Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2008/10/10
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]If I know more or less exactly what I'm intending to shoot, e.g. steam trains, landscapes or street scenes. I'll take a fair bag full of stuff to cover all eventualities - carrying the whole lot in a backpack from the car to the plane, the plane to the train and the station to the apartment or cottage. In all about a mile at the most in both directions. Total weight between 6 and 8 kilos, including films and memory cards Best for long walks: a Voigtl?nder Bessa-L with a 15mm (sometimes a 12 mm too) and its finder - less than a pound all told and slips easily into a jacket pocket. If there's too much in a frame, crop it when you get home, the CV 15 mm is good enough and the 12 mm lets you shoot wonderful panoramas. Shooting trains: The longest walk is from the station to the next pub, so a 60mm Macro (also useful as a normal lens), a 12-24 zoom, a lightweight 4/135mm Voigtl?nder and a fast 35 or 50mm for "shed-shots" along with my Canon 20D. The lenses are carried in thick, weatherproof canvas, press-stud fastening ammunition pouches attached to my belt - they cost about 1 euro apiece, army surplus. 4 pouches - 3 for lenses and 1 for a waterproof jacket and a plastic supermarket bag for popping over the camera if it pours. I just don't like "gadget-bags" - you forget them, have them stolen or they slip off your shoulder into the mud. I even had one fall between the rails under a train. Shoulder bags always tend to slip off your shoulder when you're having a pee too. Walking around town: My trusty 20D with the 12-24, I can't be bothered changing lenses while walking around town, possibly carrying a bag of shopping too. Weighs just over 1.5 kilos The only time I take really long glass (300 or 400 mm) is when I know the Red Arrows or historical aircraft are going to be giving a show. A hiking or cycling holiday, or from hotel to hotel, without a "base camp" or carrying your "home" on your back, is a different matter, but I don't do much more than 10 mile hikes these days. (unless the good pubs and food are 12 miles apart :-) ) Cheers Douglas