Prime lens travel - what's your setup?

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Hi all,

While I'm currently not going very far from my house, I'm dreaming about the next trips (that will hopefully be possible at some point...)

After I switched from Canon to Fuji 6 years ago, I've mostly only taken prime lenses on trips. I've tried a lot and the setup that seems to work best for me is:

- ultra wide lens: Samyang 12mm f2 (18mm equiv.)
- "normal" lens: Fuji xf 23mm f1.4 (35mm equiv).

1 body (x-t1 in my case)

That's it.

In the past I've also taken a 56mm f1.2 and for other trips a 55-200 zoom, but somehow, when I look back and sample pictures to show to family, it's mostly the wide and normal shots that get selected. So I stopped bringing the tele all together. Also, more than 2 lenses and 1 body result in lots of juggling... So I don't end up swapping lenses around a lot anyway.

So what's your approach? Lot's of lenses in a backpack or minimalist approach?


Edit: Whoops, I meant prime lenses (fixed focal length, not necessarily fixed on the camera, e.g. not just fuji x100 etc.). Sorry, small language hiccup there.
 
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I have a fear of dust bunnies and not being able to clean sensors so I'm not too keen on expensive fixed lens cameras just in case they get contamination on the sensor. I know it's probably less likely to happen than with an interchangeable lens camera but I can clean these easily.

I have a Sony A7 and a 35mm f2.8 which makes for a very compact little set up and I've taken that on holidays. I also have a Panasonic TZ100 which is a 1" compact with a 25-250mm lens and to be honest it's fine for a lot of uses. I take that too for the longer and wider pictures and for when I think even a relatively small A7 is too much.
 
Oh I actually meant prime lenses (fixed as in fixed focal length), not necessarily fixed as in fixed on the camera.

The 35mm on the A7 is a great combo, tried it when traveling with a mate who has them. For me it's really the sweet spot.
 
Best trip I did was when I took a Sony Nex 5 and the three tiny sigma primes (19, 30, 60).

My next trip will just consist of a Sony RX100 with its 24-200 lens as I rarely need shallow dof for travel photos.
 
35mm on full frame, that's all I've used for the past 4-5 years when travelling and not really felt like I was missing anything :D
 
Hi, for city travel I take my SONY A7R2, the ZEISS Loxia 2,8/21 and the Voigtländer Heliar 4,5/15. I do not like changing lenses. So, I decide which lens to mount before I start walking.

Walking in the mountains: Leica M9 - ZEISS Distagon 1,4/35 or other 35mm. Also 50mm, depending on what I feel like ... ---.
 
I'm moving away from zooms

I recently put a Nikon 50mm 1.8 AF ( not a AF-D) on my D90 ...sharp as a sharp thing and no faffing about
and a 28m AI
and a 100m 2.8 Series E

I'll leave the bulky AF-S zoom Nikons at home this summer - good to find out how I do.............
 
If I was just going to be using primes my MFT outfit would made up of my lumix 15mm 1.7 25mm 1.4 and marco 45mm 2.8 along with my G80 of course :) I can fit all that in to a small shoulder bag or half camera backpack with room to spare
 
I have been on many trips with just the X100 T/F for company, so 35mm.

When I did San Francisco I took a 20mm, 50mm and 85mm on FF Nikon plus the X100
 
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or with a 35/1.4 mostly. I also took this to Japan once

5PKvkLT.jpg
 
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If I was just going to be using primes my MFT outfit would made up of my lumix 15mm 1.7 25mm 1.4 and marco 45mm 2.8 along with my G80 of course :) I can fit all that in to a small shoulder bag or half camera backpack with room to spare

Not dissimilar to my GX9 with 15/1.7, 25/1.4 and newly acquired 60/2.8 Macro
 
For me its a Sony A7R2 with a Loxia 21mm 2.8 mounted on the camera and a Sony 55mm 1.8 in the backpack if i need a longer focal length.
The Loxia stays on the camera 90% of the time during the trip.
 
I always take my Fuji 23mm f1.4, and either the 14mm (more for cities), or the 56mm f1.2. None are heavy enough to worry about.
 
or with a 35/1.4 mostly. I also took this to Japan once

5PKvkLT.jpg

hi - I'm looking for a small tripod to carry on local walks. My large Slik is just unwieldy

who makes your one.......?
thanks
 
hi - I'm looking for a small tripod to carry on local walks. My large Slik is just unwieldy

who makes your one.......?
thanks

The company who made them was based in the Netherlands but they have ceased trading since. It’s call Redreg, carbon fibre legs, magnesium joints, arca Swiss plate. Folds down to 30cm meaning it is the length of an A4 piece of paper so it fits inside pretty much all messenger bags making it totally discrete in travelling.
 
Two bodies, 28mm/35mm on one, 50mm on the other. Depending on the destination I'll throw in a short tele (85-105mm). Fits in a 10L messenger bag with a bunch of other daily essentials.
 
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If I'm not lugging my bag around I'll chuck my 50mm f1.4 on the D750 and have my 24mm f2.8 in my jacket pocket. Covers me for pretty much most things I'd want to shoot whilst out and about. Considering a 35mm f2, to balance the weight of my jacket out lol
 
The last trip I did (6 weeks in the Alps and Pyrenees, living out of a van) I took a XT2 body with a 14mm 2.8, a 35mm f2 and a Canon EF100L 2.8 Macro IS on a Fringer smart adapter, giving me a 150mm macro and telephoto. I love all of these lenses and for landscapes I'm a big fan of telephotos. I'm very torn between the simplicity of primes and the versatility of zooms so I'm not sure what is going on the next trip.
 
