Trip to Egypt : 2 cameras ?

[mat_audenot]

I need advice. I'm going in Egypt in April to see a friend of mine

who lives in Cairo. I'm mainly into B&W with my Canon AE-1 Program,

my only camera, with 24, 50, and 135mm. But I KNOW I'll need color

film as well.

I was thinking about buying a little compact camera, type

rangefinder (like the Ricoh 35 ZF I've seen for 19.90 euros in a

shop) to take color pictures. Is it a good idea? I was planning to

bring Fuji Reala and Superia 800 film, but isn't it "too good films"

for such a camera?

Or should I put color in my AE-1P and keep B&W for the

rangefinder?... Maybe my questions are stupid, but please, enlighten

me on that subject. Thx.

[bruce g. collier]

<p>If B/W is your preferred film type, and you are familiar with the AE-1, you should go with what you know. If you're wanting to try a new film in a new camera, great, but definitely familiarize yourself with this set-up and test a few rolls before you leave. You are going to a spectacular area, so don't leave things to chance.

</p>

<p>When I went, I shot mainly color in an SLR and B/W in a rangefinder. At the time, I preferred color and that is what I was familiar with. I was there in December and the skies were dull and featureless, probably due to dust in the air. I would recommend a polarizer for color film and perhaps an orange filter for your b/w. A neutral gradient filter might be a good idea, too. Also, I don't recommend bringing a tripod if a good portion of your trip will involve seeing the ancient sites. You won't be allowed to use them in the temples and complexes for the most part (although around the pyramids will be fine). I brought a small towel and would prop my camera up on available walls, rocks, etc. A beanbag support would also work.

</p>

<p>Regards, Bruce</p>

[mat_audenot]

OK... Thx, this is very useful to know your different experiences... Anyway I was making some searches on the net and found out that the Ricoh 35 ZF (40mm lense) has no "telemeter" (I don't know the word in Eng.), that is to say you have to approximate the focus with the little symbols on the lense, no focus in the viewfinder. So I guess it's quite hard to get sharp pictures between 1 and ~5-10 meters! I know I need to practice before leaving, but it seems quite hard to make good pictures (I mean focused) in every single shot. I can't afford to miss pictures, this is my first trip on the African continent, I want to make the best I can.

I agree Egypt is so beautiful in B&W, but I don't want to miss THE color picture... It happens sometimes to me: you've a B&W loaded and you're in front of something thinking "Sh*t, this would have been so better in color"... know what I mean?

 

One more thing: What is the advantage(s) of the BW400CN film? I am not used to this one, and read, appart from the C-41 developpement, that it rendered "smoother". Does it mean there's less contrast than other traditional B&W films? I would thus assume that both shadows and high brights are detailed (even overexposed), am I right? So in Egypt, where there's "hard" sun and thus "hard" shadows, it would bring all its advantages to lower contrast... right?

[noreen]

When I was in Egypt in 2002, I sorely wanted a second body, to swap between color and

b&w. If you even suspect you want one, my advice is to bring one.

 

As a caveat regarding ancient sites, as your mention of Superia 800 reminds me: the

Supreme Council of Antiquities is still forbidding all photography (even without flash) in

tombs and the museums. (It was, however, permitted in 2002.) These days you can't, it

seems, even buy a photography permit anymore. The open-air sites such as the temples

are not covered under this ban.

 

This topic arises now and then on an Egyptological discussion list I'm on, and it was

brought up again last month. If anyone has any very recent first-hand experience to the

contrary, I'd be very interested to hear of it either here or privately.

[Jerry_]

Have you looked at a Olympus Stylus Epic 35mm camera? It has a f2.8 lens, is small, and for a trip the camera should work ok for your B&W shots. Or if you can find a second AE-1 body, and share the lenses on the trip to Egypt, that would work as well.

[bueh]

Mat, a "telemeter" is a rangefinder in English. Bringing a classic compact second camera is a very good idea, but you will get suggestions here for every good camera under the sun and still have to decide for yourself. I recommend the <b><a href="http://35mm-compact.com/compact/voigtlandervf101.htm" TARGET="_new">Voigtländer VF101</a></b> with aperture-priority AE and a very, very quiet leaf shutter (flash sync at all speeds).<p>

While some people love C-41 BW, I personally like traditional B&W films better. I don't think CN-films are low contrast, and if your are shooting in high-contrast lighting, there is little you can do except use a fill flash or hope for overcast skies.

