1 camera + 1 lens trip to Berlin in mid December

[EoinC]

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JMHO but the one camera/one lens fascination is overrated.  Traveling light and fast is a good thing, but a 28 and a 50 are mandatory - at least for me.

JMHO, but I enjoy it and, for me, the lightness and fastness are byproducts, not the main requirements (as evidenced by that combo sometimes being a V-series Hasselblad w/ 80mm Planar).

[Edward Louis Marit]

I have been to Berlin about 8 times over the past 3 years and I usually take m monochrom version 1 and 35 cron ....

 

 

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[djmay]

JMHO, but I enjoy it and, for me, the lightness and fastness are byproducts, not the main requirements (as evidenced by that combo sometimes being a V-series Hasselblad w/ 80mm Planar).

For me, sometimes it was a 4X5 Photoman with 90mm lens.

Jesse

 

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[Paulus]

My wife and I have just booked a 4 day trip to Berlin from 15th December. My wife will want to visit the shops and Christmas Market and I will probably trail along for some of that. Given that my all day carrying capacity is both age and arthritis limited, I have decided to leave the SL and 24-90 at home and take my M240 instead plus just one lens and a lightish one at that. It will be a Summicron but 28, 35, 40 or 50? For those with recent experience of Berlin, which would be the most useful lens. I slightly feel that taking the 35 is a somewhat wimpish compromise but maybe a sensible one nevertheless. 

 

It will be very interesting to see how Berlin has changed. My last visit there was on a long week-end trip from college in Switzerland in 1964. East Berlin at that time, still showed massive war time damage, with piles of salvaged bricks in bomb sites remaining apparent and I cannot say that two 18 year olds in an old Auto Union 1000 coupe, were welcomed by the vopos at Checkpoint Charlie, with open arms. I think we were only allowed through, as we were able to show them we had tickets for "The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny" by Kurt Weill at the Staatsoper. 

 

Wilson

I would not shoot Berlin with one lens. I always take two. 50-28 of 50-21.

Take the 50 if you want only one. I looked at my photos of Berlin and concluded that most of them were 50 anyway. Great when you shoot from rooftops like the Reichstag.

[Exodies]

Another way of going about it is to see what everyone here has claimed to have shot Berlin with and realise it's time someone did it with some other focal length.

[Neko]

 I lived in Berlin for four years. It is an amazing city. Be aware of the winter dim light. So a fast lens is in order. If I had to pick only one, 35 would be. Specifically 35 Lux FLE.

[photoray]

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Enjoyed my Cron 35/2 and M-P 240 in Berlin about a month ago.

 

One camera + one lens = you make it work and enjoy yourself! How can you wrong? 

[exile]

I'd take a 35lux at this time of year. Your chrome version is quite heavy though, Wilson, so maybe the 40 cron if you are doing lots of walking? There is a BIG size and weight penalty for a single stop jumping from the 40cron to the 35lux ASPH. I find the lux okay if paired with a broader camera strap, but it is still noticeably heavier than the 40 cron, which I can carry all day using a narrow strap and forget it is there.

 

Anything longer than 40 I find crops too tightly around the subject, which is great at home (especially my home) but not what I want in my travel photos. Anything wider than 35 in cities requires more than casual thought otherwise I personally get too many shots with dead foreground space, converging verticals etc.

 

So... moderate wide focal length... aperture as fast as possible but still be comfortable to carry.

Whichever you choose, I'm sure you'll come back with some great captures Wilson.

[wlaidlaw]

I'd take a 35lux at this time of year. Your chrome version is quite heavy though, Wilson, so maybe the 40 cron if you are doing lots of walking? There is a BIG size and weight penalty for a single stop jumping from the 40cron to the 35lux ASPH. I find the lux okay if paired with a broader camera strap, but it is still noticeably heavier than the 40 cron, which I can carry all day using a narrow strap and forget it is there.

 

Anything longer than 40 I find crops too tightly around the subject, which is great at home (especially my home) but not what I want in my travel photos. Anything wider than 35 in cities requires more than casual thought otherwise I personally get too many shots with dead foreground space, converging verticals etc.

 

So... moderate wide focal length... aperture as fast as possible but still be comfortable to carry.

Whichever you choose, I'm sure you'll come back with some great captures Wilson.

 

Interestingly, the last time I did this which was the Wetzlar Challenge in 2013, I used my M240 and the 40 Summicron C. That was before I had it optimised for digital and the RF re-calibrated by Malcolm Taylor, so it should be better than it was then. I actually never really had much of a problem with it but it had a lot of dust inside, the paint had rubbed off most of the numbers and I wanted it coded as a 50mm Type 3 Summicron (if you want it coded as a 35 Summicron, you have to grind the frame tab to the matching 35mm, which in case I ever buy a CL, I did not want to do). Malcolm then told me he felt he could improve this lens by very careful assembly and certainly now, I would struggle to see much difference between it and my 35 ASPH Summicron, except for slightly softer corners on the 40 when used wide open. It is my favourite lens on my M4. 

 

Wilson

[Jan Jurgensen]

I went to Berlin at a similar time of the year recently and found it to be a wet and cold place - well suited for the Monochrom and a 35mm f/1.4 for alle those afternoon and night shots.

[exile]

I have the 40 CLE multi coated version. It's cheaper so I ground the mount (very easy) and find the 35 frames on the M9 to be a pretty good guide for framing. I also replaced the focusing tab with a 35 cron finger tab. I do understand why owners do not wish to modify/damage the original lens, but I now have a lens that I am extremely satisfied with. I agree it is a little soft wide open but looks like an ASPH from 2.8 onwards. Bokeh on highlights can be harsh until about f/4.

 

The 35 lux will do it all superbly from wide open and flares less than the Leica 40. Certainly the safer bet.