Does Your Travel Kit Consist of Monochrom and Color Cameras?

[geoffreyg]

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Travel kit is often CL with 18-55mm, and M10M with 35mm. The CL is for general images, the M10M is for more serious work. 

Every time I start thinking the CL is just APS and not good enough, I remember tests at the time vs 246 and it held up quite well.  17x22 prints from it that are quite decent, and with the zoom, you minimize cropping to get the most from the small sensor. Otherwise, its the  M10M for finer work. 

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[didier]

My most used camera is my M10M.

For our holidays this year (just started) I took the M10M and had the opportunity to have a SL3 (not mine) for those 2 weeks.

I took one SL Lens (‘lux 50 SL bazooka, which has an amazing rendering) and the rest several M Lenses I use on both bodies.

Sometimes I feel I need color, so it is interesting to have a color camera, though I rarely use both cameras color / B&W together : I mostly settle for one body for a few hours and just (sometimes) switch lenses. I keep on shooting with one body for a couple of hours at least.

Though the results with the SL3 are amazing, as always, I have more fun with the M.

I currently mostly shoot with the ‘lux 35 SR reedition.

 

 

Edited July 31, 2024 by didier

[Pierre68]

When I travel to cities I like to have the M10R and M10M with 35 FLE and MATE. I think I can do pretty much everything with this combo: street, landscape, low light / night, portrait. I always carry both bodies and both lenses and swap between them according needs.

[nodrog]

I have travelled with both the M10M and the M10R in the past, but I'm not sure I would do that again. The Monochrom is super special and I would miss it, but (controversial opinion) when I have used the Ricoh GRIII as a colour back up I have found it 95% as good as the colour M, and I have constantly been surprised how little I miss it. The GR is almost no weight or size  in comparison so is a great alternative. A fabulous camera.

[BWColor]

I’m back from South Korea and have produced two albums.  I absolutely hate carrying two cameras and deciding between the two, but always staying in a hotel with a safe allowed me to carry one camera at a time.  I have far more ‘artistic’ images from the M11M and love being able to shoot 24x7 & indoor/outdoor due to high iso performance.  Days with heavy rain dictated using the weather sealed X2D.  What I enjoyed most about the M11M was putting together the images for a 12x12” lay flat album.  Some of the 12x24 inch images were quite nice and MPix did an excellent job of printing B&W with deep blacks and no color cast.  Panoramic is new to me, but the resolution of the Monochrom coupled with my Zeiss Biogon 21mm f/4.5 ZM and Voigtlander 35mm f/2.0 APO Lanthar worked out great.  I know that Flickr links are frowned upon, but I’ll give it a try.  Fully zoom into the images of the South Korean Air Force jets.  The detail possible with the APO Lanthar at f/2.0 and the M11M is jaw dropping.

Korean M11M Panoramic Images

 

Edited August 21, 2024 by BWColor
Additional text

[01af]

If you cannot decide about shooting colour or monochrome then you deserve neither.

You may own both but you should never carry both at the same time—not even in the same week or month. If you disagree then I'd suggest you carry your M Monochrom exclusively for, say, two or three months in a row. Then maybe you'll understand what I'm talking about ... and no, it's not about detail resolution or high-ISO performance.

Edited August 21, 2024 by 01af

[LocalHero1953]

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Travelling now, but by car, so I can bring what I want…….

In my shoulder bag I have three cameras: MP with Elmarit-M 28 asph and Portra 400, II Model D with Summitar 50 and Delta 400, and a Q2. No other lenses. I find that the scene determines the camera and medium I want to use at any one moment. I do not usually worry at length if the scene demands colour or mono: if colour forms part of the composition, then colour it is; if not, then it’s B&W. 

Oh, and because I’m travelling in a car, I have a backpack with 4x5 folding camera, lenses, tripod, box of film holders (Portra 400, HP5, covering both options), dark cloth, loupe………

Edited August 21, 2024 by LocalHero1953

[BWColor]

1 hour ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Travelling now, but by car, so I can bring what I want…….

Oh, and because I’m travelling in a car, I have a backpack with 4x5 folding camera, lenses, tripod, box of film holders (Portra 400, HP5, covering both options), dark cloth, loupe………

Ok, you’ve piqued my curiosity.  I am assuming that your trip is taking you by some of the most beautiful areas on the planet based upon the way you’re equipped where are you traveling and what are you shooting?

