What lenses for the French/Swiss Alps?

C Sean · Jul 23, 2017

Next month I will be going to the French Alps and while there I will do a bit of photography. The holiday is mostly cycling, trails and other outdoor activity. So I won't have the camera with me all the time.

Originally I thought of taking the GX80, 15mm 1.7, 25mm 1.4 and the 45-150mm with me. However, where I'm going has the possibilities of raining a lot so it make more sense of taking weather sealed gear. So the question is what to take?

So I will be taking the GH5? and the 12-35 which covers a bulk of my photography needs and the combination are weather sealed. The question is do I take other lenses like a faster prime lens like the 15mm 1.7 or a telephoto zoom like the 35-100mm 2.8? I'm thinking the 45-150mm 4-5.6.

Roger Engelken · Jul 23, 2017

C Sean said:
Next month I will be going to the French Alps and while there I will do a bit of photography. The holiday is mostly cycling, trails and other outdoor activity. So I won't have the camera with me all the time.

Originally I thought of taking the GX80, 15mm 1.7, 25mm 1.4 and the 45-150mm with me. However, where I'm going has the possibilities of raining a lot so it make more sense of taking weather sealed gear. So the question is what to take?

So I will be taking the GH5? and the 12-35 which covers a bulk of my photography needs and the combination are weather sealed. The question is do I take other lenses like a faster prime lens like the 15mm 1.7 or a telephoto zoom like the 35-100mm 2.8? I'm thinking the 45-150mm 4-5.6.

Your setup sounds good, though I would add a wide angle. I found that most useful and helpful when I toured the Swiss Alps from Lake Geneva to Lichtenstein in 2010. Be prepared for breathtaking spectacles of nature. The Panasonic 7-14 might be one to consider.

Skeeterbytes · Jul 23, 2017

I'd go with the GX80 and two 2.8 zooms, both fitted with pola filters. For hiking and backpacking I don't like carrying a body as large as the GH5.

Officially jealous of your trip.

Rick

C Sean · Jul 23, 2017

Thank you for the advice. The problem is my widest lens is my 12-35mm 2.8 and I just purchase my GH5. So my bank account had taken a big hit and I will not be buying any new lenses for the trip. To be honest I did consider the new 8-18mm 2.8-4, however I felt the lens clash too much with the 12-35 with the way I shoot.

shoffmeister · Jul 23, 2017

C Sean said:
Next month I will be going to the French Alps and while there I will do a bit of photography. The holiday is mostly cycling, trails and other outdoor activity.

Great decision!

C Sean said:
So I won't have the camera with me all the time.

Bad decision!

C Sean said:
Originally I thought of taking the GX80, 15mm 1.7, 25mm 1.4 and the 45-150mm with me. However, where I'm going has the possibilities of raining a lot so it make more sense of taking weather sealed gear. So the question is what to take?

If it pours, you will not be out taking photos (and probably not be in the mountains - too dangerous). A plastic bag helps to address the rest.

The GX80 has the right size for a camera body and a very good 16 mp sensor. The GH5 has the rather very good 20mp sensor, giving you a tad more lee-way for cropping, but is rather heavy. Personally, I would not even think of taking the GH5. Personal comfort above the tree line rocks

As far as lenses are concerned, the 15/1.7 is a must.

The Panasonic 45-150 might give you a bit of reach, but in my experience, once it comes to using that lens, the interesting bits are too far away and that lens too much on the budget size to make it real fun.

The 25/1.4 - for the nights? In the village? Not really something I would tend to use up in the mountains.

When going out there myself (typically up to 3000 metres, alpine things, day trips or up there for the weekend), I pick from the following equipment:

Body is either a Panasonic GM1 or an Olympus E-PL7, in a small bumbag.

Major lens is either a Panasonic 7-14/4 or an Olympus 12-40/2.8 (with the best polarizing filter money could buy - it can be quite hazy, and the colours do get more pop). The Olympus 8/1.8 fisheye when I can afford the weight. The Panasonic 100-300 whenever I expect exciting things in the distance (all too often we do unexpectedly see exciting things and then I blindly shoot the Panasonic 7-14 at 14mm and live from the memories :/).

Most often, the combination of Panasonic GM1 and Panasonic 7-14/4 makes for a fun ... Point&Shoot? From yesterday, central Switzerland, shooting from 1500m up to that 2500m hump ("Gitschen"):

Swiss Alps at 7mm

Scott G · Jul 23, 2017

I shoot with Oly camera and lenses and just travelled through the Rocky Mountains last month. I was continually frustrated by the lack of an ultra-wide. I used both my 12-40 and 40-150 a lot (the tele mostly for wildlife and macro). I ended up doing a whole lot of careful wide-angle shooting and stitching for panoramas, but it was difficult and didn't always work out.
Later I bought the 7-14 (olympus) and have loved it! I climbed a mountain in the Cascades with it and used it a lot - seems like ultra-wide and mountains go hand-in-hand. The Oly 7-14 is weather sealed, but is a bit on the heavy side. Image quality is outstanding. I think it compares relatively well to the Pana 7-14.

