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Lens Advice for Trip out West


SpartanWaveDave

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Taking the family out for a nice two week vacation out west.  Flying into Denver and staying a week near Colorado National park then taking a train to Utah and driving up to Jackson Hole(Grand Teton/Yellowstone)..  Really looking forward to the trip and it will be the first time for us to see these places.  I'm planning on bringing my M10 and M3...  Lenses i have to choose from, Voightlander 15 asph, Voightlander 21mm Color Skopar, Leica 28mm Summicron asph, Leica 35 Summicron v1 (goggles), Leica 50mm Summilux asph, Leica 50mm Summicron (current), Leica 50mm Summicron Rigid, 90mm Summicron asph

 

My idea is to just bring, the 28mm Summicron, 50mm Summilux, 50mm Rigid (will just stay on the M3 for BW) and 90mm Summicron.   I can get a 135mm Tele-Elmar for cheap... would i want that also? ... will i miss not having a DSLR (Nikon d500)?

 

 

thanks-David

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Taking the family out for a nice two week vacation out west.  Flying into Denver and staying a week near Colorado National park then taking a train to Utah and driving up to Jackson Hole(Grand Teton/Yellowstone)..  Really looking forward to the trip and it will be the first time for us to see these places.  I'm planning on bringing my M10 and M3...  Lenses i have to choose from, Voightlander 15 asph, Voightlander 21mm Color Skopar, Leica 28mm Summicron asph, Leica 35 Summicron v1 (goggles), Leica 50mm Summilux asph, Leica 50mm Summicron (current), Leica 50mm Summicron Rigid, 90mm Summicron asph

 

My idea is to just bring, the 28mm Summicron, 50mm Summilux, 50mm Rigid (will just stay on the M3 for BW) and 90mm Summicron.   I can get a 135mm Tele-Elmar for cheap... would i want that also? ... will i miss not having a DSLR (Nikon d500)?

 

 

thanks-David

Your selection is good, but take the 15 as well.

Jesse

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I always ended up taking too much on my western trips and/or not enough. My experiences boiled down to this. Big vistas, for me, demand wide lenses....35 was never enough, 15 may be too much depending on what you want to capture and how close/distant you are from subject. I rarely used 50. I found that (via a trip with a zoom lens on a DSLR rather than my Leicas) a 75 or 90 focal length worked well for many of the closer-in people shots and framing of distant features. My recommendation would be take the 21, 35 and 90. One of the difficulties on a trip like yours is agonizing over which lens to use, and spending too much time on those type of decisions and not enough time just soaking in the beauty. Have a great trip.

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I'd pack the M10, 21, 28, 50A, 90A.

 

I'd have the M3/50/35 wrapped and in a shipping box waiting with a trusted person at home.  If the M10 dies, very, very little chance there, have the M3 overnight shipped to you wherever you are on your route.

 

Eric

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I did Yellowstone last year and Colorado the year before, you will probably take 99% of your photos with the 21mm and a 50mm, I would take those two and throw in the 90mm for the other 1%.

That would be my guess. I have a collapsible elmar 90 that I take on trips. Weighs nothing. It’s sharp enough to take a shot and zoom in on the back screen to investigate distant objects. Frankly, I was surprised at how well it does.

 

I like my visoflex. especially for 75mm+ lenses. It weighs nothing too.

 

I don’t miss my Nikon D4 with its gigantic lenses.

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Carrying everything in a vehicle is pretty easy but all the wides looks like a hassle to me.  I would say 21, 28, 50, and either 90 or 135 but not both.  You can crop the 50 for a 90 fov or crop the 90 for a 135 fov.  I would leave the 15 at home and perhaps leave the 21 as well.  However, I have never gotten along with either of those focal lengths.  And why would you bring three 50mm lenses?  I can see two if one will live on the M3 but three?

 

I have found extreme wide angles for landscapes to make everything seem small and distant.  Isolation of subject area makes more dramatic photos in my opinion so the 90 or 135.  My next trip to Scotland in September will be with a 25, 50, and 135 and we will be walking 80 miles in the Highlands.

 

And I live out West!

Edited by ktmrider2
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Went for a drive in the mountains west & northwest of Denver today. Only took an M camera with the MATE, didn't even bring a 90. Used the 35 & 50mm settings most of the time, 28 occasionally. Landscapes are very expansive out here & unless you plan on taking pics in the small old former mining towns, a 21 or wider won't see much use. Keep it simple.

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Thank you guys for you replies.  I'm pretty sure I have a good game plan in place now.  I will leave the M3 and D500 at home.  I will bring the 21mm Color Skopar (it's so tiny i will hardly notice the weight), 28mm Summicron, 50mm Summilux asph (to have one fast lens for low light), and i'll bring the 90 apo.  If we go hiking I will bring either 21/50 or 28/90 combos.... if just near car I bring all of them.  I'll post how it goes, we leave in a few weeks.

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