nikonosguy
Well-known
for my recent cross country trip, carried the digilux 2, dlux 4, and the hexar af --- it was more than enough --- the monopod was awesomely useful
Gear selection for retirement motorcycle trip
- Thread starter FrankS
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mwooten
light user
Frank,
Be sure to use some of us along your route for film. Have the US folks order what you need for that leg from B&H, Freestyle, and pick it up as you pass through. No need to carry your whole film supply need with you.
--michael
Be sure to use some of us along your route for film. Have the US folks order what you need for that leg from B&H, Freestyle, and pick it up as you pass through. No need to carry your whole film supply need with you.
--michael
nikonosguy
Well-known
agree with wooten- -- also, walgreens around the country still carry the fuji consumer films, 100 iso-400 iso and there will be camera shops around the way --- just mail your exposed film to yourself and get them processed later
nikonosguy
Well-known
the little things bog you down
FrankS
Registered User
Excellent idea, thank you!
Timmyjoe
Veteran
Frank, sounds like a great trip. I'm a travel light kind of guy, so for me it's just an M3 and a 50 Summicron, and as much Tri-X as I can find a place for on the bike. Made a special foam "case" so the vibes from my Sporty don't disassemble the camera on the road.
That's really all I need for taking the kind of pics you describe. Meeting folks along the way is what it's all about, and the 50 on the M3 works well for that.
Have a great trip and keep us posted.
Best,
-Tim
That's really all I need for taking the kind of pics you describe. Meeting folks along the way is what it's all about, and the 50 on the M3 works well for that.
Have a great trip and keep us posted.
Best,
-Tim
Spicy
Well-known
Go with the FG as backup, one lens. I went on a week long, cross-country bicycle trip across South Korea and brought my M4-P as primary (CV 21/4 and color) and an FG-20 as backup (50/1.8 E and B&W). On the second to last day, I heard a rattling noise from the M4-P and took off the metal lens cap to find that the front element retaining ring had unscrewed itself and the element was rattling against the inside of the cap -- all the vibrations from bumpy roads (even packed inside a bunch of clothes/towel) had worked it loose. When I finally got back from the trip and had my negs dev'd, it turned out that the majority of the CV 21/4 shots looked as if they were out of focus (effectively impossible for a 21mm at F8). I got a few usable shots from shots I had taken on the first day or two before the element got too loose to affect image quality). All of the shots I took with the Nikon and the pancake 50 were excellent, and I ended up using a bunch of them in a book I later made for my father's 60th birthday.
I realize this is more about the lens than Leica bodies, but it could just as easily have been the RF calibration that went out of alignment from the bumpy concrete. SLRs are a bit more tolerant to vibrations that will be unavoidable on bicycles/motorcycles.
Of 4 rolls of color, and 1 roll of B&W, I have maybe 4 usable color keepers (out of a total 130ish frames) versus about 10 from the single B&W roll.
Lesson to be learned: take a sturdy backup, even if it isn't as pleasant to shoot, and USE IT AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT, since you won't know until you dev your negs if there is a small problem with the shutter or sticky aperture/leaf shutter blades or broken meters or whatever. If I hadn't shot that roll with the FG-20, the few color shots that turned out well from the M4-P would not be enough to keep me pleased about the trip overall.
I realize this is more about the lens than Leica bodies, but it could just as easily have been the RF calibration that went out of alignment from the bumpy concrete. SLRs are a bit more tolerant to vibrations that will be unavoidable on bicycles/motorcycles.
Of 4 rolls of color, and 1 roll of B&W, I have maybe 4 usable color keepers (out of a total 130ish frames) versus about 10 from the single B&W roll.
Lesson to be learned: take a sturdy backup, even if it isn't as pleasant to shoot, and USE IT AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT, since you won't know until you dev your negs if there is a small problem with the shutter or sticky aperture/leaf shutter blades or broken meters or whatever. If I hadn't shot that roll with the FG-20, the few color shots that turned out well from the M4-P would not be enough to keep me pleased about the trip overall.
FrankS
Registered User
Thanks Tim,
I'll figure out some kind of blog for this trip.
I'm more of an M2, 35mm kind of guy. I want to meet lots of folks.
I'll figure out some kind of blog for this trip.
I'm more of an M2, 35mm kind of guy. I want to meet lots of folks.
FrankS
Registered User
That's pretty much where I am now. As a former (part time) wedding photographer, I feel much better taking pics with 2 (or more) cameras instead of relying on just one, which may become defective in an un-noticeable manner.
boomguy57
Well-known
St. Paul, MN
St. Paul, MN
If you need to take the RF out in the Twin Cities, or need anything else up here, let me know. PM me anytime. I'd love to be part of your epic trip. Would be cool to have an ongoing thread of your whereabouts and photos from various meet-ups.
Best of luck!
St. Paul, MN
If you need to take the RF out in the Twin Cities, or need anything else up here, let me know. PM me anytime. I'd love to be part of your epic trip. Would be cool to have an ongoing thread of your whereabouts and photos from various meet-ups.
Best of luck!
GaryLH
Veteran
Man seeing that bike does bring back memories 🙂
Sounds like a fun trip...
If it was me, given what u have, I would bring
- CL w/ the 40f2 if u have it otherwise the 50 paired w/ the cv21
- get a p&s film camera as not only a backup but so u can be in some of those shots
All this could fit in a jacket pocket, maybe.
Have a good trip
Gary
Sounds like a fun trip...
