Travel with both RF & SLR?

L

Laika

Guest
Hi all,

I wondering if anyone here shoots/travels with both RF's & SLR's at once?. The last few times I've travelled overseas I've got my gear standardised to (Nikon) F3HP, FM3a, 16/2.8 fisheye, 24/2, 35/1.4, 85/2. But since my last time travelling (02) I've been bitten by the RF bug, so far I have built up a collection of Soviet RF's and recently got a CV 15mm/4.5 lens and I'm hooked on RF's. I'm thinking about taking the F3HP and the fisheye (limited use) out of my kit and replacing them with my CV 15mm, one of my sharp soviet 50mm's and a RF body I've yet to decide on. Does this sound like a good/bad idea?

The advantages I can see are having a very light weight kit (RF & 50, maybe with 15mm in pocket/on belt) option for when I'm not taking all my gear out. Having a RF would be handy for the times I want low noise operation (often). And while I haven't weighted it I think the overall kit would be lighter.

My thoughts on a body are a limited $$ wise, I guess I could take one of my fav soviet bodies but the ones I really trust are all lack slow speeds and the viewfinders are OK until you pick up a SLR again. So other options would be a Bessa R or R2, both seem nice but maybe are a little more noisy than my Ruskies :(, making a big $$ stretch I could look for a user Leica M2 or 3 (a leica is what I'd really like) ... Hhhmmmm, I blame my local camera store :D a couple of months back they "forced" me to look over a new old stock M6 TTL .58 …Oh the finder! and when I thought I couldn't drool anymore they pull out a new black paint MP... Damm then!! hehehe.
 
I did that very thing several years back. I took an old M5 with 15 mm CV, and 35mm Summilux lens lens for urban shooting. I guess I feel less noticeable, and vulnerable with a smaller, quieter camera than an SLR. BTW the 15 mm lens gives a really interesting prospective for crowded street scenes.

I used the SLR for landscape shots in the country.

My bias is that RF's are better for wide angle shots, and SLR's really are better for telephoto shots.

Good luck.
Martin
 
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I agree with Martin, because I used to take my Nikon AF gear and my Canonet or Contax G1 whenever I traveled. The reason? Urban and landscapes can be done with rangefinders without a hitch, but for telephoto shots, I had with me a nice Sigma 70-300 zoom. However, my last trip took me to a city (Barcelona), so I took only RF cameras, and the super trilogy of 35, 50 and 90mm glass. I did fine, but then, there were a couple of moments in which I really wished I had my SLR with me.

One easy way to handle the dilemmas: plan which cameras to carry accordign to your trips and shooting needs; if you're doing urban things, take your RFs. If you go to a zoo, grab your SLR. Have fun! :)
 
I always travel with a RF and an SLR, usually with a 50mm and moderate zoom for the SLR. The RF is the camera of choice when I need to shoot quickly; frequently I use the hyperfocal distance and hope for the best. Another alternative is to use a zoom P&S although that may be heresy to some. I usually use a 50mm on the RF.
Kurt M.
 
I don't travel a lot, but on my walkabout photoshoots I pack a Lowepro Nova 3 top-loading bag with my DSLR, a 70-300 tele, a 50mm macro, and one of my rangefinders. I can quite easily slip in my Leica CL with 40mm and there's usually room in the pouch for the CV 21/4 and its viewfinder. If I carry an extra SLR lens, then I switch to my Olympus XA as my RF.

