Fujinon C 450mm F/12 .5 (or another) to replace Fujinon T 400mm F/8 for Lightweight

[roscoetuff-Skip Mersereau]

Greg: Yes, I"d love a Ries, too. Very throwback. Solid. Drooled over that.... but long ago sprung for a RRS, leveling base and mount the geared Manfrotto to that. What I like about the geared head is the way it sets up... which is fast and more precise than the ballhead I'd been using. Yes, you CAN go with a ballhead and its lighter... but somethings just work better and you put up with the other defects. I'm thinking about carrying it OFF the tripod to see if that packs better, and by balancing better, becomes easier to carry.

Yes, I'm in Maryland, and mostly use the LF camera around the Bay, Annapolis, etc. and some of my backpacking is just hiking across town with gear. Colonial architecture, boats, and beautiful skies. We have the Naval Academy, too. Lots of great stuff. Very photogenic. I find a short telephoto in smaller formats is perfect. Only moved here recently and took nearly a year to get settled and start shooting and developing again. Haven't gotten back to printing yet, but just need more time. Had a trip planned to Palouse and the upper peninsula, but then COVID nixed that. For me travel is one thing, but mostly photography is for stuff closer to home. Mountains have less appeal - though I've spent plenty of time there.... less appeal than the open water, fjords, etc. Walking distance from the house is kind of my thing. Light weight is a desire but as you point out (and I did earlier) the best approach is scouting out with light gear and then going back with the LF to shoot with exactly what you need and no more... and waiting for the right time. And so LF has pushed me to shoot a lot of 35mm in this way... and that's a big change from my expectations. Didn't expect that at all. Started this 35mm sketching tool approach to get control of slower film and home mixed developers... but come to like it. Artists had sketchbooks... look at Sargent Watercolors of Venice as an example. And the change-up is good.

But yes, this has been helpful. The 400T is a good lens with the right draw. I'm "thinking" about a 300 but probably going to sit tight through the Fall... or most of it with what I have. Will lose the 75mm likely now that I have 90mm. Trade-offs: 90mm should mean no bag bellows, but its bigger than the 75mm by some measure. No simple solutions.
Thanks for all who''ve commented.

[Kiwi7475]

Greg: Yes, I"d love a Ries, too. Very throwback. Solid. Drooled over that.... but long ago sprung for a RRS, leveling base and mount the geared Manfrotto to that. What I like about the geared head is the way it sets up... which is fast and more precise than the ballhead I'd been using. Yes, you CAN go with a ballhead and its lighter... but somethings just work better and you put up with the other defects. I'm thinking about carrying it OFF the tripod to see if that packs better, and by balancing better, becomes easier to carry.

Yes, I'm in Maryland, and mostly use the LF camera around the Bay, Annapolis, etc. and some of my backpacking is just hiking across town with gear. Colonial architecture, boats, and beautiful skies. We have the Naval Academy, too. Lots of great stuff. Very photogenic. I find a short telephoto in smaller formats is perfect. Only moved here recently and took nearly a year to get settled and start shooting and developing again. Haven't gotten back to printing yet, but just need more time. Had a trip planned to Palouse and the upper peninsula, but then COVID nixed that. For me travel is one thing, but mostly photography is for stuff closer to home. Mountains have less appeal - though I've spent plenty of time there.... less appeal than the open water, fjords, etc. Walking distance from the house is kind of my thing. Light weight is a desire but as you point out (and I did earlier) the best approach is scouting out with light gear and then going back with the LF to shoot with exactly what you need and no more... and waiting for the right time. And so LF has pushed me to shoot a lot of 35mm in this way... and that's a big change from my expectations. Didn't expect that at all. Started this 35mm sketching tool approach to get control of slower film and home mixed developers... but come to like it. Artists had sketchbooks... look at Sargent Watercolors of Venice as an example. And the change-up is good.

But yes, this has been helpful. The 400T is a good lens with the right draw. I'm "thinking" about a 300 but probably going to sit tight through the Fall... or most of it with what I have. Will lose the 75mm likely now that I have 90mm. Trade-offs: 90mm should mean no bag bellows, but its bigger than the 75mm by some measure. No simple solutions.
Thanks for all who''ve commented.

Which 90mm? Is it an f5.6? Those are heavy. The Nikon 90mm SW f8 is 355g, the Super Angulon f8 is 390g.

[roscoetuff-Skip Mersereau]

Kiwi: My Fuji 90mm SW is an F/8 and officially clocks in at 410 grams or so plus lensboard, cable release etc. Not the fattest lightbulb in the knife drawer, but not the slightest either. Good for the money. Heavier and bulkier than the Rodenstock Gandagon 75mm by 100 grams or so.... but I just got it and we'll have to see whether it will actually work in the standard bellows without a bellows sag vignette. I'm shooting much less with a wide angle these days anyway... preferring a slightly wide-norm to short-tele range as what I like on a camera. But wide has its place. Rarely used, but still a place. FWIW, in response to someone's earlier comment, I'm a dyed in the wool zoom with your feet prime shooter largely from the world of one lens, one camera, one film, one developer. Would prefer a monopod to a tripod, but use a tripod definitely with LF. I tweak these things more than it sounds, but KISS is alive and well.

Thanks for asking and for your posts.

[Alan9940]

If weight is a real concern, then we can avoid unnecessary extras like hats, gloves, shirts, trousers... even underwear !

I hope I never run into "Commando Ken" when out and about!

[Ken Lee]

Oops - I tried to delete the message but you beat me to it