Simplification or Over-simplification - A Special For Pair Bodies Users

R

ruben

Guest
I am entretaining the idea of changing my street targeted gear attitude. Up to day, carrying two bodies was for me a must to have wider ISO coverage.
I am thinking now about a single fixed lens approach.

Two disclaimers: this has nothing to do with my GAS habits, they will remain forever as they are not related to photography itself.

For many, if not most dwellers here, a sigle camera and a single lens is nothing but the most natural. Not for me.

Back to the issue.
Iso 200 for daylight, FLASH for lower light and night. Flash sounds crazy but it is not. People are used to the "stupid" flash point and shoot film or digi cameras.

What I will have to sacrifice?
a) Night conspicuous shooting. From now on mighty soldier approach.
b) Much shooting at roofed places, coffee shops and the likes, with some exceptions in which flash use may be indulged.

All these is due to the short experience I have got in recent months at street shooting. Very few shots due to slow instincts. Too much thinking. Speed is almost everything. You cannot see and then shoot. You have to shoot while seeing. Or see through the viewfinder. Very hard. Gear simplification is a must.

What do you think? I would specially ask for comments from two bodies users, but every one is invited.

Cheers,
Ruben

PS: kindly avoid "welcome to the club". By now I am just passing by.
 
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My all time favorite "street" camera is a Minox C, with flash cubes. So I see where you are coming from.
...but for realistic negatives, perhaps a larger body might be in order. Main thing is to be comfortable with the gear. To the point that you don't think about it at all when you're taking pictures.

Then again, ever wonder why Samurai carried two swords?
 
ISO 200 because of bright daylight at wide opened streets with low homes = f/11 at 1/500. With ISO 400 I will be scaling up to f/16 1/500, i.e, at the extreme.

On the other hand, ISO 400 is not giving me a real edge over 200, if flash is taken into account. But if flash is taken into account for night, again 400 becomes too much for close shooting, forcing me to close aperture to the extreme and interfering with exploiting available night street light, besides flash.
 
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Ruben, that is what I do when I carry 2 bodies. 50mm on one, 35mm on the other, usually with 400 speed HP5+ as I find it most versitile, being able to shoot indoors without flash. (Other times I go out with just one camera and those 2 lenses.)
 
Igo to extremes with two bodies loaded with different film: the M4 with Provia 100 and the M6 with Neopan 1600.
However I rarely carry them both at the same time. If I feel I'm going to be outdoors in reasonable weather and want to capture something colourful, I'll carry the M4 and forget about low light stuff. If I think I'll be mostly indoors or out and about in low light, then out comes the M6.
If I'm not sure then the LC1 covers all bases!
 
FrankS said:
Ruben, that is what I do when I carry 2 bodies. 50mm on one, 35mm on the other, usually with 400 speed HP5+ as I find it most versitile, being able to shoot indoors without flash. (Other times I go out with just one camera and those 2 lenses.)
Click to expand...


Dear Frank,
I think we are targeting different types of pictures. Those that I am looking for, I am loosing them time and again, as explained. This may be just because of dis-orientation or lack of self confidence, but by now the whole issue looks to me of extreme high speed. Although it is possible I am lack of patience to accumulate experience.

Of course, we are not talking about photography in general, but about the street dance.
 
Ruben: This depends on a few things.

Firstly, are you talking about being out with your camera(s) all day, in varying levels of natural light as a result? If so, this would mean (to me, anyway), carrying film of more than one speed: several rolls of 400, maybe a few rolls of 1600 or the like, or pushing some of the 400-speed rolls a stop or so, depending. I try not to use flash unless absolutely necessary, and I don't need it most of the time.

I think it comes down to figuring out, beforehand, what the day's photographing will likely demand, technically speaking, and sorting out as much of that as possible beforehand. This means sometimes keeping that roll or two of ISO 1600 film in the bag even though you think you're dead-to-rights sure that you won't need it. To reluctantly borrow a slogan from the gun lobby, my feeling is "better to have high-speed film in your bag, and not need it, than to need high-speed film in your bag, and not have it."

Incidentally, I generally work with a pair of identical camera bodies (Hexar RF, usually with 28 and 50 optics), so don't consider yourself the "odd person out." Sabastio Salgado regularly worked (and may still) with three Leica bodies at once. And he was hardly alone. Not that I'd recommend that...two is enough for most of us mere mortals.


- Barrett
 
Like Barrett, I try to figure it out beforehand. I generally carry the same film in my cams, so the figuring involves the lenses. I try to take a suitable pair, like a 28 + 50, or a 35 +75, or a 50 + 90 depending on where I'm going. The wider angle lens I pre-focus, f5.6 or f8 aperture and the cam set to AE. The camera is essentially set for quick snaps. The longer lens is set to infinity for quick focusing and the cam is mostly set to AE but if the light is steady I set aperture & shutter speed. Aperture is usually f4 or f5.6.

