What cameras will you bring for the holidays?

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TheFlyingCamera

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On my most recent trip, I did take a camera, just one, but I won't mention it here because it wasn't a film camera. I didn't bring the Rollei because it was an environment I was not familiar with, and had some (overblown) security concerns - I was in Mexico City - so I wanted something very small and stealthy and that could pass as a tourist camera, not something theft-worthy. If you are going to travel with more than one camera, at least limit yourself to one type of film for logistics' sake - it's one less thing you have to worry about. My normal carry-about travel camera is my Rolleiflex. On my last trip to Rome, I took the Rollei, the Tele-Rollei, and the Lomo Belair X/6-12. I only ever used the 90mm lens for the Lomo, which was good enough and certainly wide enough. In retrospect I could have left the Tele-Rollei at home and still gotten 95% of the shots I took. I've become a major advocate for simplicity in travel cameras. Forget interchangeable lenses, forget zoom lenses, forget carrying multiple formats - just bring with you the bare minimum of gear, which gives you a lot more budget and space (and weight) for additional film. You'll take better pictures on holiday that way because you'll be concentrating on taking pictures rather than juggling cameras.
 

Theo Sulphate

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What are holidays?

6 weeks when you don't work, but you get extra 50% of salary, so that you can travel :smile:!

When I was a regular (non-contract) employee in the mechanical / electronic / computer science engineering environment, 8 years ago, I had accumulated 6 weeks of paid vacation per year. It took me 15 years with that very large company to acquire that. However, like so many other engineers, I often felt guilty taking any time off. Usually I took one week per year; the most I ever took was two weeks per year.

So, in this employment environment - with the misleading "low unemployment" statistics from the government, I don't have that kind of vacation time any longer - I, among many other engineers here, get no paid time off for anything whatsoever. My last paid vacation was in 2006.

My point is this: Not taking your vacation is absolutely stupid. Do not ever do this. Take your vacation time - you've earned it. You will not be valued more or appreciated for skipping your vacation and staying at work (especially if you're already working ~60 hours per week).

Sorry for going off-topic. No need to reply to this.
 

Vaughn

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RedCr2016.jpg (not-film) Me tending the fire -- big enough fire to cook and to keep us dry in the light rain.

My holidaze travels this summer have all been on foot, and if my bruised knee from the last trip heals up nicely, there will be more!

First trip I took the 4x5 (ten holders) and the Rolleicord for a solo backpack along Redwood Creek for 6 days. I just got back from a second trip there with just the 4x5, 6 holders and no Rolleicord -- for two nights (with my son). I tripped while climbing a 30' rock/gravel slope -- fortunately at the top and my weight carried me completely over. Lots of rain on the second trip -- perfect for the redwoods!!! We came out on my 62 birthday -- I originally planned on being on top of a mountain in the Yolla Bollys, but this was sweet!

Vacation time/pay: I worked for the university for 24 years -- halftime and two months off (unpaid) in the summer. I did not need to use much vacation time. When I retired, I had up close to the allowable amount saved -- about 360 hours. I got that in a lump some...that was sweet, too! At 20 hrs/week, that was the same as 18 weeks pay.
 
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4season

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Haven't decided on what to take on my next holiday: Lomo? Holga? FT2 panoramic? I've photographed the San Francisco Bay Area many times before, but never in 24 x 110 format! Upside to the plastic cameras is that they weigh next to nothing, while the FT2 is a Soviet brick.

I don't always agree with KR's opinions, but I think he pretty much nailed my feelings on this matter:
http://kenrockwell.com/business/take-your-vacation.htm
 

BradleyK

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Holidays?!? No real plans this year, just a week here and there (still four weeks remaining on this years' allotment) on the Island and up the coast. Shooting out of town - landscapes/nature/architecture? - means the Hasselblads will be called to duty. So a pair of 500c/m bodies, the usual Zeiss glass, a half dozen A12s, some E100G, PanF+, and some TMax 100.
 

DREW WILEY

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I'm retiring at the end of the year from a job I've held for the past forty years, with six weeks of vacation per year grandfathered in. Plus we get nearly three weeks off each winter for holidays. I still have five or six months of unused vacation as accumulated reserve, so will get a nice severance check which will buy a LOT of matboard etc. But that fact hasn't stopped me from taking over a dozen backpack trips a year when I was younger. Just don't have that kind of nervous energy anymore, rushing out of town on a whim, and back with no rest in between. So my last "official" vacation will be a two-week backpack in the high Sierra next month. But this is a very nice area for day hiking anyway. I'm a format schizophrenic, so shoot everything from 35mm to 8x10, but mainly prefer large gear.
 
