A bit of Survey

[Lili]

Dante Stella wrote if he had five minutes to pack for Round-the-Wolrd trip he would take his Konica Hexar AF.
What Camera would you all take?
For Myself it would be my Hexar if I wanted to take a film camera.
In Digital the choice is tougher.
My choices would be;
1-My Pentax K100D with the 50/1.4. It's Noisy, Big, Heavy, tough and FAST (speed is something I find I cannot do without).
2-GRD-tiny light, fantastic lens but it drops to second place cause I worry overmuch about dust and fragility, both relating to retracting lens assy.
3-Fuji S6000fd-It has long zoom range lens that is superb at the wide end and good enough for those few times I need a longer POV. However it is roughly the same size as the Pentax and not as sturdy. The lens is fixed, non-retracting (and so more dust proof than the GRD) and the camera is as quiet as my Hexar.
These are very close rankings, tough to make that final decision.
Whats yours?

 

[Maggie O]

All I have is an M8. I guess it'll have to do.

 

[Lili]

All I have is an M8. I guess it'll have to do.

Maggie, that is one fine choice
My Ex once told me there was Old Western Gunfighters adage;
"Beware the Man with one Gun, for he knows how to use it."
In your case you have a very fine "weapon"

 

[TRSmith]

I don't really own a P&S or small sensor camera, so it would be the M8 with 28 cron. Even if I did own another "portable" camera, I'd still want the M8.

 

[Maggie O]

I'd probably miss my D-Lux 3, but truth be told, I haven't used it in weeks.

 

[Lili]

TR and Maggie, I think the key here is to use what you are most familiar with and trust most.

 

[Maggie O]

I know this'll make me unpopular in this forum, but the image quality of the M8 is what makes me want to use it more than the D-Lux 3. I look at photos from the little Leica and more often than not, I wish I'd taken them with the M8.

Of course, I was always a photographer who had a Nikon F3, but wanted a 4x5 view camera and thought that XP1 was the greatest thing to happen to 35mm film- no more grain! Obviously, my horizons have broadened. (or my standards have gone down! )

 

[thomasl.se]

Five minutes to pack:
It's my GRD with 21 and 40, with plans to pick up a DP1 where the price is right.

Five minutes and a year to pack:
One of the little 40mm boxes DP2 or Leica CM-D.

 

[scott kirkpatrick]

Five minutes to pack:

M8 with 24, 35 and 75 lenses in my old gas mask bag. Stick the GR-D2 in a jacket pocket. Stuff lots of little SanDisk packs with tiny card readers in the other pocket. OFF! (the laptop was already packed.)

add a small train of native bearers, and I'll bring the E3, telephotos and ultra wide lenses, plus viewfinders for the 24 and the ultrawides. GR-D with the 21mm add-on lens, and a real flash, that swivels around. My daughter, not to be left behind, carries the GX-100.

scott

 

[Caer]

If I could only take one camera, I'd have to say my Pentax DS + A-28mm f/2.8 lens, mainly because it runs on AA batteries Also, that lens is, IMO, useful for a wider variety of tasks than that of my "up-close street photography" GRD2's.

Besides, I've had the DS for about 2 years now (GRD2 for only 4 months) and I've become rather attached to it, despite the crack on the front and the broken AF motor

If I could take as much as I could pack in 5 minutes then naturally I'd throw in my GRD2 and its charger as well. Then I'd probably also include the A-50/1.7 lens and maybe the M-135/3.5 for the Pentax, since they're not that big or heavy.

All would go in my lovely orange Crumpler Ben's Pizza XL bag, which is in need of a good clean.

I'd probably leave my K10D and assorted accessories behind, because of the weight.

edit: thinking about it, a round-the-world trip would mean I'd really need some kind of portable backup device, but I don't have one of those

 

[Lisa]

Five minutes is enough to pick up my two little camera bags, one with my Nikon D200 with 18-200 VR lens already in it, the other with my Nikon D70 body converted to infrared already in it (uses the same lens, which I swap back & forth between the bodies).