I have the same film in both cams and roll my own film so my film length can be 15-20 exposures if I want. :) I use 400 ISO like NP400 or HP5+. For me at any rate this seems to take care of most situations.
 
Friends, two commentaries.

What masters of photography have done should be held, in my humble propper opinion, as reference only.

For me, to get out of home with a single body and single lens, is according to my habits something weird as trying to walk with my hands instead of my legs.

Yet the short experience I have accumulated in the street trade, tells me that for many shots, speed is a factor of primary importance. Hence the need of drastic gear simplification. Of course, simplification of gear is only just one side of fast picture taking. Another, and perhaps more important, is the feline instinct of seeing-composing-shooting at that fraction of second something of interest seems to be out there and you develope the instinct of raising the camera before even thinking. Still ahead for me.

Cheers,
Ruben

PS
Reub, I am using nothing else than Tri-x.
 
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Ruben,

I'm with you.
generally flashes are frowned upon in this forum, but for me they work fine.
One great additional advantage of using an autimatic flash is that you do not need to worry about exposure, which greatly increases your speed of operation.

I've got a pretty small flash: Osram C180 Studio, worth 5 Euro/Dollar.
With 200 Asa it requires f 5.6 and gives 4,5m (15 feet) range.
If you hyperfocus a 35mm at f 5,6 your depth of field is 1,5 to 4,5 meters.
Hence, no exposure setting, no focussing, point and shoot (Oops I should not have said that in this forum....)
With a more powerfull flash you get f8, and even more depth of field.

Mad_boy.
 
I have found any system can work - single lens/single body, two bodies/two lenses, one body/multiple lenses. etc. The real point is what causes the fewest compromises for the photographer. Equipment is a pain in the ASA. The photographer must come to terms with the limits of those tools. That is a personal/individual problem and no set rules can answer it.
 
Street Photography: Don't hesitate. Take the picture.

"All these is due to the short experience I have got in recent months at street shooting. Very few shots due to slow instincts. Too much thinking. Speed is almost everything. You cannot see and then shoot. You have to shoot while seeing. Or see through the viewfinder. Very hard. Gear simplification is a must."

You answered your own question!
 
Ruben, I'll throw my two cents (even though the advise may worth less...:) )
I intended to convert to ISO 400 film as an all-around solution for both, daylight and lower levels of illumination, however also encountereed the issue of being pushed to the exrtreem exposures at clear daylight (1/500 or 1/1000 at f/16 which is smallest one on my Summicron 50mm). Clear sky daylight is harsh in our country, you know...
That led me to re-consider the approach and I recalled my old habit of pushing. In my SLR days I used to shoot slower films and push them up when necessary.
Since I was mostly shooting slides (except of events, concerts and dedicated portraiture), I specifically evaluated my regular daylight transparacy emulsion - Fuji Sensia 100 pushing it to 200 and 320. I learnt it handles very well at both settings, at 200.
So, I'm getting back to that experience. I have a pile of Sensia 100 in my stock (yet again from my SLR days), and just recently pulled the trigger and shot two rolls of it pushed to 200 in my M6. One of the rolls was an indoor event with flash.
The results turned to exceed my expectations (technically, exposure-wise)- both rolls were very fine, flash exposures turned to be excellent as well.
I don't know whether you shoot color, and slides in particular, but if you do - try to push your favorite slow film - you may be surprised figuring a nice solution for your dilemma.
I personally set with Sensia (for slides) for all-around work shotoing it at ISO 100 nominal at daylight and pushing to 200 and even 320/400 when necessary to keep exposures reasonable. Of course, once you begun shotoing at particular ISO - it is set until you finish or switch the rolls.
Just make sure your lab (in the case you do not develop yourself) handles pushing well and are familiar with it. Also, ask you lab for how much they can push - some are limited to 1.5 - 2 stops at maximum.

Best, Alex
 
tkluck said:
My all time favorite "street" camera is a Minox C, with flash cubes. So I see where you are coming from.
...but for realistic negatives, perhaps a larger body might be in order. Main thing is to be comfortable with the gear. To the point that you don't think about it at all when you're taking pictures.

Then again, ever wonder why Samurai carried two swords?
Click to expand...

My wife who is Japanese tells me in answer to your question that Samurai carried a full length sword and a dagger; one for close-in combat and one for arms length combat. Like carrying a wide angle and telephoto, no?;)
Kurt M.
 
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