Michael Williamson wrote:
> Hello again everyone. My family and I are spending the last week of June
> and the first week of July on a (guided) tour of Italy and Greece. I'm in
> dire need of photographic advice.
Since you're travelling in a group, speed of use is important. You don't
want to be changing lenses all the time or fiddling with a manual-only
camera. Weight and compactness matter too.
You'll find ISO 100 is suitable for all outdoor shots. Make sure it isn't
high contrast film. (I don't know print film.) With this film, you may
sometimes want the 1/2000 of the OM-4 if shooting wide-open with a prime, so
I would take that body. For two weeks, *I* wouldn't take a spare body. But I
would take spare batteries - of course they are sold in Greece and Italy, but
would you know where, and would you have a chance to go there? Buy your film
at home - it's ferociously expensive at tourist kiosks.
I agree that fast shutter speeds - up around 1/250 at 50mm - are the
way to go. Applying the sunny f/16 rule, that gives you 1/250 at
f/11 with ISO 100. At these settings, handheld, my slides are very sharp. For
shots from your hotel window, use a pillow on the sill. Real windows open,
unlike American ones, giving you 1 1/2 more stops, sills and actual
fresh air.
>From your lens list, I would take the 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5, the 24mm f/2.8,
and nothing else. There aren't that many opportunities for a 90mm or 100mm,
normal or macro, and that zoom focusses pretty closely. It's your "walking
around" lens. Of course, I've never fought the crowds in the high season -
that might be an argument for a longer lens.
If you also want to shoot inside dim buildings, you will probably not
be allowed to use either tripod or flash. If you really want these shots,
an OM-2SP body (which takes the same batteries as the OM-4) and 50 f/1.4,
loaded with ISO 800 film, would be the thing. Maybe take a small flash for
people snapshots.
Take a 49mm circular polarizer. As well as its usual uses, you
can use it to shoot through coach windows and as an ND filter.
If you really want the longer lengths, take the Tokina SZ-X 70-210mm
if you find it easier to carry than the 70-150. See whether you can fit
a 52-49 step-down ring and use 49mm filters and caps with it. The one
lens you may miss is a 35mm shift lens. I used 200mm maybe twice in six
weeks, and needed 300mm for those shots anyway.
Give your daughter the OM-PC and a 50mm f/1.8, for lightness. If the
35-70 f/3.6 were to die on her she'd spend the next year sticking pins
into wax effigies of you, and in any case it's too heavy. If she
prefers 35mm, consider giving her the 35 f/2 instead. If she
takes both lenses, encourage her to pack one away until she's used to
carrying both and swapping them. An inexperienced photographer can spend
their whole time dithering over lens choice and not see the sights.
BTW, if I were doing the trip I would take from my cupboard:
OM-4, 35mm shift, 50 f/1.4, 90 f/2.5 macro, 24mm f/2.8, 49mm polarizer,
55mm polarizer, T20, and maybe an OM-2SP.
Brian Windrim wrote
> non-photogs (especially - dare I say it - women) always seem to loath slides.
My theory on this is that some male always commandeers the projector and
doesn't pace the slides according to audience reaction. Many women shoot
slides.
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