Car-free and Digital-free

[Bike Tourist]

A few months ago I became car-free. It seemed the right time to do it, all things considered. Well, it's not that altruistic because I can always borrow my wife's car.

Now, I have shipped off my D300 and lenses to be sold since I think the internet stock business is not sustainable for me. I will be digital-free. This will give me a one-time cash infusion and allow me to suppliment my Bessa Heliar 101 set with another body and some lenses. All for art or for fun, but certainly not for business. Now, the question is what lenses and what body. A fixed amount to spend. One really good Leica body and hope to aquire some lenses as I go along? Or a new Voigtländer body with several lenses? A nice quandry.

One thing is sure — no matter what decision I make, it will be wrong!

[StefanJozef]

I became car-free a few weeks ago.....after 30 years of car ownership. I feel liberated. I must say it's a nice dilemma to have some cash to buy a camera or lenses. Hopefully not having to spent cash keepinbg a car on the road....and in the UK it's prohibitive, might allow me to buy some gear.

[Bike Tourist]

Stefan —

Good for you! Do you now get around by bike, or walking or public transportation? Maybe you will see more photo ops.

[ClaremontPhoto]

Me too.

Almost.

The very old car car sits unused in a side street.

And a very old Leica beckons.

[Krosya]

I envy you! Unfortunately, where I live, you wouldn't survive w/o a car as all distances are great and even simple shopping for food is nowhere within a walking distance.

As far as your question/dilema - I'd get a Bessa. Good, cheaper and IMO better than Leica due to easier loading, better VF, cheaper to replace is something happens to it and you dont usually need those "mandatory" CLAs. I talk from experience - I used to have M3 and M6. Both gone and replaces by Bessa R2M and a couple of Hexars. But, if you always wanted a Leica - well, than it's a whole different story. But I'd say - get a Bessa and some good lenses and don't look back!

[kshapero]

I am local car free (only use car to go long distances) and I shoot with a Zeiss Ikon and an assortment of CV and ZM lenses.

[Keith]

Congratulations on being able to be car free ... like Kyosya I could never do it. The nearest shop of any type to me is at least ten kilometres away. I have been riding my Vespa a lot lately though ... been doing my shopping etc on it and I'm suprised how easy it's been not to drive my car at all for a couple of weeks now.

Also like Krosya I would choose the Bessa!

[Bike Tourist]

Thanks for the input. I would probably go with a Bessa R3A or R3M but I had some bad experiences with winding mechanisms jamming and viewfinder frames slipping in the past. But the T I have now has no problems and I imagine that after all this time Voigtländer has the QC under control. It would sure make more $ available for good glass.

[maddoc]

I am car-free for more then 5 years (since I came to Japan) and don't feel the need to buy any car in the future. My wife has a car but it is only used about once per month to go somewhere far out of the town. Sill have a digital P&S to take photos for the classifieds here though ...

Cheers

Gabor

[urban_alchemist]

Originally Posted by maddoc

I am car-free for more then 5 years (since I came to Japan) and don't feel the need to buy any car in the future. My wife has a car but it is only used about once per month to go somewhere far out of the town. Sill have a digital P&S to take photos for the classifieds here though ...

Cheers

Gabor

Japan... one of the few places where a journey without a car is infinitely less stressful than one with...

You luck thing

In Israel, I have a car, but it sits unloved in the carpark - only being used about once a week. Tel-Aviv is small enough that I only need to walk or use my bike to get anywhere and, coming from London where I have pretty much been car-reliant for 13 years, it is unbelievably liberating...

So liberating, infact, that I'm thinking of moving somewhere more central in London, selling my car and getting a bike...

[blue4130]

I moved to China nine months ago and left my car in Canada. I thought about getting a car here, but quite frankly, the drivers here scare me.

I can't get rid of the digital though. Too many papers have those damn deadlines. However, all my personal projects are done on film.

[noimmunity]

Originally Posted by Bike Tourist

A few months ago I became car-free. It seemed the right time to do it, all things considered. Well, it's not that altruistic because I can always borrow my wife's car.

Now, I have shipped off my D300 and lenses to be sold since I think the internet stock business is not sustainable for me. I will be digital-free. This will give me a one-time cash infusion and allow me to suppliment my Bessa Heliar 101 set with another body and some lenses. All for art or for fun, but certainly not for business. Now, the question is what lenses and what body. A fixed amount to spend. One really good Leica body and hope to aquire some lenses as I go along? Or a new Voigtländer body with several lenses? A nice quandry.

One thing is sure — no matter what decision I make, it will be wrong!

I've been without a car for...ever!

I do have a couple of aging digital P&S cameras But I shoot almost only film.

For the bodies, I think you need to decide what you are photographing and then what set of compromises you want to accept to realize that goal.

If you like photos of people, I'd suggest a 35/75 set. The Nokton 35/1.2 is a fantastic lens, especially on the Bessa T (see another recent thread about that). It does everything (except be light and small). The 75 frame on the R3* is heaven, and the CV 75 is a peach. You could throw in a wide (just the time for a ZM Biogon!) and you'd be set. (Maybe you'd want to add a small 35 or 40 for walkaround).

If you like photos of landscapes and street, I'd go for 25/50 (or 28/50). The ZM Biogon 25/2.8 (or the CV 28/2) and the Planar 50/2 are both fantastic choices, and would go well together with an R4*! (the 50 might be harder to use, but I don't think it's a deal breaker).

[JOE1951]

I've never owned a car. I live in a small city, Halifax N.S., and I can walk or bicycle to where ever I need to be and take a 15 min bus ride back and forth to work, though I'm not above renting a car when an occasion arises.

Still shoot film but w/ Nikon SLRs, as the Contax IIa and Olympus XA's are busted beyond hope.

