Leica France and Italy ...

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We will be traveling by car in the southern part of France and in the northern portion of Italy.
Nice-Genoa-Venice-Cinque Terre-Genoa-Avignon-Nice.

I finally made up my mind an hour ago on what camera gear to take with me on the trip.
Leica M9 with Summilux 35/1.4
Olympus E-PL1 with Zeiss Planar 45/2 M => 90mm view on the E-PL1
Additional lenses: CV 25/4 and Zeiss 85/1.4.

The 85/1.4 may appear as an overkill, but it is a great lens for portraits from a distance. It will be a 170mm/1.4 lens.

I am set.

Raid
 
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I carried the camera bag around at home, and I found it to be too heavy. I replaced the wonderful but heavy Zeiss 85/1.4 with the very sharp and tiny Canon 100/3.5 ltm.
 
I have the 45/2 Planar. It gives a modern look to images. I first tried the vintage Zeiss Sonnar, but I decided to take along the Planar this trip.
 
I went back to my camera closet, and I picked out the very clean ZK Sonnar. The colors and the crispness are very good, but the Zeiss Planar 45/2 for the Contax G cameras is in a different league.
 
Good choices. When travelling, weight is an issue. You really only need one f/1.4 lens. The rest can be slower. On my last overseas trip, I took my M8 and 35/1.4 Summilux ASPH. I also took my 50/2 tabbed Summicron, plus the very small 28/3.5 Voigtlander, and 90/3.5 Voigtlander. It worked out very well.
--Peter
 
Sounds fun.

I'm planning my load for Korea and will limit myself to two cameras and three VERY small lenses.

X 113 or X Vario (I'm back and forth on this) for casual use and to pass around to non-photographers to use. M-E with 5cm f/1.5 Sonnar for portraits, 35 Summarit for general use and possibly 50 Cron for street photography.

Sadly the M Monochrom will probably be staying home as my wife wants the vast majority of photos to be in color.

Other options are both X cams and stay really simple, or both Ms and only have myself in cell phone shots and outdoor hyperlocal with the 35mm.
 
Peter Klein said:
Good choices. When travelling, weight is an issue. You really only need one f/1.4 lens. The rest can be slower. On my last overseas trip, I took my M8 and 35/1.4 Summilux ASPH. I also took my 50/2 tabbed Summicron, plus the very small 28/3.5 Voigtlander, and 90/3.5 Voigtlander. It worked out very well.
--Peter
Click to expand...
It is best to limit what you take with you on a family vacation. In the end, you have to carry the extra weight.
 
asiafish said:
Sounds fun.

I'm planning my load for Korea and will limit myself to two cameras and three VERY small lenses.

X 113 or X Vario (I'm back and forth on this) for casual use and to pass around to non-photographers to use. M-E with 5cm f/1.5 Sonnar for portraits, 35 Summarit for general use and possibly 50 Cron for street photography.

Sadly the M Monochrom will probably be staying home as my wife wants the vast majority of photos to be in color.

Other options are both X cams and stay really simple, or both Ms and only have myself in cell phone shots and outdoor hyperlocal with the 35mm.
Click to expand...

In the end, what really matters is having a great time with the family/spouse.
 
i traveled through the southwest with literally a camera backpack with three different cams including a 5d and large medium format cams and lenses. i was miserable, but got very nice shots..fast forward to traveling through france with just my x100 and xpan/1lens in a small bowery ona bag. i was happy as a clam and my photos were just as good. better in low light. who says you have to sacrifice for art?
 
Okay, M-E with 5cm f/1.5 Sonnar only and one of the X cams, probably the X113 which is 35mm (equiv) only. I have two focal lengths, both good in low light (X is better), have my beautiful Sonnar look for portraits and both are useful on the street. No lens changes, no fuss.
 
Is the purpose to have a great holiday or to practice photography?

My advice (neither requested nor welcome); travel light and enjoy the wine.

By the way I've been all over that area from Cannes to San Remo - happy to oblige with tourist info especially in Antibes, Nice, Monaco and San Remo if you'd like.

Cheers
 
Thanks! We take things easy as we travel as a family. No specific places are ever targeted. We drive around and observe what is around us.
 
Genoa, Italy:

Yesterday, and as I was using my M9, suddenly, the shutter went off sevral times, even though it was set to single exposure. Then, a warning showed on the screen "shutter problem". Then, the battery was empty.

I was worried that my Leica repaired M9 (it failed last summer in Germany) has again failed. I replaced the non-Leica battery with a Leica battery, and the M9 was fine again.

I was using a non-original battery because the Leica one was being recharged.

We stayed only 1.5 days in Nice, and tomorrow it is off to Padova and Venice.

The E-PL1 functions beautifully, and so does the Iphone 6 camera. I use the latter only for panorama images.

In a few days, we will meet up with Robert Blu and his wife in Cinque Terre.


Ciao.
 
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View from our hotel room (Genoa)

IMG_0446%20%281%29-X2.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
I'm sure the M9 problem is just the battery- hopefully it is charged and ready now?

I have 5 original Leica batteries, the original for the M8 does well if you charge before use. I keep it as a spare. I have not tried a 3rd party, would be very careful to always make sure it was freshly charged.

Room with a view- any shots of the girls yet?
 

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