One camera/One lens

[costa43]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

My dilemma is that I struggle when I have too much choice, not just with photography but with many aspects of life, so the notion of 1 camera and 1 lens has always appealed but I also like trying different things and testing myself. Photography is my biggest passion and it’s just a hobby for me but the joy I get from trying all these different lenses, vintage, modern, fast, quirky etc, is just something I do not think I want to give up, not yet anyway.

That said, if I had to stick with one focal length and one camera forever it would be a fast 35mm and an m10r/m11. It is not my absolute favourite focal length but it is the one I default to when I am unsure of what to take, so my logical brain tells me it’s the natural choice. 
 

 

[Advertisement]

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

[Patrick Morgan]

I took one camera (M11) and one lens (50mm Summicron) to China for two weeks back in May 2023. It was wonderful limiting my options and never thinking about focal length, but I missed wide angle shots and ended up taking complicated panos that I never got around to stitching because of the hassle. Next time when traveling light, I'll take my 50 cron and my 28 cron. 

Full disclosure - I also have a Sony A7riii and often use it for telephoto images (100mm to 600mm) and ultra wide angle landscapes and astro (20mm to 12mm). So, taking one camera with one or two lenses is asking a lot, though a fun and rewarding endeavor. 

[AndreasG]

I am travelling right now in Japan for already two weeks and a few days more will follow. I took only one body - M10-D - and one lens - Elmarit 2.8/28 ASPH with me. all further lenses from 18-90mm stay at home and I do not regret my decision, seems, I would be a candidate for a Q.

[Michael Patrick Ryan]

I like how you roll!!!

17 minutes ago, AndreasG said:

I am travelling right now in Japan for already two weeks and a few days more will follow. I took only one body - M10-D - and one lens - Elmarit 2.8/28 ASPH with me. all further lenses from 18-90mm stay at home and I do not regret my decision, seems, I would be a candidate for a Q.

 

[jakontil]

1 hour ago, AndreasG said:

I am travelling right now in Japan for already two weeks and a few days more will follow. I took only one body - M10-D - and one lens - Elmarit 2.8/28 ASPH with me. all further lenses from 18-90mm stay at home and I do not regret my decision, seems, I would be a candidate for a Q.

Not necessarily a Q candidate, i was once in the same position and boosted my confidence that Q was all i ever needed, i was wrong big time.. but one to each own, have a pleasant journey! 

[Jon Warwick]

On 12/2/2023 at 10:50 PM, venom said:

I’ve never owned more than 1 camera and 2 lenses. For an M this is my ideal setup. 

it depends what is your primary lens. Mine is 50mm, so I have a 50 and a 35mm. I use the 35 as a 50 when I don’t have enough room. Otherwise I’m on 50mm (or if I shoot tall things like buildings then I put the 35mm). The amount of cropping I can do with that 50mm on the M10R is insane. I can manipulate those files however I want to.

it all depends where I’m going then I choose which one to use. You honestly don’t need more than 2 small primes. 

This is my entire camera gear. 

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!

 

I have an M10R. I stay away from APO lenses. They’re too corrected and the prices are crazy. I choose lenses that have character and charm to them. I tried 4 50mm lenses (including the APO-Lanthar which is almost the same IQ as the Leica APO) before settling on my perfect lens the Mandler 50 Summicron. Once you settle on your perfect primary lens then you look for a companion lens that shares the same characteristics as your primary. Something that makes a good companion to it. For now it is the Nokton, but probably in the future I’ll go for a 35 Summicron (again, non-APO). 

My only rule is I keep the lenses small. The 50 cron is the biggest I would ever go for an M lens. to me Summicrons are the very best every day no BS lenses. 

If you only want one lens then in my experience the 35mm is the best for this, but after 2 years of having only 1 camera 1 lens (A Fuji with a 23f2) I didn’t find it to be a great idea. I always longed for that 35f2 again. So after what I learned in those 2 years I moved to Leica and the first lens I bought was a 50mm. But I knew I needed something wider on occasion. So I went with a 28mm. I didn’t use it much. 28mm I learned is too different from 50. The frame lines are very hard to see, and the 28mm look is just not something I find pleasing. So I went for a 35mm and it just so happens that it is the perfect combo for a 50mm shooter. 