Trying to resist the temptation of a Panasonic LX3, by looking for a Leica IIIf.

[Al Kaplan]

Cars need to be used. Letting them sit for long periods isn't good for the battery or the tires. the gasoline goes stale and gets water in it from condensation, all in all you're better off driving it a day or two a week. What you spend on fuel you'll save on repairs, just like those pristine never-been-used-in-thirty-years Leicas needing an expensive CLA.

[Rayt]

If you live in a city and go to school or work in the same city then you don't need a car. Most Americans need a car. I grew up in a town where we had to drive 4 miles to pick up the mail and the nearest supermarket was 14 miles away.

[visiondr]

Originally Posted by Rayt

If you live in a city and go to school or work in the same city then you don't need a car. Most Americans need a car. I grew up in a town where we had to drive 4 miles to pick up the mail and the nearest supermarket was 14 miles away.

Unfortunately, that's the way we've chosen to design our cities. Suburbia is designed around automobiles, not around people. Hence, growing numbers of Americans are getting fat and sick as a result of lack of exercise. Merely walking to the grocery store just isn't an option for many. However, some, like myself, have chosen to live in an old style close-in urban neighborhood where my grocery store is a mere four blocks away, there are 6 restaurants within that radius as is a movie theatre, optometrist, dentist, pharmacy, dry cleaner, local elementary school, etc. My bike commute to work is 6 miles each way. The flip side is that my 1800 sq foot house sits on a 33'x80' lot. Many Americans would consider such a small lot sacrilege, and therefore, choose to live out in Suburbia. They've made that choice. The car, or some variant thereof, is here to stay for most.

Get the best camera and lens (or two) you can afford and don't look back.

[Bike Tourist]

Originally Posted by visiondr

Unfortunately, that's the way we've chosen to design our cities. Suburbia is designed around automobiles, not around people. Hence, growing numbers of Americans are getting fat and sick as a result of lack of exercise. Merely walking to the grocery store just isn't an option for many. However, some, like myself, have chosen to live in an old style close-in urban neighborhood where my grocery store is a mere four blocks away, there are 6 restaurants within that radius as is a movie theatre, optometrist, dentist, pharmacy, dry cleaner, local elementary school, etc. My bike commute to work is 6 miles each way. The flip side is that my 1800 sq foot house sits on a 33'x80' lot. Many Americans would consider such a small lot sacrilege, and therefore, choose to live out in Suburbia. They've made that choice. The car, or some variant thereof, is here to stay for most.

Get the best camera and lens (or two) you can afford and don't look back.

You are so right. Even today, with the economy in the tank, people act as though the old paradigms will continue . . . cheap fuel, living and working and shopping separated by long distances. Maybe the optomists are correct. We'll see.

Yes, I also think that traveling light without an arsenal of lenses will be liberating.

[Bike Tourist]

Originally Posted by Al Kaplan

Cars need to be used. Letting them sit for long periods isn't good for the battery or the tires. the gasoline goes stale and gets water in it from condensation, all in all you're better off driving it a day or two a week. What you spend on fuel you'll save on repairs, just like those pristine never-been-used-in-thirty-years Leicas needing an expensive CLA.

Al, if you could just point me to the reasonably-priced pristine never-been-used-in-thirty-years Leica, I will gladly pay for the CLA!

[steamer]

Haven't driven a car in 16 years, don't really need one in Tokyo.　Kinda worried if I ever move back to the US though and have to drive again.

[ClaremontPhoto]

In Britain I either lived in the suburbs or in a village.

I needed a car.

Now I live in a city center and can easily walk to the market, the post office, the banks, restaurants...

[Rayt]

Originally Posted by steamer

Haven't driven a car in 16 years, don't really need one in Tokyo.　Kinda worried if I ever move back to the US though and have to drive again.

Yeah. I almost got killed last year in the US when I pulled onto the road the wrong direction and saw all those cars coming head on towards me. I was so used to the right hand drive.

[semrich]

After a long time averaging 35K miles per year in the States I haven't owned a car for six and a half years because I'm living in the city with all manner of public transit options. I find it very liberating with all the choices and having a camera with me most of the time I can just stop places that look interesting for photographs, walk a bit, get another bus, ferry, or whatever and go somewhere else.

About the camera, in the end you will know what to do, I find myself happy many times with just one camera and one lens.

[StefanJozef]

Where I live there are good transport links, but I do own several bikes, including a couple of fixed wheel machines, all made of steel, that I use on a regular basis. There's nothing better than getting out of town up into the hills or single track roads or tracks on a bike with a G1. I see lots of opportunities that I would miss travelling in a car.

[RussK]

Originally Posted by visiondr

Unfortunately, that's the way we've chosen to design our cities. Suburbia is designed around automobiles, not around people. Hence, growing numbers of Americans are getting fat and sick as a result of lack of exercise. Merely walking to the grocery store just isn't an option for many. However, some, like myself, have chosen to live in an old style close-in urban neighborhood where my grocery store is a mere four blocks away, there are 6 restaurants within that radius as is a movie theatre, optometrist, dentist, pharmacy, dry cleaner, local elementary school, etc. My bike commute to work is 6 miles each way. The flip side is that my 1800 sq foot house sits on a 33'x80' lot. Many Americans would consider such a small lot sacrilege, and therefore, choose to live out in Suburbia. They've made that choice. The car, or some variant thereof, is here to stay for most.

Get the best camera and lens (or two) you can afford and don't look back.

This sounds like my neigborhood in Portland (39th & Hawthorne)

[Bike Tourist]

Just to update:

My Nikon digital gear will buy me an M6TTL + 35mm Summicron non-asph, enroute now to join my Bessa T Heliar 101 next week. That should keep me happy and occupied for awhile.