Is this realistic or am I just being lazy?

[jvo]

Sage advice. When I travel I force myself to bring one camera only, so that I don't spend time wondering which camera to use. Frees one up to just look at things instead.

Katie, have a fun trip! I hope you get lots of wonderful moments and memories.

yeh, what he said!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bill Burk]

...sometimes 35mm doesn't quite capture the magnitude of some of those places ...

I try not to be overly sentimental... but my sentiments exactly. I once brought 35mm and 4x5 to Disneyland and never pulled out the 4x5. No way. Next time I went I only brought 4x5 and have 24 negatives of me and my kids having fun.

 

[markbarendt]

"Jack of all films, master of none".

There's more than one way to skin a cat.

Choosing different films is just as viable a strategy as manipulating one.

 

[JSebrof]

If you get the panoramic adapter for your Mamiya 7, you can use it to shoot some of the 35mm film you'd otherwise have in the Bessa.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

I try not to be overly sentimental... but my sentiments exactly. I once brought 35mm and 4x5 to Disneyland and never pulled out the 4x5. No way. Next time I went I only brought 4x5 and have 24 negatives of me and my kids having fun.

What was wrong with the 35mm pictures?

 

[benjiboy]

Katie,
All I can say from my experience if you are going on a two week trip with your mother, and your young children whilst attempting to take pictures, your'e a better man than I am .

 

[Bill Burk]

What was wrong with the 35mm pictures?

Nothing. It was just a burn that I had the 4x5 on my back all day and never took it out. I remedied that on the next trip. Added one shot from each trip to the galleries...

 

[Bill Burk]

No backup camera? I know you want light but have one little failure and you are out of commission.... It's not like you can pop into a store and pickup a medium format camera....

I know Colin Fletcher was able to provision a Contaflex from the bottom of the Grand Canyon in the middle of a trip, but he was a writer not a photographer.

Do you own another MF camera you can throw in the back in a "first-aid kid" kind of box that you only open in an emergency... Then the camera won't distract you but will "be there" if you need it.

Since you're already provisioned, doesn't make sense to argue that you should bring only one film. You'll have to make sure you have the right film in the camera at the right time. For example in the morning, if you still have last night's 400 loaded, you might unload and reload with 100 for the day (even if you are in the middle of a roll). If you leave 400 in during the day, you might take some fine landscapes that you won't be able to enlarge "as much" as you could have.

 

[M. Lointain]

I may be a little late for your trip (sounds like fun) but this is just general advice. I think you would be well served by getting a point and shoot for quick shots of your children. If you like wide lenses (seems you do) then off the top of my head I would suggest the Ricoh GR-1, Fuji Tiara (Super Mini) or the Fuji Klasse W (still available new). I really think a point and shoot is the best way to photograph young children. The cameras I listed here all have exceptional lenses so you won't have any trouble making enlargements.

 

[lxdude]

In addition to my leash-less wild 4 year old, I'll be toting my 67 year old Mother with a bum knee.

If you mean this literally, you'd better take the lightest camera you can!