Which camera to take on vacation???

sfphoto · May 10, 2022

It just occurred to me that Don may have already left [Going to Mexico in May], at any rate here is my 2 cents:

As long as one is familiar w/ the XA operation, such is capable of yielding professional results. Only concern is for me would be lack of filter for b&w film. Perhaps an optically clear gel behind the lens. There is a baffle set in about 3/8 from the film plane that could hold it (far enough that any dust should be out of focus). Barge cement (removable) or doublestick would hold it.

For me taking an interchangable lens camera but only one lens would cause anxiety.

However for the sake of filters and full camera controls, if the shooter can be comfortable w/ one lens then a 35mm w/ favorite lens.

Sirius Glass · May 10, 2022

I am going to take a quick trip to Seattle and I will be bring two cameras:

Nikonos V with the 28mm lens, 35mm lens and 85mm lens to test out the newly purchased view finders and color filters. If it rains hard so much the better. And it has an 80% chance of rain of Saturday!!
WideLux F7 which I know barely separates the frame so it will have to go in for service, but I want to check for banding before it goes in. I also will use it vertically for the Space Needle and for photographs from the Space Needle. And it has an 80% chance of rain of Saturday!!

sfphoto · May 10, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
I am going to take a quick trip to Seattle and I will be bring two cameras:

Nikonos V with the 28mm lens, 35mm lens and 85mm lens to test out the newly purchased view finders and color filters. If it rains hard so much the better. And it has an 80% chance of rain of Saturday!!

WideLux F7 which I know barely separates the frame so it will have to go in for service, but I want to check for banding before it goes in. I also will use it vertically for the Space Needle and for photographs from the Space Needle. And it has an 80% chance of rain of Saturday!!

I would check for banding today rather than later have some great shot from the top of the needle with banding. Might only be at certain speeds, certain weather. Hopefully dirt not worn gears.

My (minimal) 2 (film) camera kit is a Widlux and 120 folder.

Sirius Glass · May 10, 2022

sfphoto said:
I would check for banding today rather than later have some great shot from the top of the needle with banding. Might only be at certain speeds, certain weather. Hopefully dirt not worn gears.

My (minimal) 2 (film) camera kit is a Widlux and 120 folder.

Good advise. Before I loaded the film I first fired the shutter in all three speeds for a total of 350+ times and observed that the lens was again moving smoothly at each shutter speed. Then with the lens fired I rocked the lenses back and forth over the range where it had been slow many time and then finished off with firing the lens about 20 times in each shutter speed for good measure. I am not planning on taking and valuable or monumental photographs this weekend but who knows.

Radost · May 10, 2022

If I could get only one camera it would be a small modern autofocus slr. Maxxum 5 T2 or Elan 7Ne.
Or Maxxum 7 with one fast and one slow BW and Color film that I can swap in and out.

Huss · May 10, 2022

sfphoto said:
I would check for banding today rather than later have some great shot from the top of the needle with banding. Might only be at certain speeds, certain weather. Hopefully dirt not worn gears.

My (minimal) 2 (film) camera kit is a Widlux and 120 folder.

That's one of the reasons I got rid of my Wideluxes. Replaced them with a Noblex 135 that Precisioncameraworks upgraded with their new rubber rollers. No issues with banding as the motor brings the mechanism up to speed before it makes an exposure. Really clever those Germans!

Alan Edward Klein · May 10, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
I am going to take a quick trip to Seattle and I will be bring two cameras:

Nikonos V with the 28mm lens, 35mm lens and 85mm lens to test out the newly purchased view finders and color filters. If it rains hard so much the better. And it has an 80% chance of rain of Saturday!!

WideLux F7 which I know barely separates the frame so it will have to go in for service, but I want to check for banding before it goes in. I also will use it vertically for the Space Needle and for photographs from the Space Needle. And it has an 80% chance of rain of Saturday!!

I thought only the 35mm lens can be used out of water.

Sirius Glass · May 10, 2022

Alan Edward Klein said:
I thought only the 35mm lens can be used out of water.

The 28mm and 85mm lenses can be used out of water too. Which is why I bought them and not the 15mm lens.

DonW · May 10, 2022

Huss said:
No money in your wallet?

