Alaska Backpacking: F6, FM3a or both?

[af_]

I have both, and I used to take the F4 on every trip (with the small grip), but since I bought the FM3A, the F4 stays at home.

By the way, the FM10 is an excellent backup for backpacking (it's very light and also cheap).
Check out Galen Rowell's articles ("Simple Does It, Too"):
http://www.mountainlight.com/articles.html

Edit:sorry, I thought F4, you were talking about the F6. Same thing 🙂

 

[gilpen123]

I'll take the F6 anytime if I have one. The metering is flexible as you can do center weighted, matrix and spot. Not to mention the weather sealings.

 

[Robert Lai]

I was going to suggest the FM10 and a couple of cheap lenses e.g. the infamous E series. The latter are often quite good, and can be obtained cheaply. If it all falls down a gorge or into a river, you won't have a tremendous loss. Stick to only one or two lenses. I tried to take an F3 and a bunch of lenses hiking once, and regretted it. Too much junk, too heavy. I slipped and fell too, on wet leaves. Luckily, none of the gear was damaged, only me 🙂

For something this arduous, the lighter, the simpler, the better.

It isn't that difficult to obtain correct exposure with any slide film. I've done it many times with meterless cameras and a small Weston selenium meter (no batteries) in incident metering mode (with invercone).

 

[Chris101]

If you are taking 2 lenses, then take 2 cameras.

 

[Richard G]

I don't get this at all. What's the point in having an F6 if you can't take it anywhere for fear of ill fate? Do you want a camera to take photos of or take photos with?
As for weight, I've carried Nikon digital SLR + Leica M body and 2 lenses while backpacking in the Himalaya. It's no great hardship.
I'd take the F6 without hesitation. Rugged, sealed and got the meter for the job you want to do. For backup borrow a p&s but I doubt you will need it.

Maybe you're right. From what I've heard of Alaskan hikes it can be tough. And there are no Sherpas, and not necessarily anyone going back the way you've come. I hate paying for others' errors on trips for having the wrong gear or too much gear. A Leica is nice and small but I even regret the weight of that. I can remember hikes up hills where it was too steep to stop and was getting dangerous to press on in failing light, the pace always determined by the slowest person.

 

[Gary Sandhu]

Well, for the type of pictures you're planning on taking just go with the fm3a-- you don't need the motor drive, etc-- and light weight is paramount. Me, I'd take my stylus epic and just enjoy the hike.

 

[alan davus]

As some one who has spent much of his spare time hiking over the last 40 years it would be a no brainer for me... the FM3a. And your lens selection sounds excellent. (Don't even think about taking the 300mm.) Far as a tripod I would say no. However if you use a trekking pole I might suggest getting the Leki Sierra Antishock. The wooden knob on top screws off and voila, a monpod is at your disposal. Have a great trip.

 

[rpilottx]

Voice of Experience

Voice of Experience

Light is right when going off road, either in motorcycling or hiking. Take the FM and leave the F6 in town. Hiking off trail in Alaska can be HARD work due to the terrain and plant life.

I have done extensive travel in Alaska. A couple years ago I guided a friend who was shooting a book on public lands for National Geographic. She showed up with a LOT of Nikon gear including a 300f2.8 and 500f4 for wildlife. Well, we were supposed to do a wilderness canoe trip and her skills in a boat were limited (especially on white water). I could just imagine all the camera gear (sitting between her legs in the front of the canoe) and us getting soaked and dying of hypothermia if we capsized. The remoteness from civilization and climate raise the risks associated with wilderness travel by an order of magnitude. We still had a great time but did not do a long trip away from civilization.

Take the FM and a couple lenses. Alaska weather can change within hours. I spent two months there last summer on my motorcycle and I swear it rained every day. Have a couple zip lock bags to protect the photo gear and film from rain. Have good rainwear and boots for yourself and enjoy shooting almost 24 hours/day in the summer(whoops, I just saw you are going in Sept so normal daylight but changes almost 10 minutes per day). And snow can be expected in McKinley any time after mid August. Don't worry about the camera breaking unless you fall on it etc.

Don't get to paranoid about bears (keep a clean camp and make lots of noise hiking (bear bells at REI)). Not being at the top of the food chain adds a special charm to travel in Alaska. If a can of bear spray relieves the anxiety about griz, then it is worth carrying (I think you can actually rent it in Anchorage).

Take the F6 if you must but leave it in Anchorage. There is a lot of great landscape in the Anchorage area and there the F6 might shine. I especially like the highway south toward Seward with Turnagain Arm and the Alaska Railroad. You can often find moose and mountain goat along the road going south so you might take the long lens just for that trip if you have a bit of spare time before or after the hiking.

 

[bigeye]

About the 4th day in, the FM will be your clear choice.

I'd bring the hiking stick mentioned above or one of those bendy table top tripods for low-light and ND filters.

.

 

[Bill58]

Take 2 Oly XAs. They weigh less than one SLR lens and will do what you need to do handsomely.

 

[sanmich]

I don't see the use of a highly automated camera for landscapes.
I would prefer the lighter, mechanic camera (FM/FM2/FM3a), just so I don't have to haul the battery weigh. The camera metering should be enough. just take a few measures on different zones (ground, sky, etc.). I would have taken a backup meter, and also a backup camera. an FM in good nick should be around 80 bucks...
If you have the back strong enough to haul a heavy camera, why not take a small medium format?

 

[dave lackey]

F6! Why in the world would you consider anything else?

