Lens Selection Advice for Spain Trip: Rural & Urban Exploration

[wkoniowalski]

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Hello fellow Leica enthusiasts,

I'm gearing up for an upcoming trip to Spain and could use your wisdom on which lenses to pack. We'll be traveling by car, staying in a less urban area of Costa Blanca, and I anticipate a mix of scenic, urban, and wildlife photography. Our itinerary includes frequent walks into town, beach days, visits to a zoo and safari, as well as city tours in Valencia, Alicante, and Murcia.

I will bring the M11 and M10M but given the diverse settings, I'm debating which lenses from my kit would offer the best flexibility and quality for this trip.

Here's what I have:

- Leica M10 Monochrom

- Leica M11

- Leica Visoflex 2

- Leica Super-Elmar-M 21mm f/3.4 ASPH

- Leica Elmarit-M 28mm f/2.8 ASPH

- Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH

- Leica APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH

- Voigtlander 90mm f/2.8 Apo-Skopar

Considering the balance between carrying weight and being prepared for any photographic opportunity, which lenses would you recommend? Any advice or experiences you can share would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance for your insights!

Edited March 3 by wkoniowalski

[RoiDuNord]

21mm or the 28mm. would do fine.

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[andybarton]

You need to balance the weight with the question of are you going to use all the lenses? 

A 28 AND a 35?

or

A 35 AND a 50?

Where are you going to keep the kit you have with you when not out for the day?

Do you have good insurance?

 

[wkoniowalski]

19 minutes ago, andybarton said:

You need to balance the weight with the question of are you going to use all the lenses? 

A 28 AND a 35?

or

A 35 AND a 50?

Where are you going to keep the kit you have with you when not out for the day?

Do you have good insurance?

 

We are renting a house so whatever stays behind will be there. Also, yes I have specific coverage for my gear, computer etc.

[otto.f]

I’m always a bit puzzled by these type of questions: ‘the lens I should buy or the lens I should bring to a certain country?’. This is a quite normal tourist trip and there is nothing specific about it. I can sort of understand such a question about NYC for instance. But also in such a case: how do you value yourself as a photographer who buys the most expensive gear and in the meantime has no clue which lenses he’d like to bring. I don’t get it. There’s one usefull answer though: except perhaps for the flamingo’s at Albufera, there is no need to bring telelenses of longer than 180mm, because this region is not like the Serengeti. And the beaches are a not as interesting as the British beaches in Martin Parr’s work. 
My advise is: take all your lenses. What you are going to see there and what you find worthy of making a photo of, is your trip and your story. Nobody can tell you how to look and what’s going to happen for your eyes when you are there. 

[RexGig0]

1 hour ago, wkoniowalski said:

Hello fellow Leica enthusiasts,

I'm gearing up for an upcoming trip to Spain and could use your wisdom on which lenses to pack. We'll be traveling by car, staying in a less urban area of Costa Blanca, and I anticipate a mix of scenic, urban, and wildlife photography. Our itinerary includes frequent walks into town, beach days, visits to a zoo and safari, as well as city tours in Valencia, Alicante, and Murcia.

I will bring the M11 and M10M but given the diverse settings, I'm debating which lenses from my kit would offer the best flexibility and quality for this trip.

Here's what I have:

- Leica M10 Monochrom

- Leica M11

- Leica Visoflex 2

- Leica Super-Elmar-M 21mm f/3.4 ASPH

- Leica Elmarit-M 28mm f/2.8 ASPH

- Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH

- Leica APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH

- Voigtlander 90mm f/2.8 Apo-Skopar

Considering the balance between carrying weight and being prepared for any photographic opportunity, which lenses would you recommend? Any advice or experiences you can share would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance for your insights!

Welcome to the forum! I have never been to Spain, so, will simply wish that you have a safe and wonderful trip!

[Jeff S]

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How did you manage to amass such a diverse and capable kit without ever having posed a forum question?

Jeff

[wkoniowalski]

46 minutes ago, otto.f said:

I’m always a bit puzzled by these type of questions: ‘the lens I should buy or the lens I should bring to a certain country?’. This is a quite normal tourist trip and there is nothing specific about it. I can sort of understand such a question about NYC for instance. But also in such a case: how do you value yourself as a photographer who buys the most expensive gear and in the meantime has no clue which lenses he’d like to bring. I don’t get it. There’s one usefull answer though: except perhaps for the flamingo’s at Albufera, there is no need to bring telelenses of longer than 180mm, because this region is not like the Serengeti. And the beaches are a not as interesting as the British beaches in Martin Parr’s work. 
My advise is: take all your lenses. What you are going to see there and what you find worthy of making a photo of, is your trip and your story. Nobody can tell you how to look and what’s going to happen for your eyes when you are there. 

You make very valid points, thank you. In fact I am not a photographer. Photography is a hobby and I confess that I am not very good at it!

[wkoniowalski]

17 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

How did you manage to amass such a diverse and capable kit without ever having posed a forum question?

Jeff

LOL I managed to amass this collection over the past couple of years. Previously I had a Nikon kit but wanted to try Leica so sold my expensive hobby sports car and got this kit instead. And, I an extremely happy!

[Einst_Stein]

You are driving! simply cary all you have. You will figure out each day when you get to the place. 

