M10 to Venice - 28mm or 21mm or both?

[Chazphoto]

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So many ideas and such lovely photos, thanks. 

As to gear and hotel rooms/mini-safes etc. I'm probably fine walking around with the full set of lenses and switching when I stop for a coffee or ice-cream (though I don't recommend getting ice-cream onto the lens - it's a bore to clean and licking the lens makes it worse!).  I'm also a Billingham user; I use an L2 generally at home, but will switch to my 30 year old original Hadley for the trip, because it sits closer to the body and has room for a bottle of water.  

I'd love to go to the islands, particularly Murano, but I think I've decided to stick to the main city given the very short stay.  As Boojay advises, an early morning visit to San Marco Piazza is on the cards and I intend to get lost as often as possible in search of the unexpected and beautiful.   

Thanks

Chazphoto

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[nodrog]

Not necessarily linked to photography of any kind, but if you don't already know Donna Leon's books set in Venice, featuring the detective Commissario Guido Brunetti, I suggest you try them. An ideal companion for that coffee/gelato break 😉

Have fun!

[Chazphoto]

Hi.   I haven’t read her books and was going to pick one or two for the pleasure.   But she’s written 30!  Any recommendations where to begin?

Jan Morris’s Venice is also on my reading list   

chazphoto

[nodrog]

10 hours ago, Chazphoto said:

Hi.   I haven’t read her books and was going to pick one or two for the pleasure.   But she’s written 30!  Any recommendations where to begin?

Jan Morris’s Venice is also on my reading list   

chazphoto

It's a series, so I suppose you should begin at the beginning! 'Death at la Fenice' is the first one.

Another fantastic series of Italian detective stories, featuring a Venetian, though (mostly) not in Venice, is Michael Dibdin's Aurelio Zen books. The 4th book, 'Dead Lagoon', is the one actually set in Venice. He tends to be a bit grittier than Donna Leon's rather passive, Maigret-like Brunetti character. I particularly like Zen since one of the stories is set in Perugia, where I briefly lived in the late 80's.

If you have a Kindle that would be ideal👌

[Raid Amin]

On 5/18/2022 at 6:15 AM, Boojay said:

First, just have a wonderful time, for anyone into photography it's a real treat.  

I was lucky enough to do two five day solo trips, just me and my camera.  Even using my waterbus pass several times a day, I walked between 25 and 30,000 steps a day, and there is a photo op around every corner😊.  I tended to be up with or before the sun in the morning, when St Marks Square is free of large crowds, just a few posing with the pigeons.  It's also the time to watch the hotels bars and shops being re-stocked, the waterways full of working boats not gondolas.

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Because I'm not a fan of changing lenses when I'm out and about, two cameras have always worked best for me, I guess if you are a phone camera user that could work too.  So I did my trips with an M10 and a CL.   Taking a 35/50 Summilux, 90 Cron, and 15 Voigtlander, for the CL the 18-56 zoom. Given your question, the near 28mm equivalent of the little zoom was wide enough for me, the 50mm Summilux was my most used lens, but then that is always the case for me.  The 35 on the M and the 50 on the CL (75mm equiv) in the evenings was a good combination.  

I mostly just carried one camera in a small (Billingham Hadley Digital) shoulder bag, big enough for my phone, wallet (lipstick - you might not need that), and a spare battery for each camera, and the other camera on cross body strap with chosen lens.  On the days I visited the islands I had a lightweight backpack for a little more gear.   

Anyway, whatever you take, have a great time and please share some photographs when you get back, I never tire of looking at images of La Serenissima.

 

 

I am thinking of taking the CV 50mm/1 as my main lens for the Italy trip, plus the Rokkor-M 28mm/2.8. One camera has to be sufficient, so I will take the M10. My "other wide angle lens" for street photos will be my phone. 

 

[sboyle92]

Having been to Italy, and Venice in particular, I'd suggest taking a 28mm and a 50mm. I had in my bag a 21mm Voigtländer. As much as I love this lens, this and my 35mm f/2.4 ASPH pretty much stayed in my bag. Less is more and I really don't like swapping out lenses ever other shot. Less gear means more time for photos.

 

[erl]

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Let's flip this 'story'.

Consider how you normally photograph, what type of subjects, with which gear do you do it etc. Venice is not really different from anywhere else in the world. It has large and small buildings, light and dark areas (interiors/exteriors), narrow canals, wide lagoons etc. How would you normally deal with such scenarios at home? Use the same technique(s) in Venice.

It comes down to knowing your own style/interests. Be guided by that, not how someone else does it. Otherwise you might as well just buy copies of their trip.

[david strachan]

That's one of the nice things about art...there are no rules.

 

[LocalHero1953]

3 hours ago, david strachan said:

That's one of the nice things about art...there are no rules.

 

I was about to ask "what is art?" - but perhaps not🤐

[T25UFO]

Don't always go for the obvious Venice photo - people watching is more fun!  This was taken with X1, which has since been replaced with a Q2.  If I was going to Venice again, I would just take the Q2.