If it was me, given what u have, I would bring
- CL w/ the 40f2 if u have it otherwise the 50 paired w/ the cv21
- get a p&s film camera as not only a backup but so u can be in some of those shots
All this could fit in a jacket pocket, maybe.
Have a good trip
Gary
FrankS
Registered User
Thank you! It is my plan/hope to meet up with as many RFF folk and others as possible. The people one meets along the way can be a most significant/positive part of a trip, depending on the type of trip one is on.
FrankS
Registered User
Yes Gary, that was one of the possibilities I was thinking about.
I love having a "problem" with a win-win solution.
back alley
IMAGES
no western canada tour?
FrankS
Registered User
Been through twice. (Coming and going) Loved the mountains. But I'm more interested in having a new experience in northern USA than repeating one, though I wish that meeting you again and being shown around Edmonton was part of the itinerary.
ktmrider
Well-known
That Honda was my first bike back in 1977 as a Marine aviator stationed at El Toro. I was using a Leica CL at the time but purchased an M3 sometime about then. I have a 1958 M2 which lives in the tankbag of a BMW GSA these days.
I think I would keep it simple with just the M2 and maybe two lenses. Film cameras are so cheap that with the internet and keh you could have a new camera within 24 hours if the M2 malfunctioned. By the way, I have never had an M body go bad except for an early version of the M6TTL which were known for eating batteries which is why it went back to Leica. An M2 is about as basic and bombproof as it gets.
Now a second body for another lens or different film is a whole different matter. Personally, KISS is hard to beat and my preferred approach (except on the days I don't).
Come by El Paso for a place to stay with discussions of motorcycles and cameras thrown in at no charge.
I think I would keep it simple with just the M2 and maybe two lenses. Film cameras are so cheap that with the internet and keh you could have a new camera within 24 hours if the M2 malfunctioned. By the way, I have never had an M body go bad except for an early version of the M6TTL which were known for eating batteries which is why it went back to Leica. An M2 is about as basic and bombproof as it gets.
Now a second body for another lens or different film is a whole different matter. Personally, KISS is hard to beat and my preferred approach (except on the days I don't).
Come by El Paso for a place to stay with discussions of motorcycles and cameras thrown in at no charge.
axiom
Non-Registered User
Where is a sleeping bag and a tent?
Do not skip those national parks in the middle: Grand Canyon, Yellow Stone, Bryce, Zion, Rocky Mountains, Antelope etc...
Do not skip those national parks in the middle: Grand Canyon, Yellow Stone, Bryce, Zion, Rocky Mountains, Antelope etc...
Brian Legge
Veteran
I'd stick with a single system to avoid hauling around duplicate lenses. Or if you are splitting between SLR and rangefinder, take a rangefinder for 35mm lens and SLR with 50mm or 85mm. If you want auto exposure perhaps a Bessa would work as a backup? R4A for the 21mm/35mm combo?
J
JSU
Guest
Frank--
You know what matters most to you, and you'll know the route you want as you're doing it.
One of the better road trips i've made was from home in Texas, up through New Mexico, through Vegas (left at 2:00am for coolest air) and up the eastern side of California (including a stop at Yosemite) to Oregon. Then south on the Pacific Coast Highway. Southbound is crucial on the PCH as that puts you on the west / ocean side of the pavement. Did the entire PCH from Oregon to San Diego over about a week, then one wild ass drive from San Diego non-stop to HouTex.
Crossed Death Valley in the coolest air to be kind to my air cooled ride. Imagine my surprise cresting a hill and over running a bicycle race. A few dozen cyclists parted down the middle and I motored on. Seems then knew when it was coolest, too.
Back to my point, what about a counter-clockwise circuit, going east to west across the northern route and the reverse on the southern side. Then you could ride southbound on the PCH. Thoughts????
Also, not certain when you are embarking, but it is still warm up north, no inclement weather (save for Colorado). Also, it will be cooler in the south in a few months, note I said cooler, not cold.
--Steve
You know what matters most to you, and you'll know the route you want as you're doing it.
One of the better road trips i've made was from home in Texas, up through New Mexico, through Vegas (left at 2:00am for coolest air) and up the eastern side of California (including a stop at Yosemite) to Oregon. Then south on the Pacific Coast Highway. Southbound is crucial on the PCH as that puts you on the west / ocean side of the pavement. Did the entire PCH from Oregon to San Diego over about a week, then one wild ass drive from San Diego non-stop to HouTex.
Crossed Death Valley in the coolest air to be kind to my air cooled ride. Imagine my surprise cresting a hill and over running a bicycle race. A few dozen cyclists parted down the middle and I motored on. Seems then knew when it was coolest, too.
Back to my point, what about a counter-clockwise circuit, going east to west across the northern route and the reverse on the southern side. Then you could ride southbound on the PCH. Thoughts????
Also, not certain when you are embarking, but it is still warm up north, no inclement weather (save for Colorado). Also, it will be cooler in the south in a few months, note I said cooler, not cold.
--Steve
FrankS
Registered User
I've heard that the PCH is better to ride from north to south because of the wind. If the issue is just being on he other side of the road, I don't see that as being a big deal. I drove around the gaspe of Quebec on the inside lane and that was no problem.
The reason for the clockwise direction, is that apart from being clockwise, the first part of that leg is something I've done before on trips to Florida. The rest of the US is still a mystery and I feel more comfortable beginning with a familiar location. That's all. I could switch it up but it just feels weird.
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