CL and M10

[kengai]

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can CL be the right companion of the M10 in travel photography?

[Jeff S]

You decide.

 

Jeff

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[rosuna]

Why you need the two cameras?

 

I see them as alternatives, not complementary products, but other people may have different opinions. 

 

The CL allows the use of zooms and teleobjectives, with autofocus, and the M does not. 

[LocalHero1953]

I only take one camera for travel. Plus a phone.

[Herr Barnack]

A backup camera is always a good idea when traveling. 

 

If you have only one camera and it malfunctions or goes missing, then what??  No more photos, that's what!  Being the kind of photographer who wants to make larger sized fine prints, a phone/camera is not a viable backup to my M-P.

 

Either the CL or the Q would make a good back up to a full frame M camera.  The CL and 18mm lens is a very small package; the Q is a little bigger with its 28mm lens but it is full frame.  Both are good choices as backups.

 

JMHO.

Edited November 24, 2017 by Herr Barnack

[Ko.Fe.]

Any two cameras could be good travel companions, also three or just one. I have done it three ways. Also, they could be exactly same or different cameras. It is so individual. I traveled with two DSLRs...

 

It is so personal. So, yes for M10 and CL. Why not, if two cameras are needed? Just don't forget to have it covered with insurance. Where I'm it is 200$ per year for $10K, first 350 are deductible. 

Edited November 24, 2017 by Ko.Fe.

[IkarusJohn]

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I’ve never lost a camera, had one breakdown or been left stranded while traveling without a camera. But, everyone has different experiences I guess. Are you planning on traveling where you can’t get a repair or a replacement?

 

There’s a reason for my question - I tend to bond better with one camera and one system, so taking one camera and few lenses work for me. Too much gear, less pictures. That said, when traveling with my SL, I can see myself sliding the TL2 into the bag as a small spare - the camera you have when you don’t want a camera, if you get my drift.

 

CL (and adapter) and M with lenses? Why not, but remember that the CL is a very different camera from your M. It requires a different mindset, in my view. If you then say to yourself, well I should add an AF lens or two, you then have a different system ... Why add the complication? You’re traveling.

 

Take the camera you understand with the lenses you like and need. If the camera breaks down (why should it?), get it fixed or replace it if you need to. My phone is my backup - 12MP, it’s pretty good ...

[scott kirkpatrick]

My thinking for travel would be the M10 with a 50 or a 75 and the CL with either the 23 or the 11-23.  They would complement each other nicely, and nothing is very heavy.

[lanetomlane]

I only take one camera for travel. Plus a phone.

 

 

I always take a spare, especially if I'm travelling half way round the world, probably to a place that I will not visit again. I've been caught out twice; admitedly both with Nikons. One of the trips was on safari, when the D800, complete with 600mm f4.0 lens slipped off the back seat of the car; the camera landed on it's back and the weight of the lens crushed it. Fortunately, I had a D700 with me which saved the day. The other time was years ago, again in Africa when the sensor in a D2x failed.

 

We're going to New Zealand at the end of December and I'll certainly be taking the SL and 24-90, but as back-up (and a lightweight walk around) I'll pack the M10 and a couple lenses.

 

I would hate to spend money on an expensive trip only to be left with no useable camera.

 

Just my opinion.

 

Regards, Tom

[helged]

And bring an additional charger, as well (talking about experience; the M- and SL-chargers are not the most reliable out there, unfortunately...).

[LocalHero1953]

I actually do see my phone as my backup, and it was bought for that purpose. The phones with the best cameras, according to reviews, are the Pixel and the Huawei P10. I went for the Huawei out of curiosity for the 'Leica camera' label. It's a great phone camera with 12mp raws and 20mp jpgs, including a 20mp true monochrome option. Despite the inherent limitations of the sensor and lens, it is adequate for a lot of the travel photography I want it for. My travelling is generally done light, and carrying two substantial bodies (possibly including two chargers, or different lenses) would take the fun out of it for me. And the last time a camera failed on me was 1976, when my Praktica Super TL2 seized up on African dust - I was glad to see it go.

[jmahto]

Not all traveling is same. If you travel for photography then by all means carry a backup. Best will be a second body that can share lens. Mainly to keep weight down. But if one is traveling for orher reasons (vacation, business) then phone camera as a backup is fine.

