[Leica] Traveling with a camera

[pklein at threshinc.com (Peter Klein)]

I just did something like this on my recent vacation. I have a rather
painful "frozen shoulder" at the moment.  I didn't want to deal with
changing lenses (Leica) and I didn't want to take a couple of big zoom
lenses (Olympus E-510).

So I took the little Panasonic G1 with:

- Kit zoom (14-45, f/3.5-4).  28-90mm equivalent, sharp and slow.
- Panasonic 20/1.7 (40mm equivalent, sharp and fast)
- Voigtlander 90/3.5 (180mm equivalent, tiny, sharp, long and fast enough)

I was very happy with this kit. I did some telephoto work I could not have
with the Leica. I had a very light small kit that covered all the focal
lengths I needed.

Yes, I sometimes missed the Leica image quality and the ability to see the
moment of the shot (the G1 has a longer blackout than a normal DSLR). If
my primary purpose was wildlife photography or decisive-moment people
shooting in dark places, I would have chosen different cameras. But as a
general purpose setup, it was quite satisfactory.

The G1 is not *that* much bigger than the GF-1, and has, as they go, a
very good electronic viewfinder.  I wish it had in-body stabilization, but
you can't have everything, and I was able to keep my shutter speed up
enough to get sharp pictures hand-held with the 90-cum-180.

--Peter

---------
Frank wrote:

> If I am travelling and need longer lenses than I can put on my M9 I use a
> Panasonic GH-1. It has a goodish viewfinder, is small and light can take
> many other make lenses with adapters, I have a battered old Canon 300mm
f2.8
> FD lens on an adapter which is not small but much smaller than the 600mm
> would be. A 90mm Summicron becomes a fabulous 180mm and so forth. The
> included 14-140 zoom is one of the best standard zooms I have used too.
> The downside is that the micro 4/3 cameras are still a bit pricy. The
> Olympus E-P2 with accessory finder is an interesting choice too since it
has
> in body stabilisation which can be set for any focal length. I find the
GH-1
> easier to hold though.

cheers,
Frank