In ten days, I'll be leaving for an eleven-day stay in New York, principally in central Manhattan. Here's what I'm thinking:

General Objectives:
• Enjoy the trip and spending time with the missus.
• Walk a lot, play tourist, and get a sense of the city.
• Visit galleries and museums, particularly MoMA, Whitney, and Guggenheim.

Photographic Objectives:
• Tourist: Document the trip, including the infamous arms-length self portraits.
• Photographer: Work toward creating series instead of individual images.
• Planner: Scout for possible return trip that will be dedicated to photography.

Caveats:
• Camera bag must be light enough to carry everywhere and small enough to never leave at coat checks.
• Leave room in the camera bag for other things: water, maps, wallet, blackberry, notebooks (paper) and pen, snacks.
• Avoid being a tool or getting mugged.

Gear:
• Billingham Hadley Pro camera bag.
• Zeiss Ikon:
- 35mm f/2 and 85mm f/4 lenses;
- Ilford XP2 Super black and white film, purchased locally as needed.
• Panasonic GH1:
- 20mm f/1.7 and 7-14mm f/4 lenses;
- M to m4/3 adapter, 64GB of SD cards, two batteries, charger.

And that's it - two cameras, four lenses. I've been considering a little tripod for self portraits, but doubt that I'll want to have the camera out of arm's reach. I'm really trying to only bring what I think I'll use. There's also the safety net of having a hotel that's one block away from B&H - I do plan on buying some odds and ends, possibly a contrast filter for B&W, and a monster tripod. Any thoughts - either on things to bring or buy?

A miniature statue of liberty is a must have.

I'm drunk now - but let me acknowledge and comment later. Vacation rigs are huge interest. More comments soon
Pickled Toad

matthew Wrote:• Avoid being a tool

That's the bit I always have the most difficulty with when I travel.. or at least feel like I do!

The rig looks good to me. Love the ability to re-use your manual lenses on both cameras to get the benefit of 2 different focal lengths and film and digital. The focal lengths are a very nice selection (although I've found 85mm is about the limit of using legacy lenses with a m4/3 adapter - beyond that it becomes more frustrating than it's worth for me).

Shooting New York on b/w film with your Ikon and 35mm and 85mm lenses really lends itself to getting some gorgeous classical-looking photographs.

Have you had much of a play with the M lens adapter and manual lenses on your GH1? I would assume that you had (this is Matthew we're talking about after all), but if not then it's worth getting plenty of practice in because manual focus via the LCD is frustrating at first but does get easier with practice.

Are you happy with no external flash? Knowing you I think you probably are... And with a nice compact kit like that a big chunky flash is going to kill the ultra-portable stealthy vibe.. but good light is so useful and in-built flashes are nasty..

Looking forward to seeing photos of the trip! NYC is very high on my list of places to go.. one day..

General Objectives: I would include several shows. Theatre is really good in NY.

Gear: It makes no sense for me to advise, as you and I think so differently. I would want to have a long(ish) lens (zooming to about 300 to 450 equiv.) for details and isolation and perhaps an ultrawide besides the standard. I would pick just 1 body, so the overall amount would still be reasonable. Billinghams are too pretty and speak of wealth and tourism. I would use ordinary cheap shoulder bag and have the individual lenses separated by clothing. Lamp posts, benches, mailboxes etc make great tripods.

I would bring your wife too. Women have a long memory about things like that )

Kombisaurus Wrote:

matthew Wrote:• Avoid being a tool

That's the bit I always have the most difficulty with when I travel.. or at least feel like I do!

It's especially challenging when traveling with a non-photographer - but I've done a good job so far of remembering that this isn't a photo-trip. For example, I'm leaving my audio recorder at home, since using it takes too much time standing still silently. I'm close enough to New York that I can go back for a day trip on my own if I want to.

Kombisaurus Wrote:The rig looks good to me. Love the ability to re-use your manual lenses on both cameras to get the benefit of 2 different focal lengths and film and digital. The focal lengths are a very nice selection (although I've found 85mm is about the limit of using legacy lenses with a m4/3 adapter - beyond that it becomes more frustrating than it's worth for me).

I agree with 85mm being the longest practical length, especially hand-held. It's a balance between depth of field and focus, hand-holdable shutter speeds and high-iso noise. The 85/4 is definitely going to be a daylight lens.

