Travel Photography with a MF Camera.

[david b]

Yes, I love the 65mm. It's equal to a 32mm (on a 35mm camera). But I got the 50mm for a very good price so I could not pass it up. Otherwise I would have just kept the 65mm.

[Aggie]

I have the 43, 80, and the 150. When David goes to the Zion Workshop He will like both all three of those lenses. The 210 is and ok lens if you do landscape work. It is not good for closer focusing.

[gr82bart]

I travel everywhere with my Hassey. Bought a decent LowePro to help out as well. This way I can carry it aboard planes without too much hassle. I usually bring 3 lenses - my 40, 80 and 120 or 180 with me since I never know what I'll see.

Art.

[waynecrider]

I travel everywhere with my Hassey. Bought a decent LowePro to help out as well. This way I can carry it aboard planes without too much hassle. I usually bring 3 lenses - my 40, 80 and 120 or 180 with me since I never know what I'll see.

Art.

Art, do you have any experience concerning the differences between the 40mm and 50mm lenses. I was seriously considering the 40 untill recently. I thought it might be more prudent to crop a 40, yet have the wider view when needed.

[gr82bart]

I have the "old style" 40 mm CFE. It has a floating lens element (FLE) at the front where it requires a two stage focussing process. First you focus normally, then look at the focal point and adjust the FLE according to the focus point and recheck the focus. The 50mm CFE has the same design. The 'new' 40mm IF CFE doesn't have the FLE and it's just a plain one stop focussing process. I just like the wider angle the 40mm gives me. Until recently I use to shoot with a rented 50mm all the time. Then one day, the rental place didn't have the 50 and said they'd rent me the 40 for the same price. What a difference! I bought a 40mm the next week. I should of waited a few more weeks for the new 40 mm IF. Drats! Go for the 40mm.

Art.

[VoidoidRamone]

I just got back from Moab and I had to pack fairly lightly... All in a Lowepro mini-trekker- Mamiya RB67 w/ attached 90mm, 180mm (I wish I had a 50mm though), 2 backs (1 attached), pentax spotmeter, cable release, red, yellow, green, and pol. filters, and 25 rolls of film. I put the spent film in the outer pocket in a black bag and carried a notebook and tape with me, it all worked out nicely with a little bit of room to spare. -Grant

[bobfowler]

I have to travel quite a bit for work assignments. Shortly after I bought my Bronica system, I bought a Delsey Pro 2 bag. Looking back, I should have bought the Pro 1, but I can still carry 2 bodies (1 with a speed grip attached), 4 lenses with hoods, 7 backs, a bunch of filters in both 67 and 77mm (I use stack caps), a Luna-Pro F, and gobs of film. If I really push it, I can get a third body in (with one of the lenses installed). When flying, I pack my Polaroid back, a small lightstand, and a tripod in my checked baggage.

I've found that I can get away with a rather small Bogen 3001 tripod with a 2025 head, but I prefer to use a 3021 with a 3047 head. 35mm gear travels in a Lowepro Nature Trekker backpack. I keep a mid-size Tamrac bag in my checked baggage so I don't have to work out of the backpack on location (if it's a PJ job). My flash equipment travels in checked baggage in a Graflex case from on old Speed Graphic to which I added some heavy padding. I carry a Metz 60CT1 with dry-fit, and extra dry-fit battery, charger, a Sunpak 544 with a Quantum Turbo & charger, a Newton bracket, an old Larsen 17" soft box form a soff-shoulder, and a bunch of small accessories.

[Ara Ghajanian]

This has nothing to do with camera gear, but...

I'm not sure what kind of condition you are in physically, Wayne. If you're going to embark on any type of walking with a 30 lbs. backpack, you should really consider doing serious ab and back exercises. I agree that the backpack should be a really good fit, but you will still be hurting if you're not in shape. If you have back problems (most people do) then it will be even worse. There is nothing more inconvenient than having back pains while trying to shoot, etc. Also, make sure you wear socks designed for hiking. You don't want to deal with blisters either.

[fingel]

I have a really ugly green Lowepro Minitrekker backpack (size of a normal backpack kids take to school) with a Hasselblad, 2backs, bunch of filters, 160mm, 80mm, plus film, plus a Leica M4, 50mm, 35mm, 90mm, cable release, light meter all crammed into it. That is my small travel kit.

If I really want to go light with medium format, I'll grab my Zeiss Ikonta 6x6 folder and a few rolls of film in my pocket.

[David Ruby]

One thing that I carried and I'm glad I had with me was an Ultrapod.

I second the ultrapod idea. I took one on my last trip to Europe and it was amazing. I used it in all sorts of places where "No Tripod" signs were out and didn't get a look at all. They are small and don't cause the problems that a full size tripod does.

One thing I didn't bring which I would recommend, is a shutter release. I had to use my timer, which often took much longer than it should have resulting in a few ruined shots from people wandering into the frame.