Gene
 
I take an SLR when my primary purpose is taking photographs. I take the nearest thing I have to a rangefinder - my Canon G5 - at all other times. This is small and versatile and quiet. When a real digital RF appears, with a full frame sensor at a sane price, if its not too big and heavy, I may trade the G5 ...
I guess we all get much the same place by many different routes!
John
 
i just spent 3 weeks in india and took my canon ae-1 (slr), canon ql17 GIII, ricoh diacord (tlr) and yashica t2 (p&s with zeiss 35mm lens). i obviously couldn't make up my mind so i took one of each. i realize this is more than most people and good sense would allow.

as it happened, after shooting just 11 frames, my previously-reliable ae-1 quit working! so the rangefinder became my main camera for almost the entire time. i alternated b&w and color with the yashica t2d.

what i missed using most were the 24mm and 100mm lenses on my slr. if i did it again, i might try taking the kiev with similar focal lengths instead of the slr. anybody tried a 25/4 VC skopar on a kiev 4?


the ql17 is great for scenics and street scenes, and the tlr is perfect for portraits.

but honestly most days, i didn't really feel like i was missing too much if anything by just shooting with the QL17.
 
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I have had several cameras sieze-up at bad moments; Nikkormat FT3; Nikon F; Retina Reflex IV, and even my Canon 7. I learned to always travel with two cameras; often the second is a small camera like a Retina IIIc or IIIf. Dropping these "compacts" in with the case does not add much weight.

I enjoy using a fixed-lens RF; but I would miss the flexibility of short telephoto's on my interchangeable lens RF's.
 
Unless I was shooting macro -- which more or less is almost never -- I'd probably skip the SLR.

My standard pack is a RF, a MF camera (folder but sometimes Rolleiflex) and often a small camera, such as a Rollei 35 or something along those lines.

Luckily (fingers crossed), I haven't had any cameras fail on me while on vacation.
 
I tend to travel with too much gear and I'm trying to get a handle on it. I look like a Sherpa when fully loaded.

I've developed an unhealthy obsession with manual screw mount SLRs. I tend to carry one of the metal monsters, (Vivitar 450SLD being the current fav), with a 20mm, 24mm, 50mm, a close focusing 135 and a 200 with a 2x converter. (It kills me to leave the rest of the lenses home. It's a problem, I tell you.)

To that, I add a DSLR with a 28-300mm and an Olympus RD. I throw all of it in a KATA Rucksack which is a really terrific backpack for the chronic overpacker. I sneak a Canon s50 and an Olympus XA2 into my wife's stuff just in case. (The XA2 is the canary in the mineshaft - if a camera is going to get wrecked, the XA2 is gonna be the camera.)

I think I'm getting a little better. On the days that I take the manual SLR, I'm trying to leave the DSLR behind in favor of the suprisingly nice Canon s50. On the days I leave the metal monster behind, I take the Olympus RD with the DSLR.
 
JohnM said:
I tend to travel with too much gear and I'm trying to get a handle on it. I look like a Sherpa when fully loaded.

I've developed an unhealthy obsession with manual screw mount SLRs. I tend to carry one of the metal monsters, (Vivitar 450SLD being the current fav), with a 20mm, 24mm, 50mm, a close focusing 135 and a 200 with a 2x converter. (It kills me to leave the rest of the lenses home. It's a problem, I tell you.)

To that, I add a DSLR with a 28-300mm and an Olympus RD. I throw all of it in a KATA Rucksack which is a really terrific backpack for the chronic overpacker. I sneak a Canon s50 and an Olympus XA2 into my wife's stuff just in case. (The XA2 is the canary in the mineshaft - if a camera is going to get wrecked, the XA2 is gonna be the camera.)

I think I'm getting a little better. On the days that I take the manual SLR, I'm trying to leave the DSLR behind in favor of the suprisingly nice Canon s50. On the days I leave the metal monster behind, I take the Olympus RD with the DSLR.
Click to expand...

I found that once I went shooting with one body, and one lens, I got many more nice images. It freed me up to move and react quicker to the events that I was witnessing. I am referring to street shooting here. When car shooting, its three bodies, four lenses, and the kitchen sink....
 
