Travel to NYC / Need advice

[OttoWitte]

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Hello together. I need some advice. At the end of December I travel to New York. I will take my Leica M10 with me and am now faced with the question of which lens or lenses I take with me. I would like to travel with light luggage, but I could imagine that in NYC through the skyscrapers/Skyline, evening atmosphere, many people close together, both, bright and wide angle lenses could make sense.
Choose from: 28SLX, 28Elm.,35 Summicron., 50APO & 50SLX and 15 (4,5) Voigtländer. The 28 SLX is relatively clumsy, the 28Elm. nicely small but relatively weak in speed.

Does anyone have any experience with the LeicaM in NYC?

Thanks a lot!

[Gelatino]

December in NYC , a hat is a must, though some wear it all year long.

[WvE]

I'd limit myself to the 35, but the 50 and 28 is perhaps the more sensible pick. Have fun and don't get too preoccupied with gear/lens decisions. 

[erniethemilk]

I’m in NYC at present for a few days and would definitely recommend a 28mm or 35mm. Everything seems closer and bigger and I’m finding the 35mm stays on the camera a lot more of the time than the 50mm I also bought along. 

It’s also damned cold, so bring plenty of warm clothes! 🤣

Oh and enjoy... it really is the most amazing place. 

[Lelmer]

56 minutes ago, erniethemilk said:

I’m in NYC at present for a few days and would definitely recommend a 28mm or 35mm. Everything seems closer and bigger and I’m finding the 35mm stays on the camera a lot more of the time than the 50mm I also bought along. 

It’s also damned cold, so bring plenty of warm clothes! 🤣

Oh and enjoy... it really is the most amazing place. 

I was there in October and took my M240 with 28, 35 and 50mm. I only used my summilux 35 FLE and...my iphone.

 

 

[OttoWitte]

22 minutes ago, Lelmer said:

I was there in October and took my M240 with 28, 35 and 50mm. I only used my summilux 35 FLE and...my iphone.

 

 

OK -Then I have to decide if I take either the 28 Summilux or the 35 Summicron. Hmm

[Lelmer]

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11 minutes ago, sushiotto said:

OK -Then I have to decide if I take either the 28 Summilux or the 35 Summicron. Hmm

I took a few night shots at 1.4, but I am limiting ISO to 3200 on my M240. I don't have the M10, but I am assuming you can go higher than 3200.

I am more a 50mm kind of guy, but I found 35mm to be perfect during my NYC trip and never used 28 and 50.

Having said that, I'd suggest you take both and decide after a few trials. 

[OttoWitte]

5 minutes ago, Lelmer said:

I took a few night shots at 1.4, but I am limiting ISO to 3200 on my M240. I don't have the M10, but I am assuming you can go higher than 3200.

I am more a 50mm kind of guy, but I found 35mm to be perfect during my NYC trip and never used 28 and 50.

Having said that, I'd suggest you take both and decide after a few trials. 

Thank you for the advice. I now know that the 50mm can stay at home. The M10 can also be used with 6400. Therefore I take the 35/2 with me in any case, instead of the 28 SLX. I throw the 28Elmarit or the small 15mm into my bag, if I need more space for the skyline or skyscrapers.

[tommonego@gmail.com]

I spent a February in NYC, it will be cold but it is not the arctic, temperatures were seldom below 20F and generally around freezing. Could seem cold depending where you are from. I didn't have working Leicas and I was there for work, though the job didn't pan out so I had a lot of free time I was carrying a Canon G15, a very pocketable, reasonable quality camera. 

Anyway I just saw some work from a guy using a Q in NY and the 28 seemed perfect for the subject matter. Security is also a question, I'd just keep the kit is a nondescript bag, something that doesn't shout CAMERA, maybe tape over the red dot. Otherwise you should be fine.

Enjoy the city, I did.

One last thing, have a pair of waterproof shoes, if there is snow the city gets messy and wet, other than at my place of work I was in light hiking boots the whole time I was there.

Edited December 2, 2019 by tommonego@gmail.com

[OttoWitte]

2 hours ago, tommonego@gmail.com said:

I spent a February in NYC, it will be cold but it is not the arctic, temperatures were seldom below 20F and generally around freezing. Could seem cold depending where you are from. I didn't have working Leicas and I was there for work, though the job didn't pan out so I had a lot of free time I was carrying a Canon G15, a very pocketable, reasonable quality camera. 

Anyway I just saw some work from a guy using a Q in NY and the 28 seemed perfect for the subject matter. Security is also a question, I'd just keep the kit is a nondescript bag, something that doesn't shout CAMERA, maybe tape over the red dot. Otherwise you should be fine.

