Travel Advice: Keep It Simple, Stupid...

I hear what you're saying, Raid. And yet, you know, I catch myself thinking that maybe the next trip I take I'll only grab one of my various '50's fixed lens folding/collapsing rangefinders - most likely that Retina IIa as it's 50/2 Xenon is a great lens with sufficent speed to handle most things. Maybe throw the Vito IIa in as a backup and I've still got world class glass for a quarter the weight of an interchangable lens and body.

It so depends on what you want to do, see & remember about a trip. Hard to say much beyond that other than what our own prejudices enjoy.

William
 
Raid, for years I lusted after the original Brooks Plaubel Veriwide 100 with the 47/8 Super Angulon. It wasn't a bulky camera, no interchangeable lens or backs, but it made seven 6x10 cm shots on a roll of 120, 100 degree coverage, not 90 degree. It had a wire frame finder and Leitz made a modified version of their 21mm finder which was marked Veri-Wide 100. When I finally managed to get one (they're not common) I discovered that the object of all that lust couldn't compete with my love for My Bessa L and its 15mm Heliar. If you must have a 47mm lens for medium format look around for the Brooks Plaubel Veri-Wide 100. You might even run into one that was converted for the 47/5.6 Super-Angulon.
 
I'm sorry, but let me see if I have this right.

I'm sorry, but let me see if I have this right.

Several hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars worth of camera gear and South America. Wow, we just had two missionaries in our town return from SA with the fellow stabbed multiple times and the girl raped.

This isn't a trip to the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone you are talking about.

I wish you the best of luck. Travel the beaten paths and travel safely.
 
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I've been in 3rd world countries with expensive kit. I always look scruffy (at home too!), have a crap looking bag, try to look like I know what I'm doing, and talk to everyone I can. I've had one incident where someone tried to steal something from me but everyone assured me it was normal, I was just being treated like everyone else. Also I don't try to sell anything or go around prosetylizing, that's a recipe for disaster.
 
I wish that there were less people prosetylizing here in Miami also. I guess there's some church nearby that encourages or mandates it.
 
On my world trip I took my M6 with 50mm F2 & 35 F2 plus a small digital camera.

For me I didn't want to be glued behind the viewfinder or clicking away 24/7. I think some times you have to put the camera down and stop, breathe and have a look around once in a while.

Enjoy your trip, you will have a wonderful time..... and then post your photos on here :)
 
Wow. I live in NYC and almost every day I carry my Leica kit (M6; 35/2.0 V.4; 50/2.8 Elmar; 75/1.4) in a Domke J-803. I like the J-803 because it blends into my surroundings; it looks like a smallish book bag; and doesn't announce that I have thousands of dollars worth of used camera gear. The shoulder strap ensures that I never leave any gear unattended; and, also, if I have to run I can.

I carry my kit almost all the time because I missed a great shot of the aftermath of a small private plane crash, piloted by a Yankee pitcher, that flew into a Manhattan high rise. I was at work and was evacuated from two buildings away. In New York there are just too many things going on all the time.

Perhaps, in the future I will add a second M body (likely an MP), but I'd limit my camera gear to three lenses and two M-bodies, leaving the extra room/space in my luggage for bricks of film. For me shooting a lot of film is more important that a few panoramic pics. The basic idea is a three lense Leica Kit built around your Noctilux of a 35/1.4 (one day I will have either/or and my kit will become complete).

************

I'd perfer to travel unburdened and would feel uneasy leaving anything of value behind in a hotel. I've also had too many bad experiances with airlines loosing my luggage when traveling in Latin America, so the J-803 would be my bag that is allowed with my carry on.

Moral of the story: don't be a tourist; be practical. (This thread was very helpful in getting rid of a lot of GAS.)

**************

In Costa Rica, while getting on a bus, I grabbed a man by the wrist. I asked him in Spanish, "Why is your hand in my pocket?" He remained frozen: my other hand was balled into a fist as others looked on.

Moral of the story: keep both hands free whenever possible.

