Will I need my D2 Lens hood in Paris in December 2006 ?

[dugby]

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In the 15+months of D2 shooting, I have alway used the lens hood, night/day, indoors/outdoors.....in Australia where the Sun doesn't go to bed.

 

We are heading to Paris (1st time) for our 20th Wedding anniversary in the cold month of December ...(I know not the best time, but circumstances only allow that month).

 

My issue....... I like to travel the D2 as 'stealthy' as possible, and have the choice of either-

1) D2 with lens hood in place in a Lumix Ever Ready case or

2) D2 without lens hood in a smaller Minolta Leather Ever ready case.

 

I don't want to fiddle with putting my lens hood on/off as required, as I know I will misplace it.

 

The question is...... are lens hoods necessary in Paris (and London) in December ?

 

In 30+ years I've never shot without a lens hood, so am not sure what I've been avoiding...?

or whether the D2 lens hood is really that effective ? (Well I am sure it's effective in keeping my fingers 1-2cm further away from touching the front lens element.)

 

But the 'square' leica lens hood is a bit of a give-way when I'm trying to be an inconspicuous average tourist. (I have already decided to camouflage the Red Dot and "LEICA" logos with two stickers)

 

Thankyou

[Guest stnami]

Hey try a couple of red stickers, "an inconspicuous average tourist" has a huge canon or nikon so you will stick out like canine balls anyway. I keep the lens hood on all the time everywhere except with a flash which I never use anyway

[andybarton]

The sun's pretty low in Paris (lower in London) in December, and you will be more at risk of flare, so I would use the hood if I were you. Most people wouldn't understand a square hood if they tripped over one - don't all cameras have hoods with cut away sides now anyway?

 

I wouldn't worry too much about the logo and red dot thing. Provided you are sensible, Paris and London are as safe as any major western city. Just take the usual precautions and I am sure you will have a great time. There's certainly plenty to shoot.

 

First time up "here"?

[earleygallery]

If you regularly use the lens hood then you are probably better off taking it with you. Stick with what you're comfortable with. I sometimes just use my hand as a lens hood - it fits every lens and is always to hand (wha wha whaaa).

 

I wouldn't worry about looking too conspicuous either - London is always packed with tourists taking photos/videos (as is Paris). I went to a gig at the Tower of London recently and the tickets stipulated that 'no professional cameras' were allowed. I guessed that if you tried to take an SLR and zoom lens in the security guards might stop you so I took the LC5. Of course loads of people had DSLR's and massive zoom lenses, against which a D2 would look very discreet.

 

The other consideration is that in December you will very likely have some rain, so the hood will also help to keep the rain off your lens.

 

Enjoy your trip.

[stunsworth]

Paris can be very 'grey' in winter, but there can also be very bright days with a low sun. I'd take and use the lens hood.

 

As has been said Paris is a pretty safe place, just watch out for pickpockets - often eastern european kids - on the Metro in the centre of town and you should be ok.

[robsteve]

I would bring the hood. Here is a Paris shot, using a M7. I forget which lens I was using, but there was some flare even with the hood. I think I was out on a shoot with Steve Unsworth when I took this picture.

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[erl]

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Don't ever consider shooting without a lens hod if you have the choice. Leica hoods are notoriously inadequate anyway, but still better than nothing. Its's like sex without a condom. Great till it goes wrong! Then the regret sets in. Your risk.

 

Cheers,

Erl

[robert_parker]

I'd definitely keep the hood on the D2 as the light in London and Paris is low then and you could easily find yourself at a spot where you're shooting against the light.

 

I actually think the D2 hood disguises the camera nicely - it looks more like an 'M' and more expensive, without it.

[stuny]

Dugby -

 

Another reason to leave the hood on is to protect the front surface of the lens from accident, incident and most figerprints. have agreat time. Here are some Paris notes that we gave to our niece when she graduated Princeton five years ago, and headed to Europe for the summer:

 

Paris

Here are suggestions for Paris. It's almost guaranteed that little of it will be spelled correctly.

 

One of my favorite museums in the world is the Picasso. It's housed in a 17th century mansion. One proceeds through the 27 rooms in chronological order of his work, which is accompanied by newspaper articles (in several translations) showing what was happening in the world and the artist's life in each period that influenced his work.

 

The Musee Dorsy is a mid 19th century train station converted to a stunning museum. Arrive one morning when it first opens, and go immediately to the top floor so that you can enjoy the impressionists without anybody blocking your view. This is the collection that had been at L'Orangerie, and then some. Consider lunch in their sit-down dining room. We've found it to be almost universal that fine lunches are served in the restaurant's of good museums.