Haha, no the the dislocated thumb might have caused him some issues for a week or so. That and the cops that grabbed him. One thing you don't do as a local in Cuba is rob the tourists. Really bad for your health.

So far haven't taken one film photo. Probably second last day I'll pull out the Bessa.

Huss · May 10, 2022

DonW said:
So far haven't taken one film photo. Probably second last day I'll pull out the Bessa.

I felt the same way when I had my Bessas which is why I got rid of them.

Lewipix · May 11, 2022

Part of why I travel is photography (street, landscape, special moments etc, photos that may end up on my wall) and if I am lucky enough to be standing in front of the Louvre just a few times in my life at sunset, then I want the best and heaviest gear possible. My wife hardly ever complains about lugging around all the lenses and gear, after all my hands must be free to setup the shots and scratch my head, not to mention ponder the composition by looking through my fingers framed to the shape of a viewfinder...

Alan Edward Klein · May 11, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
The 28mm and 85mm lenses can be used out of water too. Which is why I bought them and not the 15mm lens.

There are focus issues with their lenses out of water except for the 35mm. It was designed for use in or out of water.

nikonos lens and above water use

why can't the 28mm or the 15mm lenses be used above water? what would happen? has anyone even dared defy the sacred manual? :P Jay

scubaboard.com

Here are Nikon's comments about this.

NIkonos lenses for on-land use

The 35mm f/2.5 and the 80mm f/4 W-Nikkor lenses can be used on land as well as underwater with the Nikonos-V. An older lens for this camera, the 28mm f/2.8 LW-Nikkor, was a splash-proof lens for on-land photography.

For the Nikonos-RS underwater SLR, the only lens that can be used on land is the 50mm f/2.8 R-UW AF Micro-Nikkor.

Nikonos lenses other than these four cannot produce an in-focus image out of water.

NIkonos lenses for on-land use

www.nikonimgsupport.com

Sirius Glass · May 11, 2022

Alan Edward Klein said:
There are focus issues with their lenses out of water except for the 35mm. It was designed for use in or out of water.

nikonos lens and above water use

why can't the 28mm or the 15mm lenses be used above water? what would happen? has anyone even dared defy the sacred manual? :P Jay

scubaboard.com

Here are Nikon's comments about this.

NIkonos lenses for on-land use
The 35mm f/2.5 and the 80mm f/4 W-Nikkor lenses can be used on land as well as underwater with the Nikonos-V. An older lens for this camera, the 28mm f/2.8 LW-Nikkor, was a splash-proof lens for on-land photography.

For the Nikonos-RS underwater SLR, the only lens that can be used on land is the 50mm f/2.8 R-UW AF Micro-Nikkor.

Nikonos lenses other than these four cannot produce an in-focus image out of water.

NIkonos lenses for on-land use

www.nikonimgsupport.com

"There are focus issues with their lenses out of water except for the 35mm." Exactly how can there be focus issues out of water when the lenses were designed for in water use and out of water use and the photographer sets the focus in feet or meters or both. You need to use the camera before you post about it.

DonW · May 11, 2022

Huss said:
I felt the same way when I had my Bessas which is why I got rid of them.

It doesn't matter what camera I brought, if I don't feel the urge to create, the camera stays in the bag.

Huss · May 11, 2022

DonW said:
It doesn't matter what camera I brought, if I don't feel the urge to create, the camera stays in the bag.

Well, I think perhaps this thread should have been called 'Which camera should I take on vacation to leave in my bag?"

I then definitely would have agreed with you and picked the Bessa.

McDiesel · May 12, 2022

@Sirius Glass you're making us Hasselblad shooters look weak. They will be laughing at you in Seattle! Bust the SWC out and capture that needle like a man, weather be damned!

PSoul · May 12, 2022

I'd take the largest most spectacular camera I could get away with...

I've just got back from 3 weeks in the UK (from NZ) and I bought an MPP 5x4 camera on ebay and had it delivered to my destination, so that it was there when I arrived.. I took a couple of lens I know and trust and a developing tank, but it was great fun getting to know a new camera and re-discovering my destination.

