50 + 21 or 50 + 28 for a trip to Japan

[Bedojo]

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I spent most of my time in Tokyo and a few days in Kyoto, I took the 35lux, 50lux, and the Ricoh gr3 (28mm equivalent). I ended up using the 35lux 99% of the time and my wife used the Ricoh only.

the 50 was to tight for my person preference while city traveling,  but I’m sure others like it. Most of my photos were for memories, capturing each other, the moment, and the environment we were in. It was a have fun and enjoy the trip as priority 1 and take some snaps along the way. The wider angle lenses were great for small cafes and restaurants!

 

hope you have a blast in Japan!

Edited April 24, 2024 by Bedojo

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[Mute-on]

In six trips to Japan, visiting Tokyo, Kyoto and many smaller cities and regional areas, my main lens has always been 28mm. Most useful secondary lens has been 35mm. Took a 50 Summicron one one trip but found it too narrow for the majority of circumstances.

Of course I gravitate to 35 and wider. If I had 24mm, I would take that with a 35. Just my experience and preferences. I would consider 21 a little too wide for most circumstances.

Have a wonderful trip. Japan is my favorite travel destination. 

[Segal]

Thank you all for your suggestions! I think taking two cameras is a bit of an overkill.

 

I'm leaning towards the 50+28 combo - it covers the 35 mm FOV with some cropping and should be enough for indoor shots. I'll test it in Scotland in a couple of weeks  

[Peter H]

I'd go with the 28/50 but it's a very personal choice.

In a way you can't really go wrong, so maybe just relax and go with your instinct. Or whatever your gut tells you you'll most enjoy using.

[burchyk]

Just came back from Japan yesterday. I too am not into frequent lens swapping. Don't use 50mm much so can't comment on that.

Most used FL ended up being 35mm.

If I was in the mood to shoot the street crowds more, would have preferred 28mm.

21mm was handy for places with skyscrapers (Ginza) and some dramatic scenes (tunnels, landscapes). Otherwise lots of towns don't have tall buildings where the wider lenses are unnecessary for my taste.

90mm was good for some land- and city-scapes.

Just started developing the rolls, so the jury is still out.

My kit was all Voigtlander: 21mm f/4, 35mm Nokton f/1.4 MC II, 28mm Ultron f/2 and 90mm APO.

Recommend to visit the camera shops in Shinjuku. MapCamera prices on some of the Voigtlanders is almost half of what we pay here in the UK. Got brand new 21/4 for under 200 GBP and 40mm Heliar for 200 something. Lots of other cool stuff like the Heliar 50mm f/2, LLL, selection of vintage Leica and Japanese lenses. M11 Mono is about 2k cheaper than UK.

Box shop nearby has some Canon LTM and lots of vintage Japanese stuff.

Another store across the street from Map upstairs at the 4th (?) floor had a bunch of vintage Leica, plus a mint-ish silver Zeiss Ikon ZM for about 1200 GBP.

Saw Leitz Minolta CL in Kyoto for about 250 GBP.

Enjoy your trip!

[jplaurel]

Last time I went away for a year, I carried a pair of M6 (.72 and .85) with Elmarit 21 ASPH, Summilux 35 ASPH, Summicron 50 Type 5, and Summicron 90 ASPH.

Generally, I'd have the Summilux 35 on the .72 at all times, and the Summicron 50 on the .85. I used a small Dome J-803 satchel, with the 21 and 90 stacked atop one another in the center compartment, and the M6s with 35 and 50 mounted on either side. Worked perfectly and was easy to carry all day on foot. In a full year on the road, I never wished for more.

Edited April 28, 2024 by jplaurel

[Segal]

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21 hours ago, jplaurel said:

Last time I went away for a year, I carried a pair of M6 (.72 and .85) with Elmarit 21 ASPH, Summilux 35 ASPH, Summicron 50 Type 5, and Summicron 90 ASPH.

Generally, I'd have the Summilux 35 on the .72 at all times, and the Summicron 50 on the .85. I used a small Dome J-803 satchel, with the 21 and 90 stacked atop one another in the center compartment, and the M6s with 35 and 50 mounted on either side. Worked perfectly and was easy to carry all day on foot. In a full year on the road, I never wished for more.

Thank you! Which lenses did you end up using the most? I assume it was 35 and 50?  

[Sandokan]

I would take the 50mm lens on M11 and the Q2. 

Just swap cameras. 

If you take the 21mm lens too, I doubt you swap it. 

On my trip to Tokyo, I used my Q most of the time

[Segal]

14 hours ago, Sandokan said:

I would take the 50mm lens on M11 and the Q2. 

Just swap cameras. 

If you take the 21mm lens too, I doubt you swap it. 

On my trip to Tokyo, I used my Q most of the time

I think two cameras is an overkill - then I'll have to bring a camera bag with me as well. I travelled with two cameras only once in my life, and it was in the US  

[Sandokan]

OK. I find it easier to switch cameras and I have either a camera bag or a jacket with big pockets. It is also easier to switch mindsets with a camera switch than a lens change on the same body, for me. Plus there are other things I put in the bag or jacket such as water bottle (Japanese summers are hot and sticky), reading material, fan, snacks. 

[Knipsknecht]

I have traveled Japan more than ten times with quite different sets of camera gear, ranging from an Olympus mft camera over Leica M9, M10 and M10-R to Lumix S5 (L-Mount). If I had to use the M10-R I would bring the 50 f2.4 Summarit and the 28 Summicron. On a M-Mount camera everything wider than 28mm is a little bit of a PITA because of the viewfinder, and in most cases 28mm is wide enough (for my personal taste!).