I agree with Russ on the advantage of a one lens and body combination for street work. I used to carry 35mm, 50mm and 75mm for my street work and I ended up spending more time changing lenses than shooting. My recent trip to Vietnam and Thailand I only brought my R2 and Ultron 35mm, the result is more photos and I see photo opportunities everywhere! :D
 
A couple or three years ago I purchased a (supposedly non-working) Yashica FX-103 on a whim, and found it worked. I got it as it was the poor man's Contax 139, for which I had a 50mm f/1.4 T* lens. I soon got three zooms from 18mm to 150mm. That is a surprisingly light kit to take places, even when adding a dedicated flash, Gossen Luna Pro, and a backup FX-3.

Of course one would not want to be without a MF camera and an RF. Again I have an advantage ( :confused: ) in that I combine both with the Mamiya Super Press 23 along with a 50mm lens and two or three film backs.

Add film, filters, tripod ... Arrrrggggh!! :bang:

It's hopeless. I might as well bring along a 4x5 with lenses, film holders, compendium bellows ... And for that really once in a life time shot, how about the 8x10? (Honey, are you sure you wouldn't like to pack a smaller suitcase so we have more room in the car?)

:D :D
 
Oftheherd

You need professional help! How about giving us all of your camera's, in exchange for three Kodak Disc camera's? You will then be free and liberated to capture the moment, as it happens.... :)

Russ
 
I tend to try to get away with as little gear as possible...
I may hike sometimes several miles for a nature shot.
I take the following. Bogen Digi tripod (works well, but light)
Rebel TI body, 22-55 USM, 75-300 USM, 500D diopter, small
Canon 200e flash, off camera flash cord, spare batteries,6 rolls
film, 4 filters, remote release cord in a small Tamrac Explorer 2
bag with shoulder and waist belts. Also carry a small gold/silver
reflector for macro shots. For the Canonet it will have to ride in
a smaller bag I could attach to the other bag or put it over the
other shoulder. When shooting street stuff I love that 22-55mm
USM lens, super range, can hand hold even at dusk on the
wide end. plus it weighs only 6 ounces! Put that on my Rebel TI
and the whole thing weighs about 1lb.
 
Russ said:
Oftheherd

You need professional help! How about giving us all of your camera's, in exchange for three Kodak Disc camera's? You will then be free and liberated to capture the moment, as it happens.... :)

Russ
Click to expand...

The way I have been going in circles, disc cameras would probably just fill the ticket. :D Would I really need three?:rolleyes:
 
Peter, I like your Vietnam photos a lot,wishing some of them were in color which for me are closer to reality.I'm not too much of a RF person.I admire many Japanese photographers used only one or two lenses in an assignment.When in Japan,to minimize disturbing people,I use Canon A-1 program mode with FD 35-70 only,I had a Rolleiflex with 75mm 3.5 Schneider in my bag but did not use it a lot.
 
Taipei-metro said:
Peter, I like your Vietnam photos a lot,wishing some of them were in color which for me are closer to reality.I'm not too much of a RF person.I admire many Japanese photographers used only one or two lenses in an assignment.When in Japan,to minimize disturbing people,I use Canon A-1 program mode with FD 35-70 only,I had a Rolleiflex with 75mm 3.5 Schneider in my bag but did not use it a lot.
Click to expand...

Glad that you like my photos. The reason that I use B&W is that I would not be bothered by colour temperature. I admit that I am not very good with colour, perhaps you could share with me the finer points of colour photography? :D I am influenced by my photography teacher when I was in high school as he is a proponent of B&W for street and documentary. He is also against the idea of using zoom lens (I started out with SLR) and he only used a 50mm prime for almost all his work. I use 35mm in RF as I feel it is a normal focal length in RF photography. My father used to have a Rolleiflex TLR but I broke it when I was 8. I guess he never really forgave me for that! :p
 
Peter,
Let the wedding photographers worry about color temperture.
Nowadays print films are good and cheap enough to experiment.
Daylight films may overcasted with green or orangeish may due more to Walmart processing then color temp.,
All movies are shot in negatives,greenish(florescent) or late afternoon sunlight or indoor tungsten's orange-yellowish cast sometime were left in films by dircctor's choice.
Got to go... Well,you chose the one film that you're most confortable with..
 
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