Good luck and happy shooting!

Vetteran · Jul 23, 2017

You need something really wide. If you don't want to buy a ultra wide angle zoom, consider the Olympus BCL-9M. It's cheap and will produce desired results. Basically $100 new; cheaper on eBay.

markusw · Jul 23, 2017

I would disagree with most people about the superwide lenses... for them, you need a really strong foreground which IS possible in the alps but not that often. If you do not have that, or the scene is not illuminated evenly, or the crouds hang in the foreground, you have to focus in your subject and isolate some details.

In former days, I travelled also to Austria and Switzerland with just a single lens - a 35mm equiv. Today, I am not that reduced, because I think the 35 (or 17 in mFT) is too much of a compromise. I go now out with a 12 and a 25 - therefore, the 12-35 is quite perfect IMHO.

But please, don't kill me, just my 2 cents

Here is one with 17mm (or 35 FF) (and obviously, it could be also a 25mm!):

Dachstein / Austria

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M.
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https://www.flickr.com/people/126876759@N02/

maltmoose · Jul 23, 2017

Vetteran said:
You need something really wide. If you don't want to buy a ultra wide angle zoom, consider the Olympus BCL-9M. It's cheap and will produce desired results. Basically $100 new; cheaper on eBay.

Albert Valentino · Jul 23, 2017

I would look for a good used O 9-18 for the trip. It is a very lightweight, tiny kens when closed and a good used one is very affordable. Generally cost between $350 and $400 USD for a good one. Very pleased with mine

NCV · Jul 23, 2017

I do a lot of hiking in the Apennines . I find the 12-35 covers 90% of what I shoot.

I have been tempted just to take my LX100 to save weight.

Skeeterbytes · Jul 23, 2017

I've backpacked the Sierra Nevada happily with the 12-40 and while some vistas would have benefited with something wider it's not all that common and it's sometimes possible to do a stitched panorama later.

Take flexible gear you're familiar with because fiddling, lens swaps, etc. are unwelcome while dealing with the physical exertion of hiking and enjoying the beautiful surroundings.

My $0.02

Rick

Danielvr · Jul 23, 2017

Member said:
If it pours, you will not be out taking photos (and probably not be in the mountains - too dangerous). A plastic bag helps to address the rest.

Agreed. I haven't been in the Alps region, but my experience with French weather is that when it rains (fortunately not too often), it pours so heavily that you won't be out shooting anyway

shoffmeister · Jul 23, 2017

markusw said:
I think the 35 (or 17 in mFT) is too much of a compromise.

The really nice thing about quality glass in front of the 16 mp m43 sensor is that zooming by cropping is quite manageable.

It won't work wonders, publishing in National Geography is out of question, as the following photos will show, but it helps telling, and remembering, stories:

There was bleating. Bleating for help. At this time of year (i.e. a week ago), at that altitude (2600m), this could only have been a young alpine ibex, coaxing her mother. Lo and behold, the kiddo moves (and we finally spot it), Big Ma pops out, too, and they go on a little hop-around-the-rocks tour, to finally disappear towards the valley at breath-taking speed.

Panasonic 7-14/4 @ 14/4 on a Panasonic GM1. Switzerland, Graubünden (Grisons), Lai Mort (Lake Death). Do you see the Alpine Ibex?

Cropped and upsampled by a factor of four from the red square in the preceding photo.

C Sean · Jul 23, 2017

Danielvr said:
Danielvr said:

If it pours, you will not be out taking photos (and probably not be in the mountains - too dangerous). A plastic bag helps to address the rest.

Click to expand...

Agreed. I haven't been in the Alps region, but my experience with French weather is that when it rains (fortunately not too often), it pours so heavily that you won't be out shooting anyway

A polariser filter will help you get more clarity in your images. A camera attachment clamp to use your bicycle as a tripod might be useful too, for long exposures and selfies.

Just to clarify things...

Most of my holiday will consist of going down the mountain side on a bike, at high speed and wearing body armour just in case either I slide off or I go over the handle bars. This is why I purchased the cheaper GoPro session because I know there a possibility the camera will not make it. This is why I will not be carrying my MFT with me.

I will likely be using the MFT camera on the road trip, in the town, on possible mountain bike rides and photographing people using the mountain trail.

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What lenses for the French/Swiss Alps?

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