Leica CL Five weeks through Africa with the CL -and backup.

[jaapv]

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f 8.0 and no O.I.S. Far too slow and wobbly. No thanks - Nice on a tripod, but not for Safari work. You really need a zoom too. The position you are photographing from is fixed, you can only frame properly with a zoom lens. A fixed focal length only works if you have a number of different focal lengths. Heavy carrying.

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[jaapv]

While I understand the need to keep within tight weight restrictions for flights, it’s not the weight which would bother me. I would rather take my SL and 24-90 zoom or 16-35, 50 & 90-280 than all those lenses and cameras. I hate having too many bits and pieces when I travel. Most of my long trips have been backpacking when I was younger (3 months through SE Asia, 3 months skiing in Europe, sailing from St Tropez to Marmaris then traveling Turkey, 3 months through North & West Africa and 2 months in China) and for all those trips, I carried an FM2, mid-range zoom and 180/2.8 tele. Never had a breakdown.

 

After a while, I got sick of seeing my travels through a viewfinder and thinking all the time of angles of view and f stops and I stopped taking pictures altogether. Half the point of getting back into photography was the size and general discretion of the M camera. I admit, the SL was a lapse, but that does fill a very specific need. The SL (rugged & weather sealed) is a very useful tool, with one zoom.

 

Each to their own - it will be a great trip, I’m sure, Jaap. Have fun.

Unfortunately, the SL zoom is too short   - and pretty heavy. I have a 105-280 in the same weight and size class ( and similar quality), even better for taking extenders. It is staying home. I'm not dragging that thing along any more.

[ramarren]

Well, as I said, the notion that I'd go on a safari is about as likely as a steer spouting wings and flying away. I don't shoot with any long lens without a tripod.

 

I do wonder how Bill Brandt got all those fabulous photographs of African wildlife with a medium format camera, however. There are few 400mm eqFOV lenses on a Pentax 645 or 6x7 camera ... !

[tritentrue]

f 8.0 and no O.I.S. Far too slow and wobbly. No thanks - Nice on a tripod, but not for Safari work. You really need a zoom too. The position you are photographing from is fixed, you can only frame properly with a zoom lens. A fixed focal length only works if you have a number of different focal lengths. Heavy carrying.

 

In the absence of a comparable zoom for the CL, the GX8 and 100-400mm probably make the next best option for traveling:  top-of-the-line m43 imagery; a versatile, compact zoom; and stabilization that allows crazy slow shutter speeds on static objects.  Have a great, safe journey!

[jaapv]

Well, as I said, the notion that I'd go on a safari is about as likely as a steer spouting wings and flying away. I don't shoot with any long lens without a tripod.

 

I do wonder how Bill Brandt got all those fabulous photographs of African wildlife with a medium format camera, however. There are few 400mm eqFOV lenses on a Pentax 645 or 6x7 camera ... !

I know - I took a Mamiya 654 E on Safari with the 500/5.6 and 2x extender - and the 200/2.8 APO... Beautiful slides of incredible quality - but from an ergonomic and logistic point of view - never again!

[g2van]

Jaap, have a great trip. Thanks for sharing the gear you are bringing - many of us are always keen to know the whats and whys of the gear brought for a certain type of trip. Always great to know different points of view and experiences, and the more diverse, the greater the knowledge! 

 

I have done hiking in the mountains and countryside with M240 with CV 21/4 and CV 40/1.4 and also polar bear spotting trip with the m43 pany 100-300. Thinking seriously about swapping that for the 100-400 even though I hardly use such long zooms.

 

Share some photos and experiences from your trip!!

[grahamhoey]

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The one and only safari I have been on was a few years ago with a Canon DSLR with various lenses including the 85-200 zoom and a 400mm prime. I didn’t find weight a problem since, as you say, most pictures were from the vehicle. Also made changing lenses easier. I used the 400mm a lot with a monopod.

Have a great trip Jaap and thanks for all your advice on the forum. I am fairly new to the forum and find your insights and those of many others invaluable.

[Boojay]

Have a great trip Jaap, looking forward to seeing your captures. I greatly admire your management of bag and equipment.  Long trips for us usually involve a hop across the channel in our car, so I can just chuck everything in!  I'm struggling right now with decisions for a four day drip to Venice with carry on only - picked and packed my bag four or five times already.

