Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/08/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Peter, > I need your sound advice for an upcoming 14 day Europe > Trip that I'm taking with (cringe!) a tour group. > > To provide you with a little context, I will be > traveling to London, Paris, Lucerne, Innsbruck, Rome, > Florence / Tuscany, and Venice. I get tired just from thinking about it! This is one of the classic mistakes my American friends and family members commit when coming to Europe. Five countries in two weeks means that you will spend a lot of time touring airports or motorways. But OK, you have the trip coming up and you have to make the best of it, photographically. I will give you my suggestions with that in mind. The most important thing to realize is that since you are part of a group, you will have to adjust to them and not vice versa (unless of course this is a photography group). So,... > I currently have the following for my core leica > equipment: 2 M6's, 35/2, 50/1.4, 90/2.8. I also > purchased a Sony S70 digital camera for other shots.. This is more than adequate equipment for your trip. > What are your recommendations for the following: > > 1) Color Print Film (B+W is a given) > > I'm not sure whether I should get more Fuji NPH 400 or > Reala 100. I've heard that many of the museums do not > allow you to take flash photos, so it would make sense > for me to get a faster film, but I give up some on > grain. Many museums and churches will indeed frown on both flash and tripods, and with C41 film the grain you give up by using 400 is negligible. > 2) Tripod > > I currently have a Bogen 3221 with 3030 head, that I > use primarily for my 4x5. I'm definitely not into > lugging that around, and am considering the following > setup: > > 1) Bogen 3001 with 3030 head, or: > 2) Monopod, or: > 3) Small budget Slik U8000, or: > 4) Smaller budget Slik Compact, and/or: > 5) Mini Tripods Take a mini tripod, but a good one, and forget anything that does not fit in your camera bag. In most places where you will need this tripod (e.g. church interiors, bars...) you can easily find a place to put a mini tripod on. > In addition to weight as a factor, I've also heard > that most museums won't let you take a tripod in the > building. Correct. > 3) Wide Angle Lens > > I'm contemplating the purchase of a 24 or 21mm M Lens, > in order to capture everything. One of my concerns it > that the usage will not justify the cost (possibly > $1500). If you have not seen the need to purchase such a lens until now, it does not make sense to do it now just because of the trip. You have your 35mm for the (somewhat) expansive shots and the 50/1.4 for the low light situations. These will be the two lenses you will use the most. The 24mm is indeed a fabulous lens, and I use mine a lot. But unless you think that you will need it also after the trip, do not buy one. > 3) Any other things you would suggest??? Take some really fast film too, Delta 3200 for B&W or one of the 800 color neg. films, for photography at night and inside pictoresque restaurants etc. Nathan - -- Nathan Wajsman Herrliberg (ZH), Switzerland e-mail: wajsman@webshuttle.ch General photo site: http://belgiangator.tripod.com/ Belgium photo site: http://members.xoom.com/wajsman/ Motorcycle site: http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/1704/