Roger Hicks
Mentor
To quote a friend of mine, "If I couldn't take my camera, I wouldn't want to travel".
Cheers,
R.
aeturnum
Established
If I had the budget to own it, the M with my 35 / 50 / 75. As I don't have the budget, same lenses with an A7. 
35mmdelux
#Represent
I would suggest the 35mm lens (FF) as its wide enough to capture kids on the move and yet capture a nice environmental-portrait if you step in. Enjoy your grandchildren and your trip!
majid
Fazal Majid
I'd take a M typ 240 with 50mm 'lux or 'cron ASPH for the kids, and a Sigma DP1 Merrill along for landscapes. Alternatively, the A7R with the Zeiss 55mm f/1.8. No lens changes necessary.
Spicy
Well-known
if small (range-finder-sized cameras), 2 bodies, 2 lenses (plus adapters if necessary).
if DSLR (sized), body plus 2 primes or 1 zoom, with a digital P&S in a pocket as backup
if DSLR (sized), body plus 2 primes or 1 zoom, with a digital P&S in a pocket as backup
marcr1230
Well-known
I have the same priblem tonight , gear selection
Going to the same place
I'm going with digital , Oly E-M1, 4 lenses ( 12-40, 60 macro, 75 portrait and 75-300 for birds. Some if the reason is to play with gear. The 12-40 will be in the camera most of the time
Also coming is an Oly TG-2 for underwater.
Bring a tripod
Film - on the fence, thinking about one 35 RF body and a 50
I know from experience I'm overdoing it
Hard to resist though
Happy travels
Going to the same place
I'm going with digital , Oly E-M1, 4 lenses ( 12-40, 60 macro, 75 portrait and 75-300 for birds. Some if the reason is to play with gear. The 12-40 will be in the camera most of the time
Also coming is an Oly TG-2 for underwater.
Bring a tripod
Film - on the fence, thinking about one 35 RF body and a 50
I know from experience I'm overdoing it
Hard to resist though
Happy travels
Hope you have a great time in Hawaii over Christmas. We just got back from two weeks there over Thanksgiving... My wife had her Panasonic G2 and kit lens, and I used a digitial M and 50mm only. This turned out to be a satisfactory and useful kit, and the pics are looking pretty good as I load some into my Gallery. I had thought of taking medium format, which I’ve done before, but decided the M needed the exercise. And easier to carry around.
Likewise, maybe you’re motivated to see what your new Sony A7r can do for you?
Likewise, maybe you’re motivated to see what your new Sony A7r can do for you?
douglasboyd
enthusiast
Thanks for all the great comments and advice on what to take to Hawaii. Here are some of the pictures I took: flickr
Here are a few comments on how it went:
1. Shutter lag was a major problem with getting face pictures of the two year old. The lag was particularly bad if I was using flash. It seems that shutter lag is something like 0.17 sec after prefocus, and perhaps twice that if flash is enabled due to an additional 0.17 lag for preflash. The combination of shutter lag plus pre-flash lag was a huge problem, and I ended up abandoning flash. It may be that using an older thyristor flash without TTL preflash could be a solution, but none of the dozen or so units I have would work in the new non-standard Sony hotshoe. I'm still looking for a solution to this. Without flash, the shutter lag was more usable.
2. The leica rangefinder lenses are great, except that it is not alway possible to focus, particularly when bright sunlight makes it difficult to see the screen, and my darkened glassed make it difficult to see through the viewfinder. In the end, I abandoned the leica lenses, and used only the LA-EA4 adapter with Minolta lenses. The LA-EA4 gets the focus immediately in most lighting and so focus is not a problem. I ended up using the Minolta 24-105mm lens a lot due to the convenience of zoom lenses. The "Beercan" 70-210mm lens was excellent for portraits, and focussed quickly, and had great resolution.
3. My Minolta mount Tamron 17-35mm zoom lens which works great on the A900 for some reason would not work with the LA-EA4, and therefore I was stuck with no wide lens.
4. In the end, the system I carried on hikes was not significantly smaller or lighter than a DSLR, and I could see no particular advantage over the D800e system. Only in cases where I knew I could use the small leica rangefinder lenses is there an advantage.
5. MISSED SHOTS. I missed many shots due to focus, and to shutter lag as already mentioned. I would not have missed those shots with a DSLR. My attempts at star shots were disappointing for two reasons, no wide angle lens and my tripod was too light.
Star shots in Hawaii would be best with a 14mm lens and the Trade Winds require a heavy tripod to not vibrate during 15 sec exposures. My star and surf pictures were all slightly blurred even though I did my best to hold the tripod steady.
==Doug
Here are a few comments on how it went:
1. Shutter lag was a major problem with getting face pictures of the two year old. The lag was particularly bad if I was using flash. It seems that shutter lag is something like 0.17 sec after prefocus, and perhaps twice that if flash is enabled due to an additional 0.17 lag for preflash. The combination of shutter lag plus pre-flash lag was a huge problem, and I ended up abandoning flash. It may be that using an older thyristor flash without TTL preflash could be a solution, but none of the dozen or so units I have would work in the new non-standard Sony hotshoe. I'm still looking for a solution to this. Without flash, the shutter lag was more usable.
2. The leica rangefinder lenses are great, except that it is not alway possible to focus, particularly when bright sunlight makes it difficult to see the screen, and my darkened glassed make it difficult to see through the viewfinder. In the end, I abandoned the leica lenses, and used only the LA-EA4 adapter with Minolta lenses. The LA-EA4 gets the focus immediately in most lighting and so focus is not a problem. I ended up using the Minolta 24-105mm lens a lot due to the convenience of zoom lenses. The "Beercan" 70-210mm lens was excellent for portraits, and focussed quickly, and had great resolution.
3. My Minolta mount Tamron 17-35mm zoom lens which works great on the A900 for some reason would not work with the LA-EA4, and therefore I was stuck with no wide lens.
4. In the end, the system I carried on hikes was not significantly smaller or lighter than a DSLR, and I could see no particular advantage over the D800e system. Only in cases where I knew I could use the small leica rangefinder lenses is there an advantage.
5. MISSED SHOTS. I missed many shots due to focus, and to shutter lag as already mentioned. I would not have missed those shots with a DSLR. My attempts at star shots were disappointing for two reasons, no wide angle lens and my tripod was too light.
Star shots in Hawaii would be best with a 14mm lens and the Trade Winds require a heavy tripod to not vibrate during 15 sec exposures. My star and surf pictures were all slightly blurred even though I did my best to hold the tripod steady.
==Doug
raid
Dad Photographer
I want to use the M8 and the M9 in my next trip (again). With two lenses, I am set.