Traveling to Thailand...what to take? RF and MF questions.

[mdelevie]

I think your Plaubel Makina 670 is perfect for Thailand. You can't get better image quality from the Hassy, and if you were only going to bring the 80mm lens on the 'blad, you lose nothing with the 80mm lens on the Plaubel... hell, you get a faster lens and a slightly larger negative. It's not light, but at least it's somewhat compact. In my opinion, it's the perfect "big brother" to your M6.

 

[Pablito]

Clive that's a nice character endorsement thanks! 🙂

well, it's true!
Cheers,

 

[oftheherd]

drazin, take a look at the 120 MF sub-forum and read about MF folders. These are foldable (easily goes into a purse or small camera bag, some of them are not bigger than your M6), produces 6x6 or some of them 6x9 negatives from ordinary 120 film.

These are also Electronic-less cameras that doesn't need batteries, for the metering, either use your M6 or use sunny-16 rule.

Follow the link to my blog in my signature below and see the pictures on the latest entry. Those are from an MF folder camera. See if it's good enough for you.

And best of all, you don't have to sell your hasselblad to get one of these... 😉

I second what shadowfox said about folders. They are much better than they are susally given credit for. Especially the better ones. You can learn much from the subforum shadowfox mentioned.

Also, try to keep it simple. You want good memories preserved in photos, not regrets for fussing with cameras on your honeymoon. Your RF 35mm with an extra lens or two, and a 120 folder and you will be very happy

 

[Charles Bogel]

Don't carry around a lot of camera gear, especially on a first trip. It's hotter than you can imagine, and you don't want to mark yourself as a target with a bulging backpack full of equipment.

Taking the Hasselblad is insane. You're not going on a pro shoot. You'll be fumbling around too much stuff, which will feel like a lead weight after a couple of days, and you'll always be worrying about it.

Change your thinking altogether and get something light and easy to use. You can be a hobbyist when you get home. Just shoot light and simply for pleasure. Digital might even be better.

Forget about medium format completely. Don't worry about silly things like finding batteries or film. Thailand is a modern country, Bangkok has more camera stores and esoteric gear than most cities in the world, you can easily buy anything you need.

If you want to get lots of interesting used camera stuff, go to MBK shopping center in Bangkok. A paradise of used equipment. Bring cash, know your prices, and haggle like crazy. Any cab driver can take you there. Try the food court on the top floor too.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=mbk+bangkok&btnG=Google+Search


These photos were mostly taken in the late 1990's with this camera, an excellent one:

(this girl died in the Phuket Tsunami)

http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/film/data/1986-1990/1989_abzsp.html?lang=undefined&categ=crn&page=1986-1990

 

[DrLeoB]

Been there, tone that.... enjoy and take a 100mm and a 35mm or wider. Much of what you see will benefit from the protraiture approach. Above all, eat, drink and eat lotsa hot stuff... Any camera that you are comfortable with and can use the two lenses suggested ( assuming a 50mm is the standard) will more than suffice. Bangkok is insane at times so whatever you take, be comfortable and quick with it....

Above all enjoy the trip.

 

[Rayt]

I travel to Bangkok often and it is my absolute favorate destination. Great food, lovely people and photo ops galore. Thailand is pretty hot and humid so carrying around MF equipment will not be fun. I suggest you hold on to your Leica and consider adding a 21mm or 24mm to your kit when you visit Thailand.

 

[Simon Larbalestier]

Forget about medium format completely. Don't worry about silly things like finding batteries or film. Thailand is a modern country, Bangkok has more camera stores and esoteric gear than most cities in the world, you can easily buy anything you need.

If you want to get lots of interesting used camera stuff, go to MBK shopping center in Bangkok. A paradise of used equipment. Bring cash, know your prices, and haggle like crazy.

Actually from my experience of living here i would disagree on this viewpoint. Photo File on the ground floor is expensive for used gear and it is limited in its stock. Camera Collection in Silom/Surrawong is better but the used prices are still high. IMHO there are only a few decent pro camera stores here in BKK and haggling isn't really going to get you very far. What is also lacking here is lithium batteries especially the type required for the MP/M6/M7 and it is worth bringing MF if you have the space i use Plaubels, Mamiya's and Fuji's a lot over here and the processing and contacting prices are reasonable.
.

 

[mdelevie]

This question of what kit to bring whilst traveling has finally gotten me to just try it out. For the last two weeks I was in the middle east, and took only one camera: a Plaubel Makina 670. I did bring a lightweight tripod and a polarizing filter, but no flash, and certainly no flash card ;^). The film load was mostly Velvia, with a bit of Fuji Pro800 negative film just in case.

Up until the last minute I was struggling... what to bring, what to bring? I packed a bag with 2 Canon zooms and a 20D and a 1N and a flash, and it was damn heavy! So I just put that all away and grabbed the Plaubel.

Most of my film is still at the lab, but the first few rolls are back and I'm very happy with a few of the shots. Only twice did I yearn for a telephoto, most of the time I wanted even wider than the slightly-wide-of-normal that I was carrying.

To be honest, I could've used the faster glass of 35mm. I also should've switched to 400 or 800 speed film sooner, a lot of my slides are underexposed from shooting at 50 ISO handheld... the minimum shutter speed I can usually get away with is around 1/30th, though I did get one miracle shot at 1/8th which is sharp enough to count the beard hairs:

 

[bensyverson]

On my last two international trips, I took a Mamiya 7 with the 80mm, and a Canon Rebel XT with a 10-20mm zoom and the featherweight 50mm/1.8.

I have mixed feelings about how this worked out. On the one hand, it felt like too much gear. The weight wasn't the issue -- the issue was fumbling between two cameras. On the other hand, there are shots from both cameras that I couldn't have done with the other, and would never give up... The "freeness" of digital, the speed of autofocus, and the 3fps burst mode got me a lot of shots that I wouldn't have even attempted with the Mamiya. And the Mamiya let me slow down and capture scenes that I can enlarge past 16x20" with no problem.

But the 7 is a lot of camera to bring, especially when I have no interest in exhibiting my travel snaps. Next time around, I think I'm going to leave the 7 at home and bring a small 6x6 folder instead...