Kombisaurus Wrote:Shooting New York on b/w film with your Ikon and 35mm and 85mm lenses really lends itself to getting some gorgeous classical-looking photographs.

I'm actually a little torn on my Ikon lenses. The 35/85 is a perfect combination, not only as a classic pair, but also because they render very similarly - perfect for creating photo series. My other ZM lens, the 50mm f/1.5, behaves very differently from the other two, and changes its character depending on the aperture as well. Wide open it has a wonderful classic look, which I would love to have for the trip, but it doesn't play well with others. So if I bring it, I shouldn't bring the other two, and the two together are a more useful combination, especially with the GH1.

Maybe next spring I'll make a separate trip with just the 50 f/1.5, with both colour and monochrome film.

Kombisaurus Wrote:Have you had much of a play with the M lens adapter and manual lenses on your GH1? I would assume that you had (this is Matthew we're talking about after all), but if not then it's worth getting plenty of practice in because manual focus via the LCD is frustrating at first but does get easier with practice.

I actually haven't done nearly as much as I would like: too much new in too little time. I don't really expect to use them on the GH1 that often, since I really like the 20/1.7 - and autofocus - for casual use. (The Ikon itself will be my secondary camera for this trip.) I have found that the MF with the ZM lenses is much easier than with my Nikon F-mount adapter, and I can often be 'close enough' without needing to go into the magnified live view.

Kombisaurus Wrote:Are you happy with no external flash? Knowing you I think you probably are... And with a nice compact kit like that a big chunky flash is going to kill the ultra-portable stealthy vibe.. but good light is so useful and in-built flashes are nasty..

An external flash never even occurred to me. I even have two that work with the GH1, and an off-camera cable, but I just don't reach for them for casual use. I suppose it's worth thinking about bringing, even if they stay in the hotel most of the time.

Pavel Wrote:General Objectives: I would include several shows. Theatre is really good in NY.

That may be on Penny's list, and there's a fair bit of time to see a variety of things. But for me, getting to see different modern art collections is a reason to go to other cities, while seeing a play or show would be something to do to mark being in a different city, if you see what I mean.

Pavel Wrote:Gear: It makes no sense for me to advise, as you and I think so differently. I would want to have a long(ish) lens (zooming to about 300 to 450 equiv.) for details and isolation and perhaps an ultrawide besides the standard. I would pick just 1 body, so the overall amount would still be reasonable.

I had the Panasonic 14-140 when I went to Chicago last spring, and found that I used the lens at its 280mm-e for less than 1 in 20 photos while the standardish 20mm and ultrawide 7-14 dominated the results. When I'm at home, I almost always go with the 20mm, but there's no way I'd see NY without the 7-14. I suspect that it will get much more use there, but I'll have t be careful since my keeper rate with it takes a pretty big hit.

Pavel Wrote:Billinghams are too pretty and speak of wealth and tourism. I would use ordinary cheap shoulder bag and have the individual lenses separated by clothing. Lamp posts, benches, mailboxes etc make great tripods.

Despite their price, I'm much more comfortable with the Billy than something that screams "CAMERA!" - Lowepro, Kata, Tamrac, and other big-name nylon boxes. I used my Timbuk2 bag padded with small towels when I went to Ottawa - I was carrying the D700 and 105VR - but that combination is far too big to get into the galleries and museums that I want to see.

Pavel Wrote:I would bring your wife too. Women have a long memory about things like that )

I'm sure she'd appreciate it - but I'm also pretty sure you should bring your wife, not mine.

Woo, have a great trip! Sounds like you've planned well and are going to have lots of fun.

What are you going to do in terms of memory? I suppose if you are going to be shooting half digital and half film, then 64 GB sounds like enough.

Only thing I can think of is capturing some night scenes as well - times square at night? Might be handy to pack a super-light compact tripod perhaps?

I really like your selection of gear for the trip - 2 bodies / 4 lenses with film and digital covered in the mix. That should be acceptably portable while still covering the bases,

As for a flash, I do use my SB-800 on the road sometimes - usually to take photos of places we stay - but I wouldn't lose any sleep over leaving it behind. I think your 20 and 7-14 combo will be perfect for NY streets - and you have the other rig for when you can take your time.

