Bruce Gilden, who instead of stepping back with a 50mm, he steps forward with a 24-28mm,

L1002390 by Paul Whitehead[/url], on Flickr

Bruce Gilden at Photokina. Massive portraits, amazing.
(Taken on 50mm prime!)

I think this post has moved on from the OP’s question on lens choice. Its now more about the philosophy of photography and what we each get out of it.
If the OP is at a phase in his photography, where he is asking about which lens to purchase then he needs advice on what we think might be best for him in his circumstances. So, perhaps a zoom will be most appropriate for him.
What we are now moving into in our discussions is the merits of prime over zoom. I think within the photographic community as a whole (not just on here), then the general acceptance is that primes are superior to zooms, because yes, you are getting the more ‘authentic’ picture and by choosing a prime, you are probably thinking more about the image you want to capture and the process of achieving it.
Personally, I take that image gathering process a step further. I use primes, and I focus on the subject and have to decide on the aperture I want to use, rather than letting the camera do it for me. I feel that by getting back to basics, and manually focusing makes me think and then compose. I feel even though I’m using digital, and I can take as many shots as I want, I don’t. What I take is a picture that harks back to old film days where your 36 shots were precious. So, now with thought, composition, proper use of the light I take a photograph as opposed to a snap.

that if the discussion were to be had on here there would be a melt down of biblical proportions!

It would be fun though wouldn’t it!!

Yes, mine is on an M240. Focusing wide open is a bit of an art! I’d like the focus peaking of an SL, but with the 240 you have to think about it a bit. I have to be honest I do get it wrong, not often but it does happen. What I do find is the 1.4 is often too wide and i shut it down a bit.
Often think about moving to an SL, and I know many 240 owners who have made the swap, but I like the manual features of the M and its just a bit smaller and lighter. Fitted with the right lens for the day and not carrying a bag makes it quite unobtrusive.
Have also been tempted with a Monochrom, but have decided to put everything on hold till the new M10(?) comes out in the New Year.
How are you finding the SL? Its a beautiful bit of kit.

Am not sure if you can rent one. I think I may be aspiring for the unattainable. I have a 50 Lux already and am more than happy with it. I know I’m very lucky to be able to go down the Leica route, but the APO is just a step too far.

I’d like to give a 50mm APO Summicron, a good go. Would just love to see how sharp it really is. Kind of doubt one will ever come my way though!

I would once have said the 17-40L Zoom. However now I’ve got the rangefinder bug I only use primes and wonder now why I ever went with the pita zoom scenario.
So I would suggest for your budget, depending on your style of photography you go for the fastest secondhand 35 or 50mm.
Secondhand, because you can often find good examples of quality lenses at a significant reduction on the new price.

Malvern Rider. Five years since surgery. Not sports shy at all. I was 50 when it occurred, and since then have run half a dozen marathons, countess halves and i don’t know how many 10k’s.
I was probably in the process of giving un on mountain bikes as i got the injury. Once recovered, was a bit concerned that any falls might tear the repair. (Having said that I’m fairly certain I did the injury whilst fell running). I moved over to being a roadie………..which is more fun anyway.
Good luck.

Malvern Rider. A sports hernia isn’t a ‘hernia’ and won’t be detected in the way a normal hernia is diagnosed. There is no lump or bump where the herniation has taken place. Its more a tear deep within the pelvic / adductor muscles.
Can I suggest you do some research, see if your symptoms fit and discuss with your GP.
I’m not a doctor, and struggled initially to get mine diagnosed. Fortunately my GP was open and willing to converse and I went to see a consultant on referral I’d found in my research.
Once I’d seen the consultant, things moved fairly quickly, and following surgery the results were amazing.

Teasel,
I started about three weeks after the op, basically once the wound was healing and the stitches were out.
It was all about core strength, to be honest I don’t remember what they’re all called, but anything that would strengthen the abdomen. I did a lot of work on the mat, balance ball and gym ball. I also used stretching bands pulling and lifting lighter weights but progressing slowly. I also spent hours on an exercise bike, and walked for miles.
I was determined to put the effort in and I think it paid off.
It took till about week 10 before I could get back to some very gentle running.
I think GP’s are useless, not because they are useless, but because of a lack of experience of a relatively uncommon sporting injury. I suggest that a Sports Hernia is an injury caused generally to people who are themselves quite fit and active, a good sports physio ,often those dealing with footballers know a bit about it.
Good luck teasel and marc, I think its an injury that pretty horrible and takes a bit of getting over.