I have a compact (Fujifilm F30fd, soon to be replaced with an F100fd, I expect), but I only have it to carry around all the time for "photographic emergencies" when I wasn't expecting to be doing serious photography.

Those are the only cameras I own, so I don't have to spend time dithering about which to take!

Lisa

 

[simonclivehughes]

Interesting question... if this were 10 years ago, I'd be dragging a couple of F5s and half a dozen lenses and other paraphernalia. Having graduated to the digital versions (both Nikon and Canon), and dragging them around for years, I finally ditched it all for a pair of M8s.

To be honest though, at this point, I'd really be tempted to just go with a small waist pouch with my GRD II and my GX 100, and possibly with the TZ3 thrown in for longer reach situations. Then I could really concentrate on enjoying going around the world!

Cheers,

 

[pcheywood]

Not around the world, but went to Thailand and Myanmar a few weeks ago and took just my GX100. I have to leave my 1DII and 20D at home now after an accident leaves me unable to hold them for more than a few minutes!

Pleased with half of the shots (low ISO), but not too happy with the higher ISO images where I really missed the larger sensor characteristics.

Going to have to look even more seriously at the DP1.

Paul.

 

[Brian Mosley]

Hi Lili,

I'd carry an Olympus E-420+pancake lens on the Y-strap which just arrived , and also the ultra sharp ZD 12-60mm lens (EFL 24-120mm)... and stuff the DP1 in another pocket.

I'm ready to go! I love adventure

Kind Regards

Brian

 

[Daz Tazer]

I'm going around South America for three months towards the end of this year and having a pocket-able digital travel camera was one of my main considerations which led me to get the GRD.
another consideration for me, was security as I'll be doing the trip on quite a small budget. staying in hostels not hotels, getting long distance buses etc.

plus i'm going to need to fit nearly all my belongings for three months into a backpack.

originally i was gonna buy myself a small DSLR like the Nikon D40x, but quickly ruled this out as i didn't want to have to worry about storing it at hostels on days when i wasn't taking it out.
lets face it, no matter how small a DSLR you get you are not gonna carry it at all times. like for instance on a night out or a trip to the beach, with the GRD though it can fit in my jeans or combat shorts pockets no problem.

which also means I'll have it on me at all times. which is what having a travel camera is all about surely.

soooo, I'd take my GRD.

 

[naoip]

Hi all,i would take my Grd with the 40mm for digital, or my gr1 v for film..Thats all i own :-\

 

[Lili]

Hi all,i would take my Grd with the 40mm for digital, or my gr1 v for film..Thats all i own :-\

Excellent choices, both of them.
Excellent Cameras too naoip ^_^

 

[Cindy Flood]

I would pack my M8 with CV15, 35 Cron, and 75 lux. I always have my GX-100 in my purse in case of emergency, so that would go. If there was a little extra room, I'd stuff in my xti and 70-200 IS.:thumbs:

 

[SLLDPI]

Because I use my heavy, bulky Canon 5D outfit less and less often nowadays as much as I like the image quality that it produces, I'd take my GR-D II with its 21 and 40mm lenses, two extra batteries, battery charger, two 4 GB cards, and 21/28 viewfinder. Whatever the Ricoh's shortcomings, it's a fine instrument and so easy to travel with. The entire Ricoh outfit fits into the excellent, small Duluth Trading Fire Hose Leather Travel Case. (I'm not associated in any way with Duluth Trading.) I'd take some large plastic ziplock bags to protect the outfit against the elements. On the other hand, if I really did need or want better image quality than the Ricoh generates, I'd take the 5D, 50mm f/1.4, 24-105 mm zoom, and 580 flash. Oh, my aching back!

 

[Lili]

Interesting answers and rationale, all of you
I got home tonite and have been playing with packing a small bag to see what would carry best.
Of course the GRD, with both lenses, spare battery, charger and a tiny Sunpak slave flash beat every thing in the "bang for spac/weight" category.
BTW, SLLDPI, thanks for the bag idea
Ok my *final* answer;
The GRD as above would be my choice.
Possibly with the Pentax K100D and 50/1.4 for those low light moments.
But the GRD would go with, regardless