Going Travelling: What Camera and What Film?

[greywind]

Fixed lens RF's I would pick would be

Canonet QL17 III
Konica auto S3
Minolta Himatic 7sII

I have tried all 3 (still have the canonet) and all are significantly smaller than the Yashica Electro 35 GSN. I would even argue that all three are better interms of image quality vs the Yashica also. Frankly if your considering the yashica even a Olympus OM-1/2 would be smaller.

If you want even smaller I would get the Olympus 35RF which is a phenomenal small RF. Although good I feel you might be too limited by the XA or the Rollei 35's

Also have you ever tried the lomography stuff? why not stick with portra 400? buy as many as you can and make up the rest with b&w film. If you want cheap color film (although a notch below the portra in my eyes) then try Fuji superia X-tra 400. I've had good luck with it and it's dirt cheap if you buy it off ebay

I've never tried the lomogrpahy stuff, the only colour film I've used is Fuji superia X-tra 400.

Thanks for the camera advice.

 

[greywind]

If you want something reliable for this money, get a Nikon F3 with a 35/2 lens and a couple of spare batteries, this will keep you going.
As to film, make it simple, you are in the UK, so get HP5+ and if you really want colour, Portra 400. I would skip colour, this will avoid you the temptation to produce the millionth postcard like images. Expose Portra at 200 and HP5+ between 200 and 1600, then take notes on the canisters. When you return, you can develop B&W to measure. A slightly less robust, byt smaller alternative with a great lens, would be a Pentax ME Super with a M 50/1.4.

Can you ask developers to expose at different speeds? I wasn't going to develop my own photos.

I'm still much a beginner so sorry if some of my questions will be noob-ish.

 

[greywind]

Great travel plan and respect for decision to use film!

Zenit E is the brick to travel with, IMO. FED 3 might quit in the middle of the trip.

My travel film camera #1 is Olympus XA. Extremely well built camera, very durable and it will serve you on two common LR44 batteries for entire trip. XA lens is sharp at 2.8 and gives very nice colors. At 35mm focal length it works very well for scale focusing at f5.6 and smaller, but RF patch is handy for precise focusing at f2.8.
This is extremely small, fast to operate, yet capable 35mm camera.

As alternative to 50mm lens ,135 film camera, I would suggest to look at half-frame camera. Like Oly Pen EE. You will need twice less film, it makes noticeable price difference for color film. Plus, you don't have to change film often.

For b/w film I would suggest to buy bulk loader, empty cassettes and any 400 ISO bulk film.
Probably same price as 20-25 individually packed film and huge savings in short period of time anyway.

You could push 400 film to 1600 and it is enough for low light pictures. XA has small detachable flash also.

Yeah, I've lugged the Zenit E all round Korea, to Dublin, to Berlin and to Tsushima in Japan. I really do love it though but it's such a brick.

The half-frame idea is something I'd not thought of. Thanks!

 

[Colin Corneau]

My recommendation might not get much general support, but it's based on a fair amount of extended and rough travel, including 20,000 miles around Sth.America. I've hauled medium format, Noblex 150 etc. Not again.
Don't encumber yourself - keep it simple.
I'd suggest getting two little Rollei 35s. Go for Tessar lens - although you might get a Sonnar . Keep one set aside for the Delta 3200 ( shoot it at 1600 ) for evenings and indoors. Even old ones seem to have functioning meters but I'd get a separate handheld, which are cheap these days.
I said two ( which is possible within your budget ) because you're less likely to be devastated by theft , loss or mechanical failure. It's worth noting that with care, those rollei 35s can be disassembled and worked on more easily than most.
Pretty sure you need to cock the shutter before sliding the lens back into the body. These cameras were designed by Rollei specifically with repair and maintenance in mind.
Plus it's a small and non-threatening camera to use in public places.
Plus they're sharp.
The fixed focal length might be a blessing when traveling because you can enjoy being a tourist while quickly learning what will and won't work as a photograph.
Philip

This is wonderful advice. I'd consider it strongly.

For film, I think 400 ASA gives you enough flexibility. Remember, you can always push to 1600 easily, too -- which is what you'd be advised to shoot Delta 3200 at, anyway.

