foraker Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 Just curious to know if anyone found a 55mm lens useful when in Hawaii? I have an 80mm and have seen decent deal on a used 55mm.Trying to decide whether to spend even MORE money I guess (he says, fighting the old grad student mentality of never spending any). In a month, I go there for two weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy_sorlien Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 Matthew, I just got back from two weeks on the Big Island! Awesome. I don't know why people waste their time on those more built-up islands. (Well, I do -- Haleakala and Kalalau Valley are also awesome.) I just took my 6x9 rangefinder with a 65mm. It was wide enough for lava fields and Kamehameha Avenue in Hilo and rainforests. I wouldn't buy a 55 (for 4x5) just for that. I never wished I had my 47, though I did wish I had my Arca once or twice. Sandy PS feel free to ask questions about where to go if you haven't been.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foraker Posted June 3, 2003 Author Share Posted June 3, 2003 Thanks Sandy. I'm going for two weeks with my wife. We have a 4WD and are basically camping so we can go where we want. I'm not looking for tripod holes, but certainly suggestions, cautions, etc are welcome. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_ito Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 Just got back from Kauai for 9 days. I used an Ebony 23s 6x9 and a Fuji 645zi rangefinder. With the Ebony I frequently used the 65 (similar to a 90 on a 4x5) and found it to be quite satisfactory. Really it depends on your style of shooting and your subject matter. Do you usually go for really wide angles with landscapes? If you find that your 80 is satisfactory for most of your wide shooting then I would think that it would work well in Hawaii as well. Just my .02¢.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian_kennedy Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 Matthew, enjoy yourself. The 4WD will come in handy. I went to the Big Island a couple of years ago and was very pleased the people I was visiting suggested I rent a 4WD rather than a 2WD. There are lots of places inaccessible with a 2WD vehicle. <P> I found "Hawaii: The Big Island Revealed" by Wizard Publishing the best book for information, and not just about photography. You should be able to find it in your local bookstore -- if not, then on Amazon. Though I shot only 35mm, I would suspect an 80mm in LF is wide enough for anything you'd want to shoot. <P> Here are a couple of threads from photo.net that discuss locations: <BR><A HREF="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0031MW">http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0031MW</A><BR> <A HREF="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=001Hnn">http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=001Hnn</A> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy_sorlien Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 Brian is quite right about the blue guidebook, fantastic. We didn't buy it till halfway around the island in Hilo, and we were kicking ourselves that we didn't have it on the Kona side too. The Rough Guide of the Big Island is also excellent - and very small. Anyway, do save your lens money for food -- restaurants and grocery stores are very expensive. We did not camp, we splurged on B&