Gear question. It's too complicated. What do you propose?

[jnantz]

to bring one camera and one lens would mean that I should take a 135mm lens with me to get a slight wide angle effect by using the complete frame and a slight tele photo effect when cropping 6x7 out of the negative. This idea is charming, but the Fujinon A 9/180 does nearly the same without need for cropping so much. And the Fujinon NW 5.6/125 can emphasize the wide angle a little bit more. Both of them can be stored in the camera because their filter tread is 46mm. The Fujinon W 5.6/135 takes 52mm filters.

Regards

oh well, at least the idea was charming
figured i would help lighten your load, decrease travel stress with a bunch of gear and have mies van der rhoe on your side ( less is more )
yeah i know, there are always compromises and stuffs that are necessary and important ( cropping, compostional concerns &c ) ...
im just remembering the handfuls of times i travelled ...
with too much stuff
( i mean 8mm movie camera, 110 camera, a few 35mm cameras and lenses ) or other stuff ( 35mm gear, 4x5 gear and digital camera ) or
stuff ( 3a graflex and digital camera ) or stuff ( just a graflex series d and stock lens and a brass lens named laverne, and a bunch of film )
or stuff like ( nikon dslr and maybe a teeny tiny graflex slr with a 120 roll film back (to be honest i can't remember the trip was a haze after i got sick ) and how much
easier it was on the travel to just bring 1 thing. next time its just going to be a dslr, and i will easily be able to make cyanotypes
and sun prints and silver prints from xerox shop negatives made from inverted files ... but different strokes for different folks as they say

good luck with your travels ! hope you figure out what to bring ... even if it isnt as charming as 1 camera and 1 lens, and MVdR
john

[Daniel Casper Lohenstein]

@Pere Casals: I don't bracket much. And I do not intend to take Velvia with me. I limite myself in bw photography. I take a FM2n with me, with a Micro Nikkor 3.5/55. The 60:40-TTL and the Sekonic L28c2 give good results and it's small, too. The FM2n has a mirror lockup via its selftimer. You can see the diodes at night, it works without batteries and it seems so old and used that nobody wants to steal it. In 35mm I use the same film as in large format. But when doing large format I want to concentrate on this process. Doing 35mm is another process, it is quicker, without much concentration, often without tripod, without getting seen etc.

@interneg: I know Rollei Ortho 25 already. In Rodinal 1+100 it has a development time of 10 minutes at 20°C, agitation 5 seconds every 30 seconds, first 30 seconds constantly ... I know how colors translate into zones with Y2, 023, O and X0 filters. And I have got 300 sheets of this film. It's a great film. - The Sekonic L488 has an analogue scale on its side. With this scale you can very well determine shadows and highlights. It's a little bit like the magnificent Profisix with Profispot, but smaller, lighter, sturdier.

@mmerig: The car stays next to the tent and I will hiking. I don't want to have too much gear in the car, too, because it is hot and there will not be too much place to store everything. And its a question of apply Ockhams razor.

@jp: yupp!

@jnanian: you're right. Now I have: the Wista, the little Fujinon NW 5.6/125, the little Fujinon A 9/180, 6 Riteway filmholders, the Gitzo Reporter Performance with the small Ballhead GH1781QR, the Nikon FM2n with a Micro Nikkor 3.5/55, a changing back, a loupe, a flexible metering rule, some cable releases, the Sekonic L28c2 and the L488. This isn't much gear. It fits well into my backpack. By reducing the gear I can use a little camera bag in which I store the Wista, the wide angle, the holders, the light meters and the smaller accessories. I can put this little bag into my rucksack. So I don't need the Novoflex wraps.

Super!



Are six film holders too much? Should I take only three of them (and Alleline)?

Another question: will the card board box of the sheet films (3 instances) without the plastic pocket be light-tight and dust-proof enough to store the exposed sheets until they get developed? The question is how to store the exposed film without scratching and stressing it too much by putting it into a this flexible plastic pocket that encloses the film when unexposed ...

[BrianShaw]

6 film holders.