[pippy]

4 hours ago, 01af said:

If you cannot decide about shooting colour or monochrome then you deserve neither. You may own both but you should never carry both at the same time.

Nonsense.

Philip.

Edited August 21, 2024 by pippy

[LocalHero1953]

8 hours ago, BWColor said:

Ok, you’ve piqued my curiosity.  I am assuming that your trip is taking you by some of the most beautiful areas on the planet based upon the way you’re equipped where are you traveling and what are you shooting?

We’re in the Outer Hebrides: a few days on Lewis and now on South Uist! Before that a week in Edinburgh, mainly for the festival. 

In the city I try to shoot crowd scenes in a cityscape (when not casually snapping with the Q2). This is fun with large format because with a tripod on a street corner you’re often engaged in conversations with curious passers by. It was mostly B&W because I find it difficult to control colour in composition in an urban environment (there’s always a distracting red shop sign or shirt in the corner of the shot). Here in the islands there are no crowds, so I’m shooting landscapes. 

[AceVentura1986]

I’ve previously owned an ME and M9M and very seldom traveled with both, occasionally but not often. I now own an M10p and M10M and don’t see that changing my travel use. Essentially, I tend to prioritize traveling light over having a backup with me. 

Were I to travel with both, however, I would want to make sure my hotel had a room safe where I could leave one when using the other. 

[RexGig0]

Once upon a time, I dropped a camera, at the outset of a road trip, and, was very glad to have a second camera with me. It was a day trip, but, it was to be a very long day, so, I was glad to have the second camera, rather than having to return to the house. The lesson was that a second camera is a good idea, if photography is the reason for the trip. That day, I did not yet own a Monochrom, so, both were color cameras. I dropped my M10, and still had my Nikon D5, to use.

Perhaps the reputation for M cameras toughness was earned by film M cameras, or by pre-M10 cameras. A digital M10 is not so tough. Internal damage was significant.

I bought a pre-owned M Type 246 Monochrom, while my M10 was down, pending repair. So, I may well choose to carry a color camera, and a Monochrom, or, may choose to carry two color cameras. I very rarely juggle two cameras. Normally, one is on a strap, and one is put away. 

Edited to add: Recently, I bumped a camera, that then tumbled into a puddle. I had to immediately pull the battery, because some water had seeped inside, along one side. The camera has since recovered, nicely, but, it was out of commission while it was drying-out. Again, it was a day trip, actually an evening/night shoot, macro-distance hunting for moths, using DSLRs, and we were finished, at the time of the mishap, but, I did have an entire spare camera, with its own macro lens, and a spare flash unit. Unless forced to travel VERY lightly, I will continue to bring two cameras.

Edited August 22, 2024 by RexGig0

[pnwpotter]

On 8/21/2024 at 5:59 AM, nodrog said:

I have travelled with both the M10M and the M10R in the past, but I'm not sure I would do that again. The Monochrom is super special and I would miss it, but (controversial opinion) when I have used the Ricoh GRIII as a colour back up I have found it 95% as good as the colour M, and I have constantly been surprised how little I miss it. The GR is almost no weight or size  in comparison so is a great alternative. A fabulous camera.

I'm doing the same ... haven't missed the M10R ... but I would hate to sell the M10M. The GR's III and IIIx are special little critters. 

Edited August 29, 2024 by pnwpotter

[newtoleica]

I use the Q2 for what most people on this thread equate with ‘travel’ - casual trips out with the family when I’ll be shooting the family, memories and the odd causal thing I see. 

For serious photography (which is often nested in a travel trip) I will take my M10P and 2 or 3 lenses (24 Lux, 35 Lux ASPH v1, Ultron 75). When I owned an M9 and M9M I took both bodies but mostly used the M. With film I used to take two bodies one with box speed TriX, the other with updated 1600 ISO TriX. I’m picking up an M10M Tuesday and the status of the ‘2nd camera’ is yet to be determined, but it’s likely I will use the Q2 and sell the 10P eventually. I wouldn’t ever go anywhere far from home for serious photography without a 2nd camera or body, not for ‘colour’ per se but to have a back up. 

