There are solutions. For one; ditch the 19 pound tripod. That is near the weight of my entire 8x20/14x20 system. Look for a used Miller CF tripod (or equivalent) used for video. Mine weighs 6-1/2 pounds and rigidly supports the camera. A Ries Head is lightweight and Strong. A modern camera design such as a Ritter weighs in at 13#. My camera and tripod with head weigh under 22#'s.
Just keep making pictures; that's the important thing. I'd like to try ULF someday myself but who knows if I'll ever be able to make it happen? 4x5 and 3x4 will do for now.
Absolutely spot on. Get to the gym for an hour at least three times a week and do some real work. When someone whines about a 10-13 pound 8x10 being excessive and drawing the line at no more than nine pounds I cringe. I can almost bet that the last time they actually thought about their fitness was when they were in college and it was a requirement for their degree.
Neil,
Post 2417 in this thread:
http://www.largeformatphotography.in...highlight=4x10
shows the Shen Hao 4x10 back I adapted to my Deardorff V8. A pretty easy project.
Keith Pitman
Totally understandable to feel you're not able to keep up with things and the weights of some gear. We're all different, working in different locations, with different lifestyles and states of health. I live on a flat sandbar of an island, and can hike around with a ton of gear for various things at will, but would probably keel over and have a heart attack halfway to the top of most mountains out west in my current physical fitness state.
However, I would encourage people to step back and look for solutions to their logistical problems before throwing in the towel too easily. Gear might be heavy, but can frequently be made to feel far heavier due to how you carry it. Taking the time to read and study about packing methods could resolve issues for some. (And even if you don't use it to haul around super heavy gear, it can still make for a more comfortable experience when it comes to carting around a lighter kit in general.)
Carts and such can also make a huge difference depending on terrain and design of the cart.
To me I kind of feel like half the appeal of ultra large format is simply overcoming the logistical challenge of it. I am however a geek and fond of logistics and technical details, so I totally expect my views on things like that to attract some rather dirty looks from some quarters.
But at the end of the day you still have to do what makes you happy and keeps you shooting. Gear that sits and gathers dust isn't doing anything for anyone really, and if you aren't happy doing it then you aren't likely to keep going out with it.
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