Traveling with MF cameras

[bigeye]

Raid:

I would keep it simple; leave the 50 on the M9 - I rarely need anything else, anyway. You're very experienced at travel - you know all of this!

After concentrating on the SWC all day, 50 feels like 90 (I like that). I never use my 90 and I don't think too much about the 'right lens'. I find it's all better keeping it simple and concentrating.

I have a V700, too, and get 'adequate' scans from it. If it's broken, there is no reason not to bring the SWC, the negatives can wait until you fix it (or get a Plustek 120 🙂 NCPS, etc will scan them, too. (I always dev my own B&W).

-Charlie

 

[raid]

Raid:

I would keep it simple; leave the 50 on the M9 - I rarely need anything else, anyway. You're very experienced at travel - you know all of this!

After concentrating on the SWC all day, 50 feels like 90 (I like that). I never use my 90 and I don't think too much about the 'right lens'. It's all better for me when I keep it simple and concentrate on what I'm doing.

I have a V700, too, and get 'adequate' scans from it. If it's broken, there is no reason not to bring the SWC, the negatives can wait until you fix it (or get a Plustek 120 🙂 NCPS, etc will scan them, too. (I always dev my own B&W).

-Charlie

🙂

You read my thoughts, Charlie. The SWC is "new to me", and I bought it for such special trips anyways. My alltime favorite lens is the rigid Summicron 50/2, so using it feels like having a friend with me (in the camera!). I have taken a look at Sienna and at Rimini via Google, and I can already tell what will work for me and what will not. I really want to go basic this time so that I can be moving around and chat with people as I take photos of them.

The V700 is too heavy to be mailed for repair, and if I find anyone local to repair it, that is uncertain. I may junk it and accept the loss of a $400 rip-off.

I checked the negatives for four rolls of film that I have taken with the SWC so far, and the images appear to be sharp.

 

[rumbliegeos]

I know this is the RFF, and I do love MF as a medium, but I also usually take a camera that will allow at least some shots equivalent to 135mm or over in 35mm: this is not just for more distant subjects, but also for using dof foreshortening effects in compositions. I definitely get the attraction of traveling with a minimal kit, and have done it, but I often wish I had a lens with more reach at some point in the trip. Tough to achieve in MF without expensive and heavy lenses, or using cropping as a tool, which puts a lot pressure on lens quality and shooting technique.

 

[raid]

I know this is the RFF, and I do love MF as a medium, but I also usually take a camera that will allow at least some shots equivalent to 135mm or over in 35mm: this is not just for more distant subjects, but also for using dof foreshortening effects in compositions. I definitely get the attraction of traveling with a minimal kit, and have done it, but I often wish I had a lens with more reach at some point in the trip. Tough to achieve in MF without expensive and heavy lenses, or using cropping as a tool, which puts a lot pressure on lens quality and shooting technique.

I love using my EP-2 with the Zeiss 85/1.4. The cropped image is same as that of a 170mm lens, with DOF of a 85/1.4. I had this from the start as a possible addition for portraits and for isolating subjects.

 

[parkpy]

On my most recent trip to London and Paris (1 week total), I carried around a Bronica RF645 with 65mm f/4, and the wife carried an Olympus XZ-1. I found that I was there to vacation more than document the trip. The wife doesn't like how long I take to setup for shots, so I decided to keep shooting to a minimum, and brought only 2 rolls of film, in addition to the 7 remaining shots on the roll already in the camera.

I kept shots to a minimum, which meant I was carrying around a big camera for long periods of time. Not my favorite thing to do. When it came time to shoot, I kept it fast, and shot in Program mode (first time I've ever done this). The viewfinder isn't the best for those with glasses, and to keep impatient people happy, I let the Bronica do its own thing. And it did a pretty dang good job.

The RF645 is a great camera, and the clear rangefinder patch, matched with the camera's controls makes it a quick handling rangefinder. I would love it more if I could see the whole viewfinder🙂 And if it were lighter/smaller.

 

[raid]

I will have a base from which we take daily trips from, so I will be able to leave equipment behind some times and take it on another outing.

 

[frogfroggy]

I might not take the Rolleiflex on a plane, but for any other trips it's coming with me.

Why not take a Rolleiflex on a plane ?

 

[FrozenInTime]

The Rolleiflex WLF had a 'sports' direct vision frame finder - which would eliminate any auckward contortions when viewing out through a window.

The hasselblad 500 series also has a side rail slip on open frame finder which I've used quite often when I did not want to carry a prism. There is also an optical viewfinder for the 60 and 100mm lenses that was intended for the MK70 - a few of these appeared on the market recently.

 

[raid]

My Rolleiflex TLR had a mirror move inside it during a trip to Japan. I would focus, see things in focus, but in fact, things were not in focus. All images for this trip that I took with the TLR were very soft.

