Which OM lenses to take?

<p>Couldn't decide whether this belonged in Travel or here with the OM experts, so I figured I'd put it here.</p>

<p>I'm off to Osaka & Kobe, Japan for about a week - before heading to Palawan in Philippines over Easter, and have been trying to decide on what equipment to take. I'm not really one for composed, tripod-mounted shots - i.e. a severe lack of patience - so won't be taking a tripod with me - if the sun has gone down, bring out the XA2 or T20 I say!</p>

<p>I'm definitely taking a Mamiya 6 w/50mm and either an XA2 or a Konica Pop but need to narrow down these lenses to go with an Olympus OM-1n: </p>

<p>28mm f/3.5<br>

50mm f/1.2<br>

50mm f/1.8<br>

85mm f/2<br>

135mm f/3.5<br>

35-70mm f3.5-4.5<br>

Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/3.5 (Kiron)</p>

<p>I've got a T20 with colour gel tabs which is coming, and this all has to fit inside a <a href="http://products.lowepro.com/product/Flipside-300,2083,14.htm">Lowepro Flipside 300</a></p>

<p>Well, I'm going to presume you might be worried about weight,</p>

<p>Firstly, I'd take the Mamiya 6 and leave everything else at home, carrying 2 systems is annoying and unnecessary.</p>

<p>Anyway... <br /> Why do you need 2 x 50mm lenses? If you're going to use flash, leave the 50/1.2 at home and take the lighter lens, if you're going to use the 50/1.2 then leave the flash at home!! (personally I'd take the f/1.2 and leave out the flash).</p>

<p>Leave the 135 f/3.8 (85mm should do the job)<br /> Leave the Vivitar zoom.<br /> I would also leave the zuiko zoom personally as I don't use Zoom's at all, but you might prefer them</p>

<p>So, this might leave you without much in the way of telephoto capability, but consider if the 85mm will do the job in 95% of situations where you need a bit of reach. If I had the 85mm f/2 and 135/3.5 in my bag and I needed a 135mm lens, I'd probably grab the 85 anyway, it's that much of a better lens I'd be happy to do a bit of cropping</p>

<p>So that would bring it down to:<br /> 28mm f/3.5<br /> 50mm f/1.2<br /> 85mm f/2</p>

<p>perfect!</p>

<p>(oh btw, I've taken my olympus gear to St East Asia a few times and the lens I used the most was a 50mm f/1.8 MIJ and a 28mm f/2.8. I had my 100 f/2.8 with me but I didn't use it much at all, I just used it for the odd people shots. Anything longer than that without a tripod starts to become a bit hit and miss. I once took a 200mm lens and it only came out of the bag on one occasion)</p>

<p>If you are worried about weight just take the 50mm F1.2</p>

<p>Otherwise<br>

28mm<br>

50mm<br>

135mm<br>

will cover most shots.</p>

<p>IIWY I'd take: 28, 50f1.2, and 85. If it seems too much/heavy, just the 28 and 50.</p>

<p>Doesn't matter...whichever lens you leave home will be the one you want when you get there! :-)</p>

<p>The mamiya 6 will blow away any normal lens on the olympus, and you have the XA2 for wide angle shots. So I would take the olympus with just the 85mm and the zoom. If you could get something a little wider for the olympus, such as a 24mm or 21mm, I would bring that too.</p>

<p>Thanks for the responses everyone. Like Darin pointed out, and while the Mamiya 6 will blow away the OM-1 in terms of image quality, I think I have settled on the following:</p>

<p>28mm<br>

50mm f/1.2 + 2x tele-converter (forgot to mention that!)</p>

<p>If I have room and things aren't too heavy I'll probably add the 70-210 as I don't have a telephoto on either the Mamiya or the OM-1n.</p>

28, either one of the 50s and the 135. See if you can pick up a 2X converter for the occasional long shot rather than carry

the big zoom. Or take the 85 instead. Take the flash just in case.

<p>I would take the 28, the 35-70, the 85 and the 70-210. You have all of the focal lengths covered. Bringing a 2X and leaving the 70-210 behind would only get you 170/4 and that 170/4 wouldn't be as sharp as the zoom. The 135 is an f/3.5 and the zoom is already that fast and covers that focal length. If<em> </em>I<em> </em>could add one more lens it would be a 50/3.5 Zuiko. It's sharp at all distances and f/stops and easier to handle than the zoom for close shots. The flash would probably be used more for indoor shots where a fast lens might work but where you would have limited depth of field and possibly the wrong color light. What about the 135 with a 2X? It cam be done but focusing a 270/7 is difficult. The 85 would be for portraits or for times when the 35-70 or 70-210 are too slow.</p>

<p>I have a preference for the 135/3.5. You can't beat the size and if you are in an unfamiliar place, distance will matter. Take the Oly and the 135.</p><div></div>

<p>Pick one lens and take that. Then work with what you've got. I did that a few years ago on a trip to Japan. I took an OM-1 and the 100/2.8 . There were times I wished for something wider, or more space to back up, but most of the time, I could do something I liked.</p>

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