35 years of GAS leads to explosion......

[Wayne R. Scott]

Greetings,

I am basically thinking out loud right now, so please bear with me. My head is about to explode.

After 35 years of gear acquisition, one of the problems with GAS is that it can lead to indecision as to what camera/lens combo to carry with you. I am leaving on a two week auto trip through the western and southwestern USA to visit members of my scattered family. I will be traveling at my own pace with no one to annoy🙂. I am trying to narrow down my kit to a reasonable and useful combo. I have a feeling that the wide open spaces and mountains call for a wide angle lens and a larger format than 35mm with both slide film and b&w film. While family snap shots call for 35mm print film and flash capability. Walk-about sight seeing calls for rangefinder type camera with b&w and color print film. Some of the old ghost towns call for b&w film with attention to detail which would lead to large format and/or macro details.

I think my walk about camera combo is going to be two Canon P’s one with 35mm lens and one with 50mm lens. With a 100mm in bag. With a small GE selenium light meter hand held.

For family grab shots, I think a Canon QL-17 GIII with small flash. Minolta IV f flash meter.

For macro details shots I think a Nikon F3HP with 55mm Micro Nikkor and a Tamron 90mm Macro with 1:1 extension tube. Plus a rail bellows. Use the Nikon on board meter.

Now for the hard part, the scenic views. Medium format and/or large format? If medium format do I use 645, 6x6, or 6x7? My choices are Bronica ETRS with very sharp 50mm PE but smaller 645 format. Yashica TLR with 80mm normal lens in 6x6 or Koni-Omega with 90mm normal lens in 6x7. Or use a 6x7 roll film back on my 4x5 Crown Graphic with 88mm Bausch & Lomb and 162mm Optar?

In large format do I take the 4x5 Crown Graphic and use Graphmatic film holders, one with slide film and one with b&w film? Or go with a rail view camera for the 100mm WF Ektar and 190mm Ektar?
Should I haul a 5x7 with 250mm Commercial Ektar for black & white? Or all of the above? I think with large format any thing over 100 feet from the car is not going to be interesting🙂.

All of the 35mm equipment will fit into my Lowe Pro Magnum case, with a small Lowe Pro for walk-about to hold film, extra body and lens.

Tripods, spot meter, filters, cable releases, etc. will be included.

I am kind of leaning toward the K.I.S.S. principle, but then what if I need it and don’t have it? I am not likely to travel this way again for several years, if ever.

Any thoughts, suggestions, or voices of experience welcome.

Wayne

 

[kiev4a]

Let's see. I think Hertz rents a small truck that should work for your purposes. If weight affects your gas mileage too much you can drop off the Canon P with me in Idaho to reduce you expenses🙂

 

[eric]

I think you need to rent another car just for yourself and your gear.
That's a heck of a lot of gear! I can't tell you want to do, but K.I.S.S sounds like a good idea especially when travelling with family. I always break something or lose something cause the kids throw things on top of my gear. I did have a Zero Halliburton last time and somehow, my Sekonic 398 studio meter broke. I do a lot of road trips with my family and I usually bring my Medium format in a hard case and a small P&S (Oly stylus), wife carries the digital, and I'll bring my Agfa Isola or Clack or Holga or Diana. That way, same 120 film procoessing and I won't feel bad if anything breaks on a trip. Then take your bigger cameras on outings by yourself. If it sounds like you'll be in a vehicle, bring everything and take out what you need.

 

[varjag]

Travel light.

Take one 35mm camera, and the least bulky MF for scenics if you feel the need for larger format. Stuff the rest of free space with film 🙂

 

[Wayne R. Scott]

Travel light.

Take one 35mm camera, and the least bulky MF for scenics if you feel the need for larger format. Stuff the rest of free space with film 🙂

Ahh, the voice of reason. Now go away 😉

Wayne

 

[akalai]

I'm not sure what type of vehicle you are travelling in but hopefully it's secure enough to avoid being easily broken into....be a shame to loose any of the gear you mention above.

Having said that it sure sounds like fun and I wish I could do the same.... I made the mistake of getting a copy of Avedon's "In the American West" and since fantasise often of making a transcontinental road trip. Lucky you!

Hey how about the 21mm Biogon on the IIa??? I think that and the two Canons would just about cover everything....and in not too large a bag.

...and if you happen to stumble across any other 21mm Biogons in some dusty old shop during your trip...LET ME KNOW! PLEASE. 🙂

OK well have a safe trip.

