Camera advise for US travel

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valdas

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In a couple of weeks we will be visiting US. We will arrive to and depart from Dallas, will rent a car and will visit some places in Texas, Luisiana, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado (mostly focusing on nature, avoiding big cities, maybe except of Houston). I want to avoid taking too many cameras, yet I still don’t want to make too much compromises in terms of quality. I plan to fit everything into one medium size backpack. I am film only shooter, so it’s all about film gear. I surely plan to take at least one MF (Fuji GA645). I am a bit hesitant regarding the Rolleiflex. Now I am struggling a bit regarding 35mm. A couple of pocketable cameras (Minolta TC1, ContaxT) are no brainers. But then I am hesitant if I should take M system (I have lenses in 15, 35, 50, 90mm focal lengths) RF, or OM SLR (lenses in 21, 35(PC), 50, 85mm). The reason for many cameras is that I usually shoot BW, color negative and slides. Any thoughts?
 
Personally I’d avoid taking too much stuff - the more you have, the more you have to worry about. Plus you may be too preoccupied with the equipment and not enough on the stuff you came here to experience. I’d say the Fuji GA645 and one of the compacts, maybe the Contax T. Keep it simple would be my suggestion.

Part of the joy of being in some of those places you mentioned (New Mexico in particular) is sometimes being surrounded by the vast nothingness, devoid of any distractions. I’d hate for the focus on the equipment to detract from your experience of that. You gotta remember to stop and breathe it all in, put the camera down. I’ve been going out West every year for about 12 years now and I still have to remind myself to do that.

BTW are you bringing the film with you or purchasing it here in the US? How long is your trip? That sounds like a lot of ground to cover.
 
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Vince Lupo said:
BTW are you bringing the film with you or purchasing it here in the US? How long is your trip? That sounds like a lot of ground to cover.
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Thanks Vince, good advice! I will bring my own film, not planning to purchase anything while traveling. Yes, a lot of ground to cover, but this will be three weeks, so I hope we will manage somehow 🙂
 
I’m not certain why you’re hesitant to bring Rolleiflex or Leica camera, are you under the impression that the US is particularly dangerous or crime ridden? It‘s funny how people are apprehensive about bringing their prize possessions to each other’s countries. I travelled for about two weeks in the same areas you‘re talking about last summer with a Rolleiflex and never felt a cause for concern. Though it did seem like every time I brought out the Rollei, some nice older man would strike up a conversation, so you’re at risk of small talk. Be sensible of course, don’t leave your gear in your car such that it’s visible, etc. but I think that’s probably the case everywhere. So bring the gear that pleases you to use, it’s your vacation.
 
Take as many cameras as you think you need.
You will be in very different spaces in the US, towns (New Orleans) and wide open spaces (Arizona/New Mexico)
You will be doing a lot of driving, and temperatures will be an issue if you plan to hike so weight might be limited.

Besides the GA645, I'd take a 35mm pocketable for walking in town and the M system (a wide angle will be very useful)
 
AlexMogens said:
I’m not certain why you’re hesitant to bring Rolleiflex or Leica camera, are you under the impression that the US is particularly dangerous or crime ridden? It‘s funny how people are apprehensive about bringing their prize possessions to each other’s countries. I travelled for about two weeks in the same areas you‘re talking about last summer with a Rolleiflex and never felt a cause for concern. Though it did seem like every time I brought out the Rollei, some nice older man would strike up a conversation, so you’re at risk of small talk. Be sensible of course, don’t leave your gear in your car such that it’s visible, etc. but I think that’s probably the case everywhere. So bring the gear that pleases you to use, it’s your vacation.
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No, it’s not the security. I am only thinking about the weight.
 
titrisol said:
Take as many cameras as you think you need.
You will be in very different spaces in the US, towns (New Orleans) and wide open spaces (Arizona/New Mexico)
You will be doing a lot of driving, and temperatures will be an issue if you plan to hike so weight might be limited.

Besides the GA645, I'd take a 35mm pocketable for walking in town and the M system (a wide angle will be very useful)
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There won’t be too many towns in our journey. We’ll see some alligators near Lafayette, but New Orleans is not in our plans. The only “busy” place will be Houston, but there we’ll be only for NASA thing. Otherwise it’s mostly nature.
 
