last time I visited the in laws in Melbourne, Australia I took my Leica MP, three or four lenses, an Xpan and the Mamiya 7. Next time I head back, it'll just be a Mamiya 6 and the Xpan. Wouldn't think of hauling LF and dealing with airport hassles even though the country would hold a wealth of photographs for 7x17
So basically I wouldn't rule out MF.
notch codes ? I only use one film...
My own preference for travelling lately has been MF, with me just taking along a Rollei 120 TLR. Take plenty of film, a few filters, no need for spare lens (not interchangable) and while there are no movements you have portability and a quality of image not too far from LF. And if you can carry a decent lightweight tripod and use FP4 or better then even better.
And most important it won't dominate your holiday or upset your family by getting in the way.
It's up to you really but for me it works out like this:
Work trip: Pelican rolling carryon case with TK45S, a few big lenses and 10 holders. Tripod and 10 more holders in checked bag. Film in a tiny messenger bag to carry on.
Vacation somewhere where I may want a serious photo (for my agency or exhibition):
Domke satchel with a mamiya 7 and two lenses.
Vacation that's purely for fun: Digital P&S. I may pick up a better digital P&S with a bigger sensor or maybe a micro 4:3 camera, since in a pinch those can make decent pictures.
If you've got a Speeder or Crown it might be fun. I took one to Hawaii on a family vacation and had a blast prowling around in the early morning for preWW2 architectural details (& Starbucks.) One the afternoon I took it to the beach and was instantly popular (and thats sayin' somethin'---Fabio I ain't) Polaroid instant film is made for this sort of stuff---too bad it's gone
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
I travel frequently by plane and motorcycle. I usually decide depending on weather conditions, subjects and company.
First of all, though, I'd like to point out that travelling with LF gear on the plane is not a problem. Of course you will need to take out some lenses for separte x-raying at the security check, but that happened to me with MF SLR and 35mm SLR gear, too. It's something I got used to, it's a routine and I don't think too much about it. Just takes an extra 5mins at the security check.
I mainly differenciate between trips with friends/family and trips alone or with photographer friends.
With the former I tend to only bring portable gear, that does not require a tripod at all times. For me that would be my Rolleiflex 6008. A MF SLR.
When travelling alone or with ambitious photographers like me, I often (most of the time) travel with my Technikardan 45s. Depending on what subjects I intend to shoot, I sometimes bring both, TK45s and Rollei. When I expect to shoot street, people, moving subjects then - even when travelling alone - I only bring the Rollei. But most of the time I shoot static subjects like architecture, street scenes, landscape, cityscapes. For that I only bring the LF gear.
Also, when travelling with lots of photo gear (in my case: both LF + MF) on the plane, I (obviously) need to put all the sensitive gear in my carry-on luggage. So far, only one check-in assistant dared pointing out that my carry-on was a bit on the big & heavy side. That was on a cheap China Airlines flight from Tokyo NRT to Taipei TPE. I just asked whether the airlines insurance would cover any damage to my lenses, etc, in case I decide to check them in. She gave in instantly ;-) But this only happened once so far, once among more than 70 flights in the past 5 years. So don't be afraidwell, that is of course unless you travel with super-cheap discout airlines like easyJet, Ryanair and the likes.
Have a pleasant & safe trip!
I am exhausted.... sitting in the south of france near aix en provence with a ton of gear or at least 50+lbs..... and loving it. Using my D700 digital most of the time but last night there was this amazing evening light casting shadows upon a 12thC church near Lourmarin and to pull out the ebony 45S and a little Feisol tripod was such a joy. Tomorrow I am off to a monastery 16 centuries old in the harbour of Cannes and i hope to have permission to do some black and white negs there. Next week it is 8 days in Paris and plan to use the large format more there. It has been a pain to drag
the extra weight around and i could have brought a hasselblad and a couple of lenses
but I look at the shots i did on 4x5 in italy and guatemala and knew that i had to drag it along. Mind you, the aging process has to be considered but it sure builds muscles hauling around the weight!
The final result can not be duplicated any other way..... it just feels good to use such a fine instrument and create something that will hopefully be special to me and maybe to a few friends. Now I must rest.
Happy in France
Well, I went and bought an RB67 kit, with 3 lenses and 2 backs. It has a nice case, but it's really not any smaller or lighter than my speed graphic! I honestly don't think it will work much better on my cheap tripod either. That's the downside of having to buy everything over the internet nowadays. If I bring my speed graphic, I can shoot up my IR film.
Science is what we understand well enough to explain to a computer. Art is everything else we do.
--A=B by Petkovšek et. al.
Congratz on the RB!Originally Posted by BetterSense
Have fun on the trip.
I have done LF for work trips and on vacation, but it is only me that is going on vacation. I have taken my whole plate camera, three small lenses, three holders, box of film and empty box of film for switching out sheets. All that went into a laptop bag. I checked my tripod.
It just depends on so many factors that everyone here is going to tell you a different story.
Every July I head overseas for holidays, and for the last three years, and shortly, have dragged a 4x5" and my Rolleiflex along, for "best of all worlds" coverage of stuff. I have the MOST fun printing the 4x5's when I get home, and that's the payoff for the weight and inconvenience. This year I'm taking along a little Fuji P&S medium format camera as well, as an experiment/spare!!
Marc!
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