Does anyone take film cameras along?

[Oga Will]

Hi there

I enjoy film photography - black and white mostly. Some 35mm, mostly medium format.

Are there any film photographers on here?

I was thinking MF rangefinder could be great (Mamiya 6/7?). Dioes anyone lug this kit around on their bike? Or maybe 4x5

[spooky]

the Mamiya rangefinder with 50mm and 80mm or may a 150mm instead of the 80mm lens a few 220 Film roles would be a perfect light weight setup, easy to store away and to handle if you like the classic and timeless 6x6 film.
would be my choice, but I'm useing a Leica M6 (even smaller) with 35mm and a 75mm lens my self already for decades and still love it all in B&W don't need any more fancy, no zoom no battery eating digi-snappers no charger no nothing, just brilliant and excellent negatives.

[Bjorn]

I used to shoot MF but am now 'all digital', but still:
+1 on the Mamiya6 or Mamiya7. And a few rolls of 220 film. Maybe even send some 220 film ahead to other places, if you're planning a longer trip. (HU community members in other countries?)... so you don't need to carry all that film.

You could use medium format for 'serious' work (landscapes?), and maybe carry a tiny digital pocket camera for all the 'roadside snaps' and social situations.

[backofbeyond]

I've often wondered about going back to film - I've got loads of old film cameras lying around, both medium format and 35mm, but the problem now is what do you do with the film after you've shot it. To do much other than make prints or look at it it needs to be scanned, in which case you might as well have shot digital in the first place.

[Samy]

I used to carry my 135 mm system on my bike no problem.
I find out carrying Hasselblad system on my F650 was pain.
Bought a special bagpack and a folding LF Horseman 4x5 camera but if you go distant places it is a pain too.

Now switched to digital. Mostly I don't carry a SLR but a smaller good camera like Canon G9. If it is important I carry SLR.

About switching to film... Ahh it is a PITA. I have all those Sinar system, Horseman system, Hasselblad system and also 135 mm cameras with all lenses and accesories. Shooting is fun (though you need to carry all those different films with you) bud headache starts after shooting. Yo need to develop films, archiving, scanning, caring to developed ones.... ugh... I am really not sure.

Only feel sorry for such precious and expensive camera systems sleeps in boxes and bags...

On the other hand my Seagate external HDD of 500 GB just passed away with precious pictures and documents inside. Couldn't recover it. Sweared badly for digital system... No chance, nothing to do against. It is easy to shoot digital.

I am planning to buy a good digital back which I can use with all my MF and LF systems... Need to pay a lot for that. So I have some time for that...

[MARK.F]

A couple of years ago I bought a little Nikon D40 with kit zoom for "snaps",that camera & lens is so small & portable,all the film gear started to gather dust.
However I've just started reusing my F100 & pro-spec lens's,I love the Velvia look.
The 2 drawbacks with my film set-up are the serious weight penalty compared to the D40, and not having instant feedback.
I'll be taking both cameras to the Pyrenees next month,but I'm only taking one lens with the F100,plus a SB28 flash & lightmeter.
I hope carrying all the extra weight proves worthwhile...
Mark

[Margus]

99.9% of travellers have switched to digital, mostly dSLRs.

I'm also one of the very few oldschool film-farts left. Although I carry a small digital P&S for documenting I'm probably the only idiot doing a RTW with a Pentax 67 system. I have also a 5x7" LF camera at home that takes stunning shots, but which I found just no way of fitting on the bike.

Yes, it's bulky, PITA to use, hell lot of more work compared to any modern digital system which is just "push-a-button" convenience in comparison of usage difficulty. But if you get the shot right, IMHO, it's very rewarding and unique that even the most hardcore PhotoShop stunt can't reproduce, especially if you shoot film IR and B&W. The bigger (than the common 35mm) format is always an advantage, since there's still no consumer-level digital camera that has the sensor size of 6x6 or bigger (I think they already have 6x4.5 equivalent available, but it's a silly expensive digital back, some 20 000 USD or more!). And sensor size does not come out just on large prints, you also see the difference in smaller prints, with richer tonality and different lens aspect, since bigger format lenses have noticeably longer focal lenght giving you a different aspect of the image (i.e. I get a decent DoF with a fisheye lens that almost has no DoF effect on smaller format cameras unless you do MACRO with it). Yet compared to relatively massive MF and LF kit, the small 35mm kit has an advantage of being compact, but yet it's not so imprssive in image quality. I guess everything's in life is in the balance.