This would be a harder question if travel by long walk, such as walk Camino 800KM. Then 28mm might be the choice, or simply take a zoom P&S.

[spydrxx]

To each his own. If I was challenged by weight, storage space, or a desire to not always change lenses to capture the scene I envisioned, I'd think of that old axiom, "zoom with your feet". Historically, foolishly, I'd have taken all lenses and not used over half of them. With age and limited wisdom, I'd cut things down to take either the 28 or 35, and the 50. That's it. I lived for over a year in the Mediterranean region, travelling as much as I could with only a 35, and it worked well. Although I had access to a 50 if I wanted, I never did, but as I said to each his own. You should know from your Nikon photographs which focal length you use most often and feel most comfortable with. You really want to enjoy the experience of the vacation with your family and not be onstantly fussing with decisions about which lens should I shoot with - just my take on things.  Enjoy your trip and take lots of memorable shots.

[sinjun]

Personally I'd take the M11 with the 90mm, the 50mm and the 28mm. All very nice lenses and a pretty compact kit which you could carry round in one smallish bag.

[KFo]

Given those choices, I'd go with the 21 and 35.  Gives you a wide and a semi-normal.

I have often traveled with only my 35 Summilux ASPH.  Don't be afraid; there is no such thing as "missed shot" because of the lens.

[brickftl]

5 hours ago, wkoniowalski said:

Hello fellow Leica enthusiasts,

I'm gearing up for an upcoming trip to Spain and could use your wisdom on which lenses to pack. We'll be traveling by car, staying in a less urban area of Costa Blanca, and I anticipate a mix of scenic, urban, and wildlife photography. Our itinerary includes frequent walks into town, beach days, visits to a zoo and safari, as well as city tours in Valencia, Alicante, and Murcia.

I will bring the M11 and M10M but given the diverse settings, I'm debating which lenses from my kit would offer the best flexibility and quality for this trip.

Here's what I have:

- Leica M10 Monochrom

- Leica M11

- Leica Visoflex 2

- Leica Super-Elmar-M 21mm f/3.4 ASPH

- Leica Elmarit-M 28mm f/2.8 ASPH

- Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH

- Leica APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH

- Voigtlander 90mm f/2.8 Apo-Skopar

Considering the balance between carrying weight and being prepared for any photographic opportunity, which lenses would you recommend? Any advice or experiences you can share would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance for your insights!

my opinion, just take one body - preferably the M11, and later you can process images in b/w if you'd like. And I'd take no more than 2 lenses - maybe either the 21 and 35 or 28 and 50. I don't think you'll need anything longer than 50 so I'd leave the 90 at home. And if you go with those recommendations then the visoflex is unnecessary. Adopt the "make it work" mentality, you'll have more fun and be more in the moment

[Manolo Laguillo]

I live in Barcelona and am a professional photographer and teacher. My advice: M11 + 35, M10M + 21 + Visoflex. For a beginner the 21 will be challenging, but if you have it, use it. I would go out with only one camera and one lens, leaving in the hotel the other gear. Be very careful in those places where lot of tourists come together... hide the camera if possible when not using it and keep an open eye.

[wkoniowalski]

Thank you for your thoughts everyone!

[nilsen]

19 hours ago, otto.f said:

I’m always a bit puzzled by these type of questions: ‘the lens I should buy or the lens I should bring to a certain country?’. This is a quite normal tourist trip and there is nothing specific about it. I can sort of understand such a question about NYC for instance. But also in such a case: how do you value yourself as a photographer who buys the most expensive gear and in the meantime has no clue which lenses he’d like to bring. I don’t get it. There’s one usefull answer though: except perhaps for the flamingo’s at Albufera, there is no need to bring telelenses of longer than 180mm, because this region is not like the Serengeti. And the beaches are a not as interesting as the British beaches in Martin Parr’s work. 
My advise is: take all your lenses. What you are going to see there and what you find worthy of making a photo of, is your trip and your story. Nobody can tell you how to look and what’s going to happen for your eyes when you are there. 

Just on a side note, Martin Parr took a lot of great beach pictures in Benidorm, in exactly this region 😃

[otto.f]

52 minutes ago, nilsen said:

Just on a side note, Martin Parr took a lot of great beach pictures in Benidorm, in exactly this region 😃

Thanks for correcting!, forgot that as part of Costa Blanca. Maybe a 21mm is a good choice then, to keep the distance a bit bearable for the public that sees the photo's.

Edited March 4 by otto.f

[Al Brown]

I suggest you take just Juan lens.

Edited March 4 by Al Brown

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[pgk]

On 3/3/2024 at 3:22 PM, wkoniowalski said:

Considering the balance between carrying weight and being prepared for any photographic opportunity .....

Unless you can carry a LOT of gear (or hire porters) you can never be prepared for any photographic opportunity.

So:

Minimalist - take one body and one lens

Ideal - take one or two bodies and three lenses.

If either of these solutions don't work then sell the Leica gear and buy one dSLR/EVF body and an all encompassing zoom to solve your problem.

In the past photographers tended to use less gear, and probably better because they still took great images.

Travel photography is not really about where you are going to (specialist excursions excepted) and more about how you approach photography.

Edited March 4 by pgk