what would you take?

[Xax]

if you would have the following selection of cameras and lenses for a trip to india, 4 weeks, shooting a movie as chief lighting technician, or simply said, working, but having the chance of shooting quite a bit of film

35mm

• Leica M4-P
• Leica M6 Classic
• Bessa R2A
• - Canon 50mm f1.2 LTM
• - Cosina Voigtlaender Nokton 40mm f1.4
• - Cosina Voigtlaender Nokton 35mm f1.2
• - Leica Elmar 90mm f4.0
• - FSU Jupiter-12 35mm f2.8

Medium Format

• Mamiya 7 with Panoramic Adapter
• - 80mm f4.0
• Rolleiflex 2.8F
• Norita 66 with 80mm f2.0
• Pentacon Six
• - 80mm f2.8
• Fuji GW690II
• Bronica ETRS
• - 40mm f4.0
• - 75mm f2.8
• - 150mm f3.5
• Holga
• Pentax 67
• - 105mm f2.7

for me at the moment, it's the leica m6 or m4-p (since i will be carrying a light meter all the time anyways) plus rolleiflex

what would you take and why?

 

[mervynyan]

very nice website you have, bookmarked.

I'd go with M6 and a wider angel, plus Rolleiflex

 

[Carlos Cruz]

I'd take rollei, shutter is dead silent, and MF will capture all latitude of lights and shadows, 2.8 should be OK on the movie set MF will make you pick your frames carefully, with 35mm you'll probably just snap away. Gaffers usually work all the time before the shoot and are free when the shooting takes place.

 

[peter_n]

I would take the M4 & M6, 35, 50 & 90 lenses. IMHO you're missing a really wide lens like a 21 or a 25. If you can borrow a super-wide leave the 50 at home. On trips my kit is two Ms and 24, 35, 75 lenses. Can't speak to the MF as I don't use it.

 

[35mmdelux]

M6 + 35mm VC -- Rollie as backup. Travel light. Be flexible.

(can you borrow a 21mm?)

 

[Andrew Sowerby]

My inclination would be to take the M4 and the M6 with a 50mm lens on one and a 35mm on the other. Maybe just the M6. I don't work well with lots of choice.

 

[35mmdelux]

PS: Alex Webb and David Allen Harvey would only take the 35mm f/1.2 for lens.

 

[FrankS]

M6 with 40mm lens, and the Rolleiflex, as the minimum.

 

[Xax]

thanks for the inspiration

i was in the market for a 15 wide heliar but somehow took too many pictures digitally with my fisheye and 24 back in that time, so i somehow limited myself to 35mm upwards, but will get a 15mm sooner or later (probably shouldve gotten it sooner for my trip)

anyways, i added the fuji 6x9 since i bought lots of portra nc and can imagine that it goes well with 6x9 and india

i don't want to take more m bodies than one because if i can i would take another format, i like shooting lots of formats.

i really really missed 6x6 on my last trip as i had only 2 6x7s with me, 6x6 is very inspiring

i think i wouldn't take a 21 since i would go wider, 15mm definately

thanks for the suggestions!

 

[photogdave]

Last time I was in India I was an SLR shooter! I used my Nikon F100, 20 2,8 and 50 1.4. Didn't need anything else.
From your list I would choose the M6 w/ Nokton 40mm - rugged camera, versatile lens, compact package. I would also take the Rollei for portraits.
I agree you really need a wide angle too.
Have a great trip!

 

[Nando]

For my last trip abroad, I took almost everything I had at the time (4 bodies and I can't remember how many lenses) and ended up only using my M3 and 50 Summitar!

If I were in your position, I'd take M6 and 35f1.2. The 40 Nokton is perhaps the most practical choice but 35f1.2 is such a fantastic lens that I could put up the extra bulk. For MF, it would be a toss up between the Fuji GW690II and the Rolleiflex... probably the Rolleiflex.

 

[Bob Michaels]

For the last two airline trips I have taken:

Mamiya 7 w 80mm lens. I also took the 50mm but did not use it either trip, so I'll probably leave it next time. This is my current #1 favorite combo, so I'd never leave it at home.

Zeiss Ikon rf w/ 24mm, 35mm, & 50mm lens. Next time I'll leave the 50mm at home and take the 28mm instead of the 24mm. That's right, I will take only the 35mm and 28mm lenses since I shoot about 49% of my photos with one and 49% with the other.

I do take 2-3 rolls of 120 and 2-3 rolls of 35mm for each day. All of it is Neopan 400. I don't end up shooting that much but I never want to run low.

FWIW, I had a 15mm Heilar for a few months. Then I loaned it to a friend who is a M8 shooter and full time used film camera dealer. He loved it and wanted it. So I sold it to him for the same good deal I got when I bought it but with the proviso that I could borrow it back anytime I wanted to use it. I see him weekly but have never bothered to borrow it. It was just too much of a special purpose lens for me to bother with.

 

[FrankS]

Here's what I took on holiday: big trip to Europe.

Canon 28f3.5, Summaron f3.5, CV40f1.4, Zeiss 50f2 (converted to ltm)
Most pics were taken with the Summaron.

And 60 rolls of film.