LF on a Cruise ship

My wife and I are planning to take a cruise in Scandinavia this summer that will cruise up the fjords in Norway. Can you get sharp exposures with a 4x5 and Velvia 100 film? Or should I leave the 4x5 home and just use my dSLR?
Thanks

I have no direct experience, but I would imagine that when a large ship is at anchor in a fjord it should be stable enough to permit exposures of about 1/8 second or shorter.

Keep a UV filter on the lens to prevent salt deposition on the front element.

I don't see why you wouldn't bring it. Maybe someone else can speak from actual experience, but if you shoot at handheld speeds you should be fine -- if 100 ASA doesn't work for you I've used 400 ASA Color Neg to get fine results. Modern lenses are plenty sharp at f/11-16. I guess I'd also worry about salt spray (use a UV or a cheaper lens) and consider a handheld camera like a Linhof Technika or Graphic.

Of course you might also find the camera is a nice ice-breaker and you'll have a lot of curious new friends, which can be nice too.

Engine vibrations are you biggest problem, not salt spray. A tripod will transmit the vibrations from the deck to the camera, giving blurry pictures. I've tried...

A hand held camera is the way to go on a cruise ship. I left my LF at home and brought a MF SLR, since none of my LF cameras (at that time) were particularly hand-holdable.

All the best scenes are in transit. The ship will not be at anchor in the best spots - our fjords tend to be about 300m deep, or deeper: Not good anchorage.

Just be sure not to use the Graflex SLR for aircraft carrier landings, and you should be okay.

I travelled the Fjords on a cruise ship - 12 days...all around Norway Fjords, eventually around NorthCape..fantastic trip. There were a couple of off shore excursions, where I used my 4 x 5, glad I had it. Wouldn't take photo's from the ship however, unless in port....My wife also carried a 35mm...which I would recommend for sure.

Keep in mind, it rains a lot....I carried a Tach. 4x5 with ready loads, one lens. You also have to take tours where you have 'freedom' to roam and are not stuck to a schedule....

Also, many ports have interesting places to shoot without taking a tour.....

Scott

LF use on a ship is an almost impossibility. Engine vibrations are an issue while underway, but least of your problems anyways (especially on a cruise ship). There'd be so few a stable enough times to give an LF shot a try, I don't think it'd be worth the extra load. As suggested earlier a hand held set up is the only sensible way to go. Unless of course you'll LF througthout and then justify your shots with an "arty" phrase.

I've seen some wonderful 4x5s and even 8x10s made from sailing ships at speed no less, at the Marine Museum in Mystic Harbor, CT. They might be online if you search around Wooden Boat magazine... I guess back when film was only 32 ASA they didn't have the internet to tell them not to try it!

There is a long history of using large format on sea-faring vessels, steam and sail. Surely some of those shots were "successful."

Heck, I know a Brownie isn't quite LF but some geek named George Eastman used one on the deck of a steamship to promote a little venture of his.

> I don't see why you wouldn't bring it.

Domestic harmony? Unless your wife is also bringing her 4x5.:-)

I dunno - Frank Hurley did pretty well - and he wasn't stuck in ice all the time

Thanks for everyone's helpful insights. I will probably leave the large format home and shoot digital slr. The cruise ship always has engines going with lots of vibrations on deck. Also shooting LF is anti-social according to my wife and this cruise is supposed to be quality time for us.
JS

By the time you go there the new P&S 4x5 Fotoman will be your possible choice...

"By the time you go there the new P&S 4x5 Fotoman will be your possible choice..."

Yeah right! :-)

This is what Speed Graphics are for ;-)

Anybody know of a good shock absorbing (vibration absorbing) mount to go between the tripod and camera?
I've seen (in the background of someone's vacation video) a guy using what appeared to be a 5 x 7 handheld with a large gyro stabilizer like the ones used for handheld cinematography.

Agree with John: if You allready have a view camera & selection of lenses + other equipment, why don't you just buy a $$ 150-250 chrown graphic, remount a few lenses for the trip, & shoot handheld on the boat? On the boat, you will have use for no other movement than rise, which can be easily accomplished without the need of tripod. Bringing a 90mm & a 150mm, f 11 - 16 and 1/125 sek will be within reach for a 100 asa color neg or f 11 with Velvia: You will be nort of 60 degrees = sun is very high up in the sky. The extreme details & very clear air of norwegian "fjordscapes" (yess, there IS a farm there on that platau about 2000 feet straight up from sea level, but you might not find it on a dslr image) is much more home on a piece of LF film than in the CF card. Bring a light tripod for the excursions. Good luck! I am from Norway, but from the south part, so I admires the fjords about as much as you probably will do when you travel them. If I were on a cruise, I would have brought my Walker XL as main camera. Espesially in the narrower fjords, you will very much miss front rise, as the mountains towers over you a way demanding either a lot of front rise or heavy up-tilted on "ordinary" cameras - the latter giving tragically distorted view . Anyway - have a splendid trip!!

From - at the moment - snowy, cold & wet southern norway Tor Kviljo

Terence's idea using a stabilizer sounds like an interesting experiment. The price for gyro stabilizers would be quite expensive but there are counterweight stabilising systems available from Glidecam.

I had to shoot a video documentary sequence once while riding a small boat where tripod use was not feasible. We used one of the earlier versions of the Glidecam handheld series.

Of course it won't allow for long exposures with a view camera but it will definitely stabilize the camera for short exposures. The body pod accesory would free your arms for composing and focusing. It's basically handheld shooting with extra support. Tor's alternative is cheaper though as a glidecam 2000 pro with a body pod is around US$ 550. ;)

You could try using a FigRig for hand held shots.:D

A better solution might be a video fluid head for your tripod. Get one made for heavy video cameras, or for motion film cameras. These tend to be good with smaller high frequency vibrations.

I would think that a mostly wooden camera might avoid some vibration intrusion. Any engineers want to tackle explaining that?

Ciao!

Gordon Moat

I used a hand-held Fuji 645Zi on a Norway fjord trip a few years ago and all the on-boat pics were blurred due to the vibrations from the boat's engines and the up-down-sideways motion of the boat as it moved through the water, which was far from absolutely calm. On a big cruise ship some of this movement will be reduced (I imagine). Also if your cabin has a small porch facing the right direction you may be able to set up the LF gear without fear of being trampled by the tourist hordes, as will happen if you try this on deck.
IMHO, if you absolutely insist on LF then you should use high ISO film, fast shutter speeds (which implies a wide-open lens and the attendant low DOF) and a hand-held camera that you can use on shore excursions. Or if you can't hand hold your LF, then restrict the LF to the shore excursions and use a MF camera while aboard ship.
One thing for sure - 35mm and DSLRs are completely inadequate to the stunning scenery, which includes innumerable spectacular waterfalls (a whole other problem-challenge).
Enjoy the trip.