***********

Three o'clock in the morning, I get off the subway in Brooklyn. I walk up the stairs and soon hear someone running to catch me. At that time there was a rapist running around my neighborhood that attacked yuppie girls in their doorways. Although I am a guy, I am tall and thin with long hair, so it easy to mistaken me for a girl from behind; I was also wearing shoeboots so my walk sounded like a woman walking in heels; and a camera bag hung over my shoulder with a mini-DV video camera and mikes.

It was raining, so I was holding an umbrella in my left hand; and in my right hand I held my mono-pod like a cop's nightstick in front of me.

At the appropriate time I turned and swung for the fences. The mugger would be rapist was awfully surprised to see my mustasch and arrogant chin beard. He was shorter than I thought and side-stepped a little, so I missed him. He appologized, saying "I'm sorry," and kept running--turning the first corner.

Moral of the story: If both hands are not free make sure whatever is in your hand can be used as a weapon, even a Leica camera.

Cal
 
2 M bodies
2 lenses
Xpan

I'm more, all color or all b+w but that's up to you. Keep it simple that's more than enough, remember that you can already do anything with 1 body 1 lens and film.

I hate to say that but I have to; I'm guessin' you're not travelling for pictures but for the pleasure of being there, don't overthink brother. Too much stuff is bad for the spirit.

Nugard said:
1. MP+35lux+Nocti.
2. Xpan.
3. Ricoh.

That's all... And film of course... Many-many rolls of different film...
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Al Kaplan said:
Raid, for years I lusted after the original Brooks Plaubel Veriwide 100 with the 47/8 Super Angulon. It wasn't a bulky camera, no interchangeable lens or backs, but it made seven 6x10 cm shots on a roll of 120, 100 degree coverage, not 90 degree. It had a wire frame finder and Leitz made a modified version of their 21mm finder which was marked Veri-Wide 100. When I finally managed to get one (they're not common) I discovered that the object of all that lust couldn't compete with my love for My Bessa L and its 15mm Heliar. If you must have a 47mm lens for medium format look around for the Brooks Plaubel Veri-Wide 100. You might even run into one that was converted for the 47/5.6 Super-Angulon.
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Al,

I already have the XLSW with a 47/8 that I bought here in Pensacola for $330 many years ago. I had Eddy Smolov recently CLA the XLSW since it is not "young" anymore. It is my tusted MF wide camera since many year now. The Brooks Veriwide is more costly, and I would need over $1000 to get a clean one these days.The 47/5.6 is supposedly a better lens than the 47/8, with less vignetting. I have been using a CV 25mm viewfinder with the XLSW as I usually have a 6x7 back and not a 6x9 back on the camera. I approximate the coverage to be 25mm [based on 35mm] with the 6x7 format. Maybe I am off here. With the 6x9 back, I expect coverage for a 24mm lens.

I am about to get the Canon 19mm lens from Mark, so this is my widest lens for my RF bodies. I don't see the need for the 15mm CV.
 
Sorry to add to your list - but a tiny digital compact could be a good addition.
I does not need to be of any quality, but can be useful on route or prior to departure for photocopying timetables, maps, your hotel/backpackers frontage, insurance details etc... you never know.
 
Listen to your girlfriend

Listen to your girlfriend

MP+Noct

And go ahead and throw in the minolta just in case, or for color. But don't really plan on using it.

Your gf is right. If all your magic shots are with the noct then you obviously know your way around this lens. Don't fight it. Come back home with hundreds of rolls of magic images. Then thank your gf.

Have a great trip.
 
spysmart said:
Sorry to add to your list - but a tiny digital compact could be a good addition.
I does not need to be of any quality, but can be useful on route or prior to departure for photocopying timetables, maps, your hotel/backpackers frontage, insurance details etc... you never know.
Click to expand...

That's the girlfriend's camera's role - she's not sure yet if she's going to take the R5/Summicron 35
 
urban_alchemist said:
So, I'm all booked up.

At the end of January, me and my girlfriend are heading off to Argentina, and I'm trying to work out what kit to take so that I can arrange travel insurance. So... I'm a bit stuck, as I've narrowed down the kit, but it just seems a bit... much. And yet when I try to cut down, I can't...

So here it is:

1. We'll be heading to the amazon jungle, the Andes and the glaciers and lakes of Patagonia. These are all once-in-a-lifetime landscapes which necessitates panoramas: so into the bag goes the Xpan.