BUT, I have to admit that I traveled last year exclusively with the Lumix S5 and the 20-60mm “Kit-Lens” which is very very good for a kit lens. And with this combo I used focal lengths wider than 28mm quite often. I am aware of this heresy but to be honest it was a very pleasant experience😇.

[Segal]

2 hours ago, Knipsknecht said:

I have traveled Japan more than ten times with quite different sets of camera gear, ranging from an Olympus mft camera over Leica M9, M10 and M10-R to Lumix S5 (L-Mount). If I had to use the M10-R I would bring the 50 f2.4 Summarit and the 28 Summicron. On a M-Mount camera everything wider than 28mm is a little bit of a PITA because of the viewfinder, and in most cases 28mm is wide enough (for my personal taste!).

BUT, I have to admit that I traveled last year exclusively with the Lumix S5 and the 20-60mm “Kit-Lens” which is very very good for a kit lens. And with this combo I used focal lengths wider than 28mm quite often. I am aware of this heresy but to be honest it was a very pleasant experience😇.

I have considered Sony A7CII + 40mm f/2.5 in a moment of weakness as a lazy person's Q3 replacement with a more convenient focal length. But then I took some pictures with my A1 and remembered why I switched away from Sony  

[Guest]

Interestingly no one mentioned the need of using a visoflex and/or the rear display for getting proper results with a 21mm. Wich means carrying that visoflex and mount/dismount it every time you switch lenses. Would be annoying to me...

Especially getting lines straight without an EVF option is not that easy and means you have to get them straight afterwards - wich causes cropping quite often and ending up at 28mm again. Unless you don't want to do more than only point and shoot with the 21, I wouldn't go without an EVF. 

So for me 28 + 50 - that classic never fail combo.

Edited May 1, 2024 by wellknown

[AndreasG]

I often use the 21 Elmarit with the M10-D and without an EVF, although I have a Visoflex 020. With a little training one gets used to it, it is not too difficult.

[Segal]

52 minutes ago, wellknown said:

Interestingly no one mentioned the need of using a visoflex and/or the rear display for getting proper results with a 21mm. Wich means carrying that visoflex and mount/dismount it every time you switch lenses. Would be annoying to me...

Especially getting lines straight without an EVF option is not that easy and means you have to get them straight afterwards - wich causes cropping quite often and ending up at 28mm again. Unless you don't want to do more than only point and shoot with the 21, I wouldn't go without an EVF. 

So for me 28 + 50 - that classic never fail combo.

I have Visoflex but mostly use it to shoot from low angles. The screen is usually enough for me to get the composition right with a 21mm lens. 

[BEG]

I just returned from five weeks in Japan during which I visited five major cities, three islands, and numerous temples, shrines, and castles (including several that involved long forest hikes. I photographed landscapes, architecture, people, and wildlife. I brought my SL3 with the 24-90 Vario lens and the 35mm SL ASPH (to lighten my load for city walks). I also brought my M11 monochrom and 35mm APO for urban shooting. I fairly early reached the conclusion that--given the total weight of this kit and the need to carry an extra bag for it--I would have done almost as well with one camera and one lense: the SL3/24-90 combination. The Vario was brilliant for all of my needs, including (to my pleasant surprise) night shooting and close focusing--mostly for cherry blossoms and flowers.

As you did not mention the SL system, this doesn't quite answer your question. But it might be helpful for future reference (and equipment purchases).

Have fun in Japan. It was my eighth visit to an endlessly fascinating and beautiful country, and I miss it already.

 

[Segal]

45 minutes ago, BEG said:

I just returned from five weeks in Japan during which I visited five major cities, three islands, and numerous temples, shrines, and castles (including several that involved long forest hikes. I photographed landscapes, architecture, people, and wildlife. I brought my SL3 with the 24-90 Vario lens and the 35mm SL ASPH (to lighten my load for city walks). I also brought my M11 monochrom and 35mm APO for urban shooting. I fairly early reached the conclusion that--given the total weight of this kit and the need to carry an extra bag for it--I would have done almost as well with one camera and one lense: the SL3/24-90 combination. The Vario was brilliant for all of my needs, including (to my pleasant surprise) night shooting and close focusing--mostly for cherry blossoms and flowers.

As you did not mention the SL system, this doesn't quite answer your question. But it might be helpful for future reference (and equipment purchases).

Have fun in Japan. It was my eighth visit to an endlessly fascinating and beautiful country, and I miss it already.

 

Hi. Thank you for your suggestion! I traveled to Japan with a Sony A7R and a 24-70/2.8 lens several years ago. It might be just my experience, but I feel my travel photos have improved dramatically since I switched to Leica (Q series and then to M series). I can’t explain why exactly it happened, but manual focus and smaller size might have helped  

[ymc226]

I am going to Korea for the first time and thought about taking my M11P but then changed to a "point a shoot" with good amount of cropping possible and IBIS that works.  Decided on taking the Hasselblad X2D with a 28P, a 22mm equivalent and light as well.  With my family, speed of focus is essential so as not to be too much of a nuisance.   I am still considering a longer lens such as the 38V (28mm equivalent) instead of the 28P as my favorite Leica lens is the 28 Elmarit.  With only one lens and a small bag, will feel much more free compared to my younger days when I always took several lenses and sometimes 2 camera bodies. 

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[OR120]

I think whatever camera/lens combination you end up taking - you will have a wonderful, photo rich experience. Japan - and Korea - are my most favorite photo destinations. I will probably return to Korea at end of this year. I will take two camera bodies and two lenses. I don't carry a bag just extra cards and batteries in my pocket. This works for me, not for everyone. We all have our own style of shooting. Japan is such a wonderful travel destination -- I wish you safe travels and look forward to seeing you images.

[kivis]

50 + 21 has been my travel pair for decades.