I would like some advice on what type of camera I should buy for a long photo trip?

[Andy F]

Hi everyone,

I am trying to figure out what camera I want to buy for a long photography trip. I think I want to take an 8 by 10 camera to South America. I did it last year with an old graphlex with a schneider symmar-s lens on it and I had a great experience. People were so kind to me. I was able to play out my fantasies of being Paul Strand in Scotland or Richard Avedon in the mid-west. I would hike by peoples homes and they would allow me to take pictures of them while they were just going about their day. I feel like it is time to move forward with something more substantial. I was wondering what people would use for a trip like this. I was thinking about getting a Kodak Master View or maybe a Tachihara. What would other people do? Also, what lenses would people take?

-Andrew

[Mark Sampson]

If you've already done this once with a 4x5 Graflex, you're aware of the weight and bulk of an 8x10. Its just more (a lot more) of what you're already used to.
I've used a Kodak Master 8x10 both on the job and for personal work, and wish I hadn't sold mine. It's a fine rugged camera, whose Achilles' heel is its proprietary (and hard to find) lens boards. My first 4x5, in 1982, was a Tachihara. It served me well for ten years, and I'd be happy with one of their 8x10s.
A slight wide-angle view might be appropriate for your work, photographers as diverse as Joel Meyerowitz and Jock Sturges have preferred it. My first choice for lenses would be a 10"/6.3 Kodak Wide Field Ektar, a fine lens that gives beautiful tonality and sharpness. Naturally you'd want to have the shutter serviced before going overseas with one, as they are all at least 55 years old now. I haven't used one but many people have used and spoken highly of the 250mm Fujinon-W. Paul Strand used a 12" Goerz Dagor on his 8x10 Deardorff, another classic lens (if slightly less wide).
You're going to get many different opinions on this subject, we all do things a bit differently; I'm just first in line.
Best of luck with your search and your intriguing project!

[AuditorOne]

Like Mark Sampson says, everyone has their opinion. Intrepid has a great new 8x10 that is very portable. Very reasonable prices as well. I own a 4x5 Intrepid that I absolutely love and am using fairly regularly along with a Cambo monorail to re-learn what I seem to have forgotten about large format photography.

But there are a number of great options out there and used cameras can be very useful. Right now I have marvelous Conley 8x10 that was built in the very early part of the 1900s. I haven't used it in quite awhile but it looks ready for me anytime I'm ready to go out again. My lens of choice was the 12" Goerz Dagor. It is pretty sturdy but not so heavy that you can't pack it around. Of course you are well aware that the camera is only part of the weight and bulk. Film, film holders, and everything else contribute as well.

[Maris Rusis]

I've done extended photographic tours within Australia using a Tachihara 810HD triple extension camera and it did everything asked of it. Lenses were a Fujinon-W 300mm, a Nikkor-W 210mm, and a Schneider Super Angulon 121mm. The Nikkor-W 210mm is "sort of" convertible. With the front half screwed off it delivers about 720mm at f16 which, when well stopped down, gives useable negatives for contact printing. BUT none of this involved hiking except for short day excursions. Working out of a car is pretty well essential if you have to move every day or two. And the car is a somewhat secure lock-up for you, your gear, and your travel supplies.

I toyed with the idea of traveling overseas with a full 8x10 outfit but by the time it came down to five heavy cases and about 85Kg I realised I couldn't single-handedly make it in and out of airports in any sort of physical good order. Then the excess luggage charges would be hurtful but not as painful as the eternal worries about lost baggage.

My big compromise was to travel overseas with a Fuji GSW680, a TLR, and fine grain film. Cameras+meter+film are carry-on luggage and the tripod goes into checked. The negatives are big enough for quality portraits that would gratify most sitters but I'll admit nothing invites people to pose like the presence and majesty of an 8x10 on a big tripod.

[Torontoamateur]

the first issue is film and processing. With the ariport security I believe it is important to have the film developed in the country you are traveling in. I ship my film to the hotel I wll be at . I make thi spre arrangement. Then I make contact with a processing house in the country and arrange for my film to be sent there when I am shooting. The finished film is sent to my home in Canada. NOW TO THE CAMERA? tAKE WHAT YOU CAN PUT IN A CARRY ON. i HAVE AN EARLY kODAK 8X10 THAT FITS AND SOME HOLDERS TOO. hAVE A COMPANION TO BRING THE TRIPOD AND LENSES.

[Jim Jones]

The camera used on a special trip perhaps far from home should be one that the photographer has already used intensely enough to reveal any potential problems, both in the equipment and in your use of it. The act of using unusually large cameras on such a trip may be tempting, but I (and perhaps many more photographers) would place more importance on coming home with the best possible photographs.

[Andy F]

the first issue is film and processing. With the ariport security I believe it is important to have the film developed in the country you are traveling in. I ship my film to the hotel I wll be at . I make thi spre arrangement. Then I make contact with a processing house in the country and arrange for my film to be sent there when I am shooting. The finished film is sent to my home in Canada. NOW TO THE CAMERA? tAKE WHAT YOU CAN PUT IN A CARRY ON. i HAVE AN EARLY kODAK 8X10 THAT FITS AND SOME HOLDERS TOO. hAVE A COMPANION TO BRING THE TRIPOD AND LENSES.

How does that work? My fear is that after spending money on shipping and taxes it via FedEx it still would be exposed to X-rays.

[Andy F]

Jim, I think you have a valid perspective. The issue for me is that I would like to grow as a photographer. It might become an expensive failure which sucks but right now the alternative is to shoot with an old broken Graphlex. I want to be clear you are correct. it is a risk. Still, doing nothing is also a bit of a dead ender. I am kind of getting old so an opportunity like this where I can travel for a good period of time and take pictures might not come up again. So I am really looking for advice on how to move forward not if I should move forward. I know a large format camera multiplies the points of failure and to be honest I also thought about moving forward with something like a Linhof to be safer. Still, for this thread I am interested in how others would move forward with an 8x10.

To be clear. As I said you are absolutely correct in your thinking. You know as they say ..... "sometimes you got to shoot your shot".

Thanks for your advice,

Andrew

[jnantz]

How does that work? My fear is that after spending money on shipping and taxes it via FedEx it still would be exposed to X-rays.

Hi Andy

According to a person who worked for Kodak in the emulsion department and regularly posted on the analog forum, there's a lot of radiation when something is up in the air in the aircraft and he'd suggest that it was more radiation actually flying than the screening devices deliver .. not sure if it's true or not but it kind of makes me wonder if all the worry bout baggage and carry on is a moot point ...

regarding a camera, if you can do with a little less real estate you might look into some sort of graflex sir like a press or compact that can almost be 8x10 but easier to handle ( can be shot handheld ). no tripod needed .. I travelled the streets of besanscon france with a graflex sir, and it was great.

[MartyNL]

I think it's a great idea.

If I were you, I'd probably be taking a close look at some of the newer more modern offerings, not only Intrepid but also one of the following makers;

https://www.gibellinicamera.com/

https://www.stenopeika.com/