To tripod or not to tripod - that is the question. Have you considered a String Monopod? Might give you a critical stop or 2 in a pinch - and can be stored in a pocket or belt pouch.

I find this thread and Kombi's very interesting as I am in the midst of making decisions regarding my own rig for Italy and Iceland next year. The plan so far: the M9 / 50mm F2 plus a "so far un-purchased" Leica 28mm F2.8. I think for Italy and Iceland, the standard and wide primes will be just the right combo.

Man, you're better organised than I was for my Italy bash: I took 2 lenses out the night before, gave them a scrub, put them in a carrier bag, threw in the charger..then packed the Manfrotto which I only used once.
Hmm...
1.make sure you have a day at the very least when you do not have any form of camera equipment on you whatsoever, and enjoy your woman's company unfettered by photografika;
2. Take the widest lens and the longest( Toad, I hope the absence of a longie doesn't frustrate you on the Italy gig...and I'd seriously consider going considerably wider than 28mm for Italy): I didn't use my standard prime(50/1.4) at all.
That said, if you happened to forget all your lenses except one, you'd automatically "see" the opportunities for the lens you had on board..I reckon we all cut our cloth accordingly once we're out in the field.
3. Tripods: either include a massive one or none at all: monopods/gorillapods/flimsy carbon-graphitepods end up beiong a pointless nuisance if one has the kit to get pyschotically sharp pics.
4. Orange filter for mono film work: enough darkening of skies and lightening of skin tones without losing a huge amount of light;
5. Perhaps some mono film that can be push-processed a bit, or something that can go arty/grainy/cityscapy/portraity?...Tri-X? Or a sharp fast mono film like Fuji Neopan?
6. Plan less; leave mobile/blackberry/twitterbook/twatface/etc and all such mallarkey apart from camera battery charger...BUT invest in a Bushnell Backtracker, so as to find your way back to that fab place you stumbled upon.
7. Definitely get a Backtracker.
8. So glad you're taking the Ikon brace of lenses; yes to that similarity of "drawing" for a serial shoot.
9. Having had a look at my 1400 or so Italy shots, which are primarily town and city, I can safely say that a good 60% were with the 21mm. Yes, it is my sharpest lens, but really the field of view was just right. It worked for architectural and open spaces yet also as a street portrait/close candid lens. In fact, I felt that 21mm was bang on for people shots, as many were unaware that the lens was including them and they were unfazed by my proximity: they thought I was shooting a nearby wall or somesuch. The rest of my shots were then either at short tele length of 70-130mm or at full stretch with converter at 280mm. I did not miss the 50mm at all...and didn't "see" at 50mm really. Mind you, I did see plenty that would shine at 35mm or so. IF I had to be restricted to one lens only, it certainly would be the widest prime I had.
10. I found that forgoing polarisers for a protective UV was miles better: gained a good couple of stops.
11. One final thought on odds and sods: ...if you are getting a monsterpod, I'd really really consider getting a ND filter of the behemoth sort, say 8 stops or so: that way you can get unpopulated, post-apocalyptic city vistas..surreal...!

shuttertalk Wrote:Woo, have a great trip! Sounds like you've planned well and are going to have lots of fun.

I think the gear list is pretty solid, although talking about it here has gotten me thinking about switching the ZM 35 and 85 for the 50/1.5, which leaves me without the telephoto options for the GH1, which has me thinking about the 14-140, which increases my carrying weight and puts me in danger of being a tool…

shuttertalk Wrote:What are you going to do in terms of memory? I suppose if you are going to be shooting half digital and half film, then 64 GB sounds like enough.

My saving grace is that I don't do video, or at least, won't be doing very much. I do have a portable 40GB drive, but I won't bother carrying it. If I run out of memory, B&H has 8GB cards for $16. That's nothing - a single 36-exposure roll of XP2 film, developed without prints or scans, works out to about $12.

Having 64GB of memory on-hand might actually be a bit of an exaggeration, but if I'm coming home with that much digibaggage, I'll have a whole other set of problems to deal with. :/

shuttertalk Wrote:Only thing I can think of is capturing some night scenes as well - times square at night? Might be handy to pack a super-light compact tripod perhaps?