So all in all, if you believe in film, what ever format you prefer, go for it!

[Flyingdoctor]

I recently bought my first MF camera! Why not? The price was good and it's great to slow down and do proper photograhpy again. I got a Rollei FX twin lens and love the looks you get from people when your using it, they think you've arrived in a tardis,ha ha. It's strange paying for photo's again but it's not too expensive in real terms as hobbies cost money. As long as I'm getting enjoyment for my money it's all good. I tend to get my slides developed and then scan them myself. I've scanned 30 year old 35mm transparancies and they're as good as the day I shot them. If you're shooting important things like family it's nice to know they will still be around in a 100 years when someone opens the shoebox! Who knows what will happen to digital files over that kind of timescale. As for travel photography, I'm using my DSLR and a 50mm lens. It's perfect for the job and not too bulky. If I took all of my lenses I'd need a dedicated pannier for them! It's actually fun restricting yourself to a single prime lens and you get plenty of exercise getting the framing right, ha ha. Long live film and simple bikes with carbs!

[mr moto]

Margus , have you tried any of the Sigma cameras ? I have a DP1 and a CANON 550D . The little sigma is capable of some stunning images , to my eye the Foveon sensor in the Sigma cameras has a very film like look , and the lens on my DP1 is the sharpest i have ever used , it regularly puts my Canon 550D to shame ,and the canon is still a great camera , but for certain shots , such as landscapes and static subjects , the little Sigma and it,s colour reproduction is amazing .

[photographicsafaris]

When it goes back to the basics I find that film is much lighter than digital, with all the peripherals. For about a week between films shops or base is ideal.

Though firmly entrenched in Digital, I still shoot Film Transparencies, I find there is very little to compare with a slide show projected when you get everyone gathered socially, not making a big deal of it. No one likes formal slide shows! Digital just doesnt project well at all

Three Camera systems stick out -

1> Hasselblaad Xpan with 90 and 45 mm lenses (and 30 if you have deep pockets) Steep financially, and no fast lens

2> Mamiya 7 (6x7 format for those who missed it...) but the lenses are steep and heavy, and also not particularly fast. The 35mm adapter is also great for panorama's.
You would not see any change from £1500 (with three lenses)

3> An Old Nikon FE2/FM2 ideal for this type of thing. I have 35 24 and 50 mm lenses ideal for most circumstances.
You could get the lot for under £150 second hand.


On the digital front I am still impressed by the Panasonic GF1 (and Olympus EPL1) but they do need a fast wide primes lens
You wouldnt see much change from £1000 (thats excluding the exotic wides...) 20mm 45-200 and optical viewfinder.


With regard to Film processing - 35mm is a better bet as the Nikon Coolscan V is ideal and then stored to an external harddrive you have two sets of back ups.
Medium format is considerably more expensive to get the same quality scans, but the end quality is that much higher.

(The hasselblaad panoramic frame poses its own scanning headaches)

Bottom line Digital solves more answers than causes problems. Old Nikons have become my solution when I am looking for light weight high quality and remote access to power.

[JayGannon]

My f5 and F3 still have a permanany place along the d2x and d3 in the bag, but I have the luxury of travelling in a 4wd, on a bike I'd prob stick with the d3 and the f5.

[pare.raviraj]

Originally Posted by JayGannon

My f5 and F3 still have a permanany place along the d2x and d3 in the bag, but I have the luxury of travelling in a 4wd, on a bike I'd prob stick with the d3 and the f5.

Hello JayGannon,

Are you using the same lenses between your F5 and D3?...I believe D3 uses FX lenses...right?
I will be on the bike and wondering if these two body with 3 lenses will be too much to carry around.
Thanks for your adive in advance.
Pare.