 

At Notre Dame, pay the few francs and go up into the parapets to be surrounded by the gargoyles and the view.

 

Across the street is San Chapel (within the walls of the Palais Justice). Downstairs is the incredibly ornate chapel for the common folk. Upstairs is the over-the-top chapel for the aristocracy. You can almost hear Louis' and Marie Antoinette's heads rolling.

 

If you like Rodin, there is the Rodin Museum down the street from Les Invalides. The house has many of his sculptures, the front yard has one of our favorites (the Gates of Hell), and the gardens in back are lovely and peaceful.

 

If you're a Napoleon freak, his tomb is in Les Invalides. Even better is Field Marchal Foch's tomb, which looks like several 1st world war soldiers as pall bearers of Foch's actual casket, all in stone.

 

There are dozens of more things, but those are among my favorites. Oh, and if you've not seen the Mona Lisa, get in line before the museum opens, and go immediately to her room. Later you'll not even see her. She's far better in the flesh than any reproduction.

 

UPDATE: The L'Orangerie has reopened and you can see the wonderful complete surrounds of Monet water lillies in two rooms. The museum has traveling exhibitions downstairs.

 

Eating? Here are some interesting choices:

 

L'Oulette in the 12th - classic French. The last time we were there we had excellent 3 course dinners with complimentary appetizers (l'amuse bush?) and petit fours, and the just arrived Beaujolais for about $55 each.

 

Gaya in the 8th - The bistro of a far more expensive seafood restaurant and excellent in its own (friends tried it as recently as last November and report it is still superb).

 

La Charlotte en L'Isle - A tiny chocolate shop on Isle San Louis. We went there before dinner one night and had hot chocolate that seemed to be nothing but melted Belgium chocolate. We still wake up moaning about it.

 

Guy Savoy - We've not been back to this one for a while, but it is super. It's near the Arc de Triumph.

[MJLogan]

There's a spot in one of the Monet Waterlily rooms in the newly-opened Orangerie that's got amazingly good midday light for portraiture. There's a mottled blue background, and the light reflected off the painting panel on the opposite side of the room is very rosy. It takes ten years off your subject! I only had my little D-LUX 1 point-and-shoot with me, and would love to have had the opportunity to go back and shoot with a more serious camera.

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[dugby]

Hello and thankyou to all respondees. Looks like the Hood gets a trip to Paris-London.

 

Thankyou very much for all the tips on what to see.

 

Whilst at the bigger well-known galleries, museums in London and Paris..... will I have to surrender my D2 before entering ?

[MJLogan]

As long as you don't use a flash, you should be able to take photos in most Paris museums, churches and other tourist sights. Where photography isn't allowed (in many temporary exhibits, and at the brand new Musee du Quai Branley) simply keep your lens cap on. No one will confiscate the camera.

[andybarton]

In Sacre-Coeur church in Montmartre the security people will jump on you, even if you try to use an M, with no flash, and hold it on your lap while shooting...

[stunsworth]

Then again Sacre-Coeur isn't really worth taking an interior shot of as I remember ;-)

 

If you want to visit a great street market, try rue Moufftard on a Sunday morning. Arrive at 10-11 and walk down the hill. Then walk back up, past the Pantheon and down to the Seine near Notre-Dame.

[andybarton]

I never said it was

 

I was merely pointing out that some churches in paris are very strict on the use of cameras. Mobile phone cameras, are, of course, excempt as usual.

[stunsworth]

There seemed to be a lot of problems with people using camera phones at the open.

 

Not to mention the morons screaming 'it's in the hole' when someone was teeing off on a par 4 ;-)

[andybarton]

There were lots of idiots with camera phones there, especially on the last day.

 

However, I was standing next to the 16th green, on Friday afternoon, and there were two fellows sitting there, one with a 350D and another with some Nikon or other. Both were within 6 feet of a marshall and he wasn't bothered at all.

 

However, both these guys were using them with restraint, and neither tried to take a shot while play was anywhere near where we were.

 

So, an M would have been fine, provided it wasn't flashed around.

 

There were no security checks of any kind on entering the course - something I found a bit odd, in this day and age.

[gylee]

One of my favorite museums in the world is the Picasso. It's housed in a 17th century mansion. One proceeds through the 27 rooms in chronological order of his work, which is accompanied by newspaper articles (in several translations) showing what was happening in the world and the artist's life in each period that influenced his work.

 

This is indeed a stunning museum. Of all the museums we saw in Paris (and we saw many) this one had the most impact for us. As it represents a single artist, it is less overwhelming than the great museums like the Musee D'Orsay or the Louvre - the collection is really approachable. The building it is housed in is also magnificent in its own right. Unfortunately, our experience was marred a little by a couple of of school groups, but overall it was great.

