Bringing Leica M4 to South Korea during Xmas

[skyjuice]

Hello everyone,

Next week myself and wife will be heading to South Korea for our first honeymoon holiday cum celebration of X'mas and New Year Eve 😀

It is winter in S.Korea and temperature ranging between -4 to -15 degree Celsius. My mind is fiddling to how about bring only one film camera; my newly acquired Leica M4 for this trip (it is my first Leica camera and now I am hook to it). I have never shoot film in winter season and don't know what to expect or prepare since leaving in Malaysia is always humid and hot.

That said I like to seek some advice/opinion:
1) is it safe to shoot with M4 at temperature below 0 degree Celcius?

2) is there any rule to expose the film properly for winter scene as I would expect S.Korea is all covered with snow?

3) I intend to bring 12 rolls of Fujifilm 400H PRO, 3 rolls of Neopan400 and 3 rolls of ilFord XP. Any special attention to be paid whilst rewinding and loading the film?

Additional suggestion is welcome too.
Thank you in advance for the tip and advice 🙂

Regards,
Lee

 

[baisao]

1. I would very much doubt there would be problems with mechanical cameras in sub-freezing temps, within reason of course. You should be okay.

2. If you are measuring your exposure off a scene that is largely covered by snow, take your reading then open up 1.5-2 stops. I only have academic experience with this as I live in Texas and have never scene this thing you call "snow". ;-)

3. No problems that I am aware of.

Good luck!

 

[Morry Katz]

Don't worry about your M4 in the cold. I use mine in -20C all the time without any problems. Try not to wind film quickly, as it gets brittle in the cold and can tear the sprocket holes. In a snowy scene open up a stop or two, because the bright snow will drive the exposure reading too high and you'll end up underexposing the real subject. A yellow filter will be handy as will a lens hood. Have fun.

 

[Vincent.G]

It's your honeymoon and your M4 is newly acquired... I would bring another camera as backup just in case if I were you.

Ultimately you have to decide how much the photos will mean to you.

Enjoy the snow!

 

[sanmich]

I would never take only one camera to a trip with no backup.
Much less a camera that is new to me, and that I don't feel 100% sure of how it performs.
enjoy your trip!

 

[yossarian123]

How newly acquired is your M4? Please run at least 2-3 rolls through it before taking it anywhere important.

 

[skyjuice]

Baisao : Hi and thanks for the advice 🙂

Morry Katz: Thanks for the wishes. Will remember and try to wind the film *gently and steady*

Vincent.G: Hi Vincent. Thanks for the tips, sadly I only have one 135mm film body. The photo means alot to me and my wife. Will try to find another camera if possible. I am going for 6 days and now thinking I might not have enough rolls. Any experience where can I get some films in S. Korea?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wchuan

 

[skyjuice]

sanmich: Agreed with the idea of backup camera.

funckydoy: Thanks for the tip. I don't have a handheld meter, yet. Using Android App called "BeeCam Lightmeter" 😱

yossarian123: I tested with one roll. No light leaks and seems fine. Here's one photo taken with M4 + 21 biogon.

 

[markwatts]

It is snowing hard in Mokpo at the moment and has been all day. Temp around zero. No problem

 

[baisao]

Remember to get a lead-lined bag if you are travelling with film. You don't want to have your precious memories fogged by a x-ray machine. Even then, always request that they hand inspect your film bag so it doesn't go through the machines. Best wishes!

 

[Frontman]

I have shot my Leicas in the cold, cold enough that they accumulated snow on them that didn't melt. I usually carry a couple of M bodies, I have had an occasional failure, but not due to weather conditions.

 

[baisao]

A comment on meters

A comment on meters

Thanks for the tip. I don't have a handheld meter, yet. Using Android App called "BeeCam Lightmeter"

I am not familiar with that app but it may not be an incident meter but averages the scene for middle gray. I suggest investigating how the app meters white surfaces in daylight compared to metering a scene under the same conditions, tested within moments of each other preferably.

The problem with a meter that averages the SCENE is that it will render the snow at middle gray rather than white. Bummer. An incident meter would measure the light falling on the METER (not the scene) resulting in white snow.

I think it is likely that your Android meter is measuring the scene, but test it and let us know.

Ta!

 

[jos58]

If you are not too familiar with the camera, take a backup camera with you.
You don't want to get home after your trip and find out something went wrong.

This year I made a trip to China, taking film past several xray checkpoints.
I carried my gear and films in a handbag, without lead envelope for film, but I mentioned to the security people I carried film inside the bag.
No problems at all, film was safe, at least upto ISO 3200 I am told!

The advice someone gave me: if you use the old fashioned lead bags, the xray spots a 'dark' object, they run it through a second time with HIGHER intensity xray! That could damage your film for sure.

 

[ktmrider]

Cold Weather Hints

Cold Weather Hints

That temperature range is just a minor inconvenience for a mechanical M. Remember, they have been to both poles and the top of Everest.

If you are doing reflected light readings in snow, open up one or two stops from the meter reading. If incident light readings, use what the meter suggests and perhaps another shot about half a stop down. sunny 16 rule shoot normally and perhaps bracket for optimum results.

Keep the camera under your jacket so body heat keeps it warmer. If you are outside with the camera for a lengthy period, put the camera in a ziplock bag when returning inside to prevent condensation on the camera or film. It has to be really cold for the film to shatter due to winding but just do it gently. And you might want a pair of thin lightweight gloves which makes handling the camera easier (wear under regular gloves or mittens as a liner).

 

[Joosep]

Shooting my M6TTL at -20 Celsius right here. No problem with the cameras, fingers feel rather stiff after a while tho....

 

[craygc]

Remember to get a lead-lined bag if you are travelling with film. You don't want to have your precious memories fogged by a x-ray machine. Even then, always request that they hand inspect your film bag so it doesn't go through the machines. Best wishes!

A complete myth for carry on x-ray...

 

[rlouzan]

It makes a big difference if the camera is new or had a recent CLA, the M4 is 40 years old.

Shooting my M6TTL at -20 Celsius right here. No problem with the cameras, fingers feel rather stiff after a while tho....

 

[baisao]

A complete myth for carry on x-ray...

To what extent? I imagine that once or twice might be okay, but at what point can a person expect to start to get fogging on, say 400? Cheers!

 

[craygc]

To what extent? I imagine that once or twice might be okay, but at what point can a person expect to start to get fogging on, say 400? Cheers!

You'll find most people who travel regularly with film will corroborate the same view. I've regularly flown around Asia (including a lot of China) for work for over 15 years, always carrying film, with not a single issue. The highest number of x-ray passes I've had with 400 speed film is 16x and even that showed no noticeable affects.

 

[baisao]

You'll find most people who travel regularly with film will corroborate the same view. I've regularly flown around Asia (including a lot of China) for work for over 15 years, always carrying film, with not a single issue. The highest number of x-ray passes I've had with 400 speed film is 16x and even that showed no noticeable affects.

Sweet! It has me wondering if this was a problem with older films or how the myth was started.