Travel MF Recommendations

[dodphotography]

Hey all, I was wondering if everyone could toss their 2 cents in regarding their best suggestion for a travel oriented MF camera.

I have experience shooting MF through 8x10 and in the past made the natural MF progression from the RB67, through the C330's of the world, to a 503CW. All of which were sold for various reasons, upgrades, etc etc etc.

I am heading on a massive road trip with my wife and will not have access to electricity for large portions so I don't want to have to worry about charging batteries for my digital camera. I also want to avoid my tripod and large format gear, for the sake of not driving my wife insane with the "slow look".

I initially was thinking a MF RF, something like a Bronica 645RF but would love your insight. As of now the budget is really unclear, but under 1500 bucks helps.

 

[Drew B.]

I'm taking the Bronica ETRS to Europe soon but I'm thinking the Fuji 645 rf might be a great choice. I looked at one the other day and had to fight off buying it.

 

[Jager]

If you're handholding everything, hard to beat a leaf-shutter, folding RF. My Bessa III travels exceptionally well.

I also have the Bronica 645RF and that's an equally fine camera... but the difference between 6x7 and 645 negatives is pretty dramatic.

That all said, if I were going on a long road trip... where carrying the camera long distances (a la hiking or spending a day walking around a city) is not an issue, I'd be hard pressed not to want my Hasselblad 500 with me.

 

[antmar]

Mamiya 6 with 50mm lens is the best traveling companion but you need some luck to find it at this price.

 

[RattyMouse]

Hey all, I was wondering if everyone could toss their 2 cents in regarding their best suggestion for a travel oriented MF camera.

I have experience shooting MF through 8x10 and in the past made the natural MF progression from the RB67, through the C330's of the world, to a 503CW. All of which were sold for various reasons, upgrades, etc etc etc.

I am heading on a massive road trip with my wife and will not have access to electricity for large portions so I don't want to have to worry about charging batteries for my digital camera. I also want to avoid my tripod and large format gear, for the sake of not driving my wife insane with the "slow look".

I initially was thinking a MF RF, something like a Bronica 645RF but would love your insight. As of now the budget is really unclear, but under 1500 bucks helps.

Fuji GF670.......more compact than you can imagine. I have taken it all over Asia as well as Europe. It's a joy to shoot with and the results, just never, ever let me down. An absolutely amazing camera.

 

[Alan9940]

I really like my Fuji GA645Zi or one of my many folders for absolute lightweight travel.

 

[rowghani]

lots of great suggestions. i loved my fuji gf670 but not a big fan of bellows. they make me nervous...i like to toss my camera on my car seat and picking it up and shooting. right now I use the bronica rf645 and love it. only down side for me is that 100mm is the longest lens available and thats a bit of a joke but hey i shoot with a normal lens 95% of the time anyways. ergonomically nothing beats a Mamiya 6 in my experience but not too big on the 6x6 frame. good luck.

 

[BrianShaw]

I like the notion of folding MF rangefinders but never got one. I had great success with a Rolleicord, monopod, and meter as a travel kit that I never changed. Lightweight and reliable.

But in 35mm my travel kit long ago evolved from SLR and multiple lenses to a Retina IIIc so...

 

[BobMarvin11225]

FWIW I use a Super Ikonta A 531 for travel. The 6 X 4.5 negatives are the functional equivalent of 6 X 6, if. like me, you crop square negatives for verticals or horizontals. I have no doubt that 6 X 7, or 6 X 9, negatives are somewhat better, BUT I have no problems making sharp and virtually grain-free 16 X 20 prints from my Super Ikonta negatives, even with 400 ISO film.

 

[Heinz]

I like my Makina 67 for traveling, in particular the built in spot-like meter, which works very well and even down to quite low light.

 

[EdSawyer]

Mamiya 7

 

[Sirius Glass]

I found that in Europe the 50mm and 80mm were sufficient although the 250mm would be nice.
Driving in the US I take all my lenses [38mm, 50mm, 150mm, 250mm, 500mm, and 2X extender] in a backpack and then either take the one lens I need or remove the other lenses and take the pack with a lighter load if I am going to walk about.

 

[wy2l]

RZ67

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Rolleiflex. I was a skeptic of the "but it only has one lens!" variety before trying it one year. Before that I used to travel with a whole kit worth of stuff, either my Hasselblad with four lenses, or my Contax G series with five lenses, or even my Canham 5x7 with five lenses. Then I took my Rolleiflex to Paris and had a revelation. Having just the one lens makes me concentrate more on crafting the image in the viewfinder instead of worrying about which lens I have on the camera, and I came away with so many more good images as a result. A TLR may not be your thing, but as someone who has used SLRs, TLRs, rangefinders and view cameras, I've found the TLR to be a natural fit for street photography and travel work because it is lightweight, compact, and very quiet to operate. If you want to see some results, go take a wander through my portfolio here on APUG, and look for the images of Paris, Rome, and Florence.