In my case, I have an M11, but despite owning both of the Voigtlander APO Lanthars (50 and 35mm that are astonishingly good), I’m warming more and more to the rendering I’m getting from the 50mm v5 Summicron. Sure it’s got field curvature, so for a distant landscape the APOs are perhaps easier for edge to edge sharpness, but for a lot of other things I often prefer the rendering off the v5. I find its output with the M11 less “digital” and more “cinematic” than the APOs, which is a great starting point for someone like me that has spent more time with film.
 

Edited December 9, 2023 by Jon Warwick

[muskyvibes]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Yes. Until recently I only had one lens. It was a 35mm. 

[tom0511]

The beauty of the M system is the small size and weight of the lenses.

SO I See no reason to reduce to 1 lens. Although I sometimes carry just one lens. 

However you are right - with such high MP there is room to crop. But then, that's pretty expensive to buy a 60MP camera for such high price and only use part of it.

But a combo of 28 and 50 feels great and are these 300 Gramm making any difference?

If I want super compact and 1 lens I carry a GR3X.

 

[105012]

On my last overseas trip, 6 weeks in Europe, I took an M3 and Summicron (5cm, rigid/type 2a), nothing else. I never felt I needed anything else and I'm really happy with the experience and pictures. Grab the Leica, focus on the people and the day, enjoy the sights, sounds, food etc. Touring simplified. It won't work for everyone, or every trip, however it did for this photographer and this journey.

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!

[pippy]

On 11/29/2023 at 6:52 PM, Michael Patrick Ryan said:

I have really been contemplating downsizing to one camera and one lens......my most predominantly used lens is the 28 mm 2.8 Elmarit...I am going to Egypt spring of 2024...if I had one camera one lens, it would be very freeing I think...

If you choose to go down this route then, If nothing else, you will realise - fairly soon after your return (I would suspect) - whether you made the correct decision or not and although it might be a shame were you to have missed countless photo-opportunites because of this 'One-Camera-One-Lens' regime never fear because you can always simply pop back back over to Egypt for a second attempt! The pyramids, for instance, have been there for hundreds of years and are unlikely to go away anytime soon.

FWIW some ten years ago (or so) My wife and I did the 'Aswan Dam up the Nile to Abu Simbel and on to Gizeh/Cairo and Back to Aswan' round trip over a period of 14 days and the concept of having only one f/l lens for that sort of trip is, for me, an absolute non-starter. Not even close.

That's not to say that the bag needs to have many options but, having done it, a 28 / 35 / 50 set is light and, IMO/IMX, essential.

Best of luck for your trip!

🙂

P.

 

Edited December 10, 2023 by pippy

[muskyvibes]

23 hours ago, Blues Bird said:

So, what is second lens now?

I primarily shoot 50mm. When I know I am going somewhere I don’t have enough room to move or there’s architecture I want to shoot then I use the 35mm. It’s very small. The key to Leica lenses for me is they all need to be small. 

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!

Once I know where I’m going I leave the 50 or change to my 35 and off I go. 

I tried 50/28 combo but 28 is too wide for me. Difficult to see the frame lines also. The photos end up looking sparse. It’s too different from 50. If I want to frame it like a 50mm it gets distorted and weird. Things are too close to me.

Now that I’m back to 50 (which was the first prime I ever had) and 35mm it is the perfect combination. Also all the photos look the same. Because of The way I frame things it is difficult to tell which was 50 and which was 35. There’s a uniformity to all my photos now.

A 35 is a 50 for when I don’t have enough room. 

Edited December 11, 2023 by muskyvibes

[BillCB]

I guess I'm old fashioned. I can't see buying any interchangeable lens camera and setting off on a trip with just one lens, unless I have a specific shot in mind. In fact, the reason I travel with Leica (instead of my MF gear) is because you can take along several lenses without needing a sherpa. 

When I owned a Q2 (now awaiting a Q3) I found, too often, that I wished I'd bought along the M11 with a 35, 50 and 90. That may be because I'm primarily a nature/landscape guy, rather than a street photographer who indeed might only ever need one lens. I also make large prints so cropping a 28mm image can be problematic.

Different horses for different courses.

 

 

[pippy]

32 minutes ago, BillCB said:

......the reason I travel with Leica......is because you can take along several lenses without needing a sherpa......

Absolutely.

Leica introduced interchangeable lenses for their cameras way back in 1930. There was a very compelling reason for them to do so; people liked to have the option to use lenses of different focal lengths. In terms of weight; if I take my 28mm Elmarit asph, my 35mm Summilux v2 and my 50mm Summicron v4 away with me (as is usual for a long trip) the combined weights of these three lenses is a mere 560g and the three are so tiny they don't exactly take up much room...