I have a little plastic Ultrapod (around here somewhere…) that would do nicely. I'll have to see how it fits in the bag. I'll still need to use Pavel's benches and mailboxes for elevation, but it's increasingly sounding like a must-have item.

Toad Wrote:I really like your selection of gear for the trip - 2 bodies / 4 lenses with film and digital covered in the mix.

I'm starting to waffle a little on what once was a cast-iron set - food humour? - but thanks for the endorsement. I seem to be trying to do two things, with the digital being my 'tourist' rig while the Ikon is my 'photographer' setup, but I do like the way they combine for better flexibility. And carrying the GH1 means that I can concentrate on B&W with the rangefinder, letting them each do their best. But if I was going just to take the photos for myself, it would be only one format - probably the Ikon.

Toad Wrote:As for a flash, I do use my SB-800 on the road sometimes - usually to take photos of places we stay - but I wouldn't lose any sleep over leaving it behind. I think your 20 and 7-14 combo will be perfect for NY streets - and you have the other rig for when you can take your time.

Photos within the hotel rooms really is all I could think of for a flash, but I didn't want to be the first one to say it since I'll be on my honeymoon. But both for the travelogue and a genre in its own right, there's a lot to be said for hotel photos. I'm thinking that a little tripod would help me take those photos, as well as being more versatile for self-portraits and night photos. But then, maybe I should bring my cable release as well? :/

…while taking a break from writing this, I went looking for the little plastic Ultrapod. I found it where I thought it would be, and next to it was the little pocket-sized FL20 speedlight that I got with my E-1 SLR. It's the wimpy little flash, only slightly better than a pop-up, but when coupled with the off-camera TTL cable it has some potential.

Toad Wrote:I find this thread and Kombi's very interesting as I am in the midst of making decisions regarding my own rig for Italy and Iceland next year. The plan so far: the M9 / 50mm F2 plus a "so far un-purchased" Leica 28mm F2.8. I think for Italy and Iceland, the standard and wide primes will be just the right combo.

I've been re-reading Adrian's Asia & Europe thread as well. I'm wondering if I do need to increase my kit to correspond to the length of my stay, and tailor what I bring to each particular outing rather than always carrying the same core equipment. My conflict is that I wish I was a minimalist far more than I'm willing to carry less gear.

But in the spirit of the virtues of minimalism, your Italy and Iceland kit sounds just about perfect. That's the nice thing about rangefinders - they make such a virtue out of simplicity. I might be tempted to add one of those cheap Voigtlander 15mm screwmount lenses, though.

Edit/update: Zig: Saw your post after I clicked "submit" on this one - there's loads of good information and helpful thoughts there, thanks! But it's also very late here, so I'll have some time with it tomorrow.

Zig: the 28mm is the widest practical lens on the Lecia as that is the max angle of the internal viewfinder - plus I have my heart set on the Leica Elmarit-M 28mm F2.8 ASPH - so there you are. As for longer reach, the only other lens that I ever plan to buy beyond the previously mentioned pair is the now discontinued Leica Elmarit-M 90mm F2.8 - and if I see a cracker on eBay for a reasonable price, I may pick one up. In the name of minimalism though, the M9 and those 3 lenses would be my target rig.

Matthew: photos of hotel rooms need a wide angle and a *tripod-like-thing* more than they need a flash. If you can brace your camera in a good spot, you can use a very long exposure. As for a cable release - bah - I always use self timer instead.

The biggest unknown in my rig right now for next year is the whole tripod question. A trekking pole with a tripod head might work OK for Iceland, but would likely be left at home for Italy. A gorllapod or ultrapod have the virtue of being *relatively* small/light and the downside of being pretty low to the ground unless you lash them to something. Iceland has no trees - so not sure that I can count on lashing to anything. One possibility is lashing a monopod to my pack so that it can free stand. I dunno - the whole tripod issue is seriously questionable in my mind. Last thing that I want to do is haul heavy gear that I don't use and I can't see walking around Napoli with a tripod.

Zig Wrote:Man, you're better organised than I was for my Italy bash: I took 2 lenses out the night before, gave them a scrub, put them in a carrier bag, threw in the charger..then packed the Manfrotto which I only used once.

