I Leica M10 good enough for travel photography

[andybarton]

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I am comparing them with my shoulder...

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[budjames]

On 11/26/2022 at 8:43 PM, tonyniev said:

after 36 months of staying at home, I am making my first trip across the pond,(continent)  and preparing for the trip, I am now deciding if I should bring only the Leica M10. In my previous travels I had a Sony A7R, later an A7RIV with the Leica M10. The zoom lens, AF , an other features on teethe Sony was very convenient, BUT maybe time to go Leica only. Even before with the film, I used an M3 ( slides) and a Nikon (color negatives) 😞

Appreciates any thoughts, I have three lenses for the M10 - 28, 50 and 90 (plus a 14 mm). Actually the 28 says on the camera during my last travels.The Sony has either the 16-35 or 24-105 mm

Thanks

 

 

I just got back from 2 weeks in the UK, Czech Republic and Germany visiting the Christmas markets with my family. I took only my M11 and APO-Summicron 35mm lens. My iPhone 14 Pro was handy for the few tele and ultra wide angle shots, but I shot 4,000+ images with my Leica without fumbling for lens and the mental overhead of having lens choices available to me. 

In fact, the last three travel vacations and all local outing, the M11 and 35mm lens is all I need.

I'd leave the gear home and enjoy your travels with less gear and less worries.

Regards,
Bud James

Please check out my fine art and travel photography at www.budjames.photography.

[Ouroboros]

4 hours ago, andybarton said:

I am comparing them with my shoulder...

As someone who has unrepairable and often painful shoulder injuries with both rotator cuffs permanently buggered due to sports (rugby) injury, car accident and falling off rocks in the Peak District, my own shoulder joints are never far from my mind.   Out of curiosity I weighed my extended travel camera stuff: M10-R with 28, 50 and 90mm summicrons, two spare batteries and 4 SD cards in a Hadley Small bag = 2.770kg.

I don't know of any other equivalent 40mp full frame camera outfit that would weigh appreciably less and have less bulk than a Leica M and three summicron lenses.  I don't consider it to be heavy at all and I could make it even lighter if I took my smaller and lighter lenses, but the summicron f2 max aperture and imaging quality isn't something I would want to give up for a journey that isn't likely to be repeated. 

Our trek in Nepal in March is different due to the altitude and distance.  It will be a knackering trek which is why I'm considering taking only my M10-R, 28mm summaron-m and 50mm elmar-m with 2 spare batteries and four SD cards in a Hadley Digital bag.  That weighs only 1.809kg.

If I substitute the 28mm summaron-m for the 28mm summicron asph, I gain 3 stops at 28mm with a slight increase in weight = 1.945kg inc bag

If I also substitute the 50mm elmar-m for the 50mm summicron, I gain 1 stop at 50mm which gives me a 2x summicron f2 outfit (28 & 50mm), the total is 2.012kg inc bag.

If I substitute the 50mm summicron with my 75mm apo-summicron, the weight increases to 2.207kg

That's only 398g difference between the lightest and heaviest of my options for a two-lens trekking kit.  Neither option is what I'd call back-breaking but every gram counts on a trek like this.   

Edited January 6, 2023 by Ouroboros

[tonyniev]

Happy New year

Allow me to give you an update. Thanks for all your replies and comments.

I brought only the Sony A7R4 with 24-105 mm lens, 24 was not wide enough so I have to resort to panorama, hand held shots at Fatima, Douro River Porto and vertical pan for the astronomical clock in Prague. 

To start with, KLM changes in schedule made my trip longer it was LAS- AMS- LIS, became LAS-LAX-JFK to LIS, and back was Prague- AMS to LAS, became Prague -AMS to LHR to LAS- Heathrow was bad.

We got the covid in Porto or Lisbon, revenge travelers filled up planes, airports , tourists sites and fancy restaurants, thousands were at the mercado Rubiero in Lisbon, watching the FIFA match, even in Porto some of the nice restaurants were full, crowded tourists sites, even when it was raining and snowing

We came prepared. I brought Paxlovid, on the first day of positive test ( I brought 8 tests) I started the 30 pills 5 day regiment, my wife tested positive two day later and took her paxlovid then, I bough IR Thermometer, Oximeter, BP machine, and even antibiotics 6 day pack, which we took when colds continued even when we tested negative after 15 days.

I was angry after the isolation of 35 months and wearing KN95 masks, changing a few times during the flight, yet we got infected.

We took precautions so as not to infect hotel employees, TAP , Portugal Air lost our luggage from Lisbon to Prague, I was not worried airbag showed me where they were. All our meds were in the hand carried. We tested negative after Christmas.

Fatima, it was raining hard, we left Lisbon the previous day and Lisbon was flooded with landslides worst in 100 years. I hope I can share 7 image pano
In Prague it was snowing with slushy snow on the road, 5 image vertical pano astronomical clock I posted a few of my photos here:https://tonyniev.smugmug.com/Photography/Portugal-and-Prague-Dec-2022

 

[JuveFC]

Happy New Year! Some lovely pictures Tony but sorry to hear about all the troubles you went through. Hopefully you still somewhat enjoyed yourself. Prague is a bucket list city for me. 

I am in the same dilemma as you were. I am travelling through most of Italy this summer with a family of 7 (only 2 kids). Typically when at home, most of what I shoot are people (both on my own time and professionally). When i go on vacation i tend to get up before everyone else and head out to shoot landscapes so I always find myself bringing 2 bodies but seeing as we won't really have a "home base" in Italy, I'll always have to be carrying my gear. 

I am debating whether to just bring the M10-P and my 35-50-90 or to also bring the SL along with me but only use the M lenses with it. I am also in the market for a 21mm but something I could easily sell once back. I own a 28 but I'm afraid it won't be wide enough for wide indoor shots. I just feel way more comfortable with an SL on a tripod vs an M10. 

[tonyniev]

I opted to bring the Sony because of the fast auto focus and zoom lens.  Using the M lenses on the SL you will lose these features for fast shooting,

Next time I travel I will bring the M10 also and have the 28 mm on it while 16-35 on the Sony. 

Enjoy Italy, I was there in 2017, Rome one challenge, drove from Rome to Florence, Sienna,Todi,Assisi, Montecastello, Civitavechia, Naples, Amalfi Coast, cruise to Messina, Crete Rhodes, Malta, Athens, Santorini, Mykonos. Jan 2020 we were in Milan and Venice, I had the Sony and Leica in these trips.

 

Edited January 16, 2023 by tonyniev

[williamj]

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Tony it’s good to see you kept it simple.

When I only had one camera and lens that’s what I took and sometimes I would get THE shot. Then Covid GAS set in and now I have several cameras and many lenses. But I love to travel light and when I travel I still take that one camera and lens because it has never let me down and occasionally I will get THE shot, which I can’t say for my other equipment. Cheers.