Two Body vs Two Lens Kit

[SeanJ]

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Always worked with a minimum of two bodies. Now it is MP240 and SL with 21, 28 and 75. Until recently it was with two MP240s. If assignment demanded it I would often work with a 5DMk111 and a 24-70 2.8 as well for video. Now with the SL I can dump the Canon. Tying to keep my kit as small and simple as possible but for me minimum two bodies is a must and has been for the last 28 years.

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[Printmaker]

I tend to take my M9 and my MM with me for work or when I travel. For walkabouts, I'll chose one depending on the likely subject matter. Then I might tuck a 90 or a 21 in my little Domkie or pocket as a just in case measure though neither sees much action. Most of the time I just carry one body with a lens mounted as it keeps things simple. Normally I use a 35 mm on the M9 and a 50 mm on the Monochrom. I like the slightly wider field of view a 35 mm lens brings when shooting color and making tighter compositions when shooting black & white.

[budjames]

Last year on a one month vacation to New Zealand, Fiji and Australia, I carried 2 M10s with Summicron 35, APO Summicron 75, Summilux 50 and Super Elmar 18 in a Billingham Hadley One bag. As I'm new to Leica, this was the first travel vacation with this kit. 65% of the 5,000+ images were shot with the 35mm. Surprisingly, the 75mm was the next most used lens, followed by the 50. I only used the SE18 at the Sydney Opera House, Australia and on a tour boat through Milford Sound, New Zealand. 

Although I have many great shots, hiking around with a kit weighing 9.6 lbs, including the bag and extra bits, got old about halfway through the trip. I'm 6'5" and 238 lbs but even though I'm in good shape, hauling around a heavy bag became not much fun. Although this was much better than the 20+ lbs full of Canon pro DSLR lenses in a backpack that I used to carry before switching to Fuji X about 5 years ago.

Before buying my Leicas, I used to carry a Fuji XPro2 and XT2 (now XT3) with 23, 35 and 50 primes and 10-24 zoom in a Billingham Hadley Pro bag, That kit covered the same focal lengths, had the convenience of a WA zoom but weighed only 7.3 lbs, including the bag. I spent a month in Italy with this kit in 2017.

I have since sold the Fuji XPro2 as the Leica is a much more satisfying and true rangefinder shooting experience. I kept the XT3 for the excellent long Fuji zooms and for the occasional fast action needs.

Tomorrow, I'm leaving for Scotland and Ireland for a 10 day family vacation. I'm only taking one M10, a Summilux 35 and APO Summicron 50 in my Billingham Hadley Pro bag. For grab shots and video, I'm also packing my new Sony RX100 VII which just arrived this past week. It has the long reach equivalent of a 200mm (35mm format). Plus my iPhone XS which is always with me. This kit weighs 6.5 lbs, including the bag and extra bits. 

It is not exactly a minimalist kit, but much lighter than the full deal. I expect that the 35mm will see most of the action.

Regards,
Bud James

Please check out my fine art and travel photography at www.budjames.photography or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/budjamesphoto.

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Edited August 20, 2019 by budjames

[RexGig0]

I do not cope too well with too much weight concentrated in one shoulder bag, probably because I was blessed with some extra, subtle curves in my spine. I can, however, tote the weight of two camera bodies, and several lenses, by distributing the weight. One thing I learned, while working police patrol for 33+ years, was that a properly-fitted belt, with a balanced load, is a wonderful way to carry weight, while leaving my mid and upper spine out of the equation. (My first duty revolvers weighed almost three pounds, each. As technology resulted in lighter-weight duty pistols, and somewhat lighter radios, the changing mission and procedures of policing added more items to the duty belt. It is nice, now, to be retired.)

One caveat; I do not like to have a hard object directly behind my back, because a fall onto my back could force that hard object to cause a debilitating spinal injury. 

M cameras are sufficiently light, that I can wear one on a strap, that passes over one shoulder, cross-body style, so that the camera hangs near the opposite hip. My bag can hang, by its strap, in a similar fashion, by the opposite hip. This balances the load, side-to-side. I went on a two-week road trip, with my teen nephew, in 2015, before I had started with the Leica-M system. Much walking was involved, at the various destinations, especially in Washington, DC, and Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. I wore a Nikon D700 camera, with a 24-70/2.8G lens, all day, each day, hanging in this manner, using a Peak Design Slide strap.. A second D700, with a 14-24/22.8G lens, was carried in a Crumpler bag, hanging by the opposite hip. I felt that this was a reasonable burden, at the time.

My next trip, of similar length, this year, was with an M10 and a Monochrom 246. I mostly used a Zeiss Distagon 1,4/35mm ZM lens, but was glad that I had a Summilux-M 50mm ASPH and a very compact Zeiss 4,5/21mm Biogon C. (Concern about my father’s health necessitated a quicker trip, than originally planned. I may well have used the 50mm and 21mm lenses much more, if not time-constrained.)

Rather than pack too much into the bag, one or two small pouches, if necessary, on my belt, can hold some items.

The lens pouch, packaged with my Thambar-M, is sufficiently dressy to appear virtually anywhere. A nylon fabric lens pouch, such as sold by Think Tank, would be a practical, casual-appearing choice.

In some environments, I may carry most-everything in a waist pack, such as the Think Tank Speed Demon. These packs can be quickly re-configured to be carried as a shoulder bag, for times such as when one is using vehicular transport.

 

[pico]

1 hour ago, RexGig0 said:

do not cope too well with too much weight concentrated in one shoulder bag, probably because I was blessed with some extra, subtle curves in my spine.

I sympathize.  For those who are not fashion sensitive, press photographer chest packs are a blessing.