Cyclist/Shooters

bigdog

bigdog

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Mar 5, 2005
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I am enjoying my new Specialized Roubaix Elite all carbon fiber ride on the beautiful backroads here in Maine. I take my Canonet, which I love, but the sucker is a one pound brick in my small handlebar bag and it seems carrying this heavy camera sliding around in my bag would be a curse to most ounce shaving riders.

Can any cyclists recommend a good light weight alternative to my Canonet QL III ? I do not need a really fast lens. I imagine a 35mm lens would be a good focal length. I do want a sharp lens...at least as sharp as my Canonet. I don't know that total manual control is critical since I would probably mostly be grabbing fast shots... but it would be nice.

Maybe a Yaschica T4? A Hexanon? Any suggestions?
 
Olympus XA is probably as small as you can get with a true rangefinder, and its clamshell cover keeps the lens from getting dirty. It is tiny and hardly noticeable in a jersey pocket. I speed skate, and I carried mine around with me no problem.
 
I ride too (Washington State) and found it frustrating that the Hexar AF is not the size of the T4 or Contax T..... those smaller 2.8s don't really work for me, but they are fine for scenics.
On rides where you can take a small fanny pack, you might try a Leica 111a, iiic or f and find a small light meter. There are several good lenses to chose from, but the CV 28 3.5 immediately comes to mind. On more casual rides, I sometimes carry a small folding camera 6x6 or 6x9 and light meter.
Keep spinning :)
David
 
...not an F2

...not an F2

I carry a Kodak KV250 (basically an $8 reusable disposable camera) loaded with xp2 or a Lumix FX-35 in my pocket if I'm out for a short ride without a bag. I used to carry my F2 with a heavy Nikkor 55/1.2 in my messenger bag, along with necessary bike tools, a u-lock and a chain. Now I carry my R4M with a 35 & 21 in my backpack when I'm out on my Surly steamroller for long rides and I have a 'Lil Loafer from Rivendell for my Surly Long Haul which holds a lot. I would suggest something like a Rogue Camelback as opposed to a carradice bag for your ride. That way the weight is on your back and not your bike. Plus, weight & style wise, a carradice bag doesn't really match a carbon Roubaix Elite, IMHO.
 
I've been carrying an original Canon Elph in my jersey pocket, in a plastic ziploc bag to protect it from sweat and rain. Really tiny and relatively rugged, but the downsides are 1) total P+S, no exposure controls other than flash mode and 2) it's APS. When it goes, I'll get some type of little digital.
 
I ride an EAI fixie that I built from the ground up and bought this neat little frame bag that mounts on the top and down tube and is skinny enough that your legs won't rub against it whilst pedaling. It's perfect for a sandwich and my M6/4 with 40 rokkor M attached, was only about $25. I think topeak makes something similar that is a semi-hard clamshell case that mounts on the seat post over the rear wheel, it's got plenty of padding and has movable partitions like a camera bag. I'm tempted but it's not as light or streamlined as my frame bag.
 
I find the Olympus Stylus Epic to be the only bicycling camera for me. Good glass, good AE and good AF when you keep in mind where it's going to focus.

Any other camera requires that you stop the bike, get out the camera and use two hands to shoot. But that yields boring shots. The Stylus Epic is the only camera I can retrieve from a jersey pocket, operate completely one handed and make photos while still riding on road or off road. Those are the shots that turn out to be worthwhile.
 
Bigdog, I hope you enjoy your Roubaix as much as I enjoy mine. I enjoy riding my Roubaix so much, I rarely think about taking pictures when riding. I do think the Oly XA is a good choice. BTW, did you notice that Tom Boonen won Paris - Roubaix last week riding his Specialized Roubaix?
 
The one time I brought my Canonet to one of the local singletrack trails around here, I took one photo, just after my long walk of shame back to the car. Got the wind knocked out of me but it was more a shot to the pride than anything! The Canonet was nestled safely in my Camelback :)

bent1.jpg
 
Went with the Nikon AF600 (smallest 35mm Point&Shoot ever?)

Went with the Nikon AF600 (smallest 35mm Point&Shoot ever?)

Thanks to Richard "Pitxu" I decided to go small, wide and slow (hopefully sharp) and found a brand new Nikon AF600 which I would not have even known about except for the advice given here. The deciding factor was the small size, wide lens and price, I won it on Ebay for $50

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150238516513&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=005

I hope it produces good results since my canonet QL GIII will be the benchmark. I had considered bringing my R2a and Ultron 35mm but the thought of it bouncing around in my bag was a concern.

I looked for a Fuji Natura. The fast and wide 24mm 1.9 lens seems like the perfect landscape focal length and the fast lens is a nice bonus but the only one I saw was going for $500!

I do have a hydration pack I could use but I don't always bring it on my rides and trying to retrieve a camera from it seems a pain. If you know the Roubaix, then you know there are no mounting points and you would not want to load it up with bags.

I was going to buy an Olympus Stylus Epic if I didn't win the auction, I had purchased one for my mom and I liked it.

I wanted a Yashica T4 but they all seem to go for $125 to $250 but my camera budget is tight and I'm saving for a CV 21mm for my R2a.

Thanks for all your input!
 
IMHO - you just need a heavier bike :)

On the other hand, if you are really ounce-shaving, consider the camera as "training weight." I'd shave my whole body and wear a cap for swim meets, but wear regular swim trunks for practice leading up to important meets.

As a practical consideration, use a seat bag instead of a handlebar bag. I know what you mean about weight on the bars, but weight under the seat is far less intrusive. And you can easily find a bag that fits the Canonet far better - no "sliding around" or bouncing.

I know you already bought a camera, but FWIW my Canon Elph LT is roughly the size of a pack of smokes, and it goes in my front pants pocket when I travel light (as do my smokes :) ). Yes, it's APS, but APS is still available pretty much everywhere film is sold, and nobody loads them with crap film it seems, so any compromise there is small. Yes, it's fully auto, but it really sounds like that's what you want anyway. The advantage of APS film is the incredibly small packaging it allows, and the Elph cameras are really a marvel IMHO. For my continued happiness, I just assume APS film will always be available the way 110 is :)

The idea of a handlebar bag on a CF frame with no braze-ons makes me shake my head, but I know how handy a bar bag can be to access while riding. But even a cheapo seat bag can every bit as handy when you only have one thing in it. Closing it while riding can be tricky depending on the individual bag, but a bit of care when buying and a bit of practice will make it a cinch.
 
Sometimes I used a Linhof tripod mount clamped on the handlebar. A camera with AE is recommended if one does not want to have the same problem as Chris...

selfportrait2.jpg

(Rollei XF 35, Ilford HP-5)

But since I read about that water- and shockresistant camera I know which one I'm going to buy for my future bike trails.

Didier
 
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