 

[ljsegil]

My last trip was to the Caribbean and I brought a Mamiya 7 with 43, 65, 80, and 150mm lenses and a Rollei Automat 4 Tessar 75/3.5. I shot only color (E-6 and C-41) with the Mamiya and a mix of TMY and E-6 with the Rollei. Compared with the Mamiya, the Rollei shots were disappointingly soft and the colors not rendered as accurately as by the Mamiya. This was my first extended use of the Rollei and my focusing technique (or lack thereof, I rarely used the magnifying loupe) may be in part to blame for the results. Of course the Rollei was much lighter and more pleasant to carry, but even with four lenses the Mamiya was not close to the weight and size of my DSLR kit. I have previously taken the same trip with the Rollei SL66 and five lenses and extra film magazines and found that to be pretty ridiculously unwieldy, almost as difficult as traveling with a large format camera.
I too will be traveling to Italy later this summer to visit my son who is doing a fellowship in Pisa and am undecided as to what to take along. I am very tempted to forgo the larger Mamiya kit and instead take my Xpan (30, 45, and 90 mm lenses) which basically produces a negative the size of the bottom half of the Mamiya negative in its panoramic mode and the lenses are about as sharp as the Mamiya and is much lighter and easier to carry (whole kit fits in a medium sized Tamrac sling pack rather than the full size shoulder bag of the Mamiya) and enables quickly changing film on the fly, a non-trivial issue compared with 120 film after 10 shots of the Mamiya. However, some of the Mamiya shots from my previous trip were really lovely. Rather than the Rollei Automat, if I choose to shoot with the Xpan and 135 film, I could use my R3a and the 40/2.8 Rollei Sonnar or 50/1.5 Zeiss ZM Sonnar as a backup (and a primary B&W body), or chicken out and take a little digicam and hide my face in shame while using it. I do like the idea of the Xpan in this context, however, as it offers the negative size of medium format with a body size and weight of a 35mm rangefinder, and am currently leaning towards that solution.
I do love being fortunate enough to have these problems.
Larry
Have a great trip Raid!

 

[raid]

Thanks Larry.
I wish you the same for your Italy trip.
Take what makes you feel best.

 

[frogfroggy]

It's surprising that during the flight the mirror moves ! Did you put the camera in a bag ? I mean what physical explaination is there to explain the movement of integral parts ? The air pressure, the bumps ? Good trip to Larry and Raid !

 

[mbisc]

It's surprising that during the flight the mirror moves ! Did you put the camera in a bag ? I mean what physical explaination is there to explain the movement of integral parts ? The air pressure, the bumps ? Good trip to Larry and Raid !

The constant vibrations (especially in propellor/turboprop planes, but also jets) can do strange things to mechanical cameras, e.g. screws that come undone.

 

[raid]

It's surprising that during the flight the mirror moves ! Did you put the camera in a bag ? I mean what physical explaination is there to explain the movement of integral parts ? The air pressure, the bumps ? Good trip to Larry and Raid !

Thanks.

I had the TLR in a camera bag that was always "tucked away" onboard. We often must take smaller planes from Pensacola, so a propeller driven plane may have been the case.
It is a tricky issue since there was no way that I could suspect such a slight mirror shift. Mark Hama fixed it for me after the trip.

 

[Monochrom]

Super Ikonta 532/16

Super Ikonta 532/16

Hi Raid, i did a trip to mexico on 2010 with my super ikonta 532/16...
And no problem with it...its collapsable and RF so it was easy to carry. and plain once closed...
Also brought to that trip an m8 which was by far easier to use...i hardly have any AF camera...i only use such system when i buy one from time to time...so 98% of my shooting is done with MF.

Bye!

 

[oftheherd]

🙂
....

The V700 is too heavy to be mailed for repair, and if I find anyone local to repair it, that is uncertain. I may junk it and accept the loss of a $400 rip-off....

Better man that me! I chased after a woman who didn't send me a $275 camera and lens until I got it. Aren't there provisions in the RFF classifieds to help you address that?

 

[raid]

You can post a rating of the seller, but this is pretty much what seems to be viewed by RFF as acceptable feedback. I posted an angry sounding thread, and I was told not to do so.

 

[oftheherd]

Good to know. I don't guess I have to ask if you have contacted the seller. Good luck on finding someone local to you to fix it. If I were you, before junking it I would consider going into it myself, or at least trying to sell it on ebay for parts. At least you might get something back.

 

[Thomas78]

At my trip to Hawaii I took a Mamiya 6 with the 50/75/150 lenses and a Bessa R3A for black and white.

My exerience:

The weight is no problem for me and the three lenses cover almost all of my needs.

But there are some limitations:
- Close focusing (<1m) not possible, so no macro shots from flowers
- With Velvia 50 and a maximum aperture of f/3.5 hand hold shooting is critical at low light situations (in the woods).
- the lens change takes some time with the auxiliar shutter

If you prefer multiple focal lenghts and can live without close focus ability a RF like the Mamiya 6 (or 7) is the way to go.

If you can live with just one focal lenght and want close focus ability a TLR and Rolleinar would be a good idea.

A MF SLR set might be to heavy for a longer walk.

 

[raid]

I just looked into my film refrigerator to see what types of MF film I had frozen.
Among others, I have only 5 fresh 120 rolls of Ektar 100.
The rest is 10 outdated TMAX 100, some AGFA 25, maybe 25 rolls of Fuji NPS160 in 220 film. Some XP2 film in 120, some Agfacolor 160... etc.
I do not trust the color film that is not fresh.