But planning and agonizing, making and remaking decisions, is half the fun!
In all seriousness, I do enjoy this part of the process. For my day trips, choosing what I want to carry is an integral part of picking a destination. Chicago wouldn't have worked without the GH1, Atlantic City would be the Ikon and 35/2, and for a return trip to New York I'm speculating about the D700 or F100 with - to borrow Rob's phrase - a so far un-purchased Nikon 50/1.4. I'm trying to think of somewhere to take the behemoth, but I don't know of any city with Jestsons-style moving sidewalks.

Zig Wrote:1.make sure you have a day at the very least when you do not have any form of camera equipment on you whatsoever, and enjoy your woman's company unfettered by photografika;

Good advice - hard to follow.

Zig Wrote:2. Take the widest lens and the longest( Toad, I hope the absence of a longie doesn't frustrate you on the Italy gig...and I'd seriously consider going considerably wider than 28mm for Italy): I didn't use my standard prime(50/1.4) at all.

That would be the 35 & 85 instead of the 50/1.5 for the Ikon, which is the only point I'm stuck on. I'll have another roll of film developed before I go, which is about 80% taken with the 35, and 20% with the 50. Hopefully that will help me decide between the two different ZM choices.

Zig Wrote:That said, if you happened to forget all your lenses except one, you'd automatically "see" the opportunities for the lens you had on board..I reckon we all cut our cloth accordingly once we're out in the field.

I find that's absolutely true if I'm working with only one lens. If I'm working with two, then I'll automatically see opportunities for the lens that I don't have on the camera.
(The counterpoint to that is that if I choose to bring only one camera and lens specifically to avoid that effect, I'll see opportunities for every other lens and camera that I own.) I'm hoping that the 35/85 combination is distinctive enough to not leave me wishing that I had the other lens on too often.

The other possible combination would be the 35 and 50, which sound like very similar focal lengths but the lenses look completely different and I'd never have a hard time choosing between them. While I find that very tempting, and the lenses would both get a lot of use, that would reduce my options for creating a cohesive series because I could never mix images from the two taken wide-open. I also find that the 50 isn't nearly as satisfying on the GH1, as the soft-focus effect doesn't really translate into digital, and the f/5.6 aperture that I need to get rid of it chokes out too much light.

Zig Wrote:3. Tripods: either include a massive one or none at all: monopods/gorillapods/flimsy carbon-graphitepods end up beiong a pointless nuisance if one has the kit to get pyschotically sharp pics.

Well, there's no chance I'd be carrying a heavy `pod, because I never use one (behemoth excepted) normally. And if I use a little tripod, it would never be to improve sharpness in daylight conditions, but rather to allow photos (night, accommodations) where sharpness isn't much of a priority.

Zig Wrote:4. Orange filter for mono film work: enough darkening of skies and lightening of skin tones without losing a huge amount of light;

I'm tempted to get one before I leave, since the Ikon with 50/1.5 will be used for B&W photos at my wedding. The only problem is that they cost twice as much here - for the wrong size, without pricing in a step-up ring - as the ones that B&H has in stock. Frustrating.

Zig Wrote:5. Perhaps some mono film that can be push-processed a bit, or something that can go arty/grainy/cityscapy/portraity?...Tri-X? Or a sharp fast mono film like Fuji Neopan?

My wedding-photographer friend went through the Leica and Tri-X thing on his way to digital, but to get him ready for photographing my wedding, I loaned him the Ikon with a couple of gratis (for him, not for me!) rolls of XP2. That's my favourite B&W film; it's nominally ISO400, and is developed in any C41 (standard-issue) minilab. It looks different from silver B&W, particularly with the grain being in the shadows instead of the highlights, but I'm absolutely in love with it. Every B&W film photo I've posted here has been taken with it, and now my photographer-friend is buying it himself for a photo project next week. (He's still borrowing my Ikon instead of buying his own, though.)

Zig Wrote:6. Plan less; leave mobile/blackberry/twitterbook/twatface/etc and all such mallarkey apart from camera battery charger...BUT invest in a Bushnell Backtracker, so as to find your way back to that fab place you stumbled upon.