Marc, Its not fun, and I sympathise with you for the aches and pains you are probably going through. The initial investigation is not too bad, not painful. It depends how embarrassed you get!
As far as the op, well different surgeons I guess do it in different ways and the immediate outcome varies from person to person.
When I eventually came round in hospital, I immediately felt it had changed the pain. Yes, i had op pain but nagging ache was gone. I don’t know how yours is, but I had an ache in my left bollock that felt as if I’d been kicked and it wouldn’t go away. The pain radiated down my left thigh towards my knee. The only relief was to sit hunched forward and to walk with a slight stoop!
Once the surgery was complete I was allowed home the next day. I was up and walking within the day, but recovery took a couple of months. Sorry to say the op pain for a week or so was pretty intense. No heavy lifting, no excessive stretching and no hard exercise for quite a while.
I was lucky in that I was able to go to a job related convalescent home, where I got intensive physio and an excerise regime. I did a lot on a static bike, walking and when the wound had healed swimming.
I had the op in February, by June I’d got myself to racing 10K and moved on by the end of summer to half marathon. Cycling was out for quite a while.
Don’t know where you are but I could recommend my surgeon based in the Leeds area.

Sorry, didn’t realise a_a meant something else. Anyway I had surgery…………….and I wouldn’t want to worry you!

Yes, I’ve had a Sports hernia, and yes I’ve had the test and yes I’ve had surgery.
Rather like a_a, I wouldn’t want to worry you!

Doris5000. For us 7 years ago, a 4×4 was a must. Punta Arenas has proper roads but once out of town you on gravel tracks all the way up to Torres del Paine. Without the 4×4 then though we would have made it, it would have been slower and a bit more troublesome. Having said that, I’m fairly certain that some or all of the road is now tarmac. You may need to check.
Mind wherever you are, as soon as you’re off any main drag you’ll need the extra height and drive. We went to a penguin colony and it was a bumpy ride!
Trimix. El Calafate is quite a cosmopolitan town, has a feeling of small town USA. I don’t know about bike hire but it wouldn’t surprise me that it weren’t available.

Went over Christmas a few years ago. Flew into Santiago then on down to Punta Arenas.
From Punta Arenas, we flew over to Tierra del Fuego, which was a bit of a mistake. Where we went was basically a brothel town, not very interesting. We had no vehicle and were a bit trapped. Once we were off and back to P.A. we got back on track, hired a pickup and drove up to Torres Del Paine park. Few days there camping and staying hotels, before crossing the border into Argentina staying in El Califate to go see the Perito Moreno glacier. Drive back over the border and back down to P.A.
Due to timings we only had two weeks which was perhaps a little tight.The return journey to the U.K. consisted of five flights, arriving home at 02.00 and then into school at 07.00. It was a bit knackering!
We had a great time, lovely people, who away from the towns are bit unused and unsure of tourists but to see the Torres Del Paine mountains was dream come true. When we went many of the roads were gravel, but i think there’s now more tarmac which will make driving easier.
Oh and we did see penguins, there’s loads about.

Bring back Chris Evans!

Interested in this too. Yes, I probably need Synology. I need something for home use. Perhaps a 216j.
Any advice?

Have a look at TalkPhotography.co.uk. Their ‘for sale’ forum is very good. I’ve used it a good few times to buy and sell gear. I’ve never been disappointed with he stuff I’ve bought. It seems to be used by genuine photographers.
The only snag is I think you have to register and post a number of times before you can sell on the forum.

Did mine three weeks ago today, coughing, sneezing and laughing are almost back to normal. Sleeping is not. I still have to lie on my side and moving is agony. Bed time activities have ceased!
Until today, walking down a wet cobbled slope today, over I went. I just slipped and couldn’t stop the fall. Sat after the fall feeling very unhappy. It wouldn’t normally have been of consequence, but now several hours later I feel as if I’ve been beaten up. Hopefully a few ibuprofen’s a glass or two of red, and a good nights sleep will assist me in returning to the progress I was beginning to make.

