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6 months with the M + building a strong travel kit

Joshua Lowe

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Joshua Lowe

Joshua Lowe

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I'm just about at the 6 month mark with my M Typ 240.  Technically, it's 5 months... but I'm about to ship it off to Leica for a CLA and I figure I won't see it again until July or August.

 

This was my first rangefinder.  My first non-DSLR, for that matter.  I thought I would include a bit of a detailed breakdown of my "kit" as it just came off a 3 week trip in Europe and I was very happy with how everything performed.

 

Between 1/1/15 and 5/31/15 my M has seen:

  • 6,300 shutter actuations
  • 30,000 miles of air travel
  • 5 countries (USA, UK, France, Italy, Monaco)
  • 6 states (California, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, Oregon)
  • High desert, low desert, Mediterranean, and subtropical climates

Lenses:

  • Leica Summilux 50/1.4 ASPH
  • CV Nokton 35/1.2 II
  • CV Ultron 28/1.9 LTM - 1
  • Zeiss Biogon 25/2.8 ZM - 2

Memory cards and accessories:

Computer / software

  • Lightroom CC
  • Nik Tools suite
  • Macbook Pro 15" (2011, pre-Retina)

Redundant storage:

  • WD Elements 1 TB USB drive - 3
  • Dropbox for online backup of DNG files and Lightroom catalog

Bags:

Misc:

Notes:

 

1 - The Ultron 28/1.9 has been a tremendous surprise.  It was far and away my go-to lens in Europe.  

 

2 - I don't carry the Biogon as I prefer the Ultron.

 

3 - My backup strategy while travelling is to be double redundant (original plus two copies) until I am home and able to back the images up to Dropbox.  I accomplished this by leaving the images on the SD card, copying them to my Mac's hard drive, and copying them again to the WD portable drive.  In hindsight, I think I will buy a 2nd portable drive.  That way I can clear space on the SD cards.

 

4 - The ThinkTank bag proved its worth several times over.  First, I was able to fit a massive amount of stuff into it.  My last trip was carry-on only.  Two weeks of clothes in my suitcase and everything else into the ThinkTank, including all my camera gear, laptop+charger, headphones, EU power adapters, toiletries, umbrella, rain cover, and a box of 12 energy bars.  On the way over I was on an A380 and an A319 - the bag easily fits under economy seats.  The ThinkTank also includes a rain cover that was invaluable.  I was in Monaco to watch GP practice and the skies absolutely opened up.  Between the rain cover for the bag and the portable umbrella both I and my gear stayed dry, in spite of the downpour.  Also, I used a small combination lock to prevent light fingers from trying to unzip the main compartment while I was standing in train stations, etc.

 

5 - Fits perfectly in the tripod pocket on the outside of the bag.

 

6 - I keep a few of these in my camera bags and suitcase.  I saw a lot of humidity and temperature changes on my trips.  Especially in the Pacific Northwest.  And in the Riviera I found the humidity was a lot higher than expected.

 

After all of the use the camera has seen I have noticed the RF seems to be slightly off at infinity.  I think it's slightly more pronounced than it was when the camera was new.  It could be due to all of the changes in environment, a random bump, or maybe I'm imagining that it's gotten worse.  The camera has locked up one time in a way that required pulling the battery.  So that's fortunate.  The sensor is REALLY prone to attracting dust.  I had to do quite a lot of spot removal in Lightroom after I discovered 10 or 15 pronounced dust spots after a long day of shooting.  The Rocket blower took care of most of the dust, but I was still left with dozens of photos in need of spot removal.  The camera is just barely starting to brass - the power switch is brassing on top and the bottom plate has some streaks of brassing, too.  

 

Things I am changing in the kit for the future:

 

1 - Adding a 2nd, smaller bag... like a sling.  Several times I found myself in situations where I needed one.  The ThinkTank was great for full day excursions.  But for days spent close to "home" when I just wanted to take my camera, phone, keys, money, etc... the backpack was too much.  In the future I'll pack a second bag, similar to this - http://www.pacsafe.com/metrosafe-200-gii-shoulder-bag.html  Instead, I ended up stuffing my pockets and/or wearing a hoodie all the time, even if it was warm out, just for the extra pocket space.  

 

2 - Adding a 2nd 1TB USB drive for redundant backups while travelling

 

Anyhow, after all's said and done, I am very happy with the M due to its compact size and relatively low weight.  It makes it a breeze to travel with versus an SLR.  

 

Here are a few kit pics to close things out:

 

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Fully loaded, about 30 pounds

 

 

Lots of extra space.  I hid some extra Euros here and there in a couple of inner pockets, had a few rolled up inside one of the cigarette packs, etc.

