Another What to Take Thread but Slightly Different

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ktmrider

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After developing my first film in 1966, I finally have a darkroom in my home and have been rediscovering the delights of black and white processing. This has been causing me to rethink the gear I want to travel with, especially with regards to 35 vs medium format vs digital.

I traded an M4 for a 501CM a few years ago and I just finished processing some 120 film which was shot on a trip to Istanbul and got to say the 6X6 negatives are great. Now, I shot a lot with a 'Blad back in the late 1980's but have had the 501CM on consignment for a year. It did not sell and I am going to get it back and put some more TriX through it.

I have lots of 35 mm equipment (primarily Leica M and R bodies with lenses from 15mm to 135mm). I only own one digital camera (Fuji X100) and will soon have the Hasselblad back in the equipment cabinet.

I am traveling to SE Asia in February including 10 days on a motorcycle in Laos and of course I am debating the "perfect" gear to carry. And later this summer, my daughter and I will be traveling around the world. Up until I looked at the 120 negatives, it was going to be an M body with 2/3 lenses and maybe, just maybe the X100.

Now I am thinking the X100 and the 501CM with just the 80mm lens. Both fields of view are very similar so the X100 for color and low light while the basic Hasselblad for black and white. And just the X100 on the motorcycle part of the journey (need to keep it small and light as it is a small 250cc bike in Laos).

Again, no one can make the decision but me and there are probably as many opinions on this forum as there are members but I would enjoy reading your input, especially if there is something I am not seeing. By the way, I thought about a new digital body with the M lenses but I don't want to get more equipment. New Years resolution to resist GAS.:D
 
If one is going to shoot film, and that's a personal choice, then IMO, a once in a lifetime photo opportunity deserves medium format film.
 
The 80mm is too restrictive in my opinion. For international travel I'd take a Makina. Good luck -
 
There is no doubt that 6x6 looks great as compared to 35mm, and the larger you go the more astonishing negatives & slides look. But what do you need MF for, on a trip like that? Do you plan to make giant exhibition prints once back home?

You're right, though, you'll get as many different suggestions as there are members here. I just did the Trans-Siberian with a Ricoh GR1 and a pocketable pinhole camera made of cardboard..
 
Round and Round We Go

Round and Round We Go

Round and round we go. If there was a bridge over the Bering Straight I could drive and take everything.

For SE Asia and motorcycling, the X100 is a definite as I have a couple presentations when I get back to be illustrated with photos. Most projectors these days are digital so shooting digital is just easier. The jury is still out on another film body (Leica) or even the 'Blad. Last December, I spent a month in Thailand and Cambodia and the Leica was not used much compared to the X100. I figure my upcoming trip will be a testing ground for my RTW trip in July.

My guess is the RTW trip will be an X100 or something very similar and a M with a couple lenses. Am even debating a used M9 although I find the problems on the internet spread about the M9 is a concern. Five to seven thousand for a body and then it quits-scary.:confused:
 
Too Many Choices

Too Many Choices

Yes, the quirkiness of the digital M is a definite concern especially as it would be the main camera (after spending $5-7000 how could it not). The main reason I am even looking is owning five M mount lenses.

I think about a DSLR but quite simply they are too big. A Fuji XPro1 or Sony A7 are very possible but I have enough cameras if that is ever possible.

Ultimate simplicity is M2 or M6 with 35mm and black and white. I can let my daughter do the digital.:D

Andrea: how was the Trans Siberian railroad? It is the number one thing my daughter wants to do next summer but the idea of 4800 miles by train does not excite me so much. I have offered to do the China to Mongolia link. Any specific comments would certainly be appreciated.
 
If you're willing to spring for a new camera, how about a medium format rangefinder like the Mamiya 7 or Mamiya 6? The lenses are second to none, and in the case of the 6, the lenses collapse almost an inch into the body for a pretty compact yet very versatile kit. Both systems have wides, a normal and a tele. If I were taking your same trip, I'd take the X100 and my Mamiya 6 with 50mm lens, possibly the 75mm but I love that wide angle.

If you're taking gear you already own then the Hasselblad is going to give you images you won't regret when your trip is done. That camera and the standard 80mm or the fantastic 50mm Distagon (if you own one) is an incredible kit.

Phil Forrest
 
ktmrider said:
Andrea: how was the Trans Siberian railroad? It is the number one thing my daughter wants to do next summer but the idea of 4800 miles by train does not excite me so much. I have offered to do the China to Mongolia link. Any specific comments would certainly be appreciated.
Click to expand...


Oh, man, a once in a lifetime experience, except that I'm going to do it again soon, and again.. (there are many lines and endless possibilities to stop and see different places every time).

I did it alone in November, when the freezing winter was just starting (temp was between freezing and 10 celsius minus). Travelling in wintertime and alone was for me essential, as what I seek on a journey like that is contact with locals and in their language (which am learning and need to practise, which is why I've travelled in Russia alone twice a year recently). In fact, during my 2 weeks trip I did not meet or see ANY other foreigner, but met all of the ethnical groups that live in those areas of Russian Federation (Tatars, Buryats..)! In the summer, those trains are crowded by tourists, so encounters while still surely nice would be of a different type. But if your concern is safety, don't worry: It's perfectly safe.

You or your daughter can write to me privately for any info you may wish. You may also see the top 4 - 5 posts on my blog, with photos from exactly that trip.
 
Digital - X100 seems perfect for your trip.

Film - To each his own, of course, but I'm not much of a "square" guy, and IMO, (as someone who was born and raised there), SE Asia begs for 6x9 format. So, For me, the best film camera for SE Asia would be a Fuji GW690 III, or if space/weight is at a premium, then bring your 35mm RF body and a 35mm or wider (24/25/28mm) lens.
 
