how much film would you take on holiday?

[rjstep3]

I am going to Sri Lanka over Christmas for two weeks. I am thinking about what film to take and how much and it struck me how much more I was thinking of taking than, say, 20 or 30 years ago.

So how many rolls of 135 36 exposure film would you take? Over two weeks, we will be looking at ancient monuments, viewing natural scenic beauties and of course some pics of the wife. For these fairly general holiday purposes, how much would you take? Ignore any differences between B&W and colour, slide or neg - just the total amount of rolls?

 

[michaelwj]

I am going to Sri Lanka over Christmas for two weeks. I am thinking about what film to take and how much and it struck me how much more I was thinking of taking than, say, 20 or 30 years ago.

I suppose you'd be more likely to just pick some up wherever you were 20 years ago, now you have to take it all with you?

I budget 1 roll per day, plus a few extra. so for 2 weeks, I'd take 14 plus some extra, so around 18-20.

 

[Lauffray]

Same as Michael, about 1 roll a day

 

[kxl]

1.25 rolls/day, then round up. On a two-week (14 day) trip, that works out to be 18 rolls.

Also, when I travel, my primary camera is digital, so film (B&W only) is just complementary.

 

[Rayt]

Typically if the purpose of the trip is photography then I would split my day into early mornings and late afternoon. I try to get up an hour before sunrise, get a cup of coffee and head for the destination. The light will be good enough to shoot between 6:30am to 8:30am or longer if it is overcasted. I can shoot 4 rolls but that depends. Back to the hotel for breakfast and a nap. The afternoon session goes from 4pm to 6pm depending on the time of the year. Typically I can shoot 5 rolls but again that depends.

But if the wife and kids are with me then the iPhone will see a lot of action. Perhaps I will bring a small film camera maybe the Minilux and a roll of Tri-X 🙂

 

[Hatchetman]

tough to say, I take digital and film cameras. with only film, I would carry 2 rolls/day to be safe. along with digital, half that.

 

[Laviolette]

Around 1 roll a day for me as well. I will usually have two cameras that share the same lens, one loaded with color and the other with B&W. Or a 35mm camera and a medium format. My last trip, I had my M4 (portra 160 and delta 400) and my Rolleiflex (velvia 100 and delta 100).

 

[gb hill]

If you shoot as much film as Tom A. take a suitcase full.😀

 

[bence8810]

I usually take 1 roll per day and end up shooting half that much.
Good suggestions above on the 18 ballpark for the 2 weeks.

Ben

 

[icebear]

One on weekdays, 2 on weekend days that roughly comes to 10.
But ... OK I'll just take 4x 16GB for my MM and 2x 32GB for my Q😉

 

[Bill Clark]

I photograph grand children as my wife and I have been blessed with 2 with each of our adult children. We usually spend 3 or 4 days when visiting and I take around 10 rolls of black and white film, 36 exposures with each roll.

For color, all digital capture.

It's probably too much but I'd rather have too many photographs!

 

[Rob-F]

Two rolls a day seems to be about right for me. i allow a little extra by figuring in two rolls for travel days as well as shooting days, and usually wind up with 3 or 4 rolls left.

 

[Particular]

Bring more than you think you need.
I always have a few days where I really get into it and shoot a lot. Then on the last day or two I am rationing my film in order not to run out.
The one film a day measure is about right for my commute to work. If I'm in a new place, I may finish a roll while I'm looking for a place to have breakfast. I may not end up shooting that much, but I'd hate to feel guilty or self conscious about indulging myself, when I'll probably never come back here.

 

[phatnev]

3 rolls a day seems about right. I'm taking a 4 week trip to Burma in late January and am planning on bringing 100 rolls.

 

[noisycheese]

I would take four rolls for each day at the destination, so 48 rolls for two weeks and I'd just round up to an even 50. That sounds like a lot, but if you take the film out of the boxes and plastic cans and put it in gallon size Ziploc freezer bags, it significantly reduces the bulk.

If you are flying, you will also want to get a couple of these to protect your film from airport x-ray machines and from increased radiation in flight: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/185375-REG/Domke_711_15B_Film_Guard_Bag_Large.html

 

[narsuitus]

Normally, I would take a brick (a 20-roll pack) on a two week vacation trip; but based on my average shooting record, I would use only one roll per day.

At other times, I would take one-hundred feet of 35mm film and roll my own. One-hundred feet would usually give me about 19 rolls of 36-exposure film.


Film Case by Narsuitus, on Flickr


Burke & James Watson model 100 bulk film loader by Narsuitus, on Flickr

 

[Vincent.G]

Normally, I would take a brick (a 20-roll pack) on a two week vacation trip; but based on my average shooting record, I would use only one roll per day.

At other times, I would take one-hundred feet of 35mm film and roll my own. One-hundred feet would usually give me about 19 rolls of 36-exposure film.

Film Case by Narsuitus, on Flickr

Burke & James Watson model 100 bulk film loader by Narsuitus, on Flickr

Wow! That's some nice Nikon F2 film cassettes you have there! The idea of bringing a bulk loader did come across my mind before but I usually bite the bullet and bring the original rolls in my hand carry luggage for convenience.

On average, I bring 3 rolls for a day of trip.

 

[grouchos_tash]

I guess where I am depends on how much film I use. The first time I went to Italy I used twenty rolls in a week. The second time, I was there for two weeks so thought I would use forty rolls but only shot eleven! So I have 35 rolls of Tmax 100 and 5 rolls of Ektar/Portra that I can't use till next year (no chance of using 100iso in the UK haha!).

 

[Doug]

Whether 220 or 135-36 I seem to shoot about a roll per day on vacation, with photography a major part of the trip. But everyone shoots in their own way, and I tend to be frugal/selective in shooting. So I'd take about 20 rolls for two weeks, for a little extra.

 

[lynnb]

I'd guess I'd use about 20 rolls, 1 to 2 rolls a day.