 

Oh, and definitely take the hood and don't worry about using the camera in museums. There is no problem.

[stunsworth]

My favorite was the Rodin museum, a beautiful house with lots of works and very nice gardens. So trqnquille that you wouldn't believe you were in the centre of a large city.

 

I had a yearly pass to the Louvre, so I often used to spend just an hour or so there in one particular section. Too big to try and do in one day, that's for sure!

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[stuny]

Dugby -

 

Michael Logan is right regarding photos in museums in Paris.

 

here are some more notes on Paris, and some on London.

Paris:

The Seine roughly divides the city into the Right (northern) and Left (southern) banks of the river,and actually arcs so it's not precisely north and south. Paris is segmented into districts called arrondissements which are arranged in an outward spiral beginning at the center of Paris. The 1st arr. is at the Ile de la Cite (an island in the middle of the Seine with Notre Dame on it) and the Right Bank, which includes the neighborhood of the Louvre. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th (Le Marais) are on the Right Bank, then the spiral switches to the Left Bank for the 5th arr. (the Latin Quarter where the Sorbonne is), 6th arr. (St. Germain-des-Pres) and the 7th arr. The 8th is back on the Right bank, etc. The higher the # of the arrondissement, the farther out it is. Zip codes reflect the arrondissement, for example, 75001 is in the 1st, 75002 would be the 2nd. Paris streets wind and it's easy to get lost. It pays to buy "Paris by Arrondissements" which includes not just a map of the whole city with Metro and bus maps, but also detailed street maps within each arrondissement. You can get this at any newsstand. It's worth the cost. Buy a Metro pass rather than individual tickets, good for unlimited use within its time period and good on buses too.

 

· One of the best things to do in Paris is to just stroll along the banks of the Seine and into the charming neighborhoods, such as Le Marais and St. Germain-des-Pres, which have lots of art galleries, cafes and shops. La Place des Vosges in the 4th is one of the prettiest squares in town. Victor Hugo's house is open as a small museum.

· Start at the Tuileries, cross the Place de la Concorde, and walk up the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. It's especially beautiful at night. Don't be tempted to hang out in the cafes on the Champs Elysees, they're overpriced and touristy. Better to go to one in the chic Marais section.

· The Latin Quarter is the student's area and it has many inexpensive restaurants. The Moroccan ones are particularly good, couscous is terrific. La rue Mouffetard has a colorful outdoor food market in the mornings. You can buy some interesting tidbits and have a picnic lunch in the nearby Jardin des Plantes (botanical garden).

· After visiting Notre Dame, walk around the back of the cathedral and over the small footbridge to the Ile St. Louis. Incredibly charming little island with wonderful old houses, boutiques, restaurants, etc. and a great ice cream shop - Berthillon.

· The fancy shopping street is la rue du Faubourg St. Honore in the 8th, which houses the top designers. There are lots of great boutiques in le Marais but clothes are expensive unless you catch a sale or a discount place.

In May '06 we found a new museum - Musee Guimet -- it is filled with fabulous Asian art. A stunner worth visiting.

 

More Paris "eats":

· Le Grizzli - an authentic old-style bistro with a good fixed price menu. It's near the Centre Pompidou (all the French refer to the CP as "Beaubourg")

· Brasserie Flo - it's an old tourist institution, but it's really lively and fun with an incredibly friendly staff and good food. Reservations required. It is near the Bastille in an alley (cours des Petites-Ecuries, I think, which is off la rue des Petites-Ecuries)

 

London:

· Indian and Chinese food is often rather good. In the pubs fish and chips are good. The best food is either ethnic or obscenely expensive.

· Check out the Thai restaurants in Soho (Greek St.), or the brasserie at Soho, Soho.

· Leicester Square (and north of it) is the happening area. The Atlantic is the hot club. The trick to getting past the queue at the door is to book a table for dinner. Once you get past the door, get lost in the crowd and don't collect your table. Book late (10:30 or so) the place starts jumping around 11 pm when the pubs close.

· Tickets for plays are inexpensive and the quality is superb.

· If you like Turner, the Tate Gallery has a slew of them (on the Thames, about a half mile down from Parliament) plus lots of other interesting artworks.

· Westminster Abbey is neat (careful of pickpockets), partly because of how many important dead people are planted there inside the church, under large stones with chiseled ID on them.

· If you go to Buckingham Palace, don't forget to go across the street to St. James (pronounced "Sin James") park which is quite nice and has many unusual water fowl, such as the gorgeous mandarin duck.

· The tower of London is very touristy, but worth the visit.

