Desert Island Lens for a long distance trip

<p>Good Morning,<br>

When I go to Europe (no date set), I'd like to travel light and also take my Hasselblad 501c and bring one lens if possible - I have a 50, 80 and 150. I'd probably carry (2) A12 film magazines, one for color and b&w. I have a Sekonic light meter - it's a L-558 and an older Vivitar flash 285HV. I'd probably want to take along a light and portable tripod too. My strap is a wide one, like a guitar strap and I have a prism viewfinder that I got from the previous owner, but like using the waist finder - it's seems more "purist."<br>

I'm not real pleased with the camera case, a Mekko - it's heavy to begin with and small given the Hasselblad is large with lots of components - film back, lens, light meter, film, flash . . .<br>

Probably would be traveling with my wife vs a group tour - timing @ spring or fall - not in August which I understand is prime time for family vacations and crowds.<br>

Would like to start in Amsterdam and then visit Paris, and Italy - possibly Krakow, Poland or Lithuania.<br>

I'd read a blog about a photographer who took his 501 with waist finder , the 80 lens and used a Kodak film guide for his light meter. He only shot B&W on his trip. He posted some great nice pictures!<br>

I've got a Nikon D50 with several lenses and it's a whole lot lighter than the Hasselblad. But nothing compares to the sharpness of the Carl Zeiss lens - it's just amazing! So trading the weight to gain quality images is what I'd like to do.<br>

With all this said, what are your thoughts/suggestions? I started with the lens question - if I only took one lens, which one is the most universal? <br>

Best,<br>

Ken</p>

<p> </p>

<p>My experience with travel in Europe and my interest in architecture, landscapes and even people shooting is that a wide angle lens is preferred most of the time. I have a Mamiya 6 with the same complement of optics (super quality, by the way) and usually go for the 50 which is somewhat close that of a 28mm in 35 format. Not having the option of going even wider in 120 format when necessary (which is often, as spaces are often tight in cities or buildings), I carry a Leica M9 digital with two wider angle Leica and V-C lenses. It is tough to miss great shots in color or B&W when all you might have is a normal lens. </p>

<p>The "middle point" is the 80, but think that a wide angle lens is useful for that old towns with their narrow streets and squares, indoor shots, big buildings, etc... but I don`t know about your photographic style and preferences. Maybe I`d take the 50mm first.<br /> ---<br /> Edit: like Arthur, I`m user of a Mamiya 6 system, and I have to agree with his experience. Maybe a 80mm lens is too close for that kind of use, many times I prefer to go with the 50mm. When I take the 75mm (there is no 80mm on Mamiya), I use to have any portrait on mind, or details, or distant scenes... never groups or confined spaces.</p>

<p>Difficult to answer without knowing your photo style, but I would take the 80 in your case. A 6 x 6 normal lens takes in more vertically than an equivalent 50mm in 35mm so in a sense it is already a little wider which helps to include tall buildings. But you make the pics you can with the lens you have, so you could take any one and make it work. However, the 80mm seems to me to be a safe choice and it is the smallest and fastest, which is probably just as important here.</p>

<p>Suggest to carry a lighter MF camera than the Hassy. Suggest you use a much smaller meter like a Sekonic 208 or 308, and lose the flash, or use a smaller one like a Metz 20C-2.</p><div></div>

<p>I used to travel with my C330 and 55 + 135mm. An also carried Agfa with 75mm saw way less use. I'm 1,89m tall, so I always liked the WLF view and hardly ever used my prism finder. - I just googled your 50+150mm seem 1.5kg above the 80mm? Have you considered something like a harness (military style) to carry your gear? I used a fishing vest for my spare lens pair & film.<br>

Those days I am not sure what I'd pick. Medium format was nice to slow me down on a short trip and keep the resulting amount of negatives manageable in my darkroom. I've never been able to afford lab processing of it. With TMY pushed 2 stops I felt confident about my handholding skills even with filters and got nice 8x10"s. Now we live in a fast sharing digital world and your trip sounds a bit marines'style: "land somewhere machine gun everything and get back to the boat or bus". From my experience accompanying family and tripods are a bad pairing (unless you are able to run circles around your wife all day long) strain the other's patience and hasten your pace.<br>

Figure out what is expected results wise: 100 happy snap keepers per sightseeing day? Or a few well exposed great pictures that aren't enough to give others an idea of where you had been? Are you sure your wife isn't into online media or computers to impress the family with your digital files? - Is going quality MF really worth it for places that have been photographed better in a different light a bunch of times before? - When I went to Rome for 3 days to take mental notes of what I haven't had the time to sponge patiently I was glad to have a pair of 35mms with lenses from 20 to 200mm and slide film to snap away, that city is so overwhelming.... (Flipping through more than 104 4x5" prints at once is too much)</p>

<p>My Hasselblad 500C travel outfit with 50mm and 150mm lenses. I will add the 100mm too, if feeling up to it.</p><div></div>