[mat_audenot]

Yep! Sorry for my mistake, I was just connecting to correct it since I read on a french forum that the translation for "telemetre" is rangefinder... So Ricoh 35 ZF is not a rangefinder, but a COMPACT camera; which doesn't solve my problem: is it easy to get good focused/sharp picture or is it always an approximate focus?

[alex_lofquist]

Whenever I go out of the country I bring two cameras. It paid off on an African trip when the shutter on one of my Leicas went bad. Additionally, having two mounted lenses or two emulsions is a significant advantage. I would suggest taking both camera bodies compatable with your lenses.

[scott_davis5]

the t-400CN film is an excellent all-around film. I have shot it extensively when travelling, and been quite pleased with the results, especially in a small-format camera. I always give it two stops overexposure and shoot it at 100. I find that while this gives me very dense highlights, I get very tight grain, and can enlarge to a considerable degree (16x20 inch or 400x480 cm) with no significant loss of quality. Most commercial labs nowadays should have a separate channel in their minilab machine to print from this film. If they do not, you will find the prints they give you to be a bit flat and most likely will have a greenish or reddish tint to them. As others here have said, get a couple rolls and test it out to see if you like it before you go on the trip.

[michael_bach2]

It is nice to have to cameraes but ther is no reason to put bad film in any camera. The Fuji

Reala is a good film for day time Egypt and the 800 asa for night. I will bring 3 cameraes

one for B&W and one for 100 asa color and one for 800 asa color.

 

www.micbach.dk............."Photography workshops in Spain"

[jim_j2]

Mat, It sounds like you are needing a second camera body. Why not try to get another Canon "A" series body to go with your Canon AE-1P. I see AE-1's and A-1's for sale quite often, even here in the classified's of Photo.net.

 

Any of the "A" series bodies features and controls will be very close to what you are already familiar with in your AE-1P. Thus, no new learning curve to deal with before you depart for Egypt.

 

Load B/W in one body and the color in another. And at the same time you could mount your existing lenses. Maybe the 24 or 50 on one body and the 135 on the other.

 

Having a second body that fits your current lenses is very handy! And two SLR bodies are not that hard to handle. I do it all the time. Usually my Elan 7e with either a 50mm or the 28-105 short zoom and the EOS3 with the 100-400 zoom. You just have to get used to managing both without banging them together! It's really not that bad, and very handy to expand your film choices as well as your lens choice.

 

My .02 worth!

Have a great trip! Sounds wonderful!

[ranong]

my 2 cents. bring what you normally like and use. change between color and b&w. you could always shoot 24 exposure color film so you would never be caught out. if you had a bit of cash burning a hole in your pocket and you wanted a 2nd body get an inexpensive medium format camera. i started with a russian foldeer i got for $40 shipped! medium format is awesome, try it. if you are familiar with you AE1 then you will have no problem "switching" anyway you do it have a great time. dont forget to post us some pics when you get em!

 

eddie

[angus_wong2]

Just be advised it's pretty "bright and sunny" out there among the pyramids and temples so we're probably looking at the "Sunny f/22" rule :-)

 

Also, the bummer is there are a number of places you are NOT allowed to photograph (e.g., inside the pyramids, inside a number of temples incluing Abu Simbel).

 

Take a very wide angle lens. Take a tripod + super telephoto if you want to take shots of whatever you might see inside the temple, from outside (the entrance). Plus the tele works for detailed pics on the walls and ceilings of things (thus also the tripod).

 

Have a good backpack such as the Lowe Pro Trekker to lug the stuff around.

 

Don't drink any of the water or eat fresh fruits or salads. That's just my suggestion. Buddy of mine on the trip had some intestinal problem lasting THREE WEEKS after we returned and we all ate the same stuff. He got hit on the last day of the trip. We were all very careful about food. 3 of us got "Tut's Trots" but he got it worst.