If you're shooting Fuji, I would honestly say, that for travelling, their premium zooms are hard to beat. The 10-24, 16-55 and 50-140 are all top notch and cover just about everything except long range wildlife... Add in a set of tubes and you have macro as well.
 
My "minimum" travel kit for "general photography" plus a small travel tripod.

3 M9s-1040113 adj upload.jpg

I've since added a 28 and 50 to the set (note to self must re-photograph the setup). Normally carried in a Lowepro Photo Sport 200 AW. The 3 bodies normally have 35mm, 75mm and either the 21mm (as shown) or 28mm I prefer to have 3 bodies it minimises the need to swap lenses and I find it quicker to react when shooting "general" stuff.

If I am travelling specifically for photography (landscape) I will take my Fuji GFX 50S kit in a large F-Stop bag with a solid Gitzo Tripod or for film my Bronica SQ-Ai kit in the F-Stop and pack 2 Leica film bodies. When on these type of trips I wouldn't take the 3 M9s just the one but for previewing compositions I would use a Leica D-Lux Typ 109 for convenience.
 
THREE Leicas?? Are they that unreliable? ;)

Tbh the 24-120mm zoom is perfect for 'travel' type use; if there was a Z mount version I'd buy one in a flash. The Z6 plus 24-70mm lens is so weeny yet very capable, so is an excellent 'travel cam'. But for a set of primes, back in my film days, it was a 24, 50 and 135mm. I do carry a 135mm f2.8 E- series lens as well as the zoom though, for general purpose use.

I'd really love something as small as a Leica, with similarly tiny lenses, but the cost. I just can't justify spending so much.
 
does anyone carry a monopod for a 'walking day'' out, rather than a tripod..?
 
does anyone carry a monopod for a 'walking day'' out, rather than a tripod..?

Hi, I used to carry a monopod, but I don' t anymore. - People go to the other side of the street, and mothers pick up their children ... ---

The SONY A7R2 has IS, and with the Leica, I try to use supporting elements, such as walls.
 
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Keep it simple, the XF10-24. One lens does all approach.


mac

Took just that one lens for a week in Berlin, only missed something longer twice and even then it wasn't insurmountable
 
I used a mixture of zoom and primes, on my last trip I took:
Laowa 15mm f2
Sony 24mm f1.4
Sony 85mm f1.4
Sony 24-105mm f4

I didn't really use the 85GM much at all. Most used was 24-105mm followed by laowa for UWA and 24GM during night time.

For future trips I am thinking of changing it is to:
Sony 16-35mm f2.8
Sony 24-105mm f4
Tamron 70-180mm f2.8

My only concern is that I'll miss the F1.4 of my 24mm.
I use primes when not traveling, for family and shoots but don't really feel the need for them while traveling.

I take a feisol CT-3442 tripod with markins Q3i with quick release ballhead. This hasn't changed in years and probably won't till it breaks.
 
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If you're shooting Fuji, I would honestly say, that for travelling, their premium zooms are hard to beat. The 10-24, 16-55 and 50-140 are all top notch and cover just about everything except long range wildlife... Add in a set of tubes and you have macro as well.

Hm, depends on how you define hard to beat. I have the 50-140 and don’t really take it much in unplanned trips... i had the 55-200 before and it was much nicer for travelling. I guess it boils down to how much you value “covering just about anything“ over total weight, size, etc.

A second fast wide angle is something I’m currently looking at though (16 f1.4 in addition to my 12er).
 
I'd really love something as small as a Leica, with similarly tiny lenses, but the cost. I just can't justify spending so much.

Voigtlander lenses are fairly affordable in comparison to Leica ones. You can easily adapt them too.
 
Voigtlander lenses are fairly affordable in comparison to Leica ones. You can easily adapt them too.

It's not so much the lenses, although they are bloody expensive; it's the bodies. Five grand?? I mean I know they're nice, but five grand?
 
It's not so much the lenses, although they are bloody expensive; it's the bodies. Five grand?? I mean I know they're nice, but five grand?
Why would you want the bodies :p
They are rather bad, more jewellery than camera :exit:
 
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I don’t understand Leica, I mean I understand it from the point of heritage but I can’t shoot with heritage or the logo, I shoot with the camera and their cameras seems very basic.
 
Why would you want the bodies :p
They are rather bad, more jewellery that camera :exit:

Small, light, well made. Top quality lenses.


I don’t understand Leica, I mean I understand it from the point of heritage but I can’t shoot with heritage or the logo, I shoot with the camera and their cameras seems very basic.

For my needs, the Z6 is a far better choice. It has AF and IBIS for a start. But I would like a 'pocketable' cam that can still do the job*; Leicas are capable of producing top quality results, in a way that comparably small alternatives (MFT, APS-C) can't. I can't see myself owning a digital Leica though; I do want a film one mind. But even back in my film days, I preferred my Nikon SLRs to any rangefinders.

*Very interested in the proposed 28 and 40mm 'compact' Z mount lenses; a Z cam with one of those would be proper small. It's ironic that with electronic technology enabling the miniaturisation of so many things, that digital cameras are actually often bigger than their old film counterparts!
 
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