Camera advise for US travel

I used to carry "tons of camera equipment" when I traveled to the American Southwest on photography trips. The resulting images look good, but I would not repeat such tiring trips now. I would have two tripods and 3-4 SLR cameras plus two MF cameras plus ....


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Canon F1N with Fujichrome 50 Velvia (Bryce Canyon sunrise-Utah). I used a gradated rectangular ND filter (design by Galen Rowell). It was very cold. I wore two gloves (one was a liner) and two hats.
 
PRJ said:
WAY TOO MUCH STUFF.

You just aren't going to be able to shoot three types of film and two formats while dealing with your family.

As someone who has spent an enormous amount of time roadtripping out West I'd advise you to keep it simple, especially since there are other people involved. If you are going to shoot 35mm for your family snaps then maybe stick with just that. Point and shoot with the Olympus. Leave the medium format at home. Or just take the point and shoot and the medium format and skip the Olympus. If you do take the Olympus then I'd recommend having a telephoto zoom. The West is a biiiiiiiiig place.

Decide what you want to do then go from there. You can't do it all.

Frankly if it is a family trip then there is an excellent case to be made for just one camera. Enjoy your family.
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I used to travel this way for more that ten years. It works for me and for my family. Family photos are when we are walking, dining, having fun. For this I use P&S. MF is used when I have "photography time". e.g. early morning when family are still sleeping.
 
I have been annoying my family with film gear for decades. Now I am beginning to annoy myself. My experience, to which i would never confess to the family, is that 12 shots on a roll is not very many, and reloading Rolleis is somewhat inconvenient out "in the wild." I am rethinking camera cases (something over the back is probably smart for me).You cannot possibly go wrong with the Leica M, except when longer lenses are really needed. I have yet to want anything longer than 135 mm, but that is a very individual preference.
 
Bob Michaels said:
While I believe everyone should use whatever lens or lens combo works for them, I always remember that most of Robert Frank's photos were made with a screw mount Nikkor 50mm #331845 mounted on his Leica. His photographs and his photo career did not seem to be negatively impacted by him using mostly one lens.
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Robert Frank was allowed use of the new Leica body and lenses! The M3. The Summicron 50mm.
 
I thought I would post a short update - my trip is almost over. Tomorrow we are taking the flight back to Europe. I took with me quite many cameras - GA645, Rolleiflex 2.8D, OM1 with 50/85 lenses, Minolta TC1 and Rollei 35S (which was the last minute replacement for Contax T - the door latch has broken and it had to stay at home). It was quite some weight, but I do not regret. I shot 30 rolls of film - 17 of 35mm and 13 of 120. It was quite an adventure (with some dramatic events as well). I hope to develop and post some pictures when I am back home.
 
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