 

[Nick R.]

I don't see why you should take both the canonet and the canon p with the 35mm. Take the p's and intersperce your art shots with your snapshots.
If you can fit a large tripod, take the large format gear. The bigger the better. Otherwise, handheld, any of 6x's will do.

 

[Wayne R. Scott]

I did toy with the idea of the 21mm Biogon on the IIa, I just thought larger format wide angle would give more detail. Hmmmm. IIa and Biogon are really compact. If I carry every thing I may be able to sell some for gas, as prices continue to climb.🙁

I am going to be looking in the dusty old shops along the way. Maybe I'll find that 8x10 Kodak 2D that I have been looking for. If I find another 21mm Biogon you will have first dibs akalai.

Wayne

 

[akalai]

Cheers Wayne!!!

Haha...I think the only way I'd ever get that lens is if someone like you did manage to stumble across one in said "Ye Olde Shoppe"...haha. Hey maybe you could also keep an eye out for a 8x10 Deardorff as well to fulfill my "Avedon" fantasy???

Seriously though I think the two P's and the IIa with the Biogon on it as the ultimate snap camera would be an ideal and manageable kit...but ultimately it will come down to how much gear you are willing to lug. Either way I hope you enjoy the journey....

 

[wlewisiii]

If I were to be looking at this trip, with what you've suggested above, I'd go with the following
1) Canon P with the 3 lenses
2) Yahsica TLR
3) Crown Graphic with a couple of lenses, roll back and grafmatics.
4) Tripod, GE Meter, etc and as much film as the car can hold.

That way you'd probably have your bases covered in a simple package. Plus the Crown is light enough to move the "interesting" limit a few more feet away from the car 🙂

William

 

[Wayne R. Scott]

My thinking on the Canon QL-17 was that it has a hot shoe for small flash, on Canon P I need flash with pc cord. I guess an even smaller more compact camera with flash for grab shots would be my Olympus mju. I am going to nix the QL-17 and take the Olympus. Adding Contax IIa with Biogon 21mm.

Medium format I think I will take folding Speedex Special "R" .

I am leaning toward Crown Graphic with 6x7 Roll film holder and 4x5 graphmatics and film holders, with two lenses. Bogen tripod. Crown Graphic, lenses and film holders in graphic hard case.

Wayne

 

[Wayne R. Scott]

akalai,

On the 8x10 Deardorff, you get dibs on the second one I find.

Wayne

 

[oftheherd]

I've thought long and hard about this, and looked at all the replies. Frankly, I think you will just have to explode. 😀

Actually, with the MF capability of you 4x5, that isn't a bad choice. You will hate yourself if you see something that speaks to you in LF and you don't have it. For anything else that says "large print" the 6x7 will do.

In 35mm, you probably have it about right.

 

[FrankS]

If it were me with your equip, I'd take 2 Canon Ps (colour, 400asa B+W), and the TLR (100asa B+W).

 

[gns]

"I am kind of leaning toward the KISS principle..."

You are?

 

[kiev4a]

For the type of trip you are taking, I would forget about large format--medium format should provide a big enough neg ...even 645 format. I'm prejudiced on this but I certainly would not leave the F3 HP home. Landscapes and close ups are more of an SLR thing than RF.

 

[back alley]

listen to frank and enjoy the trip!

joe

 

[jan normandale]

2 Canons one BW one colour w 35mm and 50 mm
1 Bronica ETRS w 2 backs one BW one colour, 50mm, 75mm, 200mm
take your Canonet for backup and your family flash shots

That is manageable and light. Forget the LF thing, do it later. Bookmark all the items you want to LF with the 35mm and then come back to do a dedicated shot. Don't bite off too much, you want to have fun not be buried with the problem you outlined in your first post 'too much equipment causing indecision'

You'll learn to make it work

Jan

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

"I am kind of leaning toward the KISS principle..."

You are?

Paul, Gene, Chris and Ace?

Well, rangefinders are, by some paradoxical reason, both simple, yet not-so-simple (parallax correction, framelines, focus adjustment, etc.) pieces of engineering. So I can understand the dilemma.

I didn't see you mention a Pentax 645. They are nice; loud, but nice, great optics. And many pros keep on dumping them for the siren call of digital.

 

[aizan]

just focus. one camera for snapshots. one camera for landscapes. bada-bing-bada-boom.