· Tower Bridge is the bridge you've seen in all the adverts, and it's neat. It's near the Tower of London. Walk along the esplanade of the Thames to it.

· If you're into it, the British Museum has the plunder of the world, and is where Marx did all his research, arguably never working an honest day in his life as he espoused the plight of the working class.

· The National Gallery is an excellent art museum.

· St. Paul's is the largest church in town with a spectacular dome.

· If you have time to get out of central London, Richmond is lovely (a long ride on the Underground). Lots of quaint shops and nice restaurants on the Thames.

· A boat ride up the Thames to Greenwich is fun on a sunny day.

 

Updated '06 London notes for another niece:

 

Unlike Oz, the UK like all of Europe still permits smoking in dining areas. Even when you can find a nonsmoking area in a restaurant, it ajoins the smoking section. My strategy is usually to dine early.

 

Orrery 55 Marylebone High St. 0 20-7616 8000. It's on the 2nd floor overlooking a charming park in the Bloomsbury area. Food is excellent, service is good the ambience is lovely. This may be my favorite spot in London these days, but it's expensive. You'll definitely need reservations. If you only want one splurge place, this should be it.

 

The Sugar Club 21 Warwick St. Soho 020-7437 7776. They have a real nonsmoking section at this place. The food is wonderful, slightly less expensive than Orrery but still not cheap. Reservations req'd.

 

Axis 1 Aldwych 020 7300 1000. This has a terrific location right off the Strand and is in one of the hottest boutique hotels in London (One Aldwych). The food is very good (not quite up to choices 1 & 2) but you can eat well here. Reservations req'd. It is one hipper than thou, but it's not all show.

 

Oxo Tower Riverside Oxo Tower Wharf 020 7803 3888. They have a fancier and more expensive restaurant as well as a somewhat less expensive cafe. This is high in the sky on the Thames with knockout views. The food is good if not stellar. Reservations req'd.

Crivelli's Garden in the National Gallery Trafalgar Square 020-7747 2869. This is one of my usual places to eat since it is more moderate than the others. I've had lunch and dinner and both were surprisingly good. It's open for dinner on Wednesday night (until 9:45) when the museum has late hours (until 9 pm). Visit the museum on Wednesday evening followed by dinner at Crivelli's. The galleries are far less congested than during the day. I could walk into the restaurant without reservations. The last dinner I had there was US$39 with tip and tax, a starter salad, main course, a glass of wine and a bottle of water.

 

Tate Gallery Restaurant in the old Tate, not Tate Modern, at Millbank on the Thames 020 7887 8877 More formal dining than Crivelli's and it's really elegant. Food is delicious and around the same range as Crivelli's for lunch (19.50 GBP fixed price menu). I don't think it's open for dinner. If you decided to visit the Tate it's a good spot for lunch since it's a bit far from the areas with lots of restaurants.

 

There are some chic new restaurants in the St. Martin's Lane Hotel in the heart of the theater district near Trafalgar Sq. I recommend their seafood bar. It's a bit overpriced but not bad. My absolute favorite hotel is the Covent Garden Hotel. Terrific location, totally charming rooms and nice staff. The hotel restaurant (Max's Brasserie) is awful but they serve good breakfast. There's a very good restaurant - Dial - in the Mountbatten Hotel (on Monmouth St. at Seven Dials) a few doors down from the Covent Garden. Great food and service but on the high side pricewise.

 

I highly recommend taking time for the tour of the Old Globe Theater, it's very entertaining. You have to sign up for a guided tour, they don't allow you to just wander around on your own. If you enjoy art, don't miss the Courtauld (on the Strand) as well as the National and Tate. I wasn't very impressed with Tate Modern though the space is quite spectacular. The British Museum is impressive, especially the Egyptian plunder and of course, you have to visit the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral. One of the most surprising things I've seen is a statue of Abraham Lincoln right behind the Houses of Parliament and a stone's throw from the monumental statue of Oliver Cromwell. Just walking along the Thames is always a delight and the parks are lovely especially in the early morning when the locals are out running and riding.

 

I had a little free time on this trip and I took a ride on the London Eye, the huge ferris wheel on the Thames. On a clear day, the views are spectacular. Don't expect to get a ride around the time you buy the tickets, you may have to get one for later in the day or evening and return. I recently had dinner at 2 interesting places. The Criterion on Piccadilly Circus. The food was good but not great (about 110 GBP with a bottle of wine and one dessert), but the room is sensational. If you don't eat there, you might want to pop in for a drink to admire the decor. Le Palais du Jardin on Long Acre St. in Covent Garden. Great space. The food is uneven, some dishes are fabulous and others only good.