Enjoy the city, I did.

One last thing, have a pair of waterproof shoes, if there is snow the city gets messy and wet, other than at my place of work I was in light hiking boots the whole time I was there.

 

2 hours ago, tommonego@gmail.com said:

I spent a February in NYC, it will be cold but it is not the arctic, temperatures were seldom below 20F and generally around freezing. Could seem cold depending where you are from. I didn't have working Leicas and I was there for work, though the job didn't pan out so I had a lot of free time I was carrying a Canon G15, a very pocketable, reasonable quality camera. 

Anyway I just saw some work from a guy using a Q in NY and the 28 seemed perfect for the subject matter. Security is also a question, I'd just keep the kit is a nondescript bag, something that doesn't shout CAMERA, maybe tape over the red dot. Otherwise you should be fine.

Enjoy the city, I did.

One last thing, have a pair of waterproof shoes, if there is snow the city gets messy and wet, other than at my place of work I was in light hiking boots the whole time I was there.

Thank you very much for the recommendations. I travel more often in Italian cities and try to be as inconspicuous as possible. Fortunately, my M10(P) doesn't have a red dot, but I'm sure I'll tape the lettering off. However, the Leica M is very stable and can also be used for self-defence. An important decision has already been made. The 50mm stays at home.

[jdlaing]

50 APO and 35 Summicron.

[Erikvw]

I was in NY in may and had my M10-P with me with a 35 and 50 mm summilux. 
But the result was that I only used the 35mm lens during my week there.

completly satisfied with just that lens!

 

[tommonego@gmail.com]

11 minutes ago, sushiotto said:

 

Thank you very much for the recommendations. I travel more often in Italian cities and try to be as inconspicuous as possible. Fortunately, my M10(P) doesn't have a red dot, but I'm sure I'll tape the lettering off. However, the Leica M is very stable and can also be used for self-defence. An important decision has already been made. The 50mm stays at home.

I remember in college weighing the heft of an M film camera vs an Olympus OM1, the M was twice as heavy, and smaller. 

[OttoWitte]

2 minutes ago, tommonego@gmail.com said:

I remember in college weighing the heft of an M film camera vs an Olympus OM1, the M was twice as heavy, and smaller. 

....and also has quite malignant edges

[james.liam]

December is dark, rarely too cold; February is generally the coldest of the winter months. If you can bear lugging around the 28 Summilux, you won't be disappointed; I'd say better than a 35 at capturing street scenes and activities. The 50 APO will give you a little added reach along with the spectacular resolution. Those are the two I would grab. 

Alternatively, travel with one and rent another if needed. Adorama rents several Leica RF lenses, if you need, say a 50 Noctilux for the day.

Edited December 3, 2019 by james.liam

[dugby]

On 12/2/2019 at 5:58 PM, sushiotto said:

Hello together. I need some advice. At the end of December I travel to New York. I will take my Leica M10 with me and am now faced with the question of which lens or lenses I take with me. I would like to travel with light luggage, but I could imagine that in NYC through the skyscrapers/Skyline, evening atmosphere, many people close together, both, bright and wide angle lenses could make sense.
Choose from: 28SLX, 28Elm.,35 Summicron., 50APO & 50SLX and 15 (4,5) Voigtländer. The 28 SLX is relatively clumsy, the 28Elm. nicely small but relatively weak in speed.

Does anyone have any experience with the LeicaM in NYC?

Thanks a lot!

Depending on where you are staying...... you may find that your outings may turn into long days, and tiring to carry too much, along with multiple layers of clothing & coat.

I usually now only carry either a 35Lux FLE or 50APO,  sometimes when I'm tired or it's too cold for me I'll just resort to my backup camera which is always on my belt : Hasselblad Stellar for convenience.

The tips on a hat and waterproof shoes/boots is useful. I wear my black Columbia Davenport XTM Omni-Heat boots, which look quite OK for a multi-purpose boot.

Edited December 3, 2019 by dugby

[oldwino]

Some of my favorite NYC shots have been taken with a 50mm lens. I’d take a 28 & 50. 

[LeicaPassion]

I shot in NYC for a week in September.  The 28 lux was perfect for most street shots.  The 50 APO delivered 3 strong images but it was used only 5% of the time.  Bring both a 28 and a 50.

[Ko.Fe.]

I went to Manhattan with M-E 28 f6 and 40 f2. I have no problems.

I don't understand how camera could give clean ISO 25 000 instead of 2500 and still be a problem with f2.8.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[ejg1890]

On 12/2/2019 at 5:53 AM, Gelatino said:

December in NYC , a hat is a must, though some wear it all year long.

Don't forget gloves and scarf as well!!!