Sirius Glass · May 12, 2022

McDiesel said:
@Sirius Glass you're making us Hasselblad shooters look weak. They will be laughing at you in Seattle! Bust the SWC out and capture that needle like a man, weather be damned!

BTDT and I need to stress test the Nikonos V in a good rain storm like we no longer get in Los Angeles and check out the WideLux F7 before it gets shipped to its second home at Tempe Camera for time in the CLA spa. I already have a plastic shooting sleeve that can handle the Hasselblad with the 500mm lens.

Bill Burk · May 12, 2022

I would bring two lenses, 35 and 90. Bessa would be my choice as there’s risk of theft/easier to replace than the Leica.

You will want capability to take good pictures. Though the XA is a sweet adventure camera, I would want 90 for the golden hour portraits and 35 the rest of the time.

This week I took a camera that just had maintenance.

Andrew O'Neill · May 12, 2022

Looking forward to hearing about your trip!

Alan Edward Klein · May 12, 2022

Huss said:
Well, I think perhaps this thread should have been called 'Which camera should I take on vacation to leave in my bag?"

I then definitely would have agreed with you and picked the Bessa.

Well, another question could be, Should I leave my camera or friends home and go alone?

Alan Edward Klein · May 12, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
"There are focus issues with their lenses out of water except for the 35mm." Exactly how can there be focus issues out of water when the lenses were designed for in water use and out of water use and the photographer sets the focus in feet or meters or both. You need to use the camera before you post about it.

I've owned a Nikonos IVa for 45 years with an U/W strobe. I still have mine. Click on the link below to see some of my pictures taken with the 35mm lens above and below water.

I don't know why other lenses besides 35mm have problems above water. It could have to do with refraction. For example, my 35mm lens acts like a 50mm lens underwater and 35mm lens above water. Underwater, everything s brought about 1/3 closer optically. That's refraction and occurs at the glass change from air to water in front of the lens. The non-35mm lenses could be designed to handle refraction underwater but not compensate above water causing focus issues. Did you read the Nikon manual instruction I posted? Why do you disagree with them? Do you think they're lying?

Scuba Journey - 35mm Film

Ft Lauderdale and Key Largo Scuba Trip. Nikonos IVa 35mm Ektachromes Some with single strobe. Scanned with Epson V600 flat bed scanner. Processed with Photoshop Elements 8. A video slide show with music of Scuba Journey can be seen on YouTube...

www.flickr.com

cjbecker · May 12, 2022

Its easy of vacations for me as i only take pictures of my family, i wont take a single pictures of anything else anymore. I use too take all the normal vacation photos, but would end up back home and never print a single one. No more scenery, wildlife, architecture for me. Only pictures of the family. Those are the ones that get printed.

Sirius Glass · May 12, 2022

Alan Edward Klein said:
I've owned a Nikonos IVa for 45 years with an U/W strobe. I still have mine. Click on the link below to see some of my pictures taken with the 35mm lens above and below water.

I don't know why other lenses besides 35mm have problems above water. It could have to do with refraction. For example, my 35mm lens acts like a 50mm lens underwater and 35mm lens above water. Underwater, everything s brought about 1/3 closer optically. That's refraction and occurs at the glass change from air to water in front of the lens. The non-35mm lenses could be designed to handle refraction underwater but not compensate above water causing focus issues. Did you read the Nikon manual instruction I posted? Why do you disagree with them? Do you think they're lying?

Scuba Journey - 35mm Film

Ft Lauderdale and Key Largo Scuba Trip. Nikonos IVa 35mm Ektachromes Some with single strobe. Scanned with Epson V600 flat bed scanner. Processed with Photoshop Elements 8. A video slide show with music of Scuba Journey can be seen on YouTube...

www.flickr.com

I checked with several sources including Nikonos [Nikon] and the only three lenses that can be used above and below water are the 28mm, 35mm and 85mm, the rest are designed for below water [including focusing]. I wish that they made a 50mm lens for above water.

Huss · May 13, 2022

Bill Burk said:
I would bring two lenses, 35 and 90. Bessa would be my choice as there’s risk of theft/easier to replace than the Leica.

Leicas are easy to replace. As we all know, you can get one for $10.

Which camera to take on vacation???

NIkonos lenses for on-land use​

NIkonos lenses for on-land use​

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