Still undecided about taking both...

[k.hendrik]

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

with one of the cheapest I have.

 

[Alan Gales]

And if the carpenter doesn't know what he/she is going to encounter in the day to come .....?

I wasn't a carpenter but I was a sheet metal worker.

I solved this problem by carrying two tool boxes. One I carried to the job everyday. The other was filled with tools that I needed but did not use often. This box stayed in the trunk of my car. I could just run out and grab a tool if needed.

That said, I wouldn't want to carry either of those heavy tool boxes on vacation!

 

[ToddB]

I've decided to take Leica and Rollei T. I'm hesitant to leave anything in the Hotel room of anything of value. I'll shoot what inspires me, and one of those camera's will be around my neck and shoot accordingly. Thanks for everyone's input. It was a big help.

Todd

 

[pschwart]

Hey guys,

Okay.. This is driving me crazy.. I'm still undecided about taking both my Rollei's on big trip next month. Let me ask you guys.. When your taking a big trip, how many cameras do you take? I may load my bag and see how it feels tonight.

Todd

I travel with a second camera in a smaller format, but *never* with 2 Rollei TLRs. And if I needed wide or tele plus normal, I would take a Mamiya TLR instead of 2 Rolleis. Your Rollei isn't likely to quit working, and that's just another 2+ pounds to lug around. If you regularly carry 2 Rolleis when you shoot, then it may make sense to do the same when you travel.

 

[Alan Gales]

I've decided to take Leica and Rollei T. I'm hesitant to leave anything in the Hotel room of anything of value. I'll shoot what inspires me, and one of those camera's will be around my neck and shoot accordingly. Thanks for everyone's input. It was a big help.

Todd

I never leave anything of value in my hotel/motel room. I've heard too many horror stories.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I never leave anything of value in my hotel/motel room. I've heard too many horror stories.

Quit staying in hotels then VRBO is great that way - all the comfort and security of having your own home when on the road, plus larger, more comfortable and probably cheaper than most hotels. My dad and I had a 2 bedroom apartment on the Ile St. Louis in Paris with free wi-fi, furnished with vintage and antique furniture and rugs, walking distance from Metro, a dozen restaurants, the Maison Europienne de la Photographie, and Notre Dame cathedral for roughly $300/night for the whole apartment. Not chump change, but where are you going to find someplace in the center of Paris for less than that that doesn't have rats, roaches and fleas helping to subsidize the room rate?

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

I'm favoring taking Rolleiflex T – Model K8 T3 along with my Leica M3. It takes striking sharp images.

Todd

This set sounds good. If it will be what you need for the photos you anticipate. As I've mentioned earlier, I'm a fan of keeping it simple just because it forces you to use what little you have and enables a bit more enjoyment of the trip since you're not always stressing about which camera or which lens to use. I once brought my Contax G2 with 21/28/35/45/90 lenses, in a nice neat compact bag. Never again. i was constantly second thinking every photo op and driving myself crazy as to which lens to use, changing lenses all the time, frankly I missed a lot of the trip because I was looking into my bag too much! One trip I brought ONLY my Nikon FM2 and ONE lens, a 105mm. Yes, it was limiting but you know what? I took great shots! That lens is an all-time favorite of mine and I LOVED shooting with it. And the results showed that. And because it was all I had I kept it simple and enjoyed my trip more too. Got to know that camera and lens really well too. That set remains a favorite. On a trip 2 years ago through Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Mt Rushmore (along with my 70 yr old dad and 11 yr old son) I brought one bag with three cameras: Rolleiwide, Rolleiflex 3.5E Planar, and Tele-Rolleiflex. I wanted to shoot medium format and I wanted to keep it semi-simple. (But even having those three was a bit much. In retrospect I could have left the tele- at home but the attraction of the trifeca was too much). I thought of bringing my Hasselblad 500CM but then I'd struggle with which lenses: 40/60/80/150/250? Plus not as easily use hand-held. Unless I have a specific need requiring certain gear and a lot of it, like a special assignment or something, I've learned to keep it simple by bringing one, MAYBE two cameras, or one camera body and tops two lenses. Good ones, favorites. That way I can enjoy myself, enjoy the trip, and take good photos knowing I brought good camera(s) with me, but not so many to make it too confusing or stressful.

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

Hey.. there an idea. Just take my Canon QL17 GIII. Just kidding. Canon is nice camera, but I want to get the best pictures possible.

Todd

I've taken some really great, really sharp photos with that camera. A perfectly reasonable choice for a trip.

