OK, I need some travel advice. Sinar to NZ

[Hovmod]

I am going to Singapore and the south island of New Zealand for work, and it looks like I'll have some time off which means renting a car and going to find some nature to take pictures of.

For a couple of days I was planning to take my Fuji GX680, but then I realized that I might be wasting a perfectly good chance to take some 4x5 in the most spectacular nature, and the decision has been made: I'm taking the Sinar.

So.

I'll pack the big bits and pieces in a suitcase and check it, while lenses, meter and film goes with me in the carry-on. Do you have advice on how to pack? The different pieces of the Sinar are so hopelessly awkward. I do not have time to get anything custom made, so I'm going to make this from foam, packing paper and bubble wrap... What are the most fragile bits of a Sinar P besides the glass?

Next, since I don't have a changing tent, what can I use for handling holders and sheets of film in the field? I have 9 holders, and if I'm not wrong they have more than 9 pretty places in New Zealand, so I guess I'll have to load holders on a few occasions.

I hope I can convince all security officers NOT to open the holders/film boxes...

Oh, yes, the most important question: Any recommendations for places to go around Christchurch? :D

[eddie]

sounds like fun. i pack with bubble wrap...use the big bubbles you can get in the USA (if you are in the USA). save it as you usually can not find the bigger bubbles overseas. if possible i also put things in boxes. if the odd shape preclude this then use a hard shell suitcase if possible. i like the Samsonite rolling case. the ones that rolls standing up is easiest. i noticed sam's club had a big one fore sale for $90! perfect.

check the empty film holders. why carry the weight? if you are worried about the airport staff put the film in a small bag all by itself....this way they will have no need to look more at it. if they see other things in the bag and this forces them to look then the film may get handled. tape the film boxdes closed. i even tape the inside boxes just to slow them down if need be. i have never had a problem. mark the outside "do not open in light"

also, get a small changing tent. why risk a "dark bathroom", the inconvenience f finding said darkroom etc etc. i often find myself changing film on a park bench somewhere.

i lived and worked in the Otago area (just below the big dam in Clyde) and spent lots of time in Makarora. i like the mountains.

have fun

eddie

[Hovmod]

Thanks. :)

[Hovmod]

Got one of those large (70x70 cm) Paterson changing bags, even though I'd rather have a tent. No time to wait for shipments from abroad, had to get what they had. I also got a pack of TMax400, the last one at the "old price", as he said Kodak will only be available from the states from now on, at science fiction prices.

I found one of the smaller hard shell Samsonites at work, and custom padded it with black foam - you know, the kind you sit on when you're out in nature. Managed to fit everything except lenses and film, so I'll be travelling with an extra (small) bag with film, holders and lenses. The camera suitcase seems pretty safe to me, with glass and fragile parts extra protected.

I'm crossing my fingers the security people listen to me when I ask them not to open the boxes... :)
Bringing TMax400, efke25, Ektachrome64, Ektachrome100 and Velvia50. All the slide film is expired, but has been in a freezer and so far all have been good.

Leaving for Singapore on Saturday, then on to NZ a week or so after.

Wish me luck.

[Vaughn]

Have a wonderful trip! Hard to go wrong anywhere down there. It is early Spring down there, too!

When I spent the 5 months in NZ on a bicycle, I carried an extra piece of GG for the 4x5 -- I put it in a 4x5 film box. With a little bit of padding so it doesn't rattle, it is a nice bit of insurance. I took only one lens, so I also had a lensboard with a pinhole, just in case. You are taking multiple lenses it sounds like, so not to worry!

I used a changing bag back then (more compact than a tent), and carried 6 holders.

[Hovmod]

Thanks!
Yeah, I have two lenses, so I'm bringing two. (90 and 210) :)
The extra glass sounds like a good idea - I have a couple here, I'd be WELL annoyed if the ONE I brought half way around the globe broke in transit...

[rdenney]

It has been ten years since I was in New Zealand, but at that time the airlines claimed a 5-kilo weight limit on carry-ons. We carried our (35mm) cameras aboard with us, so we had to pack very lightly. That was before 9/11 and the rules were different, and even then I'm not sure they were enforcing that stated rule. But I'll bet that rule is still in place, and enforcement of such things has increased not decreased in the intervening decade.

For checking the camera, my temptation would be to put it in its own Pelican case. I have traveled with test equipment that I had to check as baggage, and that seems to be the most robust alternative. And Pelican cases have a "technical equipment" look that gets a different degree of respect from the security people. The baggage handlers--not so much.

There is probably nothing on a Sinar except the ground glass that is particularly fragile. You could probably throw the ground-glass frame into your carry-on with your lenses and the camera could probably take some number of G's at that point.

Rick "who'd love about two months in the South Island with a 4x5" Denney

[Steve M Hostetter]

It is easy to make a bathroom in hotel dark just wait till night and turn off all the lights in the hotel room..

