Advice on camera/lens for trekking to Everest Base Camp

[Seba66]

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4 hours ago, pgk said:

As an old and often forgotten 'rule-of-thumb' tele lenses can be used to make mountains look bigger whilst wide-angles tend to make them look smaller. I'm not sure that I would take a camera with a wide-angle (28mm) lens as my only camera (yes I know that you can crop but .....). I rather like the idea of a lightweight 90mm M lens and personally colud take a 35 & 90 and be happy with a single body. I'd rather add a 21 and spare body and as many fully charged batteries as I felt practical.

I agree. And for this reason, not having a 90mm in my kit, a few days ago I bought a good used Voigtlander F/2.8 Color Skopar APO, stimulated by good reviews and its compactness and lightness.

I have received many comments that advised me not to change lenses (and also for this reason many, and myself, think of the Q as the best option), but at the end, for me, to think in the morning which lens I will use that day, according to the program, if I will only do trekking, how hard it will be, if we will visit monasteries or villages etc., is one of the most beautiful parts of the game. Having a camera with a fixed focal lens I find it restrictive, even if I will not intend to change lenses all the way. I think I will keep a fixed one for most of the day, according to the program, unless of irripetibile opportunities.

I don't want to offend anyone, but when I tried the Q2/3 in my hand for a few hours, I didn't feel much different than having an iPhone Pro. Maybe it's my limit and I should have spent more time appreciating the Q. And maybe one day I'll buy it, but it will always be because I'll think of using it at 28mm, the idea of digital zoom can't get hold of me.

As for today I think to carry the 90mm and one among 21-35 or 28-50 couple. And I’m still debating to carry M10 or SL2-S as the body.

[pgk]

25 minutes ago, Seba66 said:

As for today I think to carry the 90mm and one among 21-35 or 28-50 couple. And I’m still debating to carry M10 or SL2-S as the body.

The classic 21/35/90 will cover an awful lot. I've travelled with these three and never found myself thinking that I did not have sufficient equipment to cover what I wanted. Today I'm favouring 21/35/75 although I could happily use a 90 instead of the 75. I suppose the thing that you really need to do is to figure out what you want to take and then decide to be happy with your decision and work within the confines of your choices. This is how I decided to operate a fair time ago and it works surprisingly well and is a very pleasurable way to take photographs.

In the past I had Nikons and Canons with a full range of zooms in a Billigham 550 and when I was freelancing and busy it was the way I had to operate. Today I have a more laid back lifestyle and find that limiting what I use is very fruitful photographically.

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[dpitt]

When it comes to ultra wide like the 21mm, I often use stitching when I only have the 35mm or 40mm. Todays PP software makes it very easy to stitch 2 portrait 35mm together, resulting in about 25mm eq. And if need be 3 can be used as a panorama shot. It saves a lens to carry and a switch of lenses on the occasion. As long as there are no moving subjects on the stitch junction of your pictures, you should be OK.

Edited February 7 by dpitt

[Pierre68]

2 hours ago, Seba66 said:

to think in the morning which lens I will use that day, according to the program

This is the way to go when using fixed focal lenses. I have found out that I was taking better pictures when walking in the wood around my house with just one fixed focal than the using one of the awesome Leicas 16-35 or 24-90 VE... I realized that my framing were more interesting when using the fixed focal, no matter which focal it was. 

[burchyk]

Voigtlander 90 APO is a great choice. Great optics, small and light. That plus a compact 28mm would be my choice. Skip the 35-50.

[henning]

I haven't read the whole thread, so some of what I'm saying will likely already have been mentioned (and/or refuted).

In the mid 90's we trekked around Annapurna for 3 weeks. We had a full support crew for tents, cooking etc., but I carried all photo gear at all times.