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I have just returned to full time work after almost 8 years of un- and underemployment. After finding the truth about how little the powers that be really care about my well being I am taking a few days off at the start of next month for a 6 state motorcycle ride. :D No more company man for me. I'm not giving my life to someone who'll toss me to the fates with nary a thought. No more.

I'll be taking the F5,a couple lenses,the SB-28 with a mix of color slide and Eastman 5222 films. And 16 Eveready Lithiums in addition to the 8 in the camera.
 

frank

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I have just returned to full time work after almost 8 years of un- and underemployment. After finding the truth about how little the powers that be really care about my well being I am taking a few days off at the start of next month for a 6 state motorcycle ride. :D No more company man for me. I'm not giving my life to someone who'll toss me to the fates with nary a thought. No more.
IMG_0208.JPG
 

mooseontheloose

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On my most recent trip, I did take a camera, just one, but I won't mention it here because it wasn't a film camera. I didn't bring the Rollei because it was an environment I was not familiar with, and had some (overblown) security concerns - I was in Mexico City - so I wanted something very small and stealthy and that could pass as a tourist camera, not something theft-worthy. If you are going to travel with more than one camera, at least limit yourself to one type of film for logistics' sake - it's one less thing you have to worry about. My normal carry-about travel camera is my Rolleiflex. On my last trip to Rome, I took the Rollei, the Tele-Rollei, and the Lomo Belair X/6-12. I only ever used the 90mm lens for the Lomo, which was good enough and certainly wide enough. In retrospect I could have left the Tele-Rollei at home and still gotten 95% of the shots I took. I've become a major advocate for simplicity in travel cameras. Forget interchangeable lenses, forget zoom lenses, forget carrying multiple formats - just bring with you the bare minimum of gear, which gives you a lot more budget and space (and weight) for additional film. You'll take better pictures on holiday that way because you'll be concentrating on taking pictures rather than juggling cameras.

+1

My last trip to Europe (120+ rolls shot) was a nightmare due to the lack of space for all the film I brought, and the extra heavy bags I had due to miscellaneous film gear I had in my suitcase (anything not a camera, other than my Holga and SX-70, went in the suitcase to lighten up the carry-on bags). Despite it being a photo trip, and with specific plans for each camera I brought, the reality is I couldn't do everything I wanted to do in the time I had. As TFC has said, it's just better to use one camera and one film and then you don't have to think about anything else. On a day-to-day basis, that is how I operate when I travel, but all the extra gear has gotten to be an annoyance for me, rather than an advantage. So slowly but surely I'm going back to fewer cameras and fewer film choices.
 

naaldvoerder

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Two Contax Aria's one loaded with HP5, the other with Kodak HIE. 28, 50 and 85mm lenses, red filters and film...
 

Black Dog

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So much of this is "will I really use it" and "will I really have it with me when I see something".

I'm musing a trip to Ireland to specifically shoot ruins and landscapes, with lots of IR. I'm thinking of getting a 645 setup and carbon tripod for specific shooting trips. Some sort of 6x6 folder to keep with me. Spotmeter and iPhone for metering. And I really have a nonsensical love of my Himatic 7s, so that might be with me as much as possible. She's like that girlfriend some part of you said "why her??" but you could never dump her. Shot my avatar pic with it in a NYC blizzard. Amazing IQ for an eBay "build one camera from 3" eBay rescue.

Problem with this scenario - I own an RB with 6 or 7 lenses, a 4x5 Cambo, and various 35 setups with lots of Nikkors. I'd have to spend some bucks before I even bought my ticket! I'd love to take the RB and a big backpack, but... man, that's heavy.
Careful you don't get your Nikkors in a twist, M:whistling::wink:! Mamiya 330, Olympus Trip and Zero Image 4x5 for me.
 

Prest_400

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Having just graduated college, I might have some idle-looking for a job time in September. Want to take a holiday to Asia, but it might not be the moment.
I hesitate about bringing the Fuji GW690. Still, it is a very nice camera, large yet small and portable. The film is quite important... Lower rate of shooting but 8 per roll.

At the moment, I had a burst of GAS and I'm awaiting a Nikon F80, kit zoom and this friday will get a Nikkor 50mm.
For the meantime, it's good for projects around here and I like to be unconspicuous (looks like a DSLR) perhaps combined with the Fuji.

