Hi all. I will be going to Angkor, Cambodia in a few days time. Am wondering if an M6 with 24, 35 and 50 be sufficient? I don't have anything longer in M. Do I need anything longer? Or should I just lug an SLR with 28-70 and 180? The M is definitely lighter than an SLR outfit. Also might attract less attention from undesirables. Any advice from you with similar experience is most appreciated. TIA

-- Steven Fong (steven@ima.org.sg), April 29, 2001

Answers

Depends on what kind of pics you want to come back with, Steven. If the 24/35/50 combo has gotten you this far, what is a new longer lens going to bring you now? It's not the "place" that demands the lens, it's the person behind the shutter release button. If you want pics with narrowed field and a little compression, then a 90 Elmarit might bring you back those shots. But only if you have that "vision" in your head to begin with. Otherwise it will be dead weight in your travel bag.

Maybe you should try shooting around your home neighborhood with any medium length lens exclusively for a few days to see if that length lens fits your vision. Any old camera will do - even a Point-N-Shoot with the zoom set to 100mm or so. At the end of a few days you'll know whether that perspective bores you or excites you enough to make the investment in a 90 Elmarit.

-- Ken Shipman (kennyshipman@aol.com), April 29, 2001.

Steve,

I was just at Angkor a couple of weeks ago. I had a M6 with a Summilux 35/1.4 and that was it. The 35 was pretty good for most everything as I tend to walk forward to zoom and back for the wide angle shot.

There were two occasions where I wish I had another lens though. There is a hill close to Angkor Wat where you get a panoramic view of the temple and the surrounding jungle. Angkor Wat is a couple of kilometers from the hill so I figure you would need a 300mm at least to get a shot where it wasn't just tiny. No 300mm in M-system so maybe this is a shot you don't get unless you take an SLR. Also, many of the temples at Angkor, especially Angkor Wat, are huge and the 35 just could not get the whole thing. Wide angles are good for Architecture so if you have one take it. Also, if you have a system that has a shift lens to compensate for converging lines that would make your photos much better.

Another thing to keep in mind. When I went there it was unbearably hot and humid. There were times when I didn't know how I was going to get through the day because of the heat. I felt like I was lugging a one hundred pound pack even though all I had was my camera. You're going to get filthy as all the traffic picks up dust on the mediocre roads. Get water in Siem Reap and plenty of it as the vendors at the temples will hound you and their prices are ridiculous.

I did not run into any "undesirables" there. The khmer people were incredibly warm and friendly and the situation in Siem Reap is very mellow. Things are different in Phenom Penh I am told.

I'd say take your M6 with the 24, 35 & 50 and you'll have more than enough for the vast majority of the shots available. If you could even limit what you take with you more it all boils down to less you will have to lug around like lead weights.

I hope this helps and I'm sure you'll find Angkor as mind blowing as I did.

Oh, and don't stray from well use paths because of land mines, which are still around, especially in some of the temples which are in outlying areas away from the main complex, if you go to any of them.

-- Gabriel Ruspini (gabriel@ruspini.com), April 29, 2001.

I was in Thailand, Laos and Myanmar not long ago, carried a Nikon F5 and F100 with 20, 50/1.8, 28-105, 70-210, 1.5x TC. I found that the range of focal length was a big plus as I was able to get any shot I could imagine without having to do a lot of running around or changing lenses. The zooms also let me crop very selectively, as I was not interested in documenting the juxtaposition of modern western society (commercial logos *everywhere*) with that of S.E. Asia. I also put the F5's AF and removable prism to good advantage, shooting candids from waist or chest level at 200mm wide open and getting spot- on focus. I do travel frequently with the Leica M but I always have the full lens range with me (15-135 plus a Komura 2x)even if I leave out some in between, like the 21 or 50 or 90. You can pick up a 135mm lens (they're *all* good, even the 4.5 Hektor) quite inexpensively as Leicas go, much less than a 90. I would suggest that as an economical way to round out your system.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), April 29, 2001.