Travelling with Fuji GA645 or Bessa R2A?

macfred said:

+1 Another vote for the FUJI GA645 !

I do this very often - this one was made with the FUJIs pop-up flash and a white paper bag as a bouncer ...

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Nice capture!

Pioneer said:

Pack lots of slide film, you will not regret it.

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Another vote for slides, at least in 120. Oh man, film for this trip is looking like it might cost more than the trip itself!

Especially with colour film (like Portra 400, my fave) I would always opt for 120 over 35mm. Also unless I am really focusing on just taking pictures (not being a tourist or socializing with people) I find walking around with a ton of lenses often results in my taking fewer photos than walking around with a fixed lens camera. When I was on vacation in September I opted for my Fuji GS645s instead of FM2 or FE2 with 3-4 lenses (my main camera, RB67 with 3-4 lenses, was not even a possibility). And it definitely turned out to be the right decision. I did take a tripod though, for the times I was able to get out just to take photos.

My main concern is backup. Having had camera failure in two trips before I wouldn't go without some backup camera. So if you don't want to carry different film types then get the Bessa and M4 or if you don't mind carrying two types of film get the Fuji and the Bessa/M4.

As for neg or chrome, shoot what you know best and feel comfortable.

I shoot primarily LF, and for some things I use a MF (Hasselblad) SLR camera. I also travel quite a bit for work, and because of the size of either one of my primary kits, I rarely carried a camera with me on business trips, and often wished that I had a camera with me. With this as background, I bought a Bessa 3M, with the 35mm f1.4 lens, and for a few years, carried that with me on business trips - it dropped nicely in a briefcase, and I liked the way it felt in my hands.
I was never happy with the negatives in the darkroom. Part of that is my way of photographing - I almost always do a final crop in the darkroom, and with a 35mm negative, you really don't have the luxury of being able to dispose of any of the negatives without sacrificing sharpness. In the end, I decided to get rid of the Bessa, and I carry a camera with me when I am going out to photograph, with the camera kit depending on what I expect to be shooting, and I just enjoy those great scenes that I come across when I am travelling without a camera.

Bottom line - for me, I would lean towards the larger negative.

Mark_S said:

Bottom line - for me, I would lean towards the larger negative.

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I agree with this. I am not a big fan of huge cameras when I travel but there are lots of ways to pack medium format cameras. I love shooting large format as well but I am not so committed to this yet that I have found myself packing my Crown Graphic. However, a good quality folding camera with a good lens, the Fuji GA645 with its great lens, are all very compact cameras for top quality negatives.

Obviously you can get some very nice photographs with 35mm as well. But to do so, you need to take at least as much time and care as you would with a medium format camera. If you intend to do that anyway then why not pack the large negative to start with?