 

[Alan Gales]

Quit staying in hotels then VRBO is great that way - all the comfort and security of having your own home when on the road, plus larger, more comfortable and probably cheaper than most hotels. My dad and I had a 2 bedroom apartment on the Ile St. Louis in Paris with free wi-fi, furnished with vintage and antique furniture and rugs, walking distance from Metro, a dozen restaurants, the Maison Europienne de la Photographie, and Notre Dame cathedral for roughly $300/night for the whole apartment. Not chump change, but where are you going to find someplace in the center of Paris for less than that that doesn't have rats, roaches and fleas helping to subsidize the room rate?

Not all but a lot of my motel stays were with softball teams. My daughter used to pitch select fast pitch softball, I even helped manage a team for 3 years. I was also the team photographer. We used to travel for tournaments. As long as the rooms were clean and cheap it kept everyone happy.

It sounds like a great time in Paris!

 

[ToddB]

I may just leave my 50mm Summicron at home, and just 35mm Summiron on camera body. I haven't completely decided on that yet.

Todd

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Not all but a lot of my motel stays were with softball teams. My daughter used to pitch select fast pitch softball, I even helped manage a team for 3 years. I was also the team photographer. We used to travel for tournaments. As long as the rooms were clean and cheap it kept everyone happy.

It sounds like a great time in Paris!

Well, those trips it sounds like you didn't have much choice - you had to find a place everyone on the team could afford and that everyone could stay at together. My comment was directed at folks traveling solo or in a small group (family, couple, small group of friends).

 

[BrianShaw]

Am I the only person who doesn't have a clue as to what VRBO is?

 

[ToddB]

Just can't leave the Rollei at home with once in a life time trip. Leica, I plan on using for Street and local flavor photos. Sort of a day in the life of the people and their environment. The Rollei is for the landscape and high detail pics. Below is an example of what I'm expecting to have happen when we go to Santorini. There is this Alabaster Stucco church in Northern NM. It's striking against blue sky.

 

[frank]

This set sounds good. If it will be what you need for the photos you anticipate. As I've mentioned earlier, I'm a fan of keeping it simple just because it forces you to use what little you have and enables a bit more enjoyment of the trip since you're not always stressing about which camera or which lens to use. I once brought my Contax G2 with 21/28/35/45/90 lenses, in a nice neat compact bag. Never again. i was constantly second thinking every photo op and driving myself crazy as to which lens to use, changing lenses all the time, frankly I missed a lot of the trip because I was looking into my bag too much! One trip I brought ONLY my Nikon FM2 and ONE lens, a 105mm. Yes, it was limiting but you know what? I took great shots! That lens is an all-time favorite of mine and I LOVED shooting with it. And the results showed that. And because it was all I had I kept it simple and enjoyed my trip more too. Got to know that camera and lens really well too. That set remains a favorite. On a trip 2 years ago through Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Mt Rushmore (along with my 70 yr old dad and 11 yr old son) I brought one bag with three cameras: Rolleiwide, Rolleiflex 3.5E Planar, and Tele-Rolleiflex. I wanted to shoot medium format and I wanted to keep it semi-simple. (But even having those three was a bit much. In retrospect I could have left the tele- at home but the attraction of the trifeca was too much). I thought of bringing my Hasselblad 500CM but then I'd struggle with which lenses: 40/60/80/150/250? Plus not as easily use hand-held. Unless I have a specific need requiring certain gear and a lot of it, like a special assignment or something, I've learned to keep it simple by bringing one, MAYBE two cameras, or one camera body and tops two lenses. Good ones, favorites. That way I can enjoy myself, enjoy the trip, and take good photos knowing I brought good camera(s) with me, but not so many to make it too confusing or stressful.

I honestly feel sorry for you. Lots of cool gear and you can only take one at a time. But at least you know what works for you. Just understand that not everyone suffers from this paralysis of choice.

 

[mooseontheloose]

I've decided to take Leica and Rollei T. I'm hesitant to leave anything in the Hotel room of anything of value. I'll shoot what inspires me, and one of those camera's will be around my neck and shoot accordingly. Thanks for everyone's input. It was a big help.

Todd

Good choice. And honestly, those two are pretty light cameras, so even carrying both around shouldn't be an issue. I used to travel with a Bronica SQAi system and a Nikon 35mm system and that was heavy (of course, I didn't take everything with me when I was out and about). That being said, I would rather regret bringing too much than bringing too little, especially if I only had one camera and something happened to it (which has happened to me more than once while travelling, and since every trip is photography-based, not having a backup would be catastrophic). I have always kept extra gear in the hotel (locked in my suitcase) or even hostels, and I've never had a problem.

 

[Alan Gales]

Well, those trips it sounds like you didn't have much choice - you had to find a place everyone on the team could afford and that everyone could stay at together. My comment was directed at folks traveling solo or in a small group (family, couple, small group of friends).

Yeah, what you are recommending could be great for the right person.

 

[Alan Gales]

Am I the only person who doesn't have a clue as to what VRBO is?

