I would have it in my pocket all the time.
If I were to take a single lens to a trip, though, I'd take a 35mm instead of a 50mm. It's better to be able to capture wider scenes and sometimes having to crop than missing a scene because you can't frame it, IMHO. But I'm a wide angle fan, so consider that.
For 2 lenses, I'd go 21mm and 50mm. Covers almost all situations you might encounter. And the CV 21/4 is cheap and has a VF with brightlines, much better than the 15's or the 12's. Just leave the wide in your pocket for when it is really needed.
Going back to the OP's question, I agree with what has been said that it depends where the vacation will be.
After I bought the M6 with a 50mm, I spent from March to July shooting 50mm only. Sometimes I would put a Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim in my pocket for wide angle moments. Went to Paris with that setup and it was fantastic, as the VUWS is amazingly light, amazingly wide (22mm) and despite having a plastic lens it gives beautiful results. And it's so darn cheap...
In July I was going to travel through Italy and Greece, so I decided to get a lens that would allow me to capture those scenes where you look all over and think "wow... if only I could register this whole beauty". So I got a LTM 15mm Heliar. It was pretty useful and it is really cheap and small. I would have it in my pocket all the time.
If I were to take a single lens to a trip, though, I'd take a 35mm instead of a 50mm. It's better to be able to capture wider scenes and sometimes having to crop than missing a scene because you can't frame it, IMHO. But I'm a wide angle fan, so consider that.
For 2 lenses, I'd go 21mm and 50mm. Covers almost all situations you might encounter. And the CV 21/4 is cheap and has a VF with brightlines, much better than the 15's or the 12's. Just leave the wide in your pocket for when it is really needed.
Going back to the OP's question, I agree with what has been said that it depends where the vacation will be.
benno
Hack.
I tend to agree. On my last long trip, maybe 85% of my pics were with a 35, 12% with a 90mm and 3% with a 50, and I only used the 50 for it's speed as it's faster than my other two lenses.
I could quite happily travel with just a 35. But I think I'd probably bring the 90 anyway, as it's small and I really like the perspective and you do just get occasions where you can't walk any closer.
And I'd bring my Fuji 690 for a backup with it's approximately 35mm equivalent lens