Lawrence A.
Hall of Famer
- Location
- New Mexico
- Name
- Larry
There are any number of discussions about what kit to travel with and the decision is as personal as choosing any other equipment. I'm traveling to Laos at the end of the week until December 23rd, and have fussed for weeks about what cameras would be the best to take. There is no perfect solution, at least on a travel budget that forbids further expenditures on equipment.
My current cameras to choose from are: EM-5, X-Pro 1, Leica X-1 and Olympus Stylus 1. My goal is to carry as capable a kit as possible while still traveling light. My first trip to Laos I brought a huge photo back pack with just about everything I owned. It proved to be a very capable pain in the butt, and I've become even less tolerant of travel over-kill in the 4 years since. In an ideal world, I'd love to take my Hasselblad and lenses and packs of 120 black and white film, but I know I'd be tired of it by the time I got through security in Älbuquerque and L.A., long before I arrived at my destination. Last year I left home with the E-M5 and the 14-42EZ along with the Olympus 45mm, and that's it. I got some good shots, and have no IQ complaints about the pancake, but it is slower than I want to use this time, as I know I'll be shooting a Hmong New Year carnival at night.
So... wanting, small, capable,fast (in both senses of the word), and light, I settled upon the following: The Stylus 1 for telephoto reach and real wide angle. I'll be watching some New Year bull fights (not as lethal as the Spanish variety, not even when you can interest the bulls in engaging each other, which can be a trick), so I wanted the reach. The Stylus 1 will also do duty for anything wider than a 35mm equivalent. It will sit on my hip in a small belt case, so easy to carry. It focuses quickly and does a good job within the range of the expected compromises.
I imagine 90% of my shooting will be done with the E-M5 and either the Olympus 25mm or the 45mm, and the Leica X-1. A classic 35, 50, and 90 kit of primes, with, granted, a slow focusing 35mm in the Leica. Some would prefer 28mm, but I love shooting the X1; it just feels right. Together those items fit in a very small shoulder bag. I decided three primes would be great to have, and that the Leica X1 is so small and light, it would be perfect for the slighly wide shots. It slips into about 1 1/2 inches of the case, with it's accessory viewfinder on. I chose it in part because I've found I don't enjoy changing lenses when I'm traveling. As it is, the only lens change I'm likely to make is to throw on the 45m for some portraits I know I want to take. Otherwise, it's a matter of grabbing the body that fits the shot. I've done some practice runs locally with the kit, and have found I like how it works. It's not fiddly; it's not fussy. Choose focal length and camera at the same time; the rest is taking the shot.
I've thought for some time that I'd enjoy shooting with a bunch of small, fixed lense cameras where I'd choose the body and focal length at the same time and be done with changing lenses except for the very long and very wide end. It may be the solution I'll be looking for in the coming year. Meantime, this gets as close as I can to it with what I have at hand.
Small as the entire kit is, it is unlikely I'll have all of it with me all the time. I've been pleasantly surprised with the image quality from the Stylus 1, especially shooting raw as I do, and it will likely be my "don't leave the room without it" camera. It or the X-1 have been my camera on my hip, don't leave home without it choices for some time now.
The X-Pro 1, alas, will stay at home. I love shooting with it, and the 35mm lens is simply lovely, but the E-M5 remains the most versatile tool I have; the in body IS is a godsend in dark Buddhist temples, and the auto focus will nail a shot of running, bouncing, bumper car driving children at the Hmong carnival.
Interested, as always in how others like to travel. I've discovered my needs are as physical as they are photographic. I need something it doesn't annoy me to carry, and I suppose that getting old and grouchy, I'm more easily annoyed than I was years ago, when hiking for miles with a monorail 4x5 and 30 loaded film holders was a positive delight.
My current cameras to choose from are: EM-5, X-Pro 1, Leica X-1 and Olympus Stylus 1. My goal is to carry as capable a kit as possible while still traveling light. My first trip to Laos I brought a huge photo back pack with just about everything I owned. It proved to be a very capable pain in the butt, and I've become even less tolerant of travel over-kill in the 4 years since. In an ideal world, I'd love to take my Hasselblad and lenses and packs of 120 black and white film, but I know I'd be tired of it by the time I got through security in Älbuquerque and L.A., long before I arrived at my destination. Last year I left home with the E-M5 and the 14-42EZ along with the Olympus 45mm, and that's it. I got some good shots, and have no IQ complaints about the pancake, but it is slower than I want to use this time, as I know I'll be shooting a Hmong New Year carnival at night.
So... wanting, small, capable,fast (in both senses of the word), and light, I settled upon the following: The Stylus 1 for telephoto reach and real wide angle. I'll be watching some New Year bull fights (not as lethal as the Spanish variety, not even when you can interest the bulls in engaging each other, which can be a trick), so I wanted the reach. The Stylus 1 will also do duty for anything wider than a 35mm equivalent. It will sit on my hip in a small belt case, so easy to carry. It focuses quickly and does a good job within the range of the expected compromises.
I imagine 90% of my shooting will be done with the E-M5 and either the Olympus 25mm or the 45mm, and the Leica X-1. A classic 35, 50, and 90 kit of primes, with, granted, a slow focusing 35mm in the Leica. Some would prefer 28mm, but I love shooting the X1; it just feels right. Together those items fit in a very small shoulder bag. I decided three primes would be great to have, and that the Leica X1 is so small and light, it would be perfect for the slighly wide shots. It slips into about 1 1/2 inches of the case, with it's accessory viewfinder on. I chose it in part because I've found I don't enjoy changing lenses when I'm traveling. As it is, the only lens change I'm likely to make is to throw on the 45m for some portraits I know I want to take. Otherwise, it's a matter of grabbing the body that fits the shot. I've done some practice runs locally with the kit, and have found I like how it works. It's not fiddly; it's not fussy. Choose focal length and camera at the same time; the rest is taking the shot.
I've thought for some time that I'd enjoy shooting with a bunch of small, fixed lense cameras where I'd choose the body and focal length at the same time and be done with changing lenses except for the very long and very wide end. It may be the solution I'll be looking for in the coming year. Meantime, this gets as close as I can to it with what I have at hand.
Small as the entire kit is, it is unlikely I'll have all of it with me all the time. I've been pleasantly surprised with the image quality from the Stylus 1, especially shooting raw as I do, and it will likely be my "don't leave the room without it" camera. It or the X-1 have been my camera on my hip, don't leave home without it choices for some time now.
The X-Pro 1, alas, will stay at home. I love shooting with it, and the 35mm lens is simply lovely, but the E-M5 remains the most versatile tool I have; the in body IS is a godsend in dark Buddhist temples, and the auto focus will nail a shot of running, bouncing, bumper car driving children at the Hmong carnival.
Interested, as always in how others like to travel. I've discovered my needs are as physical as they are photographic. I need something it doesn't annoy me to carry, and I suppose that getting old and grouchy, I'm more easily annoyed than I was years ago, when hiking for miles with a monorail 4x5 and 30 loaded film holders was a positive delight.