Climbing a ladder last week, about 10ft up it slipped, and down I came. The ladder flipped and walloped me in the chest.
Before I go on; I know it was probably my fault.
Bloody hell it hurt, I sweated gallons and went as white as a sheet. I knew I’d done my ribs, but to pacify Mrs YP who thought I may have damaged something else internally, off I trotted with humble apologies re wasting their time, to the local A&E dept.
They were brilliant. Sympathy, prodded and poked till I cried and came to the conclusion that they couldn’t do anything other than offer more sympathy and give me a mouthful of painkillers.
No problem. That first afternoon Codeine and adrenaline made me feel as if I’d just got a scratch.
How wrong was I. That evening it kicked in. We are now day four. I didn’t realise that even moving my toes affected the chest muscle! Its agony.
After a life outdoors and multiple injuries, I didn’t know damage to the chest could be so painful. Can’t move in bed, I can’t sit. I can’t laugh, cough or sneeze. Whats the point of resting if you can’t settle to rest.
I don’t know if my ribs are broken or bruised, because they now don’t x-ray, so there is no way of knowing. Whatever the damage is, may I suggest to others…….protect your ribs!

I procrastinated for 5 years. Trying to decide, Rolex, Omega, Panerai and many others before finally choosing an IWC Portuguese. It took a long time but was worth it.

Bikebuoy. I do know how you feel, but traffic policing numbers have been cut, cut and then cut again,
In my area I know in the late 1980’s there were 80 PC’s operating out of three posts. From those three posts they covered a large part of the county. In 2016 there are 25 operating out of the one base. Consider that 25 has to be split within shifts to provide 24hr cover, then consider some may be on holiday, perhaps sick or on a course. It doesn’t leave many to go around an area of many many hundreds of square miles.
The distances they have to travel is phenomenal. Its not their fault it takes time to get to an incident. A fifty mile drive even at high speed takes time and is mentally exhausting.
Its not the lower ranks that have done this, it from the top down. Government and senior management have put money and resources into other aspects of policing.
So, no perhaps blacked out windows and illegal number plates don’t get the attention they should, nor do drink drivers, use of mobile phones and a myriad of other offences that irritate us, and that years ago got dealt with by larger staff numbers.
As far as the ‘wombles’ you mention. In theory you can go past them as fast as you like. They are Highway Officers employed by the DfT to assist in the free flow of traffic. They are not warranted officers, have very few actual powers and are not answerable to the local PCC.
As far as the HGV stuck in the central reserve, yes, you had a PITA journey, but put yourself in the position of the ‘Womble’, you have a 44t vehicle embedded on a barrier. How are you going to move it? Have you considered how long it might take to tranship an HGV’s cargo? Its not quick and its not easy in the centre of the motorway. Recovery was perhaps on its way, but again that is very specialist and HGV recovery trucks are not parked on every slip road.
Yes, I feel for you and others who think that perhaps one policing department isn’t up to scratch, but I’m sure its not the choice of the bobby in the car, he is a victim of cost cutting in the same way as many different professions in the public sector.

Had one for a year now, merino mountain shirt. Fantastic, truly an awesome piece of kit. Expensive yes, but it fits beautifully, looks good and is made out of a real material rather than recycled plastic bottles.
So good, that my wife bought one (different colour) too.
McNair themselves are good guys and great to speak to / deal with.

Audi here. It drinks the stuff. I get through about 10l every 12,000m
I buy it from the local truck stop, where its a lot cheaper than Halfords. I think £13.99 for the last drum

Wait till all the spiders and other bugs get between the joints of all that black cladding. It won’t have those clean sharp looks in a years time.
Rotting leaves on those rooftop windows will look good too.

Local sheep sales.