Whatever you do, bring two cameras. You'll want a backup if your primary breaks - especially if you'll primarily be using a digital.

I would do as you said, bring an M2 and M6 and let your daughter worry about digital. The time spent scanning shots made with M lenses is worth it.
 
MF Options

MF Options

I would like to stay with the 501CM as I already have a couple lenses for it. However, I am thinking the 80mm would be fine as it appears to have a FOV equivalent to a 40mm in 35. As I said, I have not shot it recently but did a lot of chromes back in the mid 1980's. I even used it as my primary camera on a safari in Kenya.

If I decide to get another MF camera, I have my eye on one of the new Bressa folders. It reminds me of the 120 Zeiss folder my father gave me for a trip to Florida back in 1963 (4th grade). Of course I knew nothing of photography nor did I receive much instruction on the controls and had no idea what did what. I think I thought the shutter speed control was the focus ring:D. Got instructions from the guy in the drug store after my first roll of film came back blank.

And I purchased my first camera for $2.98 at Silver Springs. It shot 620, had a plastic lens and 1 shutter speed. I still have prints from Silver Springs and Marineland.

Any experience here with the Bressa folders?
 
I was going to suggest the Bessa III folder and I'm a 'blad shooter :D

If you don't want to buy more cameras my advice would be buy a 100mm f3.5 planar instead of the 80mm (easily re-sold on return but if you think the 80mm pops you are in for a surprise) slightly longer and only 100g heavier but one of the really great 'blad lenses. (40mm FLE and 180mm Sonnar since you ask).

If you do the Bessa III is the way to go, again a ready re-sale market. The older V series bodies just don't sell, as you have found. actually splitting the kit often works better as users look for a second body and don't want another 80mm, especially if they have shot the 100mm :D

I did Venice years ago with the 'blad and I am so glad I didn't take the Leica and I have 6 bodies and don't ask about lenses.
Took three lenses but only used one each day, if I saw a shot I needed another lens for I went back the next day, Venice is small enough to do that.
 
To each his own, indeed. One man's kit might be completely unsuitable. If you go LFF you'll read about guys travelling with 8x10's, unimaginable for me!

Last trip I did was to the Philippines in 2010. OM-1 and 28, 50, 135mm lenses.
I liked my results with mostly slide and some Kodachrome. I'd loved to be able to take Medium format instead.
Turns out I used much more the Digi P&S because I coult take and tuck it in a pocket (local relative didn't advise much to carry cameras in a visible manner) and sadly the 35mm sat more that I'd liked to.

I am contemplating a trip with my dad around SE Asia, for about a month or two; If all is fine, when I finish college and he retires (timing should be like that). As a daydream traveller I've put quite some thoughts on it.

kxl said:
Digital - X100 seems perfect for your trip.

Film - To each his own, of course, but I'm not much of a "square" guy, and IMO, (as someone who was born and raised there), SE Asia begs for 6x9 format. So, For me, the best film camera for SE Asia would be a Fuji GW690 III, or if space/weight is at a premium, then bring your 35mm RF body and a 35mm or wider (24/25/28mm) lens.
Click to expand...

That is.
GW690 for Medium format (huge... but big Negs and is a modern and well priced option) and digital with a small mirrorless kit.
If budget allows and I end doing that trip I will want to do it this way.

BTW, my dad loved SE Asia and went lots of times in the 80s. He carried a huge Video8 Sony camcorder (he admitted to hate carrying the thing) and an Olympus trip 35... While the former was cumbersome he did fine.
So I substitute the Camcorder for a MF camera and the Mirrorless can do Stills+Video (which is getting better progressively!) :D
 
I love SE Asia as well. I missed the Vietnam War(too young, thank god). First time in Thailand was XMas 1980 courtesy USMC. Again in 1983 I lead a flight of two CH46's to take a bunch of VIP's from the US embassy to the USS Missouri. The Missouri flight deck was either teak or mahogony and skid equipped helo's were not allowed. Same ship on which the Japanese signed the surrender papers in WWII. If memory serves, David Douglas Duncan was the only Marine photographer present. I have Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Burma on my list for the RTW trip starting in July.
 
Well, I'm going to be contrarian and suggest that the OP's original choice (the 501CM and the X100) sounds just fine for the trip he's planning. As I've gotten more into MF (in my case, w/ Rollei TLRs) the idea of taking one MF camera and one "other" camera (either digital or film) grows increasingly intriguing. I'd shoot bw exclusively in the MF, and leave color to the X100. My equivalent of the OP's kit would be a Rolleicord (lighter and simpler than a 'flex) and a Panasonic GX1 and a couple of lenses (I've bought into the micro 4/3 system rather than the Fuji system). I took a TLR, GX1, and a Barnack Leica this summer on a trip in the mountains of California. Hardly used the Barnack. The TLR and GX1 covered all my needs. I think the 501CM and X100 would have done likewise.

But, as always, this kind of thread sparks an interesting discussion.
 
Bingley said:
As I've gotten more into MF (in my case, w/ Rollei TLRs) the idea of taking one MF camera and one "other" camera (either digital or film) grows increasingly intriguing.
Click to expand...

The same is true for me. I'm leaving within a week for the jungles and Pacific coast of Mexico. Bringing the Rollei 2.8E, plenty of MF slide film, and M4 with a mix of 35mm films. The two formats complement each other very well.

My travelling companion has an RX100 - she'll get plenty of digital shots for the both of us! :p
 
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