Sheeesh, Brian. I thought you knew everything!

http://www.vrbo.com/

 

[gone]

A folder is good. Put that 6x9 into your back pocket and get those big 6x9 negs. Best travel pics that I ever took were w/ a tiny Konica C35 rangefinder. Excellent lens, AE, and so small there was no excuse not to carry it everywhere.

 

[Chrismat]

When I went overseas to Scotland a couple of times, I would alternate between formats each day. One day I would bring 35mm, the next day medium format (Pentax 6X7). The equipment I wasn't using was locked away.

 

[dpurdy]

when I've gone to Mexico I took my 2.8F with black and white film and a rollei 35S with color film. The 35S fits in my pocket. The 2.8F camera bag is my carry on.
Dennis

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I honestly feel sorry for you. Lots of cool gear and you can only take one at a time. But at least you know what works for you. Just understand that not everyone suffers from this paralysis of choice.

Frank- save the pity. Quite honestly, shedding gear is liberating. You should try it some time. I don't own camera gear for the sake of owning camera gear, I own camera gear to make images. My cameras work for me, not the other way round. It doesn't matter how "cool" a piece of kit is, if you're hauling it around for the sake of a what-if. A Nikon 6mm fisheye is wicked cool, but it is super heavy, very limited in usefulness, and takes up space in your pack that could be better devoted to something more useful, like thirty rolls of film. And even if it isn't a decisional paralysis, say you have said fisheye lens in your bag, and you come across a scene that is perfect for that. You have to stop, put the camera (that you were wearing around your neck with the 35mm lens on it) down. Remove the 35mm lens, put it in your bag. Uncase the 6mm, mount it to the camera, then mount the lens to the tripod. Then you compose the one picture, take the shot, and reverse the process. Meanwhile, the security guard is standing impatiently beside you tapping his foot and pointing to his watch because the building is now closed. You harrumph silently to yourself because you didn't get to see the Caravaggio altarpiece - the five times earlier you stopped to configure gear to take a photo added enough slippage to your schedule that you got to the church too late. Now all you have is a fisheye shot of the general church interior, instead of a memory of a masterwork of Renaissance art.

When I'm traveling, I don't want to be wandering the streets of Paris or climbing the steps at Machu Picchu or on the brink of Iguazu Falls, too exhausted from hauling gear around for the "just in case" to be able to enjoy what I'm looking at. I used to schlep tons of gear with me - I took a Hasselblad kit with me to Spain (500c/m, 50, 80, 120 lenses, Superwide C/M, three backs, and a meter stuffed into a great big backpack), a multi-format outfit to Argentina (Contax G1 with 28 and 45 lenses, Canham 5x7 Woodfield with 90, 110, 150, 210, and 300 mm lenses, 15 5x7 film holders, meter, darkcloth, tripod, and a ton of film), and a Contax G1/G2 package to Barcelona (G1 body, G2 body, 21mm, 28mm, 35mm, 45mm and 90mm lenses).

While I greatly enjoyed the experience with each kit, I can honestly say that the Hasselblad and the multi-format kits were exhausting to haul around. The G1/G2 kit in Barcelona was fine, but I can also say that while I got some shots because I had a piece of gear, there were just as many I missed because I grabbed the wrong body or fumbled around changing lenses. On my last trip to Paris, I took only a Rolleiflex 2.8, a lightweight travel tripod, and a light meter. With all that superfluous gear out of the way, I concentrated on making images, and I made more and better ones on that trip.

 

[frank]

Frank- save the pity. Quite honestly, shedding gear is liberating. You should try it some time. I don't own camera gear for the sake of owning camera gear, I own camera gear to make images. My cameras work for me, not the other way round. It doesn't matter how "cool" a piece of kit is, if you're hauling it around for the sake of a what-if. A Nikon 6mm fisheye is wicked cool, but it is super heavy, very limited in usefulness, and takes up space in your pack that could be better devoted to something more useful, like thirty rolls of film. And even if it isn't a decisional paralysis, say you have said fisheye lens in your bag, and you come across a scene that is perfect for that. You have to stop, put the camera (that you were wearing around your neck with the 35mm lens on it) down. Remove the 35mm lens, put it in your bag. Uncase the 6mm, mount it to the camera, then mount the lens to the tripod. Then you compose the one picture, take the shot, and reverse the process. Meanwhile, the security guard is standing impatiently beside you tapping his foot and pointing to his watch because the building is now closed. You harrumph silently to yourself because you didn't get to see the Caravaggio altarpiece - the five times earlier you stopped to configure gear to take a photo added enough slippage to your schedule that you got to the church too late. Now all you have is a fisheye shot of the general church interior, instead of a memory of a masterwork of Renaissance art.

