Travel MF Recommendations

[canuhead]

Mamiya 6 or YashicaMat 124G. Both are light but if you hadn't sold the 503, that would have been my suggestion. You shld be able to find a Mamiya 6 w/50 lens combo for around your price range if you look carefully.

 

[PtJudeRI]

Travel angst! I can pack a bag of clothing for a week in 15 mins, but I wring my hands for two hours on what to put in the camera bag.

If this is for fleeting moments, casual snaps, and the occasional shot you really want to get right, I can't say enough about the GA645 cameras. Auto everything, the meter is great (I shot a ton of chrome through mine) the battery lasts forever, and the ergonomics are good to keep with you all day. I'll end up getting a newer one as well as a wide as they come up. It's a great camera to keep handy and still get good negs.

 

[AGagnon]

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.

I agree 100%. A TLR doesn't intimidate people and is a great conversation starter with strangers, if that's your thing.

 

[darinwc]

One more piece of travel photography advice - don't bring multi-systems with you. Bring your film camera, or bring your digital, but don't bring a 35mm-esque digital and a medium format film camera. I'm not saying you CAN'T switch back and forth between them successfully, but switching between a 2:3 ratio ( or 4:3) and a square, one set of controls and another, is asking for trouble. Invariably you'll miss a shot because you have the other camera than the one you want in hand at the time and your mindset will be on the wrong camera.

Nonsense! The last cruise I went on i took my digital and a super ikonta 6x6 with Fuji across. The square frame of the ikonta and black and white film have a totally different look to some subjects. The two systems complimented each other very well.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Nonsense! The last cruise I went on i took my digital and a super ikonta 6x6 with Fuji across. The square frame of the ikonta and black and white film have a totally different look to some subjects. The two systems complimented each other very well.

Of course they have a different look. Just as Ektar 100 and Tri-X have very different looks when shot through my Rolleiflex. My point in saying to carry one system is that if you're switching back and forth between a square format and a 2:3 format all the time, you'll find yourself trying to compose for the one when you're looking through the other, and as a result, your compositions will be off. While it is possible to switch back and forth, you're making your brain make a conscious choice about something that works better when it's instinctive.

 

[Mark Fisher]

I think we all struggle with this. I use a Fuji GA645Zi for fitting a little photography on a business trip. It works fine, but it is hard for me to bond with auto focus. The great lens and ability to handhold to very slow shutter speeds makes me keep it. Eventually, I'll get a set of Fuji 6x7 rangefinders.....normal and wide.....big neg, good lenses and the redundancy that makes me feel better!

 

[NedL]

...
I'm contemplating a major loop out to some of the southwest this summer, but that will be by car and I will probably take the Bronica with the Perkeo as backup, along with some "other stuff." There is also an Ercona II 6x9 folder here that is quite respectable, but bigger and heavier and only gets eight shots on a roll, so I often lean toward the old friendly 6x6 square.

I took my ercona ii as my only camera on vacation last summer and was quite happy. Should have "zoomed with my feet" a few times though.
It's a little slow and fiddly for quick shots but I enjoy using it. Mine came with an insert for 6x6 that haven't tried yet.

 

[RattyMouse]

Eventually, I'll get a set of Fuji 6x7 rangefinders.....normal and wide.....big neg, good lenses and the redundancy that makes me feel better!

That's my current set up: Fuji GF670 and GF670W. Both fit in a Billingham bag with even enough room for my Nikon FM2n w/20mm lens for ultra wide shots. It's a strange set up to some but it works very nicely.

 

[Dismayed]

I owned a Bronica RF645 for several years, but I sold it because the film transport was unreliable. I now have a Mamiya 7II. Great camera, and easy to carry. If that doesn't fit the budget, then one of the p&s Fuji 645 cameras may be good. But two so you have a backup.

http://www.dantestella.com/technical/ga645.html

 

[foen]

I'm finding a camera to carry with me with my main 4x5 fieldcamera. What you can advice me ? 35 mm or some fujis?

 

[nbagno]

Narrow it down. Do you need interchangeable lenses? Is space a concern? When traveling I typically like a camera I can shove into a bag and not worry about the lens bulging out. I have the fuji gw690III. Love the thing, but it's kinda big for how I like to travel. You don't need a battery which is great, but you might want a light meter.I also have a Bessa III 667W which is another awesome camera, but over your budget. It also has a lens poking out that needs protection which equals bulk. My favorite travel camera and one that packs down, does not have a lens poking out is the gf670.

 

[foen]

Sadly, GF670 is very expansive

 

[Jim Andrada]

Just got back from a few weeks in Japan. Took too much stuff of course - everything from a Minox to a 4 x 5 Technika, but a real surprise was how nicely my old Zeiss Super Ikonta performed. My father bought it new in 1937 and I'm still happily using it. It's quite a nice camera for walking around and even more serious usage. I mainly used a Mamiya 645 - these are pretty inexpensive recently, but it's not particularly lightweight or compact. The links are to a couple of photos I made with the Ziess folder.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jwwn62stva76stu/Shirakawa Gassho-Zukuri Frm.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/exkwknzjfdilcwp/Guardian.jpg?dl=0

 

[Slixtiesix]

Rolleiflex and/or Hasselblad SWC, but 1500$ won´t buy you both. Mamiya 6 or 7 with a set of lenses. Fuji GF670 and/or GF670W (difficult with you budget). A shame that you sold the Hasselblad! Would have just added the 50mm and shot away... Maybe adding a cheap folder or tube camera for situations where you don´t want to take the expensive camera, like beaches.

 

[baachitraka]

A well serviced Pentacon Six with Flektogon 50mm f/4.0. Its not that bad camera once you know how to load the film.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

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.

There is only one good answer to this: Mamiya6!

 

[Alan Gales]

There is only one good answer to this: Mamiya6!

I think this is the OP's best choice for a travel camera. It's relatively small and a Mamiya 6 with 75mm lens should just fit his budget.

 

[Arcturus]

I traveled with a Voigtlander Perkeo II for a number of years. It's absolutely tiny, it will fit in a back pocket or a document bag easily freeing up room for other stuff. It also has a very good coated lens. Eventually I wanted something metered so I got a Fuji GA645 and now that goes everywhere with me. Great lens, autofocus, metered, 15 or 16 exposures per roll (depending on model), just what you need for travel. You don't want to be messing around with hand held meters or taking forever to focus when you're traveling with other people. The extra frames are better too. I traveled with a 6x9 for a bit but it blew through film way too fast, 645 is a good place between 135 and 6x6+.

 

[Fr. Mark]

I wear glasses and as much as I like the range finder form factor in 35mm, or even the OM-1 or Nikon FM more and more I like the idea of a TLR because it seems more glasses friendly. I find myself using my iPhone more than the DSLR for some of these reasons too.