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

[Eclectic Man]

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If I hadn't part-exchanged it years ago,* I'd take a Mamiya 7(2) with 80, 150, 50 and 43mm lenses and a vast supply of spare batteries, Velvia and Provia 120 film (not 220 as it tends to get faint scratches without the backing paper) a tripod and cable release.

Nowadays, SL2, 16-35, 50 and 90-280 SL lenses, plus a tripod if I'm out photographing, but mountaineering or trekking I'm not sure, depends on how hard the trek may be (weather, altitude and terrain), as I cannot justify a caravan of sherpas to support my hobby.

I use a mountaineering rucksack for my gear, not a dedicated photographer's backpack.

With a travel kit, you have to consider who is going to carry it all, and accept that if the answer is "I am" then it is better to take your most essential gear and miss the odd shot, than take everything and be so knackered that you miss most shots or need rescuing (or have to abandon it on the mountainside).

*Yes,  I admit to being an almost complete idiot at times :o(

[ocean2059]

8 hours ago, setuporg said:

Very similar to my setups.  I also tried Q2 for kids-only trip but it's too short for videos of kids playing afar or swimming in the ocean...  

What do you feel about the S gear taking a huge bulk?  I found that having a satellite bag fitting an M or one extra S lens with the S on the neck is a reasonable augmentation when you can leave the big bag behind.

I also wonder what do people do with the large bags.  Hadley Pro or large FOGG fits all the gear but is cutting into the shoulder and becomes unwieldy for walking.  I got the large Rotation backpack for S, was an early adopter of the very first Rotation model, now they made it perfect.  But lifting and wearing and belting it is much more hassle when getting out of a car and walking a bit and taking a few shots.  So the backpack remains a kind of a dream of a hike bag which is not really happening under normal roadtrip scenarios...

For S system, I always take a backpack (a Lowepro or a Think Tank). Billingham or FOGG begs are a bit too small for S system. 

[jankap]

Film, Xpan? OK, somehow I feel for film too. Perhaps I should give my Tessina a new chance as a travel camera, no changing of lenses. 

[jaapv]

CL, TL, 18-56,55-135,Voigtlander 12, Summilux24, Sigma 100-400 for a long journey with different aspects. For simpler trips I omit what I won't need.I try to limit the weight to 8 kg for restrictions on flights  

LowePro Sling Smal and a Orion Mini bumbag for taking a small kit to excursions  

 

 

[jaapv]

40 minutes ago, jankap said:

Film, Xpan? OK, somehow I feel for film too. Perhaps I should give my Tessina a new chance as a travel camera, no changing of lenses. 

Difficult nowadays with security checks. 

[Jon Warwick]

12 minutes ago, jaapv said:

Difficult nowadays with security checks. 

Historically I never worried about shoving film (ISO 100) through the hand luggage x-ray machines because it never damaged my film despite numerous passes, but I’ve recently read of possible film-fogging problems with the newer CT scanners that are cropping up for hand-luggage. I even used to travel with the 5x4 in my hand-luggage, but I think that’s on ice these days because of what I read re these CT scanners and getting a hand check of a box of 5x4 film (“no, please, you really can’t open it!”) might be even more bother.  I assume a hand inspection of 35mm or 120 in a clear plastic bag is easier though.

Anyhow - to answer the OP, these days it’d be the GFX100S + 63mm (which is lighter than my previous SL2 + 50 SL APO) and Leica M7 + 1 lens. And Gitzo GT1542, which at less than 55cm can also squeeze diagonally into a hand-luggage bag. If I want a wider angle for the GFX100S, I can nodal-stitch for some scenes like landscape ….

It used to be the M240, M7, 50 APO, 35mm Summicron. All would fit into a Billingham for Leica.  I still think the M kit is the most unique and compact set-up for travel. 

[Mr.Q]

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Leica Q2.  

[FrozenInTime]

I looked back at this thread for several days and I still cannot resolve it to a minimalist set ;  there are too many variables and a tyranny of choices.

Life was a lot easier with one camera, one lens ... other than the choice of film 

[jankap]

2 hours ago, jaapv said:

Difficult nowadays with security checks. 