When I'm traveling, I don't want to be wandering the streets of Paris or climbing the steps at Machu Picchu or on the brink of Iguazu Falls, too exhausted from hauling gear around for the "just in case" to be able to enjoy what I'm looking at. I used to schlep tons of gear with me - I took a Hasselblad kit with me to Spain (500c/m, 50, 80, 120 lenses, Superwide C/M, three backs, and a meter stuffed into a great big backpack), a multi-format outfit to Argentina (Contax G1 with 28 and 45 lenses, Canham 5x7 Woodfield with 90, 110, 150, 210, and 300 mm lenses, 15 5x7 film holders, meter, darkcloth, tripod, and a ton of film), and a Contax G1/G2 package to Barcelona (G1 body, G2 body, 21mm, 28mm, 35mm, 45mm and 90mm lenses).

While I greatly enjoyed the experience with each kit, I can honestly say that the Hasselblad and the multi-format kits were exhausting to haul around. The G1/G2 kit in Barcelona was fine, but I can also say that while I got some shots because I had a piece of gear, there were just as many I missed because I grabbed the wrong body or fumbled around changing lenses. On my last trip to Paris, I took only a Rolleiflex 2.8, a lightweight travel tripod, and a light meter. With all that superfluous gear out of the way, I concentrated on making images, and I made more and better ones on that trip.

I strive everyday to become as enlightened and pious as you.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Frank- save the pity. Quite honestly, shedding gear is liberating. You should try it some time. I don't own camera gear for the sake of owning camera gear, I own camera gear to make images. My cameras work for me, not the other way round. It doesn't matter how "cool" a piece of kit is, if you're hauling it around for the sake of a what-if. A Nikon 6mm fisheye is wicked cool, but it is super heavy, very limited in usefulness, and takes up space in your pack that could be better devoted to something more useful, like thirty rolls of film. And even if it isn't a decisional paralysis, say you have said fisheye lens in your bag, and you come across a scene that is perfect for that. You have to stop, put the camera (that you were wearing around your neck with the 35mm lens on it) down. Remove the 35mm lens, put it in your bag. Uncase the 6mm, mount it to the camera, then mount the lens to the tripod. Then you compose the one picture, take the shot, and reverse the process. Meanwhile, the security guard is standing impatiently beside you tapping his foot and pointing to his watch because the building is now closed. You harrumph silently to yourself because you didn't get to see the Caravaggio altarpiece - the five times earlier you stopped to configure gear to take a photo added enough slippage to your schedule that you got to the church too late. Now all you have is a fisheye shot of the general church interior, instead of a memory of a masterwork of Renaissance art.

When I'm traveling, I don't want to be wandering the streets of Paris or climbing the steps at Machu Picchu or on the brink of Iguazu Falls, too exhausted from hauling gear around for the "just in case" to be able to enjoy what I'm looking at. I used to schlep tons of gear with me - I took a Hasselblad kit with me to Spain (500c/m, 50, 80, 120 lenses, Superwide C/M, three backs, and a meter stuffed into a great big backpack), a multi-format outfit to Argentina (Contax G1 with 28 and 45 lenses, Canham 5x7 Woodfield with 90, 110, 150, 210, and 300 mm lenses, 15 5x7 film holders, meter, darkcloth, tripod, and a ton of film), and a Contax G1/G2 package to Barcelona (G1 body, G2 body, 21mm, 28mm, 35mm, 45mm and 90mm lenses).

While I greatly enjoyed the experience with each kit, I can honestly say that the Hasselblad and the multi-format kits were exhausting to haul around. The G1/G2 kit in Barcelona was fine, but I can also say that while I got some shots because I had a piece of gear, there were just as many I missed because I grabbed the wrong body or fumbled around changing lenses. On my last trip to Paris, I took only a Rolleiflex 2.8, a lightweight travel tripod, and a light meter. With all that superfluous gear out of the way, I concentrated on making images, and I made more and better ones on that trip.

I could have taken more Hasselblad lenses than the 50mm and 80mm lenses to France. I left the 150mm, 250mm and 2X extender as well as the SWC. I could have used the 250mm some but I am glad I left them home. The 35mm and 4"X5" cameras stayed home too.

 

[MattKing]

If it were me, it would be an OM-2s, an OM-G and 24mm, 35mm and 85mm Zuiko lenses.

But that is because, besides being small, they are cameras and lenses that I am comfortable with, and I know are fully functioning.

I'd take extra batteries too.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I strive everyday to become as enlightened and pious as you.

You can call me pious if you want, I'd just call myself wiser by experience. Maybe I'm too verbose for my own good, but the point of the story was that I tried hauling around tons of stuff to be ready for every eventuality. I ended up seeing fewer things, taking fewer pictures, and not enjoying myself as much. I'd rather be having fun with the one camera I do have than playing pack mule to a bunch of gear.