Would you take a 4x5 camera on a trip?

<p>Taking a 4X5 (or larger) view camera into the desert (forest, ocean, or wherever) will change your life! Yeah...it can be a pain to lug around - but once you are under the dark cloth...completely tuned in to what appears on the ground glass - fully realizing the synthesis, symmetry, and congruency with your subject that (IMHO) a view camera can facilitate more fully than other cameras (although this aspect can then be infectious to smaller formats)...you will feel totally open, ready, and energized! Take it with you! </p>

<p>In recent years I've always left the 4x5 at home. Now I travel with a Tachihara 8x10 and a Mamiya RB67. The Tachi is for photographs that will be finished as platinotypes, gelatin-silver contacts, and the like. The RB67 is to provide negatives for photographs by enlargement.</p>

<p>I always do. If I'm going to leave a camera at home, it'll be the 35mm.</p>

<p>What's the point in having a real camera if'n you isn't gonna use it?</p>

<p>For 25 years I carried my Graflex Super Graphic on all of my business trips. It finally got to be too much of a hassle getting it through security at airports.</p>

<p>The only reason I wouldn't take 4x5 for a trip you describe is if I was not alone on the trip. If family or other is with me, forget it, it's not fair to others unless they're totally ok with you hanging out for 20-30 mins in one spot while they sit or go off on their own. Just my opinion though.</p>

<p>I would definitely take both, I would almost say that you should leave the Canon at home just because it seems that if you have both with you, even though you want to take LF negs you tend to go for convenience and whip out the DSLR. Someone earlier mentioned that it forces you to slow down, think about your composition and taking the correct readings for a proper exposure. Instead of just being able to snap away frame after frame of digital and filtering what you want to keep afterwards. Besides 4x5 negs are still better than what digital is better to offer. So just take both but make a clear cut decision on one of your days that this will be your 4x5 day only and don't touch the digital. Besides that, your trip sounds great and I hope you have a great time. Take care</p>

<p>Twenty Five years ago I took my trusty Wista 4x5 to Nepal on a twenty eight day trek. I got some memorable B/W negs, though never enough or often enough. I also took my trusty Ftb-n with many rolls of Kodachrome. That 35mm yielded fabulous color images as well as spontaneity I just couldn't have gotten with the LF. Though I travel frequently I've never been back there and am glad I took the gear I did. I still take a Fuji 690 with lenses (which has got to heavier than my Wista) on yearly missions to the Adirondack backcountry each winter. Many times I've been rewarded with nothing more than exercise but on occasion my reward is memorable.</p>

<p>It's been a while that I shoot with large format. There are times I don't open the box for 3-6 months. But when an opportunity comes up I definitely take the camera and I'm lost in there... Even now when I have Nikon D3x I would love to go and make some LF landscapes. It's just a completely different process! And the results are still more "artsy" that from D3x (D3x is a very good camera though!).<br>

For a serious landscape assignment/project I'd go for a month or two to a gym and take both systems! :)</p>

<p>I do it all the time. For b&w is use the LF and for color I use my dslr. I travel internationally this way and also backpacking etc.</p>

<p>Gary,<br />I'm in CT and vacation in Utah in April and October every year for the past 6 years or so. 2 weeks per trip. And I drive out (love to drive). I have been taking the 4x5 for the past 3 years and it never sits idle in the back of the Jeep. Actually, once I hit Nebraska in route 80, I have it set up on the front seat which started after hitting a brilliant sunset while driving through North Platte a few years back.<br />I went through a somewhat similar decision a few years back. Should I bring the DSLR? Should I bring the Mamiya 645? One year I brought the 4x5 and DSLR and its lenses and one year I brought the Mamiya and 4x5. I had been frustrated in missing a number of shots where setting up the 4x5 was too slow as well as the playing you can do with a DSLR since your going to an SD card. Taking 2 kits sucks because of the lenses you want to carry. So I just settled on a "grab shot" camera which is an old Agfa Isollette folder (120). Small, pocket sized, great (fixed, normal) lens, 6x6, and I'm still on film.<br>

FYI - The trick is to figure out what kind of backpack you need. I actually settled on 2 and neither is a crappy camera-type backpack. One is from LL Bean and is good as a daypack when the camera is on the tripod (carries 4 lenses on boards, 15 DD holders, a quickload holder and 1 box of velvia QL, darkcloth, all my accessories like cleaners and spotmeter and loupe and shutter releases, flashlight, 2 quarts of water dangling, a little food. The other bakback is an overnight Kelty which handles all the above plus the camera in its pack, a day of food, sleeping bag compressed, change of cloths compressed, another QL box of velvia, poncho, and a first aid kit.<br>

I travel with both backpacks and build which one I need based on what I want to do that day or weekend. Taking the wrong backpack will wear you out.</p>

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<p>I guarantee if you take the 4x5 you will do more thinking about the shot you will make than if you take the Canon. It doesn't mean one is better, just that you will use your brain more. (yes I know you can use your brain with the canon it just is not as easy with the 4x5......trust me.)</p>

<p>Hi Gary...You state you'd like some big negs....What about using the 5D, invert and print the images onto a clear inkjet media, then hit the darkroom armed with giant negs? Just a thought on how to have your cake and eat it too.....</p>

<p >I have heard hundreds of excuses why not to use a Large Format whether it is 4x5 or 16x20 Format or whatever Format makes no difference. Did you know Arizona Highways won’t accept Photos from any Digital or 35 mm Camera? Large Format Only, You know our Ancestors drove Wagons up the side of Mountains Via Horses and rope. How does that compare to a Large Format Camera with or without Monorails. And yes my 4x5 has Monorails and yes I would take my 4x5 Camera on a trip.</p>

