Which XCD lenses would you bring to Venice / Lake Como?

[anyone]

I'd recommend to take the Q3 with. Nothing beats a small walkaround camera...

 

[mristuccia]

To me Venice by night is more interesting than in daylight. I find it almost surreal.

Some examples (not MF, I usually carry a Fujifilm X-T2 over there):

 

[sjg284]

When I was in Venice I had only an M240 + 35lux + 50lux and got by alright.
X2D + 28p + 45p + 90v should be plenty.
Alternatively you could do something like this: Q3 + X2D+55V
Thought being - no need to swap lenses, Q3 generally wide enough and can take some cropping, and the 55V can crop to 90V frame as well.

As Marco said - I thought Venice at night was kind of magical. You may want to ensure you bring the Q3 in that case I suppose.

 

[davidrm]

Well as much as I feel presumptuous posting images in such august company, here are a few examples of Venice & Murano at night... (really, Venice is special at night). These are on X1DII, I haven't gathered the nerve to make the jump yet. The first one is the 45 f/3.5, the other 3 are the 35-70.


Burano (note, an example of the X1DII dealing happily with heavy rain. It wasn't covered at all)


Burano


Venice


Venice

 

[peterm1]

Thanks for all the replies! I like the idea of just carrying around the Q3, but the X2D files are just too good to pass up using this camera. Think what I will do is this: during the day, will wear my Prvke Lite backpack with the X2D and just the 25v and the 90v (just got the 25v and love it). Can crop for anything between 25mm and 90mm. This will mean less agonizing over changing multiple lenses, and they use the same filter size and have the same controls. I know the 28P and 45P would be a great, even smaller package, but I'd prefer the faster apertures, optical qualities, and controls of the V lenses and think it's worth the trade off in size. I'll probably use the 25v 90% of the time - that's just how I like to shoot (the Leica 21mm SEM was one of my favorites in the Leica system).

In the evening when we go to dinner, I will bring the Q3 in my small Hadley Leica M bag for size and discreetness (don't want to bring a backpack to nice restaurants...).

Can't wait and thanks again for the replies!

Peter

p.s. - the 28P is still pretty amazing and I have no problem using it for street where small size is most important. I recently did a street photography workshop in NYC with Frames magazine, and love the results I got with the 28P, even at night. If anyone is interested in seeing those pics, I have a small online gallery at https://lightroom.adobe.com/shares/5decbe10d5e045bd9ac63b2f0a0732a9

 

[wattsy]

p.s. - the 28P is still pretty amazing

Yes, the 28P is the only lens I would take with me to Venice.

 

[Iceman1331]

Few years ago I visited Venice and other locations in Italy when I bought my XCD 21 mm which gave me excellent pictures. The 35-75 mm is also a good choice but it is heavy though. I think a wide angle and a telephoto will be a good choice if you don’t mind about the weight.

 

[Photon42]

I was in Italy not too long back and essentially used the 28/38/65. The 20-35 + 55 and maybe the 90 sounds appealing, too.

 

[georgecleansman]

please see next image with better resolution

 

[georgecleansman]

Venedig 2009 - Hasselblad 503 CW - CFV 39 - CFE 40mm

 

[SrMphoto]

Venice, by night, is very photogenic and very safe.

 

[Earlstone]

Please keep us posted. I’m making the same trip myself and have the same questions. I got the 28p and 55. Thinking I’d like the 90, 20-35, and/or Q3 43. I know 28 and 55 could be enough, but what’s the fun in not having too much gear. That 25 is so nice too. They all are!

 

[peterm1]

I'm back from Venice and Lake Como. I took close to 3000 photos! The vast majority were taken with the 20-35mm - it was very useful in places like Burano, where I wanted to capture whole buildings and I could not back up very far. I used the 90mm a little bit, especially when traveling on the vaporettos (water buses) in Venice and ferries on Lake Como, but barely used the 55v. I'd probably bring the same gear if I had to do it again (but I would leave the 55v at home and take way fewer pics).... After I get through editing them I will post some.

 

[peterm1]

A few sample shots from Venice.... I am very happy with how things turned out with the 20-35E...

 

[Earlstone]

How was that lens for walking around?

 

[peterm1]

How was that lens for walking around?

It was fine - it's not a huge heavy lens like the 35-75mm. I never thought "I wish I left this at home and brought a smaller lens instead." Of course, it's not small and discrete like the Q3 or even the X2D with the 28p, but I didn't need small and discrete for walking around Venice - I wanted to have the zoom flexibility on the wide end. The 21mm and 25v aren't exactly small either. I take my 28P when I want to go really small and light.

 

[Earlstone]

Just got back. Only ran the 55, never took the 28 out of the bag. It was nice to keep it simple.

 

[Geoff]

There is something magical about the camera's capabilities and Venice at these times - the tonal ranges suit each other nicely!

 

[bags27]

I've found that when traveling I've far, far more often regretting taking along gear than I've regretting leaving gear behind.

My aha moment was in Yosemite when the brilliant 43mm lens got stuck on my Mamiya 7, and that was all I could carry while trecking up and down. My frustration with the camera turned into relief. I love the photos I took and can't remember any that I couldn't take.

I think part of the reason we, at least I, obsess about taking "enough" gear is to justify their cost. Why in the world did I spend so much on that glass if I'm not taking it on a great photo trip?

I just came back from a trip to a very scenic part of California with just the 907x 50c and 45p and my trusty little Sigma DP2-M. I ended up mostly leaving the Blad in the hotel. and love the Foveon photos.

 

[Geoff]

hauled an STC around Venice some years ago - while interesting, it ended up being a bit slow (tripod setup), but got this one shot.