2. We're trecking through the Andes, staying in remote villages, as well as the big cities of Argentina and Uruguay. That means daylight street shooting: so into the bag goes the MP-3 with the 50 + 35 Summiluxes and a stack of Portra 160NC.

3. We're night-owls, which means bars, tangos, and midnight walks in remote villages: into the bag goes the MP, Noctilux and Neopan 1600 and Fuji Pro800Z.

4. Sometimes you don't want to carry something as large and heavy as a rangefinder, and want a wide lense: Into the bag goes a Ricoh GR1s with Kodak 400NC.

5. And what if you're heading out somewhere dodgy, at night, but still want to take a camera? In goes the Minolta TC-1 for use with the MP's Neopan and Pro800Z.

So that's five cameras. I know its too much, but I can't seem to cut it down. :( Any new set of eyes appreciated: what can I cull, or should I just reconcile myself to a broken back...
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Now, why would you want to bring all that? This is just the most ridiculously overwhelming amount of camera equipment to haul anywhere, let alone have it on a shelf in your house..

If you dont want to carry your Rangefinder then you shouldnt bring it at all.

Two bodies, two or three lenses covering a wide range and thats it, bingo, done, end of story, get on the plane.

Theres a picture of Brad Pitt on "Safari" with three or four YSL cases full of Leica gear, and thats the image I have here...
 
irq506 said:
Theres a picture of Brad Pitt on "Safari" with three or four YSL cases full of Leica gear, and thats the image I have here...
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I think that's the most flattering comparison anyone's ever made of me :D

As an update: it appears now to be: XPan, MP, 50 Noctilux, 50 Summicron, 35 Summilux, TC-1 and a flash.
 
Interesting to read how you adjusted the equipment during this thread. For me, too much equipment spoiles the whole trip. Years ago I began with large equipment but was never happy. Could take all the photos but I did not enjoy the trip so much. It was a learning process over the last years. Now I travel light, enjoy the trip and don't whine about photos that I couldn't take because of a missing lens.
 
Merkin said:
What can be done with the 50 summi that cant be done with the nocti or the 35mm, realistically?
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I am most comfortable with a 50 - but the Noctilux is unusable during the day (especially if, as I intend, I use predominantly 400ISO film). It is also a very difficult lense to shoot with normally - during daylight hours, the 'Cron is fast enough, with a much shorter focus throw.

The 35mm is slightly wider for the times that I will be carrying ONLY the M, without even the TC-1 and its 28mm lense.
 
Good to see you've sliced most (if not all) the GAS out. I'd add two extension pc cords for the flash to get it off the body and a table top tripod (minolta TR-1 or Leica table top and medium or large head), two cable releases and LOTS of film and you are done.

B2 (;->
 
On second thought, you might throw in a 15/4.5 CV with finder and adapter into the bag just for giggles. Nothing more though, just for giggles.

B2 (;->
 
urban_alchemist said:
I am most comfortable with a 50 - but the Noctilux is unusable during the day (especially if, as I intend, I use predominantly 400ISO film). It is also a very difficult lense to shoot with normally - during daylight hours, the 'Cron is fast enough, with a much shorter focus throw.

The 35mm is slightly wider for the times that I will be carrying ONLY the M, without even the TC-1 and its 28mm lense.
Click to expand...


I don't ask this to incite a riot, but in what way is a noctilux unusable during daylight? I wouldn't think it would be THAT horrible at stopped-down apertures, and it sounds like you have enough experience with the lens that you can work around the long focus throw, which you obviously do at night. I completely understand the desire to use a 'night lens' and a 'day lens,' but instead of carrying an m body, 3 lenses, and a tc-1, why not carry the mp, the nocti, either the cron or the 35, and then a 28mm lens? Even if you don't have a 28mm m mount lens, i doubt the cost of a secondhand voigtlander lens would put a dent in the wallet of someone who is planning on carrying somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 thousand dollars worth of camera equipment overseas, and it would lighten your load a good bit. I have a feeling that you could probably fit the xpan, the mp, 3 m lenses, and film in a domke reporters satchel, and then you wouldn't have to worry about having this and that here and there, you could just reach in to your bag of tricks and have the appropriate gear at hand.
 
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