My thought is to plan less, and use the blackberry to help me wing it. Addresses and names in the notes, maps with a GPS, ability to look up store hours - and most importantly, the ability to do things individually and still coordinate on the fly. I'm not a 'social media' person, though, so I won't be constantly needing my fix; I'm considering going off-line for all non-honeymoon internet use when I'm there. The exception will be moderating comments for `thewsreviews, friends and family correspondence, and finding out who wins the city election that happens the day I leave. It's down to one bad choice, one colossal fool, and the no-hoper that I wish would win.

Zig Wrote:7. Definitely get a Backtracker.

But even with the blackberry in hand, the Backtracker is tempting. I'm looking at the 'point 5' model, but am somewhat frustrated that I can't find out what sort of battery life it has, or how promptly it would be able to find satellites in a downtown canyon if I need to keep it turned off. Regardless, it's one of those things that's relatively cheap in NY, so I've got the coming week to find out more.

Zig Wrote:8. So glad you're taking the Ikon brace of lenses; yes to that similarity of "drawing" for a serial shoot.

Right now there's an 85% probability that those two will be what I take, but two days ago I thought it was 100% certain. I'm also trying to remember that this isn't a Photography trip, and I really need to think through what kinds of photos and results I'll want the Ikon for.

Zig Wrote:9. Having had a look at my 1400 or so Italy shots, which are primarily town and city, I can safely say that a good 60% were with the 21mm. Yes, it is my sharpest lens, but really the field of view was just right. It worked for architectural and open spaces yet also as a street portrait/close candid lens. In fact, I felt that 21mm was bang on for people shots, as many were unaware that the lens was including them and they were unfazed by my proximity: they thought I was shooting a nearby wall or somesuch.

Ironically, I like the 35 and 85 specifically for how well they work when I take photos of walls.

With the GH1, I do expect my 20/1.7 to be my main lens, but the 7-14 will probably surprise me. I've made sure that the camera will still fit in the bag with the ultrawide on it, and might take it out for some practice in the coming week. I find that 'warming up' with a lens and camera really helps my photography.

Zig Wrote:The rest of my shots were then either at short tele length of 70-130mm or at full stretch with converter at 280mm. I did not miss the 50mm at all...and didn't "see" at 50mm really. Mind you, I did see plenty that would shine at 35mm or so. IF I had to be restricted to one lens only, it certainly would be the widest prime I had.

I almost always see 'telephoto', even to the extent that my ultra-wide photos are rarely sweeping vistas. But if I had to choose only one lens for this trip, I don't know what I'd do - like the fictional country songs suggests, I'd probably go bowling.

Zig Wrote:10. I found that forgoing polarisers for a protective UV was miles better: gained a good couple of stops.

I don't use either, or even lens caps, with the single exception of the 7-14. (All of my lenses have hoods, even the 20/1.7.) I do use a 3-stop ND to let me keep the 20/1.7 and 50/1.5 wide open in daylight. But this is where it bugs me that the 38 & 85 have 43mm filters, instead of the 50's 46mm.

Zig Wrote:11. One final thought on odds and sods: ...if you are getting a monsterpod, I'd really really consider getting a ND filter of the behemoth sort, say 8 stops or so: that way you can get unpopulated, post-apocalyptic city vistas..surreal...!

Not a bad idea - but to let the tail wag the dog for a bit, I have a 10-stop ND in a 77mm that fits my 85PC-E. I don't (yet) have a tripod that will let me use it to its full advantage, so that's something I'll have to experiment with again. The two lenses for the behemoth are 86 and 95mm, which get a little pricy to dress.

The tripod I'm looking at will be one of the wooden Berlebach models with a built-in ball head. There's three that I'm considering, and range from supporting 18 to 26 pounds.

Toad Wrote:Matthew: photos of hotel rooms need a wide angle and a *tripod-like-thing* more than they need a flash. If you can brace your camera in a good spot, you can use a very long exposure. As for a cable release - bah - I always use self timer instead.

Good call, I do get carried away. Now I just have to decide between the ultrapod, which weighs 85 grams but doesn't fit in the camera bag, and the manfrotto, which weighs 200 grams but can slip into one of the front pockets.

Toad Wrote:Last thing that I want to do is haul heavy gear that I don't use and I can't see walking around Napoli with a tripod.

