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the perfect travel kit


geesbert

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THAT is the size a pocket flash SHOULD be.... I would love something like that one or two AA, tall pcv tube with a light on top... and a hotshooe in the other end, about as thick as a pencil and fits anywhere in a camera bag, not much light, but enough to put a little into a room in a monastery somewhere in the world in a moment of need.... :D

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Based on my kit:

 

1. WATE for the wide

2. 35 lux asph

3. 50 lux asph

4. 90 cron asph

5. M9, whenever I'd get it...number one on wait list....

 

This is the set up that I plan to take abroad soon (Venice and Egypt). I have temptations to purchase a MATE and 75 cron...

 

In an ideal world:

1. WATE

2. MATE

3. 35 lux

5. 75 cron

 

That would cover a lot and be quite compact...but I don't have the 75 cron or the MATE yet...temptation abounds...by the cost of the M9 will squelch it soundly...

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My ideal would be something I could carry day out day in without causing a pain in the ass and all the way up my back:

 

M9 and Summilux-M 1:1.4/50mm ASPH. Four batteries, two chargers (stored in different places) with the requisite cables, lotsa small cards preferable to a few big ones. One 46mm B+W linear pola filter, properly marked as to direction. 58mm ExpoDisc. Cleaning gear, of course. No flash.

 

At least I will not nead a changing bag anymore!

 

The old man from the Age of the Zeiss Super Ikonta IV

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THAT is the size a pocket flash SHOULD be.... I would love something like that one or two AA, tall pcv tube with a light on top... and a hotshooe in the other end, about as thick as a pencil and fits anywhere in a camera bag, not much light, but enough to put a little into a room in a monastery somewhere in the world in a moment of need.... :D

 

Bo,

 

I am afraid these Minox flashes will now be rarer than hens' teeth and as for the ME-2 adapter, it took me a lot of looking to find one about five years ago! It is a really clever little adapter, incorporating a PC socket at the side with a microswitch in it, so that when you plug in a PC flash cable, it disconnects the hot shoe contact on the bottom. This means I can even use the flash on my IIF, which has a metal shoe and uses only a PC connector.

 

Wilson

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Mine all in Billingham Hadley Pro is

M9, M8.2 (both with thumbs up thumb grip)

WATE + Frankenfinder

Zeiss Biagon 25

Cron 35

Lux 50

Canon 85 f1.8 (pretty much lives on the 8.2)

2 extra batteries

2 extra 4 gig cards

Blower

1.25 Matchtecnical eye cup magnifer

 

also for short trips 80 gig Jobo giga one which can go in Billingham added end pocket

 

longer trips and if I have security Macbook pro 17" (bit of a beast but great for watching movies!!) and Maybe D700 then it all goes in Billingham 550 and you need a crane lift it.

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Hello,

 

in the last years I went around with a bicycle - also for tours about different months. The most pictures I took with my 2/35 mm.

 

Then comes, very near behind: 2,8/25 - and nearly the same 85 mm. And sometimes even more with the 25 mm!!!! Which is nearly a 26 mm (Zeiss ZF 2,8/25 mm)

Behind these two, but not far away: 21 mm.

 

I very often use the 85 to get a closer perspective in landscapes !

 

I think, a 50 mm is not necessary, especially when you want only a few lenses with you!!!

 

I have different Nikon-SLR´s . The M-lenses are so small, when you can pay these I would take with me first a 35mm, then 24 (or the Zeiss ZM 25mm!!) and 90, a n d a 21 mm or even better the 16/21/?. And I would look after an old 2,8/90 or the new Summarit 90 mm, when you want only small lenses.

 

For explanation: I have also a 14 mm with me (and Micro 50 + 180 mm). But I use it very rarely. But these 2 or 3 pictures with 14 mm are very often the best of my trip. These show me - in the whole surrounding.

 

Very important also a high not heavy tripod, to take pictures from yourself. And a small flash. And I would take with me the M8. So you can alsways use different lenses - at the same time! And in combination with the M8 you have a bigger telelens!!!

 

But if you want to take only 2 lenses with you: First a 28 mm. and then a 90 or 75 mm. Before I had the 25 mm, the Nikon 2,8/28 was my standardlense for the most of my pictures. And I only changed to 2/35 when I needed the f.stop 2. But with the M9 the ASA should be no problem. But sure - better, but more expensive is the 2/28.

 

And again: Take the M8 with you. It would stand for, you have "two lenses" more with you !!!! For example: The 28 mm are with the M8...! Or if you really want the 50 mm for your M9. Then you have also a small telelens for your M8!!