I also keep the outputs of the Q2 and M mostly separate. The Q2 is dealt with as if it’s an iPhone and goes on Mac Photos for sharing etc, the M goes via LR and a separate hard drive. 

[BWColor]

I’ve been watching videos of various people photographing while traveling in Japan and I must say that some of the videos are a bit disappointing.  They make me want to ask, did you have any goal, or purpose in mind when you were shooting?  I guess that some of these images might appeal to others and not myself, but it made me ask, do I have any goals, or purpose in photographing in Japan?  In part, I ask because for this trip I want to take just one camera.  I think that having a purpose to making images while traveling is something that I need to work on.  Korea was somewhat easy, because I’m a bit into Korean history, customs and culture.  I need to learn more about Japan.

[pippy]

8 hours ago, newtoleica said:

...I wouldn’t ever go anywhere far from home for serious photography without a 2nd camera or body, not for ‘colour’ per se but to have a back up...

Similarly I almost always take two bodies (one of which is a Monochrom) with me for a number of reasons.

Firstly - and the primary reason - is that I can swap between lenses of different f/l simply by changing from one camera to the other instead of swapping lenses.

Secondly is that I have one as a backup in case of failure.

Thirdly is that if a situation presents itself which is clearly a no-brainer for a 'Colour' image then it can still be taken.

I 'think' and 'see' in monochrome but, at the same time, don't have the slightest difficulty in seeing and capturing a 'Colour Image' when one presents itself. The mere suggestion that by carrying a colour body the photographer's brain suddeny can't cope with 'seeing' in monochrome is (IMO) utterly ridiculous.

😸

Philip.

Edited August 30, 2024 by pippy
Forgot to add an 'IMO'...

[Olaf_ZG]

1 hour ago, BWColor said:

I’ve been watching videos of various people photographing while traveling in Japan and I must say that some of the videos are a bit disappointing.  They make me want to ask, did you have any goal, or purpose in mind when you were shooting?  I guess that some of these images might appeal to others and not myself, but it made me ask, do I have any goals, or purpose in photographing in Japan?  In part, I ask because for this trip I want to take just one camera.  I think that having a purpose to making images while traveling is something that I need to work on.  Korea was somewhat easy, because I’m a bit into Korean history, customs and culture.  I need to learn more about Japan.

Basically this counts for every outing: what will I photograph? Having a good / clear idea will give you a more focused portfolio of the trip.

So, you need to ask yourself, what do you want to photograph? And if the trip is a family trip, I guess the answer should be your family…

Based on the answer one select his/her/its tools.

[Jeff S]

2 hours ago, pippy said:

The mere suggestion that by carrying a colour body the photographer's brain suddeny can't cope with 'seeing' in monochrome is (IMO) utterly ridiculous.

 

I don’t carry them together, not because my brain can’t cope, but because I prefer not to be distracted by potential color pics, just like when I shot B&W film. I like not having the choice.

Jeff

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[tuna]

For trips of 10 days or longer, I’ve been taking the M11 with 35/50 lens combo and the Q2M. I will also occasionally bring some film with either the Contax T2 or the MP to accompany the others.

Only take one camera out each morning when heading out (with possibly the extra lens and maybe the Contax in the backpack). The camera choice is made by what kind of day it will be - if it is cloudy/rainy, the monochrome. If it is sunny Lisbon, the M11. If it is Naples, the monochrome. If it is Paris, definitely something with color film. If it is NYC, mostly monochrome (though I had some great days recently shooting street in NYC with the M11 and the 50 lux). etc. etc. etc.

Edited August 30, 2024 by tuna

[pippy]

1 hour ago, Jeff S said:

I don’t carry them together, not because my brain can’t cope, but because I prefer not to be distracted by potential color pics, just like when I shot B&W film. I like not having the choice.

That's all fine and dandy, Jeff, and I can empathise totally with that approach / mindset but I believe you are missing the essential point of my post. My reply was written as a direct response to a post which stated - and I quote verbatim;

"If you cannot decide about shooting colour or monochrome then you deserve neither.".

"Deserve Neither"

The sheer stupidity of that whole post in its entirety beggars belief.

Philip.