Mongolia: M cameras, XPAN and 100 rolls of film in September

[Vickko]

Oh that sounds like fun.

Bring lots of batteries for the Xpan; I can't imagine that Xpan batteries are easy to find outside of big cities.

Carrying an Xpan is like carrying two cameras.

And the M can be your mechanical backup.

 

[jordanatkins]

I have become a travel minimalist over the years, cutting down my gear load to one system with a wide and normal lens. I do always take a back-up body having experienced a camera failure while hiking in Rocky Mtn National Park some years ago. I also only take one film with me - generally Tmax400 and let my wife take a digital camera for color. The less I carry, the more I enjoy the trip!

Agreed, less is more! On my last trip I only took an Olympus OM-1 with a Zuiko 50 1.4 and a Sony NEX-7 with the 19 and 30 2.8 Sigma lenses. I ended up only using the 19 on the NEX. I had plenty of equipment to get the shots I wanted, and I could easily carry it all with me, without a bag even.

 

[N.delaRua]

I will second the minimalist approach.

In my travels into foreign countries on science expeditions, I have continually pared down my equipment and realizing that I did not want to to take every shot possible, but only those I wanted. Turned out that was mostly portraiture and street.

I like a wide for street so I carried a FM2 with a 20 mm, and I like the Leica M6 with the 50 DR. That was it. The wide could also do landscapes/temples.

I think you have too much gear. What can the M6 do that the X-Pan can't? Why bring the Rollei? It seems to me that you could probably get away with only the X-pan and one Leica body.

I understand wanting two bodies: one for color and one for B&W. That is my general setup as well. But it seems like you are talking about bringing four bodies and some redundant focal lengths.

I went back to Guatemala three times, and the first trip was me living out my Nat Geo fantasy of visiting somewhere and capturing its essence Nat Geo style. I brought a F100 with the works. All I did was lug it through the field and got stuck in a cave because my camera bag was so big as I was descending through a chute in the cave.

Since you are shooting slides, I think the meters is a good idea, and since you are shooting Velvia then you def. need a tripod. I think you could easily enjoy your self with X-Pan, Leica and a good spread of lenses although I bet you only use one or two focal lengths.

 

[N.delaRua]

P.S. This decision is so very personal. I stressed about the very same thing and how many rolls of film to take et cetera.

Take what you want and enjoy your trip. I will find out quickly if there is something you don't need. That will inform your decision next time you travel.

 

[MIkhail]

Okay, so here's the deal: I am going to Mongolia in September. I am taking my Leica M kit, my Hasselblad XPAN kit, My Rollei 35 SE, Sekonic L-508 meter, Metz flash, Gitzo carbon fiber tripod and 100ish rolls of film (Kodak Tri-X 400, Fuji Velvia 50 and Fuji Pro 400 H).

I am taking more film and less camera gear than I have ever taken on any photographic quest or workshop in the past 😉

If this is "less gear" I would hate to see "more".
Are you going to get pictures or to shoot cameras?

 

[GaryLH]

Working out of a base, the hub and spoke style, where u come back by the end of the night, makes life easier..

When I was young I carried a lot of equipment as well.. But as I got older I started to subscribe to less is better camp.. These days max of two cameras and one of them is always a p&s. But each to his own.. At the end of the day, everyone has different aspects of the vacation that makes them happy.

Enjoy your vacation
Gary

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

i had a xpan die on me at 5am
on a hotel roof top trying to capture
the sunrise over the Himalayas.
I think the coldness of the morning
killed the motor-drive of the xpan.

Thank goodness I brought
my Oly XA4 as a backup.

So I think one main body plus
a small backup makes sense.

have a great trip!

raytoei

 

[mbisc]

Sounds like an awesome trip -- the list of gear seems not unreasonable. The pan stuff is not my gig, but with slide film you will get some awesome landscape shots.

The only suggestion I would make (and I would probably "swap" it for the Rollei) is that since you do B&W, too, I would take some "smallish" medium format camera (personally, I would take my old 6x9 folder (Bessa II) or the not-so-smallish Medalist II -- depending on the space in the camera bag) for the small number of must-have B&W images -- they will print so much nicer in 6x9 than in 125 🙂

Oh, and enjoy the trip!

 

[robert blu]

Great trip! I'm a lirtle envious 🙂 it will be an exciting experience and a lot of work once back home! Enjoy your adventure!
robert

 

[Taipei-metro]

Julia R., Mongolia
http://youtu.be/6i3dv0t2YEU

http://blog.ricecracker.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Picture-6.jpg
wow, both eyes open...'Closer'

suggest gears, M6, M6, 28, 50, 90
I was in Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, Otaru/ Japan, only took one Pentax DSLR, 2 lenses and one point n shoot Kodak.
Have a great trip!

 

[Armoured]

Enjoy your trip. I went last year and wish I'd had time to devote only to photography. I got wonderful shots, and wish I'd taken different gear.

But I can't give you advice on what to take. If it were me again, I'd have (in addition to dSLR and slightly different lens kit) added a digital point and shoot like the x100.

At any rate, concentrate not on the equipment but enjoying yourselves.

 

[skibeerr]

Given the approach of a Hotel base camp you'll be right with your gear.

Enjoy your trip. Keep an open mind, not all civilisations have the same standards.

