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To take my M or not? To Annapurna..


ananda

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I am planning a three week trek in Nepal for March-April next year. Annapurna Circuit before it's completely spoiled. Highest elevation will be almost 18k feet over a pass. Really, should I take my M??? Would it be damaged by cosmic radiation at high altitudes?? (Assuming I don't drop it over a cliff.) What would you do?

I almost wish I had my MP back and then I would take a bunch of film and not worry about batteries and all the rest...

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As a keen trekker myself, I plan to use my Ricoh GXR on strenuous treks despite having recently acquired an M240. My Ricoh GXR plus A12 mount, EVF and three lenses (CV 15 f4.5, Summarit 35 mm f2.5 and Tele-Elmarit thin 90 mm f2.8) provide me with focal lengths of 23 mm, 50 mm and 135 mm respectively and only weighs about 1 kg. Being relatively inexpensive, I would not be as worried about the possibilities of damage to this kit on such a trek.

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I am planning a three week trek in Nepal for March-April next year. Annapurna Circuit before it's completely spoiled. Highest elevation will be almost 18k feet over a pass. Really, should I take my M??? Would it be damaged by cosmic radiation at high altitudes?? (Assuming I don't drop it over a cliff.) What would you do?

I almost wish I had my MP back and then I would take a bunch of film and not worry about batteries and all the rest...

 

This sounds like a once in a lifetime event. I would take the best camera I have. Period.

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I really don't understand why you wouldn't take the M on such an amazing trip. I suggest you get an insurance instead (if you don't already have one of course).

 

As for altitude that should not affect the camera. I brought my EOS film kit plus a C-Lux to the top of Kilimanjaro without any problems at all.

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A Leica M is meant to take photographs, not to be mollycoddled. A trek like that is what it is designed for. Insure it and take it. Do you worry that you yourself would drop over the edge of a cliff? Or suffocate on that 18.000 ft pass? Of course not, or you wouldn't go. Why treat your camera differently?

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ananda,

 

Presumably you bought your camera to take photos, right? It's a camera, this is what it does best. :rolleyes:

 

Get decent insurance. Take it to Annapurna and use it. Lots.

 

If you feel uncomfortable taking it, sell it and buy something that worries you less.

 

Don't spoil a great holiday worrying about gear.

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Take the M, but an iPhone makes a good backup.Recently went trekking in Peru, and had my M7, 35 and 75 'crons and an iPhone for snaps. Great compact combo. M7 and the spare lens in the front pocket of the pack, and the iPhone in my pants pocket. No stuffing around with camera bags.

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Really, should I take my M??? Would it be damaged by cosmic radiation at high altitudes?? (Assuming I don't drop it over a cliff.) What would you do?

I almost wish I had my MP back and then I would take a bunch of film and not worry about batteries and all the rest...

 

Most of the comments here seem to assume that you are concerned about damage to your M (hence suggestions about insurance and quips about equipment being used rather than "worshipped") whereas I read it that you are more concerned about the potential hassle associated with taking the M.

 

I think you need to ask yourself what the purpose of your trip is; whether it's to enjoy the hike itself and concentrate on taking in the sights and sounds as they occur (and perhaps taking a few casual photos for the "album" so to speak), or whether it is a photographic trip where high quality photographs is a primary objective. If the latter, you should clearly take the best equipment you have at your disposal and plan around that. If (as it sounds to me) the trip is more about the hike, I firmly believe in taking the minimum gear possible and I personally would be thinking like you of an M film body and one or two lenses. I know that extra batteries and SD cards take up very little room (especially when weighed against carrying rolls of film) but there is something liberating about a film camera when away from your normal environment. Even just being able to take a photograph without turning the damn camera "on" is not something to be sniffed at. All that said, and as much as I like my film M, I tend to see shooting film as a kind of 'deferred hassle'. I might dislike batteries and turning cameras on:) but I dislike scanning (or getting scans made) even less, and in your shoes I'd probably still take the digital M.:D

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