Sometimes, of course, it's fun to grab one body and use it with whichever lens is 'there' but, IMX and for the way I see/think/shoot, most often it's a very good idea to have another f/l (or two) available as an option when the situation would benefit from a change of perspective.

Philip.

Edited December 12, 2023 by pippy

[Kiwimac]

I purchased the Leica 35 f2 Apo Summicron a few months ago.

Since doing so, my Summilux 50 has not been on the camera. I spent 5 weeks in Portugal and the UK and shot only with the 35 Apo.

I found no shot I wanted to take that necessitated a lens change and the Apo is so very good that I just did not want to take it off.

I did see a number of shots that I would have taken with long telephoto lenses but of course the M system is not the one to be using for those, so I either shot with the 35 and cropped my 60MP or used my iPhone if that worked better.

The simple freedom of travelling with such a small outfit for the first time in decades was quite wonderful.

[kiwidad]

On 11/29/2023 at 12:52 PM, Michael Patrick Ryan said:

 And my most predominantly used lens is the 28 mm 2.8 Elmarit. 

honestly ditch the M11 and get an Q3

I ended up with an M11 when I traded myM10 and Q2 for it. In hindsight I miss that incredible lens and the super EVF. Going somewhere dusty? I'd be onboard to go with a Q3

I drove halfway across the US with just my Q2 and it was so wonderful. NO lens choices etc etc and that lens is so special. That and a little flash like the SF26 went in my Ona Bond sweetly

[kiwidad]

On 12/12/2023 at 4:13 PM, BillCB said:

I guess I'm old fashioned. I can't see buying any interchangeable lens camera and setting off on a trip with just one lens, unless I have a specific shot in mind. In fact, the reason I travel with Leica (instead of my MF gear) is because you can take along several lenses without needing a sherpa. 

When I owned a Q2 (now awaiting a Q3) I found, too often, that I wished I'd bought along the M11 with a 35, 50 and 90. That may be because I'm primarily a nature/landscape guy, rather than a street photographer who indeed might only ever need one lens. I also make large prints so cropping a 28mm image can be problematic.

Different horses for different courses.

 

 

I don't even live in a desert and I fight sensor dust all the time! Crop on a Q3 is pretty decent but not really great 90 I think..  I can't say I missed the focal lengths only Q2 since I really missed ones I couldn't have on my M10 and be a rangefinder guy

[Olaf_ZG]

@wlaidlaw Wilson, if you sell 11 lenses you will have 39. With 39 cameras. You could then participate to this thread 😇

[muskyvibes]

7 hours ago, kiwidad said:

I don't even live in a desert and I fight sensor dust all the time! Crop on a Q3 is pretty decent but not really great 90 I think..  I can't say I missed the focal lengths only Q2 since I really missed ones I couldn't have on my M10 and be a rangefinder guy

I’ve only wet cleaned my sensor once. I’ve blown off a couple of specs with the blower. Other than that I haven’t had any issues with dust. I may find one or 2 if I shoot at an empty sky once in a while but I just clone it out. 

Don’t obsess over the sensor. It’ll never be 100% perfect  dust is everywhere all the time  

Since I only have 2 lenses I know which one I need before I leave the house and off I go. I don’t change lenses outside. The way I change them is I put a microfiber cloth down, I take off the lens with the camera pointing down and I lay it down slowly(so not to disturb the dust in the air too much) on the cloth. I never lay the camera with the mount pointing up. Then when I have the other lens I lift the camera and put on the other lens with the camera pointing down.

People who really need more than once focal length and shoot rangefinders have more than one camera with them with the focal lengths they need. But that’s for pros in the field. 

I find 50/35 combo shoots 99.9% of things I see. If you want 3 lenses it could be 35/50/90 or 28/35/50 ideally. 

I don’t think owning 1 lens is a good idea. These cameras were made to use with various lenses. But I do think owning more than 3 is overkill. 

Edited December 15, 2023 by muskyvibes

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[IkarusJohn]

 

1 hour ago, muskyvibes said:

But I do think owning more than 3 [lenses] is overkill.

Hmm, you’ve been a member of the forum for 6 days. 

Edited December 16, 2023 by IkarusJohn

[Warton]

I have 3 sets of one-camera-one-lens.

M11 with 28mm summicron 

m10-r with 50mm summicron apo

m-a with 35mm summilux 

I am happy, so far