Maine with the M7 and X100

I struggled with the decision of which camera(s) to bring on my recent trip to Maine. The purist in me wanted to bring the M3, 50mm Summicron, and a bag of Tri-X. That would have been easy, and likely a disaster. This trip called for color photography and some wide angle lenses.

Having just bought a Canon 1D MarkIII, I really wanted to take that camera. That would also have been a mistake. It’s way too big and heavy for hiking and biking.

I could just bring a selection of cameras and film and decide while there which to use. I tried that on my last trip and it was a mistake. I’d have either the wrong camera (too heavy) or the wrong film (too fast or slow) and spent too much time deciding which to use anyway.

I knew I wanted to shoot some film and some digital, mostly wide angle, and all color. Not too heavy. I finally decided on bringing both the Leica M7 and the Fuji X100. They are both very small, and even carried together aren’t too much trouble. I had the M7 loaded with Kodak Portra 400 and the X100 on auto ISO. With good light the Leica is perfect and when the light goes away the Fuji is great.

This turned out to be a terrific combination. Most of the time I carried both around my neck. No problems. On longer or more strenuous hikes I took just the X100. It’s very light and doesn’t require that I also carry film. Everywhere else I took both and alternated, depending on mood or subject.

Here are a few images from the trip.