I'm working part-time at a hotel near home, and the town is a beach resort of sorts... So holiday is here for the meantime! I try to do half-day trips and morning excercise/beach.

I like to spread holiday time, except for large trips. July and August here is very nice for beach but overcrowded, sigh.

My point is this: Not taking your vacation is absolutely stupid. Do not ever do this. Take your vacation time - you've earned it. You will not be valued more or appreciated for skipping your vacation and staying at work (especially if you're already working ~60 hours per week).

Sorry for going off-topic. No need to reply to this.

Curiously most of my classmates were so eager to begin working. I'm taking a more progressive entry into the market for all implied. I've enjoyed a few months of very part-time studying and it works wonders. For sure will take advantage of all the time!
 

CMoore

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Nikon Coolpix.light and excellent image quality

Is the OP going on vacation with his family, or is he going to photograph.?
If i was taking a wife and family for a vacation, i would take the only digital camera i own, the Nikon Koolpix.
All that other stuff is going to be a hassle at the airports and everywhere else.
 
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TheToadMen

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Is the OP going on vacation with his family, or is he going to photograph.?
If i was taking a wife and family for a vacation, i would take the only digital camera i own, the Nikon Koolpix.
All that other stuff is going to be a hassle at the airports and everywhere else.

I'm going with my wife and two daughters and we're driving ourselves. So no airplane hassle. And I'll shoot analogue only.
 

frank

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There are those who would counsel that less is more. On the other hand, what's the sense of having a variety of photo gear just to leave it at home when one is going on vacation where the photographic possibilities are higher and there is more time for photography. (This depends on the significant other.) If one isn't backpacking and having to carry all ones gear, why not bring along a variety to handle different possible situations?
 
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TheToadMen

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There are those who would council that less is more. On the other hand, what's the sense of having a variety of photo gear just to leave it at home when one is going on vacation where the photographic possibilities are higher and there is more time for photography. (This depends on the significant other.) If one isn't backpacking and having to carry all ones gear, why not bring along a variety to handle different possible situations?

Amen!
 
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Less is more. More opportunities have been lost from being weighed down with inumerable pieces of equipment that you think you will use, as opposed to what you will (or did, in retrospect) use. A Pentax 67 + 4 lenses or battered Hassle 503CXI and 80mm and a ZeroImage 69 multiformat pinhole completes my working kit. I'll be taking the 67 and pinhole to Iceland next month.
 
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I normally bring my DSLR and a small medium format kit, like my Bronica SQ-Ai (80 mm and maybe a 50 mm), and almost always my tripod as well (carbon fibre is a gift from the gods to man).

This summer I'll be walking up to the top of the highest mountain around here (which isn't very high, 2095 m / 6800 ft) so I'll bring my Texas Leica (Fuji GW690III) as I'd like the 2x3 format for those shots. And the tripod, of course.
 

ericdan

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Leica M body with 35mm lens
Olympus XA2
One film stock for the entire trip. 3 rolls per day

I shoot the Leica when I am by myself, I shoot he XA2 when I am with friends.
They are also backups for each other, should one fail on me.
 

Prest_400

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I normally bring my DSLR and a small medium format kit, like my Bronica SQ-Ai (80 mm and maybe a 50 mm), and almost always my tripod as well (carbon fibre is a gift from the gods to man).

This summer I'll be walking up to the top of the highest mountain around here (which isn't very high, 2095 m / 6800 ft) so I'll bring my Texas Leica (Fuji GW690III) as I'd like the 2x3 format for those shots. And the tripod, of course.
Hey Oscar. Turns out that my longest stay abroad was last fall semester in your town, Linköping, Sweden. (My last "holiday") I also have a GW690III but at the end did not bring it (I should have) neither did the tripod. Instead I kept a more combinable OM-1 + Mirrorless. I do not regret it per se, but if I could change that, I would bring at least the Fuji and maybe drop the OM.
Having seen those great fall landscapes and having an easy bicycle transport the larger format would have been nice, because I did more stills and scenery than people. Still, I kept rather local (12 km radius) and did not see the mountains (Rimforsa) given that I had no car and it was all pedal drive.
Fun times. Winters are a bit hard with the scarce hours of light but the low sun is lovely. Tripod would have been great for night photography, which I did not venture into.
 
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TheToadMen

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Less is more. More opportunities have been lost from being weighed down with inumerable pieces of equipment that you think you will use, as opposed to what you will (or did, in retrospect) use.