[Joeri]

Part of the fun is packing your bag, unpacking it, thinking it over again, changing the bag, changing a lens or two...

Billingham bags are such great bags! They just never stop working.

Have a good and safe trip!

[Jake]

Part of the fun is packing your bag, unpacking it, thinking it over again, changing the bag, changing a lens or two...

 

Not for me. It's a nightmare. I can never seem to find the right bag. They all have deficiencies. Too big, too small, not enough pockets. Some have great access to equipment, others do not and are made for transport only.  The list is endless, as are the options. 

 

I also don't like photo bags that look like photo bags for city trips. I sometimes use a no longer made crumpler insert into day bags not intended for cameras, but it's useless for the CL as it's sized for a DSLR. Nature trekking backpacks never have room for things like first aid, snacks, and rain or weather gear. And when they do, they're too big and bulky. 

 

I'm struggling right now with decisions for a four day drip to Venice with carry on only - picked and packed my bag four or five times already.

 

Then I ask bags to do double duty as an airplane carry on as well as a photo bag, which requires space for a book, glasses cases, quart plastic zip lock bags for toiletries, water, ipad, etc. I just returned from a trip to Europe to visit family and I ordered and returned two bags. I'm off to the west coast of the US for a wedding and some coastal hikes, and am currently looking at five bags laying on my sofa with whatever gear I want on a table. I still don't know which bag I'm using and my flight is tomorrow morning. 

 

This thread is immensely interesting to me. I've also scoured the other threads here about bags and straps etc. which have been very helpful and informative. Red Dot Forum has a thread asking : What's in our bag? Most of which is for city trekking : 

 

https://www.reddotforum.com/content/2018/05/whats-in-our-camera-bags/

 

What little I can recommend is this : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OGXY72/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 - If you are in either the US or Europe (also made for two pronged euro plugs - not UK). It cuts down on cables and fits the leica battery charger. 

 

I spent a week at yellowstone and carried a gitzo tripod, DLSR with one zoom, SLR with a mid range zoom, 300mm and 28mm primes, film packs, a twin lens rolleiflex, RRS Ball head and two arca-swiss plates, weather gear, snacks, 72 oz water bladder and accessories like a light meter and misc filters. All in one huge backpack. But I did use a car as a storage bin. I'll never, ever, do that again. 

 

Either way, it's nice to read that I'm not the only one that has a bag fetish. That is, searching for the ideal bag that doesn't exist. 

 

Anyway, sorry for the long post. Have a great trip Jaapv. Look forward to seeing some great photos. . . 

Edited October 3, 2018 by Jake

[ramarren]

For what I carry, the Black Label Bag "Oskar's One Day Bag Mark II" from Photo Village in NY (essentially, an updated version of the A&A ACAM 7100) has worked perfectly for travel since I bought it in 2011. It works best with Leica M and CL, or the Olympus E-M1; the Leica SL was a bit large for it. The bag is a simple, unadorned messenger style with overflap, black cloth with leather edging: very nondescript yet not bad looking. The camera section pulls out as a single piece if you want to use it as a day bag for a picnic, or an overnight bag sans camera. Just the right set of pockets and such too. Love it.

 

I'm using the Nitecore charger for my CL batteries on this trip. It has the advantage that it connects to power through USB, so I have two 2.1A USB chargers for iPad, three Lightning-USB cables, and a 6" three-way extension plug, with UK and Euro plug adapters. That suffices for iPad, iPhone, AirPods, Bose noise-cancelling headset, and CL batteries. A very compact solution for all my power needs, fits in a very small organizer bag.

 

All of my gear for a six week trip has fitted nicely in that and an Eagle Creek 22" duffle style rollaway. It's been completely carry-on compatible even in economy class on the flight transits, and the weight is very manageable.

 

I'm carrying a bit more than my normal because this is a six week trip. I could shave off about 30% for my more common three week trips.

[Boojay]

Not for me. It's a nightmare. I can never seem to find the right bag. They all have deficiencies. Too big, too small, not enough pockets. Some have great access to equipment, others do not and are made for transport only.  The list is endless, as are the options. 