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[MEC]

On 5/6/2022 at 7:26 AM, Raid Amin said:

Summilux 35/1.4 Sienna Italy

 

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cool shot. 

[dugby]

Just returned from Venezia in the shoulder travel season and it was in my opinion full of tourists, local hotel advised me this was less quiet than the busy period ! 
 

Shot with a Hasselblad Stellar instead of my M10-R as this was a holiday with the wife (rather than the M )

I’m glad the M stayed home, we had two failed robbery attempts on us whilst in Rome. the days were long and I anticipated that carrying my 1Kg M10-R with 35FLE would be tiresome over the 12hr days.

My experience in Venice is everything from about 28mm to 90mm could be useful, if you’re up to carrying the load. The alleyways are long and often in dark shadows, so a fast lens will be more useful, and generally there is lots of street lights at night.

 

[MEC]

Love this thread - I leave for Venice tomorrow for six days. 21mm 1.4 is my favorite but may just bring the 28mm 2.0 because it’s so much smaller and lighter to hold all day long. M10R. 

Edited April 25, 2024 by MEC

[dugby]

4 hours ago, MEC said:

Love this thread - I leave for Venice tomorrow for six days. 21mm 1.4 is my favorite but may just bring the 28mm 2.0 because it’s so much smaller and lighter to hold all day long. M10R. 

Because of jet lag, on our 1st. day we woke at 5:00am, so took a quick 5min stroll to St Marks Square at sunrise, where there was only 10-20 people, was fabulous to photograph.  However by 10-11am there were many thousands of tourists !!!

[ejk64]

hello, 

september 2023 , Venice far from tourists and its authentic Venetians...

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leica m10-p"reporter" + summicron-m28/2 asph "black-mat" 

 

[Viv]

On 5/1/2022 at 3:45 PM, Chazphoto said:

Hi,

I've booked a short trip to Venice, which will be my first time there.   Any recommendations for which wide-angle, given relative building height to narrowness of street issues?  The 50mm Summuilux and 90mm Elmarit will come along for sure and I could always take both wides, but advice/experience gratefully received.

thanks

Chazphoto

21mm, crop if necessary.

[Viv]

On 5/18/2022 at 1:15 PM, Boojay said:

First, just have a wonderful time, for anyone into photography it's a real treat.  

I was lucky enough to do two five day solo trips, just me and my camera.  Even using my waterbus pass several times a day, I walked between 25 and 30,000 steps a day, and there is a photo op around every corner😊.  I tended to be up with or before the sun in the morning, when St Marks Square is free of large crowds, just a few posing with the pigeons.  It's also the time to watch the hotels bars and shops being re-stocked, the waterways full of working boats not gondolas.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

 

Because I'm not a fan of changing lenses when I'm out and about, two cameras have always worked best for me, I guess if you are a phone camera user that could work too.  So I did my trips with an M10 and a CL.   Taking a 35/50 Summilux, 90 Cron, and 15 Voigtlander, for the CL the 18-56 zoom. Given your question, the near 28mm equivalent of the little zoom was wide enough for me, the 50mm Summilux was my most used lens, but then that is always the case for me.  The 35 on the M and the 50 on the CL (75mm equiv) in the evenings was a good combination.  

I mostly just carried one camera in a small (Billingham Hadley Digital) shoulder bag, big enough for my phone, wallet (lipstick - you might not need that), and a spare battery for each camera, and the other camera on cross body strap with chosen lens.  On the days I visited the islands I had a lightweight backpack for a little more gear.   

Anyway, whatever you take, have a great time and please share some photographs when you get back, I never tire of looking at images of La Serenissima.

 

 

 

These two photos are wonderful. Thank you for sharing them.

[andybarton]

We have been fortunate enough to visit Venice five times (so far).

On our first visit, I took only my M2 with a borrowed 35 Summicron ASPH. I never felt that I had missed any photographs, never had to worry about changing lenses in the street or anything like that and we had a terrific time, not worried about photography.

I did have to go out and buy a 35 Summicron ASPH on my return, but that's another story.

In our experience of having visited in March and May and October, March is by far the best time to go. The massively obscene cruise ships aren't around, the weather is chilly but nice (YMMV) and everywhere is "open".

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[RF’sDelight]

Especially in Venice you can make something out of every focal length you have at hand. If not, an iPhone will do. No offense. 😎

[Musotographer]

7 hours ago, MEC said:

Love this thread - I leave for Venice tomorrow for six days. 21mm 1.4 is my favorite but may just bring the 28mm 2.0 because it’s so much smaller and lighter to hold all day long. M10R. 

I've just checked the photos from my last trip to Venice and the Veneto - 90% were taken with 21 (SEM) and 28 (Elmarit, pre-Asph), mostly the 21. There are also some with the 135 (Tele Elmar) - very useful for reach, details and flattened perspective. With the M10-R a 90 would be as good, as cropping is no problem. I generally took only one lens out with me, leaving the others in the hotel.

M9 Monochrom, SEM 21:

 

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