 

[dodphotography]

Rolleiflex. I was a skeptic of the "but it only has one lens!" variety before trying it one year. Before that I used to travel with a whole kit worth of stuff, either my Hasselblad with four lenses, or my Contax G series with five lenses, or even my Canham 5x7 with five lenses. Then I took my Rolleiflex to Paris and had a revelation. Having just the one lens makes me concentrate more on crafting the image in the viewfinder instead of worrying about which lens I have on the camera, and I came away with so many more good images as a result. A TLR may not be your thing, but as someone who has used SLRs, TLRs, rangefinders and view cameras, I've found the TLR to be a natural fit for street photography and travel work because it is lightweight, compact, and very quiet to operate. If you want to see some results, go take a wander through my portfolio here on APUG, and look for the images of Paris, Rome, and Florence.

Thanks Scott.

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

Agree strongly with the Fuji GF670, if a handheld bellows camera does not intimidate. All (well, most) of the portability and quaintness of a traditional folder, but with all of the most modern technology inside. The metering is killer. As is the enormous viewfinder and focusing patch. And the shutter is so silent you won't hear it outdoors even when your eye is pressed to the viewfinder window. Plus you get the choice of either 6x6 or 6x7 on a per roll basis. But you do need to be OK with just a single permanent normal lens.

If a possible need for additional lenses is anticipated, then my fallback system is the Mamiya C330s TLR, for all of the excellent TLR-based reasons listed by TFC above. Ninety plus percent of the time the 80/2.8 is mounted and is entirely appropriate to the situation at hand.

But if for those one-off outlier situations I truly do need a 55/4.5 (~30mm in 135 format) or a 250/6.3 (~135mm in 135 format), or any other of the seven total lenses available, I'm covered without needing to purchase and carry multiple cameras.

Ken

 

[michaelorr]

I have been wrestling for a while now with the same question, in my case as an entry into MF, and keep returning to the Fuji GW690 with 90mm (wish to all noble metals that i had snatched up the on on APUG not so long ago). It seems to fit with being a great camera on a tripod for those landscapes and a manageable camera hand-held. No closeups needed, so the RF shouldn't bother me. No lens decisions (like flying's advice it makes great sense). I will admit to being more attracted to the TLR than a Leica RF, but the MF rangefinder is where i am leaning. In the end, a personal choice once boiled down to the essential discriminators. I am settling on a single lens solution. WLF not fitting my personality - with that much ground glass i find myself obsessing over the details to frustration instead of just getting the shot set up and having the faith in my the camera i should have.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

To me any camera and format has to be really small if for travel. I have no problems with Agfa Billy Record for 6x9, any 6x6 folder, but the best is Nettar 515 as one of the most miniature MF cameras.
RF, AF, mirrors are waste time, space and weight, plus source of trouble on travel photography with film. IMO.

 

[Paul Howell]

I initially was thinking a MF RF, something like a Bronica 645RF but would love your insight. As of now the budget is really unclear, but under 1500 bucks helps.[/QUOTE]

Any of the 645's will work, Mamyia, Pentax, Bronica, rangefinders and SLR all have pros and cons. When I lived in Europe and traveled by train I carried 35mm and either my Mamyia 6, the folder with 75mm lens, easy to pack away with my 35mm gear, or a TLR, Yashchia 124 or when 127 film was readily available a Yashica 44. If I drove I added a Mamyia Universal with 3 lens.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I'm also a fan of the square for travel photos - one less decision you have to make at the moment of shooting - if something needs cropped later, it's easy to do. If you're not rotating the camera to see what makes a better composition, you're more likely to get the shot at the time.

 

[David Allen]

If you need interchangeable lenses then, without a doubt, the Mamiya 6 or 7 depending upon you favoured format.

If you don't then the Fuji fixed lens 6 x 7 or 6 x 9 are very good (but with harder to use due to dimness rangefinders - not a problem if you routinely use zone focussing or course).

If you can't get on with a rangefinder camera, a well serviced Rolleiflex (for fixed lens) or a Mamiya 330 (for interchangeable lenses) would be a great companion.

Bests,

David.
www.dsallen.de

 

[CropDusterMan]

Fuji 6x9 with 90mm.

 

[benjiboy]

I use as Mamiya C330F that I carry in the soft leather ever-ready case with the 80 mm lens pairs attached for traveling , and I carry the 55 mm W/A lens pair in my pocket.

 

[brian steinberger]

Definitely go with a rangefinder for travel. That's all I use. I have the Bronica RF645 and the Mamiya 6, both kits with all three lenses and love them both. Pick which format you want to shoot, get one and don't look back. Fantastic cameras. Btw, if you want 6x7 get the Mamiya 7!

 

[macfred]

My set up for travelling and hiking : Fuji GA645 (60mm f/4 Fujinon lens) + Fuji GA 645Wi (45mm f/4 Fujinon lens).
Broni RF 645 would be nice too !