<p>Get the 60mm. Best lens I own and useful in a wide range of situations. </p>

Hi, Ken, I travel with my Hasselblad 500 CM and lenses in a photo-gear backpack. The gear is not light but convenient to carry. If I had to take only one lens, I'd take the 80 but usually have the 150 and 120, as well.  Since I don't use the wide-angle, I don't take it.  Depends on the kind of shooting you do.<br>

<br>In terms of backs, I take two for 120 film (b&w) and one 220 (for color film).  With two 120s, I can shoot without having to reload after 12 shots.  220 for color cuts down on the number of rolls of film you have to carry. But, again, depends on your shooting style. <br>

<br>

Using available light, I skip the flash but light meter and a tripod are musts.  New carbon-fiber tripods are lightweight and some are designed for ease of carrying.<br>

<br>

Have fun!  --Sally

<p>Thanks a lot everyone! - I do favor wide angle as I like to shoot landscape and have taken some great shots with the 50 - the 80 is also pretty amazing. Will have spend more time with my lenses to get the right feel. </p>

<p> The backpack idea sounds great - I have a lowepro? for the Nikon but haven't seen what backpack options are out the for a Hasselblad set up.</p>

I don't shoot very much MF but I'd like

to chime in.

 

I own a Zeiss Ikon 6x6 folder. Lovely

thing. Why not something like that? It's

light, quiet and gives old-school results.

If you're shooting negatives, it's a great

choice.

 

IMHO if photography is not the main

point of the trip, don't take bulky

equipment. I agree with the points

made by Jochen. If photography is the

main point of the trip, you'd be taking at

least two lenses, if not three.

<p>Given that equipment list, I'd probably take the 50mm and leave the flash at home. Given my druthers I'd take a Rolleiflex, which although not wide angle, is versatile enough and much easier to pack day in and day out. For me the reason for a Hasselblad is the interchangeable lenses, otherwise I'm much happier with a lighter load and fewer choices. Paul</p>

<p>Ken:</p>

<p>I have traveled a great deal in places like Egypt and Peru and Ireland and have done well with just my 500 CM and my 80mm. with two A12 backs. A hand held meter helps as well.</p>

<p>-Cheers</p>

As has (once again) become obvious, there is no generally valid answer. It all depends on your modus operandi.<br>So don't look for what other people would do, Ken. Instead: what do you use most? Going on this trip is not going to change your 'view' and what you need for it.

<p>Ken,<br>

What QG said is probably the best response which is that there is no "right" answer.<br>

We can only tell you what we do for comparison purposes...<br>

My travel locations: Europe (If it matters, mostly inner city but also open space, landscape)<br>

My gear:<br>

"Domke F2" original shoulder bag<br>

Hasselblad 503cw<br>

Zeiss 80mm<br>

Zeiss 250mm<br>

Two A12 backs<br>

Sekonic L-608 light meter<br>

(I do not carry on my trips: Flash, the Zeiss 50mm wide angle, or tripod although I do have this equipment)</p>

<p>Just returned from a long walk with the dogs - carrying the 501 with a 150 lens - love the setup but wow is it heavy - re-thinking the SLR setup makes more sense from a weight and speed standpoint. I really like landscape photography and that's why I bought the 50mm - the 150 is "new" and I'm doing some family portraiture shooting. <br>

Living in MN I need diversions to stay sane throughout the long winters - the Hasselblad and medium format experience has been great as is shooting B&W and learning to cut my own mats for picture framing.<br>

Enjoy you guys and appreciate your input!</p>

<p>I'm going to add my two cents to what has already been said. In Europe there are narrow streets, confined spaces--this is the reason for suggesting a wide angle lens. I have taken close to 1000 pictures in France--not with MF, but with 35mm. My most used lenses were 28mm and 35mm, and a 25mm when necessary. With the 50mm normal lens, I took all of three pictures--in three weeks. I say take the 50mm for the Hassie. It's equivalent to about 33mm, horizontally, in MF. You will regret not having it.</p>

<p>My response with photo of Billingham bag stuffed with gear, is still pretty close to what have on hand all the time. There was a moment though, a few in fact, when I was considering getting a SWC, and no more extras than the meter, and a couple of mags .. 6x6 and 6x4.5.t<br>

(I didn't get the SWC simply because I was lured to the magic of large format. Linhof Super Technika won the day. :-)</p>

<p>I'm serious when I suggest the 60mm as a great all around lens. It doesn't show too much foreground as a wider lens might, and you can easily walk closer to your subject as necessary. That lens plus one other, perhaps the 120mm or 150mm, will get you through most situations IMHO. </p>

<p>(i) Are you enlarging optically? Or are you having your negatives scanned? If you're working from scans, you might be able to stitch overlapping negs in the computer to make panos. It might work for some purposes.</p>

<p>(ii) If you're not enlarging optically, leave the second back and the B & W film at home. Just shoot C41 color and convert in the computer. That means you can leave the filters at home too. And if you're shooting C41 negative film, you can leave the meter at home and estimate exposure (just err on the generous side).</p>

<p>So now you're down to one body, one back, one lens. Minimalism is good. I would bring a light monopod, too, but YMMV. One other thing:</p>

<p>(iii) Unless you have a good reason, scrap the package tour. Make your own way.</p>