I shoot professionally, full-time now, with the Leica M3 and R4. Just for fun, I pulled my old Nikon 4004s AF camera out of the bag for a trip to Gulf Shores with nothing but slide film and two lenses, one prime, one zoom. The results were astounding! I can't state that clearly enough. Every shot was a keeper and every shot was breath-taking. Just like it used to be...I had just forgotten.😱 I had gotten off track with Nikon's MF like the FM, F3/T and even the S3 2000. Now I wish I had not sold my F5!

I work primarily in black and white (film noir) or at least darker documentary work. And I am convinced more than ever that an F6 should be in my future as it truly is a film version of the D2H and D2X that I used for years. With all of the AF glass out there and the best Nikon film camera ever made, the choice of the F6 is a no brainer IMO.:angel: After all, why risk not getting the best images you can....unless, of course, the weight/space requirements of your photo gear is too much. If that is the case, just grab take whatever you want with the downside being always wondering how much better everything could have been with the F6...or the F100 which used to be the favorite light carry camera of my favorite outdoor photographer (guess who that is!)...

http://www.mountainlight.com/

there was a reason he used AF Nikons for all of his fantastic landscape work! Don't remember when I last saw a killer landscape in Outdoor Photographer magazine that was shot with a FM body or similar camera.

Ask yourself, are your images worthy of the best AF film camera ever made or can you compromise on that and how much?

 

[jarski]

crowd here seems pretty divided 😛

guess OP already has idea how exhausting the trekking will be. it does not necessarily have to be survival contest for next reality show in TV 🙂 and OP might be fit enough to lug F6 through it just fine. but, personally would choose FM3.

 

[Trooper]

From reading the latter posts, it seems the FM3 is such an inferior camera to the F6 that I wonder how anyone ever got anything worthwhile using it. Perhaps I should sell my FE, F, and F4s to get an F6. Now that my tongue is removed from my cheek, I wonder why Nikon continued to devote R&D to film cameras after the F4s and FE...

I still vote for the FM, as it is light and has everything you need without features you won't use. I shoot digital now, so I save weight and expense on not carrying film. But, a Nikon D200 gets heavy when walking through the mountains, and an F6 with multiple rolls of Velvia is heavier. I tried the Gorilla Pod, and was disappointed so my skeletonized tripod always goes with me--but I do landscapes.

 

[italy74]

I have both cameras AND I had to do my choice for my next trip to Ethiopia.

For different reasons (but same discerning method) in both cases, I'd choose the FM3A. In my case, the "effective" risk I considered, it would be for personal safety. For a poor man, an F6 is a huge temptation to steal me, even exchanging with a DSLR to discover later it was "only" a film SLR. In your case - from what I read through your lines, but I might be wrong - your "effective" risk could be camera safety. While I'm sure the F6 could withstand the environment you go, a bump or an unexpected accident of whatever nature along your path might be much worse (money wise) on a F6 than on a FM3A, besides the FM3A is rugged enough as well for your trip.
I do see Nobbylon's point of view, yet I think we must consider the difference between "theoretical" and "effective" risk. None of us owning a Ferrari would ever go on a sand or gravel to test it right? Sand might enter the engine and gravel could simply scratch the expensive body.

Second, as someone said, it's lighter and in the end I'm not sure which kind of tricky situation you might encounter in a landscape you wouldn't be able to deal with. Rather, instead of Velvia, I'd consider the new Ektar and the new Portra 400 which have already showed a great scan capability by the right labs.
If you go through snowy places, a negative film might deal with snow better than a slide, in case you overexpose.

Of course, you might simply want to see slides through a projector or feel the thrill of a old and fashionable way to take pictures (but in this case F6 would be equally out of its place, while FM3A would be conversely more appropriate); in this case don't consider what I've just written.

Tripod? Yes. With a FM3A you might just get a good quality table tripod and save weight. This is especially true if you go there only with lower iso films, negatives or slides.

Last but not least, consider at least a short tele, from 85 to 105; an FM3A has plenty of options, from Nikon to Voigtlaender, to Tamron, Sigma, Tokina.... Despite your ideas, you might realize to want one when it's late.

I agree with filmfan - having a Leica M6 would be equally nice, but it would be a FM3A-like choice, not an F6-like.

 

[filmfan]

This is where a Leica would be nice. Small, light, works great in bad weather and the lenses are also small and light.

 

[Chinasaur]

Get a monopod that doubles as a walking stick?

 

[wjlapier]

Did I read correct? 50 miles over 8 days? That averages to a little over 6 miles a day. Not too difficult or strenuous if you ask me. I'd bring a F6 if that and the FM3a is all you have.

Myself, we went to Glacier National Park last two weeks. Left the F6 and brought my Leica M7, 28, 35, 50mm lenses. Used the 35 mostly. I also brought my GH2 and 14-45, 20/1.7, and 14/2.5. The GH2 strap was annoying on hikes, but the compact size was perfect. I was mainly shooting on the 14mm side of the 14-45, and the 20/1.7.

I second what Roger mentioned about pepper spray. I'm sure the guide will suggest the bear spray ( works well with moose too! ). Most organized hikes don't allow firearms, but If they do, S&W Model 500 will be all the stopping power you'll need for Alaskan brown bears and moose.

 

[rbsinto]

F6- 975 gms (34.4 oz)
FM3a-570 gms (20.1 oz)
While I think shooting with the Matrix metering of the F6 will be vastly easier than with the less sophisticated FM3a's system, for me the primary concern would be the weight, and if you have the expertise to adjust your exposures as necessary using it, I'd take the lighter camera.
And leave the tripod at home.

 

[sanmich]

F6- 975 gms (34.4 oz)

and a bit more for the batteries.
and don't forget the spare batteries...

you'll be hauling 1.1, 1.2 kg of F6...