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You can only take 3 lenses with you...which 3?


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the old school answer would have been the 35, the 50, and the 90. the new school answer is only two needed--a 24-70 and 70-200 f2.8. that leaves a 3rd option of an ultra fast 1.2 or 1.4 for low light, a 16 through 21 for ultra wide, or a teleconverter if you can't travel with a 300mm.

/guy

Edited by gteague
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I don't do street but for a trip outdoor with the digital CL i would take my smaller favorite lensesTessar 35/3.5, Elmar-M 50/2.8 and Skopar 21/3.5 together with a Leica macro adapter. Tessar and Skopar because they are smaller than my Leica lenses, Elmar because it is my favorite 50, macro adapter because it is not a lens so i don't cheat this way :D

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For hillwalking and just keeping on the camera when driving  around in the car ,  I'm using the TL 18-56, which is the first kit zoom I've ever liked. It is small enough to fit in the same pouches that fit M cameras and is pixel level sharp ( only irritation is the CL's AF algorithm which prefers to focus on the smallest spec of dust on a window rather then infinity ).

For street and town, use the M-28/2 Summicron which best fits my natural view, and is fast, small and very sharp. If I'm carrying the M-28/2, I also take along the tiny TL 18/2.8 or a GR-III.

My fourth favored lens on the TL2 or CL , is a use at home piece, the TL 35/1.4 used wide open delivers bright and clear images in low light.

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For street and landscape I would  take my Panasonic 16-35 with the CL with me and in addition maybe the TL 55-135.  Weight of the lens is 500 g and it is comfortable to handle even with the CL. The results are superb, with CL and with SL 2 too. And the equ. focal length on the CL is 24 mm to 52 mm. which is usuable for many purposes . If I had not this lens I would take the TL 18-56 and event.  the 55-135 with me.

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9 hours ago, Le Chef said:

You’re a street and landscape photographer. Apart from your CL you can only take 3 lenses on your trip. Which 3 lenses do you take with your CL and why?

  • Voigtländer 10mm f/5.6, Color Skopar 28mm f/3.5, Pentax-L 43mm f/1.9 Special, and M-Rokkor 90mm f/4. 
  • Alternatively, Summilux 35mm f/1.4 (M-mount, ca. 1972).
  • Second alternatively, Elmarit-R 28mm f/2.8 and Summilux-R 50mm f/1.4. 

I didn't promise I knew how to count... :D I've traveled with all three of these kits and the CL body. They all work beautifully for what I do. What works for me is to have one ultra fast lens in the normal-ish to portrait tele range, and something a little wider (or a lot wider). That covers most of what I do when traveling, between street, landscape, still life, and documenting people and places in snapshots. Having something a little longer for the moment when that nets an advantage or an otherwise unreachable photo op (like when I'm on the Isle of Man at ManxGP, motorcycle road racing, time) is why I'll carry the 90mm now and then in addition to other choices. 

About half the trips I've been on in recent years, I can carry just a fast normal lens and have everything I want.

G

Edited by ramarren
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49 minutes ago, ramarren said:
  • Voigtländer 10mm f/5.6, Color Skopar 28mm f/3.5, Pentax-L 43mm f/1.9 Special, and M-Rokkor 90mm f/4. 
  • Alternatively, Summilux 35mm f/1.4 (M-mount, ca. 1972).
  • Second alternatively, Elmarit-R 28mm f/2.8 and Summilux-R 50mm f/1.4. 

I didn't promise I knew how to count... :D I've traveled with all three of these kits and the CL body. They all work beautifully for what I do. What works for me is to have one ultra fast lens in the normal-ish to portrait tele range, and something a little wider (or a lot wider). That covers most of what I do when traveling, between street, landscape, still life, and documenting people and places in snapshots. Having something a little longer for the moment when that nets an advantage or an otherwise unreachable photo op (like when I'm on the Isle of Man at ManxGP, motorcycle road racing, time) is why I'll carry the 90mm now and then in addition to other choices. 

About half the trips I've been on in recent years, I can carry just a fast normal lens and have everything I want.

G

or simply a Light 16 ? though that's more than 3 lenses :)

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Thanks for the suggestions - keep them coming!

There is an article in there somewhere - maybe for MacFilos - about the versatility of the CL/T/TL/TL2 in their ability to handle such a wide range of lenses, just by adding an adaptor at most, and being able to create such a diverse set of “looks”. It’s a bit like a chef taking two apparently similar spices but from difference sources and being able to use them to create flavor differences. And NO, I’m not a professional chef!

if Leica were looking for a way to demonstrate the future-proof nature of their APSC range of cameras for hesitant buyers, the list above, and hopefully below as well, would be of great comfort I would think.

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Street is the landscape. If you are street photographer you are looking for street in the landscape. I have seen Winogrand's street minded landscapes. He used same lens.

Three are waste of money and time, IMO. 18mm and only. Or only 23mm, if can't get close :). 

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2 hours ago, frame-it said:

or simply a Light 16 ? though that's more than 3 lenses :)

I have a Light L16 ... It's not 3 or 16 lenses, it's 16 cameras. :)

The Light L16 has an effective 28 to 150mm zoom with effective resolution (depending on focal length) of up to just over 50 Mpixel. It's a fantastic travel camera for some things with outstanding image quality when used to best effect. But learning it and using it to best effect is complex and different from using a standard camera, and it's biggest lack is in responsiveness ... which impacts its street capabilities. On the other hand, it looks and operates similarly to a big cell phone and a lot of street shooting can be done with it because people think you're just diddling with a cell phone. :D

It does take special, provided software to process its image files, which is a downside. But it's a fantastic little machine all in its own right. 

G

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60 macro for its versatility and 35 1.4 for same reason :)  I would probably leave the 18 2.8 on the camera as a thick body cover though, and since that means it doesn't count against my total i would grab my new 23 that is arriving Thursday.    The whole kit weighs about the same as one SL lens.... which is why the CL is my do everything travel camera.  I was planning on getting the S3 for portraits but suddenly came to my senses and will be skipping it.

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21 hours ago, Le Chef said:

You’re a street and landscape photographer. Apart from your CL you can only take 3 lenses on your trip. Which 3 lenses do you take with your CL and why?

11-23, 55-135 and 35mm f1.4.

When I carry my M, the 21 and 35mm lenses see the vast, vast majority of use so the 11-23 is going to get a majority of use. Some days it may be all I use, but those three lenses are just too easy/light to carry along with the CL to not take just about anywhere I go in a Think Tank Retrospective 20 Sling bag, which is big enough to even (easily) include my 4th lens, the 60mm f2.8 Macro.

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15 hours ago, ramarren said:

I have a Light L16 ... It's not 3 or 16 lenses, it's 16 cameras. :)

The Light L16 has an effective 28 to 150mm zoom with effective resolution (depending on focal length) of up to just over 50 Mpixel. It's a fantastic travel camera for some things with outstanding image quality when used to best effect. But learning it and using it to best effect is complex and different from using a standard camera, and it's biggest lack is in responsiveness ... which impacts its street capabilities. On the other hand, it looks and operates similarly to a big cell phone and a lot of street shooting can be done with it because people think you're just diddling with a cell phone. :D

It does take special, provided software to process its image files, which is a downside. But it's a fantastic little machine all in its own right. 

G

The camera section of Light appears to have disappeared from their website entirely - they are into building camera systems for self-driving cars now, it seems.

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