I am not a medium format shooter but personally it seems to me bringing two different film formats would be a logistical nightmare. I'd recommend just bringing one or perhaps both compacts and the OM system.

If alligators are in the mix, I'd definitely recommend bringing a telephoto with some reach. I'd take the OM system and bring at least a 135mm or 200mm lens. Or if you're not too into telephotos, maybe pick up a cheap used DSLR and telephoto zoom with image stabilization/VR for the trip. I too prefer shooting on film with mechanical, manual focus cameras, but much less so if I need a long zoom lens where autofocus and VR are extremely helpful.

I've not been to NASA Houston, but if it's anything like Cape Canaveral/Kennedy Space Center in Florida, you'll want a really wide lens. The 21mm on your OM should do nicely.
 
Based on what you've described above for both your travels and your gear and bearing in mind that you're a film shooter, I would suggest the Rolleiflex and the M with 35/50/90. That's predicated on my tastes though so the advice is worth what you paid for it 🙂 Mostly that's due to me enjoying my Rolleicord III and it's square format on those kind of trips more than 6x45.

Enjoy your trip!
 
I would take the 645, the SLR with the 50/21, and one of your compact 35mm point and shoots. Then you have all likely situations covered. I do not like taking M cameras for foreign travel as the risk of loss/damage/theft outweighs getting any shot that "only" an M could provide.
 
If it were me, I think I'd want the OM system with the 21 and 35, possibly 85 (or, as someone said above, a 135). The precision of framing with an SLR would really come in handy for those vistas, and the two wider lenses sound just about perfect to me.
 
agentlossing said:
If it were me, I think I'd want the OM system with the 21 and 35, possibly 85 (or, as someone said above, a 135). The precision of framing with an SLR would really come in handy for those vistas, and the two wider lenses sound just about perfect to me.
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Unfortunately I don’t have any long tele that would be feasible to take on such travel. The longest I have is Nikkor 180 AIS ED, but then I would need to take my FM3a and that’s a different weight cathegory for the combo. Or I have Contax Sonnar 135mm, but then I would need to take Contax 167MT and Contax lenses - again, more weight than OM although an option.
 
valdas said:
Unfortunately I don’t have any long tele that would be feasible to take on such travel. The longest I have is Nikkor 180 AIS ED, but then I would need to take my FM3a and that’s a different weight cathegory for the combo. Or I have Contax Sonnar 135mm, but then I would need to take Contax 167MT and Contax lenses - again, more weight than OM although an option.
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Personally I never bring along a tele and tend to think of 70-75mm as my tele... but getting a mountain or other landform isolated from its surroundings can be pretty cool. Personally I'd probably feel like the 21 and 35 would be sufficient kit.
 
AAlfano said:
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I've not been to NASA Houston, but if it's anything like Cape Canaveral/Kennedy Space Center in Florida, you'll want a really wide lens. The 21mm on your OM should do nicely.
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The 15mm on your M is even better!

I would only bring the M, and 2-3 lenses. Maybe that plus the Texas Leica half-frame (since you will be in Texas it makes sense).
 
These are some very horizontal landscapes that you'll be traversing, so maybe an argument could be made in favor of the Rollei on the basis that, as a square, it's format agnostic? I've never used a GA645 so I'm not sure how comfortable it is to hold at 90 degrees. When I travelled there last year—we were in Colorado and New Mexico principally—I brought the Rolleiflex and a Kodak Retina. I didn't find myself very interested in using the 35mm. The landscapes there are so large that it really felt like it required MF to contain them. I think if I were to go back, I'd probably only bring the Rollei. We're driving out to Oregon via Yellowstone, etc. (from Wisconsin where I live) in August and that's my plan.
 
valdas said:
There won’t be too many towns in our journey. We’ll see some alligators near Lafayette, but New Orleans is not in our plans. The only “busy” place will be Houston, but there we’ll be only for NASA thing. Otherwise it’s mostly nature.
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They have a small camera display there...it's interesting...bunch of space suits so 85mm-90mm for some "fashion" shots would be nice there.
 
If I was going on vacation, I would bring the GA645 and whatever 35mm I liked the most for slides. I’d leave the P&S at home because I tend to use my phone for that kind of thing, but that’s just me.
 
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