Dispatch 002: what lenses make the cut for summer vacay?

This summer, my family and I are headed to my favorite Canadian province, Prince Edward Island. We were fortunate to visit last year, too, but this vacation will be extra special because we have a lot of extended family coming with us. This trip initiated my hunt for a new camera that could shoot stellar photo AND video for us to look back on for years to come.

You see, I had the very cool and admittedly fun Fuji X100v for several years. I loved taking photos with that camera, but did not love shooting video with it. Sure, the video specs aren’t horrendous, but its lack of IBIS and poor video autofocus made it unusable as a video camera. So, I was on the hunt for something new!

“Another camera? Yay!” my wife said without any sarcasm in her voice.

After a lot of research and hours watching videos on YouTube (like this one from RossAndHisJpegs and this one by Cascha Games), I rented the Lumix S9 and a Sigma 45mm for the week of my daughter’s spring break. It only took a few days to know this was the camera for me.

Aside from the great photo and video performance, one thing that excited me the most about the S9 was pairing it with some of my old vintage glass, something I couldn’t do with Fuji. I have a Pentax SMC 35 and 50mm, a fun soviet Helios 44-2 58mm, and a telephoto 80-200 that isn’t super sharp, but it gets the job done.

Now here is my problem: I only have so much room in my carry-on bag for camera gear, so I’ve decided to limit myself to the S9 body and three lenses.

The number one choice is the 45mm Sigma. While I don’t use this lens much in my daily life, having a modern lens with autofocus will be necessary at times. Next will certainly be the Helios 58mm. It’ll be my longest lens on the trip, and the swirly bokeh will be really nice for shallow depth-of-field portraits.

The third lens is what is tripping me up. I want a lens to capture some of the wide, majestic landscapes of Prince Edward Island. I have my trusty 35mm Pentax SMC, and 35mm has historically been my favorite focal length. I loved to shoot this same 35mm on my late grandfather’s old Pentax K100, and my old Fuji was a 35mm equivalent. My only fear is that this lens won’t be wide enough, and is too close to the 45mm I plan to take.

Pentax did make a SMC 24mm, which I’ve considered picking up, but I’ve read mixed reviews on this lens. I’m looking into other vintage 24mm lenses, but would love to know what you think! Should I go with the 35mm or the 24mm? If I go with the 24mm focal length, which lens should I get?

As always, I’d love to hear from you and see what photos you are taking with your Lumix cameras, so please don’t be a stranger!

Happy shooting!

- Daniel