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<p>Do take your 4x5 and you wont regret it one bit. On the contrary you'll enjoy the process of making the pictures and seeing the place 'in an ultra real sense' which you normally dont with a digital camera. For example: i was trekking a month ago to the 'Goecha-la' in the Sikkim Himalayas with my toyo 45A , 3 lenses and 2 graphamatic film holders, one loaded with kodak portra and the other with FP4 Plus along with of course my spotmeter, loupe, etc.etc. and i lugged all this (along with my personal equipment, clothes etc) upto to around 4500mts for a period of 12 days and though i came back with only 10 shots of color and 12 sheets of B&W i must say i thoroughly enjoyed shooting with it. I had a similar dilema of whether to carry an digital slr and a 35mm film camera and finally chose the 4x5 along with a fuji f47d point and shoot. I remember one scene of a rugged rocky cliff face with all the edges finely etched with fresh snow and as i contemplated on the fineness of the thousands of rock contour lines and colours and the beauty of it, i could only do justice i thought with my 4x5 IMHO! Have a great trek!<br>

Ganesh Viswanathan</p>

<p>Gary, right now I'm in the middle of a 4 week trip along the Pacific Coast. Over the years, I've shot these places with 35mm, 120, and 4x5. But the shots I really enjoy are the sheets. OF course it is all personal. But I actually like using the 45 so much that it's almost an end in itself. In fact I have both a Tachi and a Super Graphic. The Super for the fast shots. But, like you, I think about it all. For me it comes down to pleasure of using the camera--the slower I work the higher my "hit" rate. I also like making contact prints and looking at them.<br>

The southwest themes (I live in Santa Fe) are not well suited to smaller formats. Of course with digital--that's color and a whole different aesthetic.<br>

I enjoy printing in the darkroom. I seldom make prints larger than 1114. Using the 45 or 810 puts you in communication with Edward and Ansel, I swear. It's worth the trouble. Art is not about convenience. IMHO.<br>

Enjoy your trip.</p>

<p>I wouldn't, and here's why. When a friend and I went to the base of the mountains to scout out places to set up our 4x5's on the next trip, I just brought a digital P&S. We went all over the place and I got a lot of nice shots. The next week we went w/ the big cameras, tripods, etc but this time we didn't go to nearly as many places because the gear was so heavy, and I got 8 shots from the 4x5. I also shot 2 rolls of film w/ my Leica and got some nice photos. Then a few days ago I took the wife out there. I brought the digi P&S, the wife brought hers, and I again brought the Leica and also a MF folder. We brought back a ton of great shots and hiked all over the place. The message was pretty clear. Travel light, bring a few smaller cameras, and take a lot of shots. The freedom and ease of shooting made up for the potentialy bigger shots that a 4x5 would make. And unless you are going to print very large, my Leica and the digi P&S make great photos up to 12x18. The MF folder is good for a lot bigger than that.</p>

<p>Then why not take a 4x5 folder.....?</p><div></div>

<p>Well, the folder is a fine thing. I have the Super Graphic---which was the final evolution of the press camera: I can easily carry the camera, 6 holders, and a meter in a smallish satchel. The super --like the one shown in Dean's photo has a rangefinder, but it also has ground glass, scale focus with a big dial, and a pop out wire frame "sports finder." I love using the camera. Mine has the original Rodenstock 135mm lens---you cock the shutter by twisting the lens barrel. And --of course--being a press camera it's hand holdable. Ourside---1/125 and f16 just about does it. I'm inclined to overexpose and underdevelop! A camera like this works very well for landscape, too.</p>

<p>OK, OK thanks for all the encouragement. I'll take the 4x5. Now the question is how to get it there on a plane. I'll need to put the tripod in my suitcase and carry on the camera bag to have it hand-checked. Will they nneed to see inside sealed boxes of Tri-X? Anyway, I'm sure I'll be glad I went with the large format. Especially in the desert area I'm going to. Thanks again.</p>

<p>I would take the 4x5 and a Leica and I do not own a D700! Joke aside a fotoman can be carried even in mountains as it's not too heavy , i would not advise a mono rail 4x5 , I used one for trips and the gain of a few more tilts and swings was largely obscured by the cumbersome us in the field./ Use a folding of a rigid particularly for landscape.</p>

<p>Warning! Your camera will be very upset with you if you don't take it along!</p>

<p>I use smaller bags, and no one has ever given me a hassle at the airport aside from the occasional random security screening.</p>

<p>I carry a DSLR with lens attached along with five mounted LF lenses in a compact Lowepro bag. This is usually a Mini Trekker AW, but sometimes I'll take the next larger size. Forget those gigantic Super Trekker bags that weight upwards of ten pounds empty. If it doesn't fit on my back when I'm in a phone booth or a small toilet stall, it's too big. The backpack also carries a handful of Lee-sized filters, holders, and adapter rings, cable releases, loupe, flashlight, tools, memory cards, a couple of 4x5 film holders. If I need a second lens for the DSLR, I'll attach a modular lens-carrying attachment to the side of the backpack.</p>

<p>I carry my camera, dark cloth, spot meter, reading glasses, various papers, and more film holders in a small, briefcase-like bag. Boxes of exposed and fresh film go into one or both bags, but never in checked luggage. On rare occasions when I travel with a non-folding camera, I replace this second bag with a small rolling camera bag (urban destinations only, not for hiking).</p>

<p>The tripod goes in its own Gitzo bag. I pad the bag with a soft jacket and my running shoes to minimize shocks to the tripod and head.</p>

<p>I pack my changing bag, extra film holders, and a flash unit (or two) into a small to medium-sized rolling suitcase that carries my clothing and toiletries.</p>

<p>The whole bundle isn't particularly light or small - if I were 5'2" and female I'd need a different solution - but it's relatively manageable for two camera systems and a few changes of clothes.</p>