 

 

Fits perfectly under an economy seat, and that is when fully loaded

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bocaburger

bocaburger

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I have no idea how you carry that much stuff around but if it gives you peace of mind and lets you better enjoy your trips, then more power to you.   Being from the "film days" I'm not as backup-conscious when it comes to images, and quantity-wise I shoot no more than I did when I used film.  I carry a dozen 2GB SD cards leftover from my M8 days, as I prefer to keep my eggs in as many baskets as practical.  Since I shoot jpeg with my M240's those 2GB cards hold a lot more than they did when the  M8 and M9 compelled me to shoot DNG, so these days I can leave the portable HD home.  Never traveled with a laptop or tablet.  I have a USB thumb drive card reader, so if I wanted I could upload to dropbox at an internet cafe, but I've never done so yet.  

 

Bag-wise, I get my entire kit (2 M's, 4 lenses and an SF24D) in a Billingham Hadley Small.  That goes into my Rick Steves convertible bag/backpack along with all my clothing, and a Rick Steves Civita soft microfiber daypack containing my Kindle and other stuff I want handy on the plane.  I put the stuff in the seat pocket and stuff my jacket in the daypack to act as a pillow. 

 

Lens-wise, for mostly-urban travel (eg Paris) I usually carry the tiny CV 15mm v1, the 21/4 CV, 35/2 Cron v4, and 90 "thin" T-E.   If it's more of an outdoor destination (eg. Tuscany or Switzerland) I might go with 21, 28, 50 and 135.   And btw the Ultron is an amazing lens for the price, isn't it! 

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Joshua Lowe

Joshua Lowe

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jaapv - the RF seems to be a bit off and the 50 seems to be focusing past infinity.  It was always my intention to send it in after I got back from this last trip, anyway.

 

pkilmeister - maybe I'm organized when I travel, but at home I'm a disaster.  I've been caught out several times in the past, missing "one thing" that would save a huge amount of time and hassle.  So I've tried to put together something fairly inclusive for long trips that is still manageable.  I've had some pretty long walks to/from train stations.

 

boca - this was for a longer trip, about 3 weeks.  The laptop was a must, though I would prefer something smaller and lighter.  The flaw with going carry-on only is that stuff like toiletries have to go in the backpack because otherwise the suitcase won't fit into the overhead.  I don't mind checking bags on the flight home, but on the flight out I try to carry on.  Next trip I'll skip some stuff like the headphones.  The goal has been to put together a camera kit that fits under the seat of a plane and can be further broken down for shorter excursions once I get where I'm going.  The M240 has been great for that end.  On most days out I just carried the M240+28 and had the 50, cash, and house key in the bag.  Everything else was locked up in the apartment.  That setup only weighs a few pounds.  I found the Ultron 28 was fine in the relatively narrow streets of Nice, Menton, Monaco, Antibes, etc.  I only switched to the 50 maybe twice for the entire trip.

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jaapv

jaapv

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Well, I would have an independent repairer check the RF for me, instead of parting with the camera for months for minor things. It may well be that it is just a two-minute job on the camera which might bring the 50 mm into line again as well. And even if a lens focuses slightly beyond infinity, the touchstone is whether the images you make are in focus.

At the very least a call to Leica about when to expect the camera back would be in order.

Stopping smoking would allow you to get another lens in, btw :p

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dpitt

dpitt

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Thanks for sharing. I use a similar backup strategy, leaving images on card as long as there is space on them. Then copying them over to the Macbook daily and processing them almost daily. The processed images (LR or Aperture projects) are backed up to an external drive.

 

What you did not mention is a backup for the camera? In my case often something like the Digilux2 or DLux 4 even.

Also helps having a zoom around since I do not like switching lenses when outside. I pick a lens of choice in the morning depending on what I expect to do that day and then get by with that + the backup.

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Carduelis

Carduelis

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Interesting article.  Regarding rucksacks, I have been using an Osprey Farpoint 40 which has dimensions of 55 x 40 x 20 cms which just falls within the limits for hand luggage, as long as I do not overpack it too much.  I can comfortably pack clothes and my Leica gear for tours of about 7-10 days without having to pay extra for bags going into the aircraft hold and having to wait for them on the conveyor belts.

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wda

wda

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Thank you generously sharing your travel experiences with equipment. I am a strong advocate of carrying a mini-kit detachable or compilable from a bigger kit. However increasingly my personal aim is weight reduction to prolong onset of fatigue.I guess you also had a small compact camera as well. Latterly my X1 has filled that role and continues to excel with its IQ and classic simplicity. So my small kit often comprises the X1.

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rob_w

rob_w

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+1

 

My smallest travel kit is a Ricoh GR.

 

Next size up is the M+28 Elmarit Asph in a small leather case

 

Up from that, a 2-compartment Leica Billingham style bag which allows me to take a larger lens, a second lens, and a few extras such as sunglasses, passport, wallet, kindle.  (Pretty squeezy if all at the same time)

 

Full size: the above, fitted into a Samsonite backpack for travel.  Remove the smaller bag for use once arrived.  OR the full size Billingham Hadley with everything I could want.

 

There is no end of bags and kits one could desire, so I discipline myself to stick with this set up.  So far, no disappointments!

 

 

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