[Stephane]

Travelling with my sinar norma 8x10, I take it to pieces and pack it tight with bubble wrap into a cardboard box. The box then goes into a soft duffle bag. This was because Ryanair is unforgiving for the single overweight kg. Hard suitcases already weigh around 5kg, so why waste 5kg like that?
And when you order camera parts, do they come in pelican cases? No, only in cardboard boxes handled by postmen (more gently than airport personel? Dont think so).
To protect the GG, I sacrificed 2 defective 8x10 holders, took the metal plates separating the films. One uncut goes in place of film holder, and the other is cut to fit the clics and clacks on the other side. Some foam between to prevent bad vibrations. Same for 4x5 and 5x7, and no gg broken yet.
Duffle bag is great, if it can be used as a rucksack. It is top loader and the base (goes on the ground) is re-enforced. A piece of cardboard to be gentle on the back and off you go into the wild.
Tripod in check in luggage as sometimes you can not take it in the cabin.
sinar p for 4x5 to travel is overkill. Think different, think norma!

[Hovmod]

sinar p for 4x5 to travel is overkill. Think different, think norma!

It was given to me by a friend.
I don't have a selection of 4x5 systems to pick from. :)

On the other hand, I am travelling business class and have a gold card, so I don't really have to worry about baggage weight.

[Ken Lee]

Why would anyone hesitate about traveling with a Sinar P ? :)

As long as you're not trekking with it, you'll be glad to have it when you get to the scene: rock-solid, a full range of movements front and rear, geared movements front and rear, water-proof... what could be better ?

[Stephane]

I am just thinking weight restrictions in airplane. Only the p standards would weight a whole norma. But then again, if you travel business with a gold card, have a glass of your favorite airplane drink (gin&tonic?) on me!
Still whats nice with the p is that you can separate the frames from the standards. For the front, you'll need a screw driver. They pack more easily this way.

[Hovmod]

I am just thinking weight restrictions in airplane. Only the p standards would weight a whole norma. But then again, if you travel business with a gold card, have a glass of your favorite airplane drink (gin&tonic?) on me!
Still whats nice with the p is that you can separate the frames from the standards. For the front, you'll need a screw driver. They pack more easily this way.

Yes, I took one of the frames off, to fit everything in a quite small suitcase. I feel confident it will make it.

I took the Sinar to my cabin, which is about three km from where I park the car, and that was about the limit for trekking. I am hoping for good spots along the road, tbh... :)

I like my G&T, but I don't enjoy it so much if it's not really warm weather.
On the airplanes I usually have a bloody mary (well, usually they simply serve vodka and tomato juice), red wine with the meal and single malt until I doze off. :)

[mdm]

Akaroa, up and down the coast, inland route to Wanaka or Queenstown, if you get to Queenstown then a cruise on Milford Sound, fly there to save time, Hanmer Springs, Arthurs Pass or even the Tranz Alpine train. Makarora is nice for hiking but you have to be Eddie to spend time there. Bring your own film, tripod and head and I will lend you a 4x5 field camera and some holders, a lens too but only if you are very trustworthy. Mind you, I live a long way from christchurch so will have to post it somewhere and you would have to do the same in reverse. Lugging a Sinar through multiple airports is a total waste of time.

David

[Terry Hayden]

I managed a technika, four lenses and some other items at just under the carry on weight limit last year. N.Z. air was weighing carry on baggage and forcing gate checks on overweight bags.

In the Christchurch general area -

A bit south of there are the Moereki (sp?) boulders. They are amazing round boulders in a beach setting. A google search will show you lots of snaps.

The only problem with them is the crowds. It took me three hours to get a couple
of crowd free shots. It was like timing waves at the beach - tour busses would come and go at intervals. Of course there are a lot of detail shots to do in the interim.

It's a truly beautiful country - have a great time!

Oh, and have a speights beer for me.

Regards,
Terry
www.terryhayden.com

[Hovmod]

Thank you everybody for good advice. I have followed some of it, and I will follow other advice once I get down there.

David, you are most generous and confirm my prejudices of Kiwi hospitality and decency. :)
I have to respectfully decline your offer, however, because this is a job trip and too many variables are uncertain. I have a flight booked, but I'm doing a job in Singapore first, and I have to finish that properly before I depart for New Zealand. This means I can't make any form of commitment to pick up or return your equipment. I'm sure I'll think of your offer if the Sinar arrives in pieces or if I decide to go trekking despite the 12 kg of camera plus bits and pieces... :)

Of course, I'll be shooting in Singapore as well. I have a few digital shots from previous trips there I would like to do justice...

Thanks again. I'll take some of your location advice, for sure!

[pound]

welcome to Singapore. The riverside has the newly open Marina Bay Resort (casino) which might not been in your previous capture before.

[Hovmod]

welcome to Singapore. The riverside has the newly open Marina Bay Resort (casino) which might not been in your previous capture before.

Only in a half finished state. :)
I hear the view from the golf course is nice...

[pound]

orh which golf course r u refering to?
i also trying to capture the older parts / budilings etc of singapore .

[Hovmod]

Having a bit of bad luck with the weather.
It's remarkably beautiful here, but the clouds are a bit thick and low...
The return from Queenstown to Christchurch I didn't see a single peak. :(
But I think (hope) I have some useful shots.
4 hours might be more than I'm interested in driving for those boulders, I'll do that next time.
Milford Sound was a little too far as well; another one for next visit.
But what I have seen so far has made a true impression.
I have to come back and stay longer.
And no. I didn't bungee. :)