[fsprow]

I either take an M film body as backup (with six or so rolls)) if going to places where electric hookups are rare; or use my phone as backup -- as has been said, the latest phones (eg iPhone X) have very good cameras and I've made nice 12x18" prints from the X.

[Herr Barnack]

I’ve never lost a camera, had one breakdown or been left stranded while traveling without a camera. But, everyone has different experiences I guess. Are you planning on traveling where you can’t get a repair or a replacement?

 

There’s a reason for my question - I tend to bond better with one camera and one system, so taking one camera and few lenses work for me. Too much gear, less pictures. That said, when traveling with my SL, I can see myself sliding the TL2 into the bag as a small spare - the camera you have when you don’t want a camera, if you get my drift.

 

CL (and adapter) and M with lenses? Why not, but remember that the CL is a very different camera from your M. It requires a different mindset, in my view. If you then say to yourself, well I should add an AF lens or two, you then have a different system ... Why add the complication? You’re traveling.

 

Take the camera you understand with the lenses you like and need. If the camera breaks down (why should it?), get it fixed or replace it if you need to. My phone is my backup - 12MP, it’s pretty good ...

 

I have never had a camera stolen, lost a camera or dropped a camera down a canyon or in a river and destroyed it.  I am pretty careful with things like M cameras and lenses that cost thousands of dollars.

 

However - on my first trip to Mongolia in 2013, I was still shooting film.  About 2/3 the way through my 15 days there, my 2003 birth date film MP froze up; the film would not advance or rewind.  Fortunately my M4-P saved the day and I was able to continue making images. 

 

There are no camera repair shops or Leica dealers in Mongolia; in some locations, you are just "out there" with no support, making a backup camera a necessity.

[IkarusJohn]

Yep, in that situation, I would consider a small back up. But trekking in Nepal for months in the late 1980s, and through north and west Africa and China and Tibet in the 90s, my Nikons never missed a beat. Having a back up in those days never crossed my mind.

[jaapv]

My Leica R cameras did miss beats. Parts falling off, lens mounts bending out of true, shutters jamming, you name it. On one occasion I went into the bush with three freshly serviced R cameras and came out  with one working - on parts cannibalized from the broken ones.  OTOH I met one photographer whose Canon 600 mm had broken into two parts, and another one where the screws had fallen out of the O.I.S element, jamming the lens. Nikon was rather uncommon in wildlife photography towards the end of last century.

[IkarusJohn]

Interesting. Were the R cameras a bit fragile?

 

My F series Nikons (mostly FM & FM2) were bulletproof. I don’t know if anyone remembers the Nikon ads from National Geographic in the late 60s and early 70s - Chris Bonnington’s F3, Ken Russell’s Nikkormat etc - all brassed and beaten up. Mine were pretty knocked about. I got my FM2 serviced after the Africa trip to clean out the sand, but otherwise they never missed a beat.

 

I never felt quite so confident about the F5, I have to say. Too much electronic componentry.

[thighslapper]

Better to have 2 cameras which have compatible/inter-changeable equipment if you are intent on a second body as a spare or for different purposes. 

 

If you intend only to use M lenses than an old M9 or M240 would be better. Otherwise a fixed lens camera such as an X-Vario (very under-rated) or Q would be better (or Nikon/Panasonic/Canon/Fuji)

 

No point taking and M series with manual lenses plus a T/C/SL with AF ones. 

Edited November 26, 2017 by thighslapper

[sblitz]

My Leica R cameras did miss beats. Parts falling off, lens mounts bending out of true, shutters jamming, you name it. On one occasion I went into the bush with three freshly serviced R cameras and came out  with one working - on parts cannibalized from the broken ones.  OTOH I met one photographer whose Canon 600 mm had broken into two parts, and another one where the screws had fallen out of the O.I.S element, jamming the lens. Nikon was rather uncommon in wildlife photography towards the end of last century.

 

An R6?????? wouldn't think so

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[sillbeers15]

I see a good IQ the current Leica FF platform offers and which most of us are attracted to. So there is the M & SL. Both great platforms and like myself I happily have the M10 & SL. However I do not see myself carrying both camera out together as the total weight of M with M lenses (primes) plus SL with native zooms will mean I need to hire a donkey.

I will make my decision to carry one or the other.

With the arrival of the CL, I can see that CL + SL90-280mm combined with M10 with M21lux, M35lux, M90con in the same bag.