The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

travelling with X Vario + X Typ 113

Figured I'd write a short post about my recent trip. I went for a quick week long trip with extended family to Teneriffe early april. I had somewhat hard time deciding what gear to take with me..

In the end I left my Nikon Df + lenses at home and only took X Vario and X typ 113 with me. In the end I could have survived easily with just the Vario.

Have to say it was a very liberating experience. Just the Vario with a shoulder strap and done. I had the EVF, lens hood and grip attached to it all the time. They were fantastic. Was so light & easy to walk around without a huge bag over the shoulder.. light weight too. Couple of occasions I would have liked to have a longer lens, but those times could be counted with one hand.

I started the trip liking X Typ 113 much better and thinking the Vario is just a side kick. In the end about 90% of the shots were with Vario. Fantastic travel camera and the picture quality speaks for itself.

Anyway, if you like to see some "snappies" from the trip, you're welcome to do so here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsk6JknUE

I guess the only problem I had with the Vario ever was my nose hitting the play button. Quite irritating and totally causes a missed shot when ever you hit it.. They should make a firmware change that play button is disabled, when EVF is activated.

//Juha
 

Gbealnz

Member
Nice write up Juha. We discussed the various pros and cons on another forum, nice to hear it all went well, and that the "leave the DF behind" suggestion wasn't a problem.
The images look great, and it speaks volumes for the X-Vario.
Gary
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Nice photos!

And a very nice camera. I never understood all the brouhaha about the X Vario lens speed when it was introduced. People were dissing it who'd never even seen one, never mind used one.

I've come to the point where, unless I'm going somewhere for very specific photographic purposes, I only carry one camera and work with whatever it is. Because I know that if I carry two, one of them will just sit in the bag and be a weight I'm carrying around for no reason. With an interchangeable lens camera, this usually means body and two or three lenses, and then I use one lens more than three-quarters of the time.

The freedom of one camera and one lens is a joy. Settle into it and you spend all your time thinking about what you can do with it and looking for photographs you can make with it, not thinking about which thing you want to use NOW and worrying about "what if I had X with Y lens, I could get that instead..." It's very liberating.

Speaking of which, it's time I took the Perkeo II or SWC out for a walk. :)

G
 
Thanks Gary & Godfrey for your comments. I try to keep an open mind and the suggestion to leave Df at home was quite welcome, it made me think instead of trying to grab every piece of kit I've got in order to not miss a shot :)

The next things I need to add are some filters.. nd's, grad nd & polarizer are most certainly needed. This was quite apparent in the harsh lighting conditions of mount Teide. The rock was quite dark, sometimes even black, and the sky so so bright. Grad nd would have been fantastic.

Also need to look at better shoulder strap. Leica original with X-series isn't really good. The one that comes with M is a lot better. I was thinking about the Voigtländer/Artisan&Artist strap..

//Juha
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
It's easy to get caught up with the "what if I had BLAH with me ..." game. I resist it, and resist it. Like today: I have with me one Polaroid SX-70 and five exposures left on the pack of film. Keeps me sharp and on the lookout for opportunities that will succeed with just that, and not too many of them... no distractions.

I've never taken my X2 or X OEM straps out of their original drawer in the box. I'd love an A&A silk cord strap for all of my cameras around this size, but at $170+ a pop that's a bit too much to spend. Second best IMO is the Street Strap (The Street Strap ... ignore the goofy picture). It's available in 46" and 52" lengths. I have 46" on the E-M1, A7, and X2; went for 52" on the M-P and X. You can also order them from Amazon; one time I found I could get a good discount if I bought two at the same time.

I think 52" fits how I want to use the camera for a Godfrey-sized person (just shy of 6' and a bit "bulky" in shape). With the camera slung over my left arm and around my neck bandolier style, it normally hangs neatly just forward of and below my left elbow joint where it doesn't bounce around, and there's enough strap to pick it up to my eye with my right hand quickly.

This strap is the next best thing in feel to the A&A strap at less than half the price. I've been using them for a few years now... they're not showing any wear and they're a pleasure in use, never twisting up or binding.

G
 
Godfrey, 100% agreed on the silk starp - would be fantastic to have, but way too expensive for me. I'll check the street strap. With A&A strap I meant their Voigtländer style strap, which I think is around 40-50usd. While even that's expensive, it's still not in the same league as the silk one :)

//Juha
 
Well, after doing my research on the strap I settled for A&A Voigtländer style adjustable canvas strap. It can be adjusted up to 54", which is quite sufficient for me.

The street strap was of interest, but it's only sold from US and would then get VAT + customs added at the border -> ends up costing the same 150euros as the A&A silk strap.

The strap I chose ended up at around 100€, which is still bloody expensive. But it was the only suitable one that's long enough.

//Juha
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Sounds good!

One day I'll splurge and get a real silk A&A cord strap, or one of those lovely Henry Benz wrist straps ... but those prices *are* silly.

G
 

asiafish

Member
I totally agree with regards to the XV as a travel camera and in that role it really has only one weakness, which is indoor and nighttime lie-light photography without flash.

Like you, I bought the X113 to fill that role and also to use when I want the creative limitations of the prime lens.

With both X cameras in the bag I also tend to reach for the XV most often, but I find my pictures (as opposed to image quality) to be better when I'm restricted in focal length using the X.

I am traveling to South Kore next month and plan to bring my M-E with a 35 and 50mm lens and one of the X cameras for more casual use. The question is which one? XV for versatility or X for creative restrictions? Whichever one u bring, I doubt I'll regret not having the other.
 
Top