 

I also don't like photo bags that look like photo bags for city trips. I sometimes use a no longer made crumpler insert into day bags not intended for cameras, but it's useless for the CL as it's sized for a DSLR. Nature trekking backpacks never have room for things like first aid, snacks, and rain or weather gear. And when they do, they're too big and bulky. 

 

 

Then I ask bags to do double duty as an airplane carry on as well as a photo bag, which requires space for a book, glasses cases, quart plastic zip lock bags for toiletries, water, ipad, etc. I just returned from a trip to Europe to visit family and I ordered and returned two bags. I'm off to the west coast of the US for a wedding and some coastal hikes, and am currently looking at five bags laying on my sofa with whatever gear I want on a table. I still don't know which bag I'm using and my flight is tomorrow morning. 

 

This thread is immensely interesting to me. I've also scoured the other threads here about bags and straps etc. which have been very helpful and informative. Red Dot Forum has a thread asking : What's in our bag? Most of which is for city trekking : 

 

https://www.reddotforum.com/content/2018/05/whats-in-our-camera-bags/

 

What little I can recommend is this : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OGXY72/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 - If you are in either the US or Europe (also made for two pronged euro plugs - not UK). It cuts down on cables and fits the leica battery charger. 

 

I spent a week at yellowstone and carried a gitzo tripod, DLSR with one zoom, SLR with a mid range zoom, 300mm and 28mm primes, film packs, a twin lens rolleiflex, RRS Ball head and two arca-swiss plates, weather gear, snacks, 72 oz water bladder and accessories like a light meter and misc filters. All in one huge backpack. But I did use a car as a storage bin. I'll never, ever, do that again. 

 

Either way, it's nice to read that I'm not the only one that has a bag fetish. That is, searching for the ideal bag that doesn't exist. 

 

Anyway, sorry for the long post. Have a great trip Jaapv. Look forward to seeing some great photos. . . 

 

I very definitely must not buy any more camera bags!  Sitting in the corner of my office is a huge pile of them, 3 Billingham's. 550, Hadley Pro and an old 4.5 (the best of the three to me), Peak Design Tote, Ona Bowery (the most used) plus various Lowerpro messenger style and backpacks - mostly used and loved, I'm a lady that doesn't do handbags - just camera bags.  Recently though I have found buying the padded inserts mean you can adapt just about any bag. 

 

 

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No camera bag here, just one well padded waterproof insert with dividers, takes M10/50mm, CL/18-56, M-L adapt, 55-135TL, 35TL, 90 Sum, 21CV, Manfrotto Pixi, with room for batteries cards etc - bag weighs next to nothing empty, has numerous zipped compartments for travels docs, phone, and is comfortable enough with the addition of the shoulder pad borrowed from a Billingham.  For use while I'm there, the insert fits in the foldable backpack with room to spare, of course I will just pick kit for each day/night and the rest will stay in hotel room safe.

 

Sure I will change my mind several more times before my flight on Tuesday morning.

Edited October 4, 2018 by Boojay

[Ari Kfir]

Remote beach - fishing communities, City and townships, remote rural areas, Tourist spot Victoria Falls,  Safari through Botswana - wildlife. The luggage restriction will be down to 15 kg per person on some stretches, including handluggage and cameras. 

 

So: Focal lenghts from 24 equ. to 800 equ., at least one fast lens, redundancy, two bodies...

Not too heavy and compact. 

 

My solution will be Panasonic GX8, 15, 25 DG Summiluxes, 100-40 DG Vario-Elmar, CL, 18-56, 55-135, Summilux-M 24, five spare batteries , two chargers, SF40, odds and ends.

 

All will fit easily into a compact Hadley Presstop and weigh under 8 kg :).

 

 

It is a kit that I have been waiting for for many years. If there had been a compact TL 100-400 the Panasonic would have been replaced by a second CL body.

 

 

Gosh, Jaap, you and I a certainly photo cousins!

 

My travel kit is either [Leica Q + D-Lux], or [CL + Olympus Pen-F] (couldn't resist purchasing it as my first film camera was Olympus-Pen).