On my trips I have always different bodys with me, two and even more. For example also analog and digital!

 

Only a little bit of my experience

Heinz

 

P.S.: And - I would take with me a M for film, and a few films!

Edited by norsk
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  • 8 months later...

My usually kit:

 

Oskar Day Bag:

M9

35 cron asph

75 lux

 

My ideal kit would be:

Oskar day bag

m9

35 lux asph new

75 cron asph

 

if I only to go with one lens, I would definetly choose my M9 with Noct 2nd version.

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My wife and I just did a round the world trip but we were only away for 3 months. In the end I decided to take my D3 with my Leica M8.2 since I wanted to take many night shots and also could take a longer zoom (plus I did not know if I could take a similar trip in the future).

 

With my M8.2, I took the 24 lux, 50 lux and the WATE. With the D3, I took the 12-24, 24-70, 80-200.

 

Hat's off to you friend. Carrying that much gear I wouldn't make it out the front door of my house. My perfect travel kit would be a Canon 5D, 20D (backup),20-35/3.5-4.5, 28-135-IS, 70-300-IS, 430EX flash,in a Lowepro Minitrekker w/ GItzo 1228 tripod + Arca B1 head strapped to the outside. All of it carried by an attractive 20 yr old co-ed whose rich father is paying for the entire trip so she can learn how I create photographic masterpieces. :D

 

But then there's reality. I have 2 different setups depending on where I'm going. In European urban areas the emphasis is on shorter lenses, so it's an M8 with 12mm,15mm C/V, 28 Elmarit, and a 50 Summicron plus an SF24D flash. All in a Domke J5XB with a Leica table tripod with Leitz ballhead in my pocket. If I'm going to be shooting in less confined areas, it'll be the 15mm and 21mm C/V, 35 Summicron, and 90 Tele-Elmarit plus the SF24D and the smallest-series Gitzo carbon-fiber tripod with a small Kaiser ballhead in a separate sling bag. For short trips I've gone with just the M8, 15mm C/V, 28 Elmarit and the flash. The M8's file quality is good enough that at ISO 160 where I normally shoot, I can crop as much as a third of the image and blow it up full, so I don't feel restricted by not having a longer lens.

 

Things like the charger, spare SD cards, Wolverine backup drive, DLux3 backup camera (when I get my $3500 used M9 in a few years, the M8 will be the backup), spare UV-IR filters, batteries etc are carried in a small Eagle Creek bag about the same size as the Domke, which stays in the hotel. In transit I carry both bags inside a Pacsafe Daysafe rucksack which is slashproof and has a cable lock I can fasten to something immovable in the hotel room if the room doesn't have a safe.

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After two months in Afghanistan and Iraq the following worked great:

 

M9

M7

28/2.8,50/1.4,75/2.0 lenses, all asph.

Many SDHC cards and thumb drives

2 M9 chargers and batteries for M7

Ektar 100 and Tri X for the M7

Blower brush

MacBook Pro and charger

Climbers chalk bags for lenses and bodies

All stuffed in beat up army surplus bag

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Bo......yes, the chalk bags work great and I know by color what's in them. In younger days, I used them when rock climbing so they are having a long career. Hope I do too!!

 

I forgot to mention that a little Leica Table Top Tripod with RRS head lives in the bag too.

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Hello Everybody,

 

One way to determine a travel kit is to look at your photos as well as photos and pictures in mueums and books to see which you like of your own as well as of others.

 

You will probably notice that many people in many circumstances, such as Leonardo or Rembrant, painted with a 90.

 

This is true through Constable and Renoir right up to today.

 

News people tend to photograph with wides and teles. This more because of constraints on their activity than choices for optimal composition.

 

Then, of course, there are people like Bruegel who often painted with a 28 or wider. No visible bodyguards in sight.

 

Botticelli, like myself, often favored a 35.

 

Yes, there were 50's.

 

Most all of the above used them frequently.

 

Just as they used others.

 

And so on.

 

Just a thought. Begin with your own pictures.

 

See what you like.

 

And what you don't.

 

Which lens did what how?

 

Maybe you can go somewhere from there.

 

Just another approach.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

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In June/July I went to Japan for three weeks, and took the following in a Thinktank Urban Disguise 40:

 

- M9

- Zeiss Biogon 21mm f2.8 (for landscapes and cramped interiors)

- Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f1.4 (for night shooting)

- Summicron 50mm (for a bit more reach and softer bokeh)

- Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f2.5 (for even longer reach)

 

I found that I hardly used the 75mm at all; it could have stayed at home and made no real difference. At night I would just put the CV 35/1.4 on the M9 and leave all the other lenses back at the hotel. During the day I would change between the ZM 21/2.8 and the 50 'cron, depending on the subject matter.

