Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/03/29
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Alastair, Last couple trips I've taken, I have been using the following setup: 2 M6 Bodies 35/2 ASPH 35/1.4 ASPH 24/2.8 ASPH 50/2 90/2.8 Elmarit Sunpack 121C Flash Billingham Alice Bag I use two bodies because I shoot chromes and color neg, or you could substitute B&W. If you're not shooting two different types of film, carry just one M camera, but it's good insurance to have two bodies. I use a 35 lens the most, so I have one for each body. Nothing can touch the 35/1.4 ASPH for image quality and great speed to boot. Only problem with this lens is size, weight and cost! 90 is about as long as I need, and the current 2.8 has the best performance until the new 90/2 comes out. Dragged a 135/4 to Europe a few times, but never took it out of the bag. The 90 is also smaller and lighter than the 75, which makes a big difference at the end of a long day. But, you could substitute the 75 for the 90. The 75 is a superb lens, and great for indoor portraits in low light. You could also substitute a 21 or 28 for the 24. Tom A. claims the new 21 ASPH is another milestone lens, but I haven't experienced this myself. The 121C flash is small for the few times you need a flash. It also has a built in sync cord, so you can use it on older M's without hot shoes. Throw in 8-10 rolls of film, enough for at least a day of busy shooting. Take the rest of the film in another carry on bag. The Alice is a new Billingham bag made especially for the M. This combination does everything I need with minimal size and weight - 10 lbs. Took an R7 with 19, 28, 90, 180/3.4 & 2X to New Zealand two years ago. R8 with 24, 50, 90 & 2X last summer along with M outfit. Used the super wide lenses and long teles a few times, but the size and weight penalties were too much. I ended up putting the R setup into secure lock-ups more times than I'd like to admit, but I always carried the M outfit and used it 90% to about 10% for the R. The R is great for Macro, Sports and long tele work, but give me my M anytime for travel! Bill Rosauer