 

[archeophoto]

For me it wouldn't make sense to take 4 35mm cameras. The Rollei and the Leicas do essentially the same thing. I never travel without a medium format camera. Mostly a Rolleiflex or 'Cord. If this is too heavy, I take a Voigtlander Perkeo. There is just nothing like a landscape on medium format film.

 

[Archiver]

Your rationale for the gear sounds very reasonable, given your desire to stay within a certain look and have backup. Had you considered a Zeiss Ikon as backup M body? It is a lot lighter and less expensive than a second M. And this thread really appeals to the 'what gear should I bring' question that constantly comes up for me, even for everyday life.

If I was taking an all-M film kit, it would be the M7 and Zeiss Ikon as backup/second body, with Zeiss Biogon 21/2.8, CV 35/1.4 and Summicron 50/2. For a trip to a place like Mongolia, for me that would be a once in a lifetime trip, and I'd just bring a stack of Portra 400.

The digital cheating version would be the M9 and Ricoh GXR-M with the 28mm module for sneaky autofocus, hahaha. Or if I could get my hands on a M240, that would replace the M9 due to the higher ISO performance and video option.

 

[noisycheese]

For me it wouldn't make sense to take 4 35mm cameras. The Rollei and the Leicas do essentially the same thing. I never travel without a medium format camera. Mostly a Rolleiflex or 'Cord. If this is too heavy, I take a Voigtlander Perkeo. There is just nothing like a landscape on medium format film.

I do not own a medium format camera at present and can't see myself investing in one prior to the tour. I agree with you about landscapes shot on 120 film, though. Still, the XPAN and M cameras and lenses are no slouches - they give a good accounting of themselves.

As for the Rollei 35, I consider it a "free" camera because of its small size and weight. It will disappear into a jacket or photo vest pocket with little consequence in terms of size or weight. This little gem of a camera is no more trouble to me than carrying my wallet is.

P.S. This decision is so very personal. I stressed about the very same thing and how many rolls of film to take et cetera.

Take what you want and enjoy your trip. I will find out quickly if there is something you don't need. That will inform your decision next time you travel.

@N.delaRua,
Your comments (above) carry a lot of truth in them.

The kit I am planning on taking to Mongolia (tripod not included) weighs 15 pounds. Some would consider carrying that amount of gear on their backs absolute madness. Others would consider it a walk in the park.

To me, my chosen kit feels manageable in terms of weight. It feels about like the daypack full of books I used to wear around campus without a second thought. It is 1/4 the weight of the backpack I hauled across the Continental Divide at 14,000+ feet altitude in Colorado's Holy Cross wilderness when I was 32.

At 56, I can manage a 15 pound camera pack but not a 60 pound load, not without months of serious pre-trip training.

Ah, the ravages of Father Time... 🙄

 

[squareshooter]

In the end you are going to have to do it your way. I personally believe that less can be more gear-wise but again, it's your call. What a great adventure.

 

[35mmdelux]

Too much gear to get around and work effectively. Lot to be said for traveling light. Camera, back-up, light meter --done!

 

[Andrea Taurisano]

I think you got more than enough advice here, and as you see it can be boiled down to two opposites: 1) bring way less than you're planning to; 2) you'll be fine with that.

I say do whatever you feel is right. Whichever you choose, it will probably turn out to be the wrong choice, but you'll have learned the best way and found your best bet for the next trip.

Just remember to share some photos (and to bring some ORS and broad-spectrum antibiotic)

 

[Armoured]

Go with whatever feels right to you. As someone put it above, it's a very personal decision. Nice thing about having a base to operate from is that you can take a sub-set of the full kit each day. Although it's easy to then dither every single day while deciding...

 

[noisycheese]

I think you got more than enough advice here, and as you see it can be boiled down to two opposites: 1) bring way less than you're planning to; 2) you'll be fine with that.

I say do whatever you feel is right. Whichever you choose, it will probably turn out to be the wrong choice, but you'll have learned the best way and found your best bet for the next trip.

Just remember to share some photos (and to bring some ORS and broad-spectrum antibiotic)

That has always been my approach to this. I started this thread hoping to hear the thoughts of others, and the response has been great. Many thanks to everyone who has contributed!

In deciding on what to bring in terms of kit, I never have felt like "Please help, I don't know what to bring." The thoughts of others have been very useful in helping me think about how to fine tune my kit but my thoughts on what to take were more or less definite from the get-go.

I feel like what I'm planning on taking is near the upper limit of what is reasonable and manageable - for me. For others, my "war load" of gear may be utterly insane.

I probably have a higher tolerance for carrying gear, thanks to the backpacking and other outdoor adventures I have been participated in. The amount of kit I will take to Mongolia doesn't hold a candle to the amount of gear camping gear that I pulled on a sled during a week-long winter photo/camping trip in Minnesota's Boundary Waters in my younger days.

Leaving the XPAN kit at home would lighten my load significantly - but if I don't actually use my XPAN on this photographc opportunity of a lifetime, what's the point of having it? That point is hard to argue against in my mind.

At any rate, thank you again to one and all who have contributed to this discussion - it has been quite illuminating.

... Whichever you choose, it will probably turn out to be the wrong choice...

@Andrea - more true words have never been spoken! 😀 When it comes to any photographic endeavor involving travel, Murphy's Law will always be relentlessly and maddeningly in full effect. Sometimes it seems that screwing with photographers is Mr. Murphy's reason for living...