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Which Lens Would You Get - Going to Thailand


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Hello my fellow Leica shooters.....

 

I am looking for advice from the peanut gallery on a lens purchase. In short, I am going to be spending three weeks traveling Thailand soon, and need to travel light, so I'll be carrying my M240 during the trip. At one point in the trip, I will also be taking a 4 day kayak trip and will be doing a bit of shooting from the kayak.

 

I have two options:

1) Buy a used version of the 28-35-50 Tri-Elmer MATE lens - which I've never used before. I've read extensively about it, but dont have hands-on with the lens.

 

2) Take my existing 50mm Summicron and 21mm lenses and buy a 35mm Summicron and carry a set of three lenses.

 

Each of these options has pros and cons - the only neutral is the price, with the MATE being just a tad cheaper. Obviously option #1 means I don't have to deal with lens changes, but I'm limited to f/4 for nighttime and low-light shooting. Anyone been to Thailand have experience with the night scenes in cities like Bangkok - will I be handicapped with an f/4 lens? Option 2 has the benefit of being f/2 lenses and each lens is smaller than the MATE, but I'd have to conduct lens changes more often.

 

I welcome any thoughts - I realize this is a personal opinion and decision, but am curious what you'd do in the situation?

 

Thanks

Kristen

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On the surface, nothing. But I shot with the Noctilux and 21 in Venice a week ago and found several occasions when something in the middle was really needed.

 

 

Are the 21 and 50 your only lenses?

How much do you use the 21? Because a MATE doesn't go to 21 as you know, so if you use the 21 would you take the MATE and a 21? All of a sudden you're changing lenses again.

On the other hand, if you don't really use the 21, then maybe a 28 would be a good idea to couple with the 50? It's a bit more middle, and cuts the amount you need to take. A 28 crops to a 35 pretty easily.

 

Of no use to you, but I would take a 35 only. Make travel easy.

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I agree with Michael.

 

Basically, if you want to carry more than one lens, buy a 28 (Elmarit, Summicron) and take the 21 and/or 50 as well.

 

If you don't want to change lenses (I avoid this myself), buy a 35 Summicron and just take that.

 

Either way you get a new lens and a great trip, so it's a win - win :)

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My two pennies worth.. ..the trip sounds like a brilliant one - but I would look beyond that. For the photographic adventures following the trip, I would prefer to have three fast lenses than one compromise (brilliant though it may be). That gives the flexibility to carry one, two or all. In the scheme of things, carrying three lenses on the trip would not be much of a hardship..a little more weight and some lens changing.

Of course an option would be to take the MATE on the trip then swap it afterwards...

Good luck - please let us know how things worked out!

Edited by Denys
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Having taken my Leica on extended canoe and kayak trips, I'd advise against it unless you're an excellent paddler and not  going into whitewater. I always packed mine in a shockproof, waterproof inflatable camera case....made it difficult for quick shots from the vessel, but kept things safe. Now about the lenses. Having traveled the Mediterranean for almost a year and only a 35 (definitively going light), although I had access to a 50 and 90 belonging to a companion, I'd suggest if you REALLY want a 35 for the trip, skip a Leica lens and get the Voigtländer 35 Color Skopar, much less expensive and it will do the job well. Otherwise don't buy anything, use what you have; you really can't say traveling with 3 lenses is going light. Have a great trip and take time to see  things directly with your eyes rather than thru a viewfinder all the time, it smacks of the typical tourist with the iPhone shooting everything in sight..

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No personal experience with travel to Asia, but I normally shoot my M cameras with this walk-around set of 21, 35, and 50 mm lenses - sometimes with a 90 added. I found that f/2 is fully sufficient regarding lens speed, faster lens speed only increases bulk and weight of the lenses. With short tele lenses like the 90 mm Elmarit, f/2.8 is totally fine. I have no personal experience with the Wate lens, but f/4 might be a limitation depending on the shooting style. During the day, f/4 is likely fully okay, but as you pointed out, f/4 is an issue for dim light or night photography without tripod support.

 

Regarding kayaking, I would be very afraid to bring Leica gear on board. I would get a very good P&S camera instead to use on the kayak, for example the Sony DSC-RX 100 III or IV. Since it is a several day trip on the kayak, I would protect the Leica gear as much as possible from humidity and water (ziplog bags, sealed case to carry).

Edited by Martin B
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Just to complicate things, I would recommend the 28/2.8/ASPH, or if monies permit, the 28/2.0/ASPH.

 

I own and have shot all of the lenses you are inquiring about.  The Tri-Elmar is a very cool item, but it is slow, and is larger than your other glass.  The version 1 of the lens also covers a significant portion of the frame lines at 28 and 35, especially if you attach the hood it shares with the 24/2.8 or 21/2.8/ASPH.  The 35 is a very popular lens, and I will be shooting 35 today at the local Christmas crafts fair.  I do find that I want a little wider when I shoot scenes, buildings, and decorations, however, which is why I recommend the 28.  The new 28/2.8/ASPH is a masterpiece and very tiny.  The prior version, also 28/2.8/ASPH, is also very good and an excellent value on the used market.

 

When I travel, I often pack one body, one lens, and I would say 60% of the time, it's a 28, 30% it's a 35, and 10% it's a 50 or something else.

 

When all else fails, maybe rent?

 

Eric

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Thanks everyone for the replies. I have shot the Leica from a kayak before. I will be storing the camera in a dry bag when not shooting, and it won't be any whitewater situation.

 

Doesn't sound like many people are interested in the MATE option, which helps make this possible.

 

Appreciate the thoughts and opinions. You gave me things to mull!

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Are the 21 and 50 your only lenses?

How much do you use the 21? Because a MATE doesn't go to 21 as you know, so if you use the 21 would you take the MATE and a 21? All of a sudden you're changing lenses again.

On the other hand, if you don't really use the 21, then maybe a 28 would be a good idea to couple with the 50? It's a bit more middle, and cuts the amount you need to take. A 28 crops to a 35 pretty easily.

 

Of no use to you, but I would take a 35 only. Make travel easy.

 

35mm, absolutely, but I would at least want the 21mm too. An exotic place like that, I'd want a really wide option. Knowing me, I'd also throw the 75mm f2 in the bag too.

 

In any case, travel like this is where I really want all my lenses 6 bit-coded. My 21mm Elmarit is at DAG getting the 6 bit-code added so I don't have to bother manually keying it in any more and, as important, so I don't forget to set the camera back to auto-coding when I change back to coded lenses.

 

Manually fiddling with lens coding while shooting is a real PITA.

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