(D3200 is great film but pricey too, since you mentioned you're on a budget.)

I say, keep it simple and stick with one film. Tri-X, TMY, or either of Ilford's 400 B&W offerings will serve you very very well.


As far as camera choice goes, the above advice is sound. You could also stick with the Contax -- I'd be leery of anything quite old or entirely battery dependant.

 

[Ronald M]

Whatever you decide, waste a few rolls to make sure everything is working.

All the pros, well most, have gone digital, to avoid x ray problems, etc. There are many nice small light digis out there.

 

[Richard G]

I also like Philip's advice. I take my Olympus mju with a fixed 35mm lens on demanding trips. Having a second small cheap camera would be good too. Fuji Superia 200 or 400 is cheap and good. I nearly always use the 400.

 

[Bingley]

The recommendation to take two Rollei 35 cameras is good advice, IMO, if you 're happy with a fixed lens camera. These are very robust cameras and the lenses are fabulous. The only catch is that they 're zone focusing cameras, but w/ a little practice you can make that work for you. After all, Stephen Shore used a Rollei 35 for his American Surfaces project in the early 70s. Taking two would give you a backup and allow you to shoot different speed films or color and bw. The Tessar lens rocks w/ color film.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

I'd go with the two cameras group. Better still take three, a back-up and one B&W and one colour. Three Olympus mju-II would be my way of doing a 3 month trip mostly because they are dirt cheap. Or a Minox ML or similar with a RF on top of it. Plus a spare battery or two.

There's dozens of small, cheap P&S's out there (with primes and zooms) that have good lenses and are dirt cheap. So taking three and buying film as you go would be my plan. Plus research on where to get film.

Regards, David

 

[mfogiel]

About developing
If you do not develop yet ( you should, it is cheaper and gives better quality than developing in an average lab) I would simply go for XP2 exposed at EI 200, period.
Great film for portraiture, and very forgiving in high contrast situations outside, if you do not underexpose.

 

[02Pilot]

It's obviously highly dependent on your shooting style and personal preferences, but I think the general consensus here about taking a couple of cameras, perhaps even two examples of the same model, is sound advice. If you're comfortable with zone focusing, it's hard to beat the Rollei 35. If you must have a rangefinder, then the Canonet range (the newer, smaller ones) are only a little larger and offer good performance in a small package (faster lenses, too). Get a black one and a silver one and run B&W in one and color in the other; that way you'll always know which is which. All that said, I took a Canon P with three lenses on my last trip, but I had specific capabilities in mind, as well as a digital backup.

Film choice is tougher; I'll simply offer my own recent experience. I carried 16 rolls of film for a two-week vacation, evenly split between Tri-X and Portra 160. I was happy with both, but the Portra was surprisingly good at handling almost anything I threw at it, and far less picky about exposure than Ektar (my other color option).

 

[kxl]

I was born and raised in that part of the world (the Philippines) and I agree with your intent to keep it simple; however, I would suggest that you shoot with a wider lens, e.g., 28mm or wider to give your images context.

On my last visit (March 2012), I shot mostly with a ZM 25/2.8 on a ZI, using Neopan 400. I may have shot less than half a roll with my 50mm.

Re: film, I would suggest sticking with just one, something versatile like Tri-X or HP5+. Like I said, I used Neopan 400 on my last trip.

Have fun!

 

[Spicy]

I would agree with a wider lens. 40 is great with the Rollei 35 and Canonet QL17 (esp since the Canonets have such a fast lens and can do full manual and only require batteries for metering, but a 28 would probably be ideal -- does limit choices, though, as there are not many quality fixed-lens cameras that fit your criteria (smallish, cheap, quality, reliable, with a good fast lens capable of low light shooting).

On the film stuff, I had said early buy TMax 400 and shoot it at 1600. If you give it to a lab (in your case, Ilford), just tell them to develop it at 1600 ("pushing" film means shooting/exposing/developing as if it were a different ISO film -- ie: put a roll of 400 in a camera, set the meter to 1600, shoot on auto as if the film you put in was actually 1600, tell the lab it's 400 with a 2 stop push to 1600 (400->800 = 1 stop, 400->800->1600 = 2 stops)). It's more complicated than it sounds, just google "pushing black & white film" and spend 30min or so for the basics.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Any two reasonably reliable cameras, well tested beforehand (it's unlikely both would fail). Personally I'm a bit surprised at spending this much on travel and this little on photography, but hey, that's just me.