I travel by train this time. The Matterhorn is not far away. By the way, airplane voyage is sour, numerous hours I did spend in the night on airfields waiting for the charter flight at 4:00 in the morning 

[jaapv]

20 minutes ago, jankap said:

The Matterhorn is not far away.

It's a long way up

[jankap]

1 hour ago, jaapv said:

It's a long way up

We are young and strong.

[jaapv]

When I get to the top of that Trockener Steg Cable Car I feel like 90 years old.. I don't handle altitude well at all.

[jankap]

20 minutes ago, jaapv said:

When I get to the top of that Trockener Steg Cable Car I feel like 90 years old.. I don't handle altitude well at all.

I am not your age already.

[jaapv]

I am at sea level  Well, pretend to be at any rate 🤣🤣

[Guest]

vor 3 Stunden schrieb FrozenInTime:

I looked back at this thread for several days and I still cannot resolve it to a minimalist set ;  there are too many variables and a tyranny of choices.

Life was a lot easier with one camera, one lens ... other than the choice of film 

One camera, one lens?
For every weather, heavy rain, snow storms, also good for sailing, river paddling, white water rides, even for light snorkeling or relaxing on sandy beaches?
Occasional visits to sawmills or other factories with a lot of dust?
For all those moments, when one might see a Leica M at risk, the waterproof Leica X-U takes over.
In addition to the M, the X-U can even flash a little and record small mp4 videos.
For light photography tasks the X-U has become my all-purpose Swiss army knife.

[FrozenInTime]

16 minutes ago, mnutzer said:

One camera, one lens?
For every weather, heavy rain, snow storms, also good for sailing, river paddling, white water rides, even for light snorkeling or relaxing on sandy beaches?
Occasional visits to sawmills or other factories with a lot of dust?
For all those moments, when one might see a Leica M at risk, the waterproof Leica X-U takes over.
In addition to the M, the X-U can even flash a little and record small mp4 videos.
For light photography tasks the X-U has become my all-purpose Swiss army knife.

I still have an orange and a green Nikonos V with 35 and 85mm lenses 🙂

The X-U was a beautiful concept with it's good lens and APS-C , but doomed by it's silver/black styling , front flash and above all it's cost point. 

The world still awaits a large sensor digital Nikonos with a price point that won't drive you to despair if it floods.

The Nikon AW1 was almost there - I was waiting for a MkII , but like the X-U, it never survived the marketplace .

[setuporg]

On 7/12/2021 at 1:32 PM, fisheess said:

Ideally I would take my

Leica M10-R + Summicron 35 IV + Summilux 50 ASPH

Hasselblad XPAN + 45

But often with two kids I don't have time to shoot the xpan. Last trip to the sea I took 

Leica M10R + Leica Sofort (kids love it) + GoPro Hero 7 (for on the beach, I am not taking my M10R to the beach!)

Great to see another Xpan fan here!  As to the beach, I take everything there but keep it in the bag when not shooting.  Just have to be careful.

[Guest]

vor 2 Stunden schrieb FrozenInTime:

I still have an orange and a green Nikonos V with 35 and 85mm lenses 🙂

The X-U was a beautiful concept with it's good lens and APS-C , but doomed by it's silver/black styling , front flash and above all it's cost point. 

The world still awaits a large sensor digital Nikonos with a price point that won't drive you to despair if it floods.

The Nikon AW1 was almost there - I was waiting for a MkII , but like the X-U, it never survived the marketplace .

Times of Nikonos are long gone, in comparison the Leica X-U is still halfway up-to-date.🙂
I presume, neither Hasselblad/Fuji will build a digital X-Pan, nor will Nikon construct a digital Nikonos.
The only one-time released waterproof cameras Leica X-U and Nikon AW-1 prove that the market for subsequent models has become too small.

[setuporg]

On the topic of a travel kit, would you say that a lens that never makes it into a kit is probably worth letting go?

Edited July 16, 2021 by setuporg

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[Guest]

If the trip is not primarily a photo trip - a Q2 in an Ona Bowery.  If it is primarily photo oriented, it depends on the nature of the trip and my M10M and/or SL2-S systems may get added (horses for courses) in larger bags or a backpack.  But if I’m traveling with friends and just want to hang and enjoy my surroundings, I like to go light (which is the reason I got the Q2, which is small, light and fairly flexible).