These were film days, so a lot of bulk and weight were dedicated to film. I took 2 M6's with 21, 35, 50 and 90mm lenses as well as a Noblex 150 and a Mamiya 6 with 3 lenses, tripod and light meter, etc. Lots of stuff. I took lots of photos and don't really regret taking all that stuff. I used the 21 relatively seldom, it was probably the least used item. The Noblex was much better suited for the wide views. I used the 35 the most, just like for most of my life for personal photography and the 90 next. We climbed as high as 5000m, but on the way, as one of the locals said, every day it's 'a little bit up and a little bit down'. Usually meaning it was about 1000m+ up a steep path, then down a 1000m+ steep path. Nothing was flat, and the 1000m up and down happened multiple times many days. After the first day I regretted everything; the weight as well as the whole trip. The next day was better and after three days it was all fantastic, as I was acclimatized by then and had no trouble with the strenuous pace or the altitude.

Now, of course I would take different gear. In your case, I would add a small 90, preferably the Macro-Elmar but the next best would be the App-Skopar. Their performance is surprisingly fairly similar but the Macro-E is smaller and can focus closer. Get and take extra batteries; the M10 batteries don't last that long. I don't know how good your recharging opportunities will be. The camera will be fine in -20 or even -40C° weather, as long as you can tuck it under a top layer between shooting opportunities to keep blowing snow off it. Try not to bring it directly into a warm space in one go; moisture will condense and freeze on various parts and make it inoperable for a while. I've shot quite a bit in -40° weather with Leicas since the 60's, including digital M8, M9, M240 and M10 and all worked fine when used continuously in the cold for up to an hour. After that I warmed them up (slowly). Film was tricky, as it got brittle and cameras could tear it at the sprocket holes, and rewinding could be an issue. Larger formats had more and different issues.

Edited February 8 by henning

[Xavier]

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As I look through the comments on weather sealing / not changing lenses too much, etc, I wanted to add a couple of things. None of my three trekkings in Nepal was very harsh on gear. Of course it is important to use a bag that protects everything well (from constant motion and occasional rain/snow), but wind blowing dust was very rare so lens changes were not a problem at all. Even on high passes or ridges, I could just turn my back to the wind and change the camera without any real dust concern. Obviously, I would not have the camera out in storms, or very rarely and cautiously slow, but this is just common practice anyway. As far as I remember, the main (and only real) issue with cameras was the cold temperature reducing battery life a lot...

[thrid]

Tri-Elmar 28-35-50. It's f4, but would cut down significantly on exposing the sensor to dirt and moisture due to lens changes. It's also a lot safer to change focal lengths on the Tri-Elmar, than juggling lenses, while hanging off the side of a mountain...

Summicron-M 35 or 50 as your fast lenses. More compact and less weight than the Lux. You can always go up one asa to make up for F2 vs F1.4

The old Macro-Elmar(APO) 90 is very compact and super sharp, but it is collapsible. Use a hood with this one. I think these are selling relatively cheaply these days.

The Voigtlander APO 90's are very, very good and may be lighter than the Leica equivalent. (certainly cheaper)

Extra batteries due to the cold. Maybe you can take a power bank, that you can keep warm in your jacket and use a USB-C cable to charge the camera in a pinch

Sounds like a fantastic trip. Be safe and good luck.
 

Edited February 9 by thrid

[shobita neupane]

Did you make the decision yet?

[burchyk]

waiting for those amazing pictures!

[Seba66]

On 4/3/2024 at 11:37 AM, shobita neupane said:

Did you make the decision yet?

Thank you for your interest.

I decided on the kit of three lenses, 28-50-90, all M.

For the body I am still undecided between M10 and SL2-S, weight and lightness against the possibility of charging on the go with a power bank and an USB cable.
 

Honestly I have to say that I have another thought in the back of my mind. I just got back from a trip to the Philippines where I took 99% of the photos with SL2-S and my new 35 SL APO. Well yes, overwhelmed by the results... But I think in the end I will resist this new temptation for a better portability 

[DrM]

My 2c.. if you have the money I would buy the 24-70 and use it with the SL2s (~1800g), ok weather sealing, IBIS, no lens swap-no dust, video (why not, if you are in the neighbourhood).

The M option for me, M11, 21SEM and 50lux/cron, the resolution allows good cropping (21mm => 27.3mm(1.3x/36mp) => 37.8mm (1.8x/18mp) ; 50mm => 65mm (1.3x/36mp) => 90mm (1.8x18mp)), compact, good battery, low weight (M11:530g;21SEM 279g; 50cron 240g; total 1049g)

Enjoy the trip.

Best

Marc