L1002801 by Paul Whitehead[/url], on Flickr

L1002810 by Paul Whitehead[/url], on Flickr

L1002831 by Paul Whitehead[/url], on Flickr

L1002838 by Paul Whitehead[/url], on Flickr

L1002865 by Paul Whitehead[/url], on Flickr

L1002819 by Paul Whitehead[/url], on Flickr

I’m 56, I can easily run a half marathon, but I can’t do it as fast as I was when i was 46. I can easily pedal a 60m road ride, but again I’m probably not as fast as I was 10 years ago.
At 56, I can still run and cycle and I feel I do ok at it. I’m never going to be on a winners podium but I can get round a route.
So what do I gauge it on? Well compared to a decade ago then I’m not as good, as I was but compared to the lardy, smoking, drinking couch potatoes I see around and about then I guess I’m doing ok!

Di2 Battery.

Brotherswater

.
L1002764-Pano by Paul Whitehead[/url], on Flickr

We needed a new mattress a couple of years ago. Considering you spend so much of your life horizontally on the bed, we decided to do our research, and if necessary be prepared to pay for it.
We nailed it down to abaca organic a company that make their own mattresses in South Wales. They are not cheap but going to bed is now a pleasure in so many ways!

And another for Freesat and Amazon, with a bit of Apple TV thrown in too. Saves a fortune.
I miss a bit of sport, but life is too short to get concerned about it. Money saved equals a good few nights away.

Greg, not it was the H6D

L1002356 by Paul Whitehead[/url], on Flickr

I think the advantage of the Fuji, is the shutter is within the body, so you get more lens interchangeability with other brands. A Fuji body perhaps with Zeiss lens could be pretty neat!

As I say, all too big and cumbersome for me. I admire you for lugging a Hasselblad around. I sticking with the smaller 35mm.

Was looking (note looking) at the new Hasselblad H6D at Photokina, looked good but the new Fuji GFX was looking a far better medium format prospect. Both are too big and cumbersome for me. Not interested. I’m sticking with full frame rangefinder.

If I could put in my thoughts.
DeadKenny has it right. A camera is a machine to hold a lens. Its the lens that does the work and the sensor records the image.
Thats why often the most expensive cameras are often quite simple. Hasselblad’s, Phase One and Leica use relatively simple (though expensive) to hold the ultimate glass.
I suggest on your limited budget, if you are keen on an SLR, then buy a decent second hand camera with the largest sensor (not largest MP) you can afford and then put as much as you can into a decent lens.
Have a look on some of the specialist camera sites. You can find a very decent used Canon or Nikon that others are moving on because the latest model MK II, III or IV has come along.

More from Cologne.

Greg……..yes, Photokina. Went with others who had a professional interest. I was merely an awestruck observer!

L1002556 by Paul Whitehead[/url], on Flickr

L1002547 by Paul Whitehead[/url], on Flickr

Cologne.

L1002325 by Paul Whitehead[/url], on Flickr

L1002332 by Paul Whitehead[/url], on Flickr

Langdale from Holme Fell.

L1002165 by Paul Whitehead[/url], on Flickr

Tour of Britain travels through Cumbria.

L1002115 by Paul Whitehead[/url], on Flickr

I don’t know how many times I’ve had to study Roadcraft (job) its not the most inspiring of books, but is packed full of useful info. Unfortunately it can be difficult to understand exactly what they mean, and the diagrams are not always the best help.
Then i would suggest you keep up with the IAM, they put basic Roadcraft into practice. I’d also suggest as others have done that you try and locate your nearest Bikesafe course. They are generally run by Police riders who can assist you.
That said, and reading your OP, if you are new to the bike and are not keen on riding in the wet, then temper your lines so they are not as extreme as the IAM are suggesting. Yes, there is an ideal place to get the view, and if you are happy doing it then there is nothing at all wrong on being completely on the wrong side of the road, (as long as you’re not crossing double whites). If we were making progress then we’d be all over the place, but only do it if you are confident.
Best get used to the bike and riding before you start trying to push your own limits.

Like most things, it depends on how much you want to spend. Billingham bags are awesome, The Hadley or Hadley Pro may be what you are looking for. Also you could look at the newcomers to the market Peak Designs.
I picked up one of their shoulder straps yesterday. A nice piece of kit.