What to bring..

[Anthony Martinez]

Tuesday I'll be wheels up on a series of flights that will ultimately land me in Aberdeen, Scotland, to visit my parents. It seems a ferry trip over to Amsterdam may also take place.

In general, I'm a light packer. I do not check baggage because it invariably ends up on the wrong continent (even if I'm not leaving the country). What I'm trying to decide is which cameras to bring. I intend to bring the mini-tripod, because it fits in the camera bag and I anticipate there being more than a few opportunities to take exposures longer than I can hand-hold. My cable release and my light meter will join me as well.

Film?
MF: 20x Tri-X, 5x Portra 400
35mm: 9x Agfa APX 400, 3x Portra 400

The 35mm question is simple to answer because I only have one 35mm camera! My Kodak Retina IIa will be tasked with the job of allowing me to expose 35mm film. I've pondered going and buying a Canon F-1 and an FD 50/1.4 but I'm fine with the 50/2 in the Kodak (plus it fits in my pocket).

Medium format is a tossup between my Agfa Isolette III and my Mamiya C3. The benefit of the Agfa is its extremely light weight and small size. It's lighter than the Kodak. Drawback? Having to peek through through the red window in the back to find the next frame number on the backing paper is less than easy at night, and it's just slow in general. Also, its lens is still in the "normal" range which the Kodak has covered fairly well. The Mamiya is significantly larger, and significantly heavier - but it also has significantly better glass no matter which lens I take. I'm inclined to go with the 65mm for the sake of having a wide angle lens for landscapes and perhaps some street photography. Does the wide angle capability and the fact that I turn the crank and it advances the film without me having to look at anything outweigh, well, its weight?

What would The Darkroom do?

[KJ Smith]

I would take the 5D.

It is the most versatile camera you own.

You don't have to keep up with film or worry about fogging.

[Anthony Martinez]

Not gonna happen.

[RVorinsky]

I can't help you with your question but I can ask you a question: Don't x-ray sort of ruin your film? I will be traveling to Europe in July and initially planned to bring a 100ft roll with me, until people told me not to do it. I haven't carried film across the border since 9/11 - before that you could avoid getting it scanned - so I am clueless as to effects and don't feel like risking getting x-ray-ed out of 50 bucks.

[Anthony Martinez]

Xray can ruin your film, but TSA will still hand check it if you ask nicely. Allegedly so will their British counterparts. I've flown with film several times in the last year and haven't had a problem yet, I even forgot to take it out of the camera bag and have it checked by hand once and the world did not end.

I decided on the Mamiya. Wide in medium + normal in 35mm seems like a good combination to me. That's how I did the last photo walk, and the results were pleasing.

[tropicpine]

I carry an x-ray proof film bag whenever I travel with film.

When I travel light with film I only carry a 35mm. (Minolta SRT)

[RVorinsky]

Lee, that's another suggestion I've heard from several people. As it always happens, there is a counter example where someone had tried it and all it did was provoked the x-ray guy to crank up his toy until he was able to see what was inside the bag. Needless to say, the film was fried crisp.
I guess it's a risk everyone needs to evaluate on their own.

Anthony, sorry for hijacking your thread. I will stop now.

[Anthony Martinez]

No problem at all. Hijacking is what The Darkroom does best. There will, without doubt, be a post-trip thread wherein I either post entirely too many photos or I whine at length about ruined film. I'm hoping I just flood the post with too many photos :)

[venchka]

Ruined film at airports is an internet myth. I stick a roll of ASA 3200 film in with the rest of my film. TSA only guarantees no harm up to ASA 400. Show the nice folks your high speed film and politely request a hand search. It works everytime. Any film over 400 will suffice. I just happened to have the 3200 roll handy.

Anthony: Good choice with the Mamiya. I am wading through my negatives from my year in Europe with a Mamiya. Time and time again I find a negative that would have been so much better with a wider lens AND a tripod. I was using ASA 50 & 100 Agfa film at the time. Lovely long gone film. ASA 400 would have helped with the need for a tripod. Only a wider lens would have helped in cathedrals or narrow medieval streets.

Have fun!

ps: I would toss in a few rolls of 120 Portra 800. It can be very gloomy in Europe. You can also convert Portra 800 to B&W.

[venchka]

Nice examples of Portra 800 interiors...

NikonCafe.com

[d2creative]

I would stick with the 35mm since you are comfortable with film.
I like to travel light and only take my M9 and 3 lenses with me when traveling now.
The big nikon body and lenses stay home. It's very liberating feeling and also challenging.
My whole kit fits in a small Tumi shoulder bag that just barely fits an ipad in the rear pocket.
Then you can take a small travel tripod like a benro travel angel or this one i picked up recently.
Vanguard 204BK - 204BK - Tripods & Monopods - Ultra Compact Tripod
It's short, but stable enough and the smallest when collapsed that I could find.

[Anthony Martinez]

Oh I'm plenty comfortable with both the Kodak and the Mamiya. My camera bag is packed (minus the film, which is in a bag in the freezer). The Kodak gave me a scare yesterday, but it turned out I was just at the end of the roll and had done an epically bad job of keeping track of the frame count. I thought I'd broken something.

I'm bringing a Slik Mini w/ a ballhead. It fits in the top of my camera bag and has been plenty stable even with my 180mm lens on the C3.

The reason I went with Portra 400 is because I know it does well at both 100 and 1600. I've actually never shot it at 400, but I have pushed and pulled it two stops without issue.

I do have a roll of Delta 3200, I may just throw it into the mix to avoid the scanner.


Packing List by Anthony J. Martinez, on Flickr

[venchka]

You are good to go!

Thanks for the news about Portra 400 @ 1600. That will be a blessing in the dark.
Delta 3200 is what I use for xray deterent as well. Along with carrying my film with me at all times.
Somebody more knowledgeable than I once said that the film gets blasted by more cosmic rays on a trans-Atlantic filght than the xrays in the airport hand luggage machines. Checked baggage gets hit harder.

More importantly: Have fun! I wish I knew more about The Netherlands to make a suggestion or three. My experience in that part of the world is limited to Belgium.

[ronocnikral]

TSA says ASA 1000. they still hand check every time i ask. only time i've ever had an issue with getting a hand check was in Africa and when my speckle me deutch wasn't up to par.

have a good trip!!

[Anthony Martinez]

Thanks. I've got six ziplocks full of film. I just wrote "Push - ASA 1600" on all of the bags, and then threw a roll of Delta 3200 in one as well.