 

I also took:

 

- two spare M9 batteries, M9 charger

- Dust Aid sensor cleaning pads

- spare Sandisk Ultra II 16GB SDHC card for M9

- Ricoh GRD III + 8GB Sandisk Ultra II SDHC (for even more discreet photography)

- Canon S90 (for the very serviceable video and zoom)

- Sony PCM-M10 digital audio recorder

- Nexto Ultra 500GB storage device

 

Each night, I transferred that day's photos to the Nexto CF and cleared the cards. Fortunately, the HDD worked perfectly. I recommend this device a lot, as it is fast, easy to operate and reliable. It writes each card into a folder numbered with the date of transfer, making it very easy to sort out the files afterwards.

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Hat's off to you friend. Carrying that much gear I wouldn't make it out the front door of my house. My perfect travel kit would be a Canon 5D, 20D (backup),20-35/3.5-4.5, 28-135-IS, 70-300-IS, 430EX flash,in a Lowepro Minitrekker w/ GItzo 1228 tripod + Arca B1 head strapped to the outside. All of it carried by an attractive 20 yr old co-ed whose rich father is paying for the entire trip so she can learn how I create photographic masterpieces. :D

 

But then there's reality. I have 2 different setups depending on where I'm going. In European urban areas the emphasis is on shorter lenses, so it's an M8 with 12mm,15mm C/V, 28 Elmarit, and a 50 Summicron plus an SF24D flash. All in a Domke J5XB with a Leica table tripod with Leitz ballhead in my pocket. If I'm going to be shooting in less confined areas, it'll be the 15mm and 21mm C/V, 35 Summicron, and 90 Tele-Elmarit plus the SF24D and the smallest-series Gitzo carbon-fiber tripod with a small Kaiser ballhead in a separate sling bag. For short trips I've gone with just the M8, 15mm C/V, 28 Elmarit and the flash. The M8's file quality is good enough that at ISO 160 where I normally shoot, I can crop as much as a third of the image and blow it up full, so I don't feel restricted by not having a longer lens.

 

Things like the charger, spare SD cards, Wolverine backup drive, DLux3 backup camera (when I get my $3500 used M9 in a few years, the M8 will be the backup), spare UV-IR filters, batteries etc are carried in a small Eagle Creek bag about the same size as the Domke, which stays in the hotel. In transit I carry both bags inside a Pacsafe Daysafe rucksack which is slashproof and has a cable lock I can fasten to something immovable in the hotel room if the room doesn't have a safe.

 

At least we have the mini-trekker and the Pacsafe in common. Actually it was really not bad at all since I could leave whatever I did not want to take with me at the time in the hotel. Riding donkeys in Petra, and photographing Las Brisas del Titicacas night shows in Lima do require different equipment.

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My travel kit is the one I already own, no more wishes in that regard!

 

M9 (with Thumbs Up and Leica grip), Zeiss Distagon 18, Zeiss Biogon 25, 'Cron Asph 35, 'Cron 50, Summarit 75.

VF for the 18 (for the 25 I don't need it).

D-Lux 4

2 more batteries for the M9, 1 more for the D-Lux 4, chargers.

Lots of sdhc cards

Leica minitripod + Leica ballhead

Nodal ninja for panoramas.

The iPad + adapter

 

Bag: Billingham Hadley Pro, but also the Billingham-for-Leica when on location, then only 3 lenses + M9.

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My travel kit is:

 

M9 with thumbs up + 2 batteries + 16gb card + charger with Apple adaptor

50 lux pre-asph

35 cron asph

24 elmarit asph

Mini tripod

A&A bag

Lenspen

 

Remarkably similar to the OP's description - works great for me!

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Travel kit? depends on what and where. If there is serious wildlife shooting included, it is hard to avoid a DSLR and sundry long zooms.

I will be off to Africa in October, this time mainly for country and people, but still there will be some game-parks in corporated. As always, I need redundancy and bachup.

 

So I am torn between taking

 

DMR,

28

35-70

105-280

extenders

two chargers

M9

24 Summilu'x

50 Summilux

90 Elmarit

135 Tele-elmar

two Chargers

 

 

or:

 

M9

M8

Visoflex

24

35 (?)

50

90

135

280

two chargers

Filters.

 

In both cases, cleaning gear and image tank.

 

I think the latter, easier on my back ;)

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