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What's Your Ultimate Travel Kit? (M/Q/SL/S/film/...)


setuporg

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For several years, I've been trying several combinations of systems and lenses for travel.  We do rather long roadtrips with the family across the US and Europe, and I need to be able to pick the whole kit when leaving the van.  However, when staying in hotels, I may leave the large bag and take a smaller one with me.

Here's some combinations that worked well, filling up a large Hadley Pro.

A.  M10 + Q2, with M 35 FLE, M APO 50, WATE.  Lightest set, for airtravel to EU.

B.  M10 + X1D, with XCD 21, 30 / 45 or 21 / 45, optionally 90.  Later XCD 35-75 zoom and 80.  It's very hard to pick a right set of XCD lenses for travel.

C.  M10 + S 007 with S 35 and S 70.  Alternatively S 30-90 zoom and S 100.  It's also almost impossible to select a travel subset from all the great lenses.

D.  M10R + 35 FLE, M 50 APO, Voigtlander 12mm, SL2 + SL 50 APO, Sigma 24/3.5, 28-70, 85/1.4 DN, Xpan for film panoramas.

I've just taken (D) on a three week roadtrip along the West Coast.  The bulk of the weight was SL2 gear.  The 85mm went in at the very last moment, returning home to pick up water, and proved crucial for a concert and kids video.

The key problem for me is that Q2 cannot replace SL2 for kids video, as 28mm is too short.  50, 28-70, 85 all work well.  If there were a Q with a 50mm, it would have helped a lot.

I cannot leave M home and often select walks where there won't be much video and take the M, leaving SL in the room.  The M photos are more satisfying than the SL.  However video is very important when kids are small.

Xpan became an indispensable addition for landscapes since I stumbled upon it last year.  Despite having all 3 lenses I'm taking it with the kit 45mm not to complicate things further.  The 30mm requires a separate viewfinder as well.  The Xpan scans add a fantastic new dimension to any nature vista.

A recent alternative is 907x with a 45P, but its video is not as good as SL2 and thus it's not a replacement on a trip.

Overall, I wish there was a better SL2 kit for travel.  I need SL 50 APO for art shots, 28-70 is an all-around, light, fantastic new must-have, and the 85/1.4 can come extremely handy.  If push comes to shove I'd leave the 85 at home.

What's your ultimate cross-system travel kit?

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I am revising my travel kit in anticipation of leading my next tour to Leica Portugal and Leitz Park in November.

I just acquired a NIB M10-P to join my current M10-P. For lenses, I always have my WATE with me, a 35 and a 50. The 35 will be either my pre FLE ASPH or the v4 Summicron. The 50 will be either my 50/1.2 Nokton or my 50 Summilux BC Retro ASPH. Wild card lens would be my MATE. Another wild card lens would be something totally out of left field like a pre-war 50 Xenon!

Perfect travel bag is my FOGG e-flat. Plenty of room for two bodies, 4-6 M lenses, cards, extra batteries and even an iPad.

Edited by derleicaman
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2 hours ago, rramesh said:

For travel:

  • M10-P with lens of the day
  • iPhone
  • Optional: Bag for water bottle, towel, masks, sanitizer, iPad and Table top tripod

Are you talking about a day trip or a week-long roadtrip?  For a day trip, depending on whether you hike or drive, it's actually easier to take a huge backpack or a bag to be based in the car.  My main use case is a multi-week van travel where you have to take the gear out for any long stop where you leave the van unattended, eg parking at the beach or trailhead, or overnight.

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For the past eleven years, my travel kit has consisted of the M9 + Zeiss 21mm f2.8, Voigtlander 35mm f1.4, and Summicron 50. I also carry a small micro four thirds camera like the Olympus E-M5 + Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8, Olympus 25mm f1.8 and 45mm f1.8 for autofocus and video. The lenses are set up such that each camera has a complementary focal length, so if the M9 has the 21, the m43 camera has a 50mm equivalent, for example.

I've been giving a lot of thought to the SL2-S, which would potentially combine M9 and m43 into one camera, due to the combination of full frame, high quality video, IBIS and the ability to use M lenses. For general zoom duty I would get a Sigma 28-70mm f2.8, and use the Zeiss Distagon ZM 35mm f1.4 as my fast prime. Since getting the Distagon last year, it has lived on my M9, only using the Zeiss 21 when I want that extra wide angle. For general shooting, the Distagon is very versatile, and it should work a treat on the SL2-S. I have recently got a Panasonic S5, although I'm still figuring out how much difference there is in M lens performance between it and the M9.

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3 hours ago, derleicaman said:

The 50 will be either my 50/1.2 Nokton or my 50 Summilux BC Retro ASPH

I wonder why not the LHSA APO 50, since you’re its father!:). I have it too but prefer the titanium “regular” version for travel as it’s very light.  The cap on the regular version is a nuisance though. I keep the hood on the LHSA version which together with the clear filter obviate the need for a cap.  One small issue with the hood on the LHSA edition is that it turns, scratching the groove under it.  It makes it properly used, which is great for folks who actually use it for photography but less so for collectors, not that I care as I use all my gear regularly.

Edited by setuporg
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I´ll give the following small (but still heavy) combination a try for a landscape tour. APS-C, R-adapter, R-lensbooster, R-extender. With the lenses R 15mm and R 50mm I´ll have FFequivalent 15mm, 23mm, 50mm, 75mm and 150mm.

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I’m happy to have cleaned up my equipment by bringing it down to one M system: M7 and M10-R. I sold my SL, M9 and MM1 for that. I can perfectly use my R lenses on the M10R, even without EVF. Since I discovered the Adox Scala film and use that mainly on my M7, I have such a nice way of seeing things in B&W, that I won’t miss my MM1. B&W conversions from the M10R are very good and more than a consolation for having sold the MM1. The silent shutter complements that for theatre photography. I happily left the L league because I got crazy from the many options in the menu, it took too much time to find what I need. The M10R is busier in that sense than an M9, but much less distracting than the SL.

Now to the travel kit question: when I travel by car in Europe, I always have to bags: the big and heavy one for around the house with macro and tele R lenses and a small light one for walking around, mostly 24 or 15, 35 and 75 or 90. My Elmar50M is always there because it’s ligth and small. When travelling by lane, I only take the small bag. 

Edited by otto.f
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The SL-2s with the 24-90 is the best video-stills hybrid combo in the 10k range I‘ve ever had in my hands when skin tones, sky blue and greens are of importance. Admittedly, not the optimal choice for a light trip. But when reading your post, travelling particularly light isn’t your primary concern.

The SL2-s and the 24-90 are so good that I‘m thinking of getting a proper AF capable 50mm (SL Summicron or Summilux) for portraits and be done with it. I use the camera professionally on travels.
 

 

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