Cheers,

R.

 

[John Bragg]

I strongly recommend taking an Olympus Mju ii aka Stylus epic as a back up plan. Minute in size and weather resistant with a great 35mm f2.8 lens. Can be bought cheaply and is extremely simple to use and very unobtrusive..

 

[hausen]

+1 on Rollei 35. No matter what camera I take I always take one of my Rolleis because they are so tiny. Pack a punch though.

 

[Colin Corneau]

Personally I'm a bit surprised at spending this much on travel and this little on photography, but hey, that's just me.

I never think that after travelling.

 

[jonmanjiro]

I bought and shot a three pack of Lomography 100 recently. It was the cheapest colour negative film I could find so I gave it a try. The negs were fine. No weird colour shift or anything. The box was marked "Made in USA" and the only film I know of that's made in the USA is Kodak, so I expect it's just rebadged Kodak film.

 

[02Pilot]

I bought and shot a three pack of Lomography 100 recently. It was the cheapest colour negative film I could find so I gave it a try. The negs were fine. No weird colour shift or anything. The box was marked "Made in USA" and the only film I know of that's made in the USA is Kodak, so I expect it's just rebadged Kodak film.

The edge markings on the sample I saw recently looked very similar to Kodak's; it was marked "100-2".

It seemed serviceable, if hardly spectacular. Given the dearth of 100 color negative options these days, it's nice to have a relatively cheap one out there.

 

[David Hughes]

Great little camera for travels

Great little camera for travels

Hi,

There's a very pleasant Olympus P&S compact with a zoom camera that fits my criteria for travel and is easy-ish to find and cheap. It's the Olympus Infinity Stylus Zoom 80 Wide DLX. The zoom goes from 28 to 80mm and f/4.5 to about f/8, shutter from 4s to a 500th and spot metering.

It's small and neat and carrying three with B&W and colour film loaded and a back-up would not take up as much room as a dozen films in boxes... Anyway, that's what I do.

FWIW, cameras fail, I had one from new (not the above but a very popular one) and went to take a background shot of my wife on the ferry to France at the start of the holiday and the thing jammed and stayed jammed... Luckily we had a back up.

People often suggest taking a Leica and (say) 3 or 4 lenses on holiday but add a backup body and a tripod (needed to get the best from the lenses) and you'll feel like a porter and not a photographer after a while. A decent P&S can be slipped into your pocket, won't attract thieves like the red dot will and can be used in pubs and cafes without attracting much attention. Plus you can take it to the pub and not have to find a hotel with a large safe in your room. Plus; camera bags gain weight daily on long holidays; or it feels that they do...

It's also possible to get a small B&S tripod head on a clamp (or use a bean bag) instead of a tripod; then there's the neat little slave flash Cobra made years ago that's very small, neat and efficient. So you can squeeze a reasonable kit into your jacket pocket easily with a little planning.

Regards, David

 

[tunalegs]

I bought and shot a three pack of Lomography 100 recently. It was the cheapest colour negative film I could find so I gave it a try. The negs were fine. No weird colour shift or anything. The box was marked "Made in USA" and the only film I know of that's made in the USA is Kodak, so I expect it's just rebadged Kodak film.

I also bought a box a few months ago - cheaper per exposure than buying Fuji Superia at W-mart.

I found the colors were fine, but I guess I'll these photos speak for themselves:


vx5008 by berangberang, on Flickr


vx5003 by berangberang, on Flickr


vx5006 by berangberang, on Flickr

I don't have much experience with compact cameras aside from the Rollei 35, so I can't comment much about the rest of the discussion.

I also do not know if taking dozens of rolls of unexposed film with you will cause any problems - I know in some places, long ago, that one might get hassled at customs for trying to bring a lot of unexposed film across the border. Probably not much of a grey market for film to worry about these days though.