Not entirely. I bring a large photo bag with several different types of camera for the holidays, etc, but on a daily basis pick just one camera in a small back for when I go out. The choice of camera will then depend on where/how I'm going. So often one camera and a small pinhole camera for fun.
And I never bring a tripod.
 

Ashfaque

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It is rainy season here. If I were to travel, I'd take:
(1) FM2n, two/three lenses and filters.
(2) 6x6 Ikon Nettar. Ideally, I'd love to take a Mamiya 6/7, but I don't have it.
(3) Tripod and GS cable release if I'm off for more than 1 week or if I want to do long exposure stuffs.
 

benjiboy

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I'm retired my whole life's a holiday, but when I go away on vacation I take two Canon New F1- AE bodies and a Canon FD 28-85mm f4, and Tamron SP 17 mm f3.5 lenses with hoods and a Kenko KFM 2200 (Minolta Auto meter V1) light meter in a Domke F2 bag which is about the maximum for me because I learned in the military many years ago that it's not just about carrying the weight all day, but being in a fit physical state to use it when you get to wherever you are going.
 
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Down Under

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Theo Sulfate, when I left Canada for warmer places many years ago, my job at Radio Canada gave me a whopping two weeks of paid vacation time every year, and my managers, while tyrants in other ways, didn't begrudge me taking the time in full every year if we wanted. Compared to almost every other Canadian I knew, I thought myself very fortunate. However, In Australia, I discovered I had landed in a culture of four weeks of paid leave every year, with purchased (extra) leave offered by many companies. I had landed in nirvana!

From the mid '80s, I indulged in the luxury of an overseas trip every year, to an Asian destination. Asia then didn't have the tourist glut it has now. Life was slower and better. In 1989 I left a Nikkormat camera on the seat of a bus in Central Java. A passenger found it and gave it to the conductor, who stopped the bus and ran back to return it to me. Not sure it this would happen now, but I make darn sure I don't leave camera gear lying around, on buses or elsewhere. I had three Nikkormats in those days, and a bag of lenses, and I shot Kodachrome 64 or Panatomic-X, Plus-X and later, the old TMax films. Yes, those long ago days...

Like benjiboy, I'm also retired, and every day is either Christmas or holiday time,whichever I want. I still have those Nikkormats and all the lenses. Last year I decided to try to use up my hoard of Kodak films, and went off to Sarawak and other ASEAN places with two Nikkormats (FT2)and 24-28-50-85mm lenses. The 28 f/2.8 stayed permanently on the 2nd Nikkormat for street shooting. The other lenses got about equal usage, with the 50 most used.

In 2006 I was away for six months of thatyear (a test run at retirement) and I took two Contax G1s with 28-45-90 lenses, UVs and hoods, and of course film,tho' ten years ago one could still buy 35mm color neg stock everywhere in Asia. During my travels I added a 35 but it didn't see much use. One G1 developed rewind problems a few weeks after I got back home. Lucky... It still works well and I haven't had it repaired. I carry a black changing bag in my kit when I go out with it. Oddly, it now rewinds more often than it doesn't.

I've used Rollei TLRs in Asia and had great results. A Voigtlander Perkeo 1 was into my kit on two trips in 2011 and 2013, but sadly I never used it and it stayed locked in a bag in my hotels.

I have several other MF cameras including a beaut Hasselblad 500CM butI wouldn't ever carry this around Asia or anywhere else, it's too heavy. Being older is all about traveling light, until 2014 I often went around Asia with carry on bag only but I now find this too limited,and I often as not I find I buy basic things I already have at home.Six million toothbrushes later, I now check a small rollaway bag and try to keep it at between ten to fifteen kilograms maximum. Cameras always go with me in cabin luggage.

I no longer shoot Kodachrome (duh) but now use Fuji color neg film and heaps of B&W. Shooting temples of rice fields with B&W is a challenge I enjoy and I find the interplay between shadows and mid tones produce results I like best. I'm still a "hands on" photographer and like many others who came to photography in the classic film era, I enjoy and value time spent in my darkroom.

Twenty years ago I wanted to take every lens in my arsenal with me but I now make do with a minimal kit. A Nikkormat with a 28 f/2.8, UV filter and lens hood is more than enough, with the 85 as a second lens. One or two lenses forces you to make the best use of what you have. Which lens you take depends on you, of course.

I do admire those who can set out with a Nettar and a few bits, but I have far too many rolls of 120 in my film fridge at home, so a trip in the near future with the Perkeo, a lens hood, one or two filters, a Weston meter and 40 rolls of B&W film may be on the cards...
 
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