What I've found, and try to remember, is that I won't do anything differently just because I'm somewhere else. I'd skip the big tripod, or even a monopod if it's not something you use around town already. And while I have a couple of gorillapods, I'm not considering bringing either - they never get any smaller, and I don't want to have them wrapped around my bag's shoulder strap. (Acceptable when close to home, not cool for travelling.) They might find a way into my luggage if the other two little ones don't work out, but ultimately I love my little manfrotto tabletop tripod more than all others put together.


Thanks everyone for all of the great comments, feedback, and discussion - I never imagined this simply little thread would get such a thoughtful and extensive response!

I wouldn't overthink it too much - when I go back to your original list in the first post, its just right.

Pavel Wrote:Billinghams are too pretty and speak of wealth and tourism.)

Sure are pretty though....

Toad Wrote:I wouldn't overthink it too much - when I go back to your original list in the first post, its just right.

Thanks for that. Coming down a bit, I'm looking at three things:

1 - including a little tripod. I think that I will throw one in the suitcase, and it hardly matters which one, since they're all too big or too heavy for me to carry without specific plans to use them.

2 - including my Xrite Passport colour chart. This is really more of an omission from my original packing list than an addition; I like to have it both for white balance and for colour profiling if I'm able to photograph any works of art. I'm also idly considering getting a Spydercube, which is a white balance and clipping tool - much cheaper in the US than up here - but one doesn't really replace the other. (At least, not if you're me.)

3 - Swapping the 50/1.5 C-Sonnar for the 85/4 Tele-Tessar. The advantage of the 85 is that it matches very well with the 35, so even though it would only take maybe 10-20% of the photos, the different lens won't stop the photos from working as a set. It also works as an effective long telephoto for the GH1; 70mm-e from the 35 is hardly earth-shattering. The 50 is softer wide open, making the focus challenging and results disappointing on the digital body, but it rocks on film. It would probably be used for almost half of my photos, and it'll be my go-to lens for photos of my blushing bride. So I need to decide between almost aggressively neutral and consistent rendering with two distinct focal lengths, or two similar focal lengths with very distinct characters. Ah, well. I'll manage - it's far down the list of what's important for this trip. Maybe I'll do a Zig and just grab whichever one suits me the night before.

Didn't know that about wides on a Leica M there Toad, was belatedly remembering the 19mm Elamarit is for R; no need for a "so there" old chap, I'm sure it's nice lens.
Ah yes Matthew, colour chart, forgot that one, good idea.(Grey card too?)
Jolly exciting; maybe we've all responded so vocally as we're role-playing what a trip would be like for ourselves!

Zig Wrote:Didn't know that about wides on a Leica M there Toad, was belatedly remembering the 19mm Elamarit is for R; no need for a "so there" old chap, I'm sure it's nice lens.

Actually, you can buy much wider lenses for the M - but they need external viewfinders - which I am trying to avoid. Composing in one viewfinder and focusing in another seems cruel and unusual to me.

My "so there you are" phrase is a colloquialism that means "that's where my thinking has reached on the subject" or "that's what I am stuck with" - and does not mean anything more snippy like "you don't know what you are talking about".

Note to self: don't use weird phrases around Zig...

Zig, the 'passport' colour chart is nifty. It has the standard colour chart on one side, with the greyscale steps, and a 'creative white balance' panel that has neutral squares as well as ones that are shifted warmer and cooler. On the third side there's a solid grey patch that's just a little larger than a business card.

Toad, accessory viewfinders have never been my thing, but at least you hardly have to worry about focusing with the ultrawides. Go hyperfocal or scale focus - it's practically a requirement for belonging to the Leica club.

Matthew, a solid grey patch on the third side of the chart?

Maybe it's a Canadian thing...

BTW, have I congratulated you on your upcoming wedding yet? If not then WOOOHOOHOOOOOO!! Forget your packing, concentrate on the bride! You must be very excited.

The third side out of four, if you can believe it - it's a clamshell design with an inner panel:


(my review)

Thanks very much, I am very excited. I'm really looking forward to being married, as well as being enthused about trip. My future wife and I have had a very… administrative… relationship recently, as we work to get all of the details, small and large, squared away. It's a good thing we're going on our honeymoon, because we're really going to need a vacation after all of this.