The 3-part box will be fine for storing film, both unexposed and exposed. Just make sure you know which box is which and don’t get them mixed up.

[jp]

Daniel, not sure if you can get them in your country, but here every sporting good store has plastic ammo boxes like
https://www.amazon.com/Plano-131250-.../dp/B005IURN5M
for $5-10 that will hold 7 4x5 film holders and 1 pro-pack of film. Perfect for traveling and keeping things clean and protected.

[Daniel Casper Lohenstein]

@jp: This is an interesting idea. I will examine this thing. But I think getting ammunition boxes isn't easy here in Europe ... Is it heavy? Do I carry it around when I am hiking or should I let the box in the car to refill film holders in the evening? I have got some thermo bags made in China, the brand is "Big Bear", they take 6 holders each, they fit perfectly in the bag. The bags have carrying straps, I don't have to put the bags into dust or dirt to use the holders. They are light weight.

@BrianShaw: The Rollei Ortho 25 has a separator sheet between each film. Do I have to keep and reuse them? I fear putting some dust on the surfaces ...

[Peter Collins]

My $0.02: Take a 300mm. There are a surprising numbers of long views. The 300 will allow you to isolate architectural details you can't get closer to, e.g., wrought iron on balconies. The list is endless. Very, very old built environment that will stimulate your imagination!

[Daniel Casper Lohenstein]

@Peter Collins: That's the point. There are many gothic to renaissant abbeys in Tuscany, with much sculptures - we all know these wonderful black and white photographs of the fifties, of capitals in cloisters. In Siena and San Gimignano people hang their washed clothes outside the windows on wires high above the dark and narrow streets. There are many towers and so on. Not to think of the marble quarries in Carrara ... we were there last year, I always used the Micro-Nikkor 4/105 and the Nikkor 4/200 to get those details on Pan F+ ... But, I am convinced that a crop of 6x7 cm out of a 4x5 sheet, that was exposed with the Fujinon A 9/180 could be sufficent. Taking tele photos is not a question of format since tele photos should not be enlarged to much because of the viewing distance to the finished print. 8x10 inch or 20x25cm should be enough and if there is need for a greater enlargement, 40x50 cm will do it too. 180mm focal length in 6x7 is the same as 85mm focal length in 35mm. This is what I use to photograph cloisters, sculptures and tympana.

@jp: The local gun store has this ammunition box. I don't need a gun licencse ... I purchased one, just because I am curious. I can put 7 Riteway holders in the box, plus two packages of 4x5 film. Its to small to carry everything with me. So I think I will use the box to store the films in it, 20 rolls of 35mm FP4+ and four or five packages of 4x5 sheet film plus the changing bag. This will be my film container. Altough I have to have it additionally closed with a rubber band around the box.

[Drew Wiley]

3 pc film boxes generate carboard dust. Therefore, for ones intended for new film and reloading holders during travel, I take empty 3 pc boxes in good condition and spray each pc with fast-drying non-static nasty ole butylacetate print lacquer to toughen up the cardboard, then let this fully cure for several months before putting film in. You have to be careful with plastics. Vinyl outgasses, while styrene and ABS often carry residues of sulfer and mould-release compounds which need to be scrubbed off.

[BrianShaw]

3 pc film boxes generate carboard dust. Therefore, for ones intended for new film and reloading holders during travel, I take empty 3 pc boxes in good condition and spray each pc with fast-drying non-static nasty ole butylacetate print lacquer to toughen up the cardboard, then let this fully cure for several months before putting film in. You have to be careful with plastics. Vinyl outgasses, while styrene and ABS often carry residues of sulfer and mould-release compounds which need to be scrubbed off.

Interesting... I've not had that problem but can imagine how real it could be. I've always just used boxes and thrown out separators and not used any other kind of enveloping method. Your solution is novel and easy and something I think I'll do as a prophylactic measure. Thanks!

[Daniel Casper Lohenstein]

Hi, I thing water condensation could then be a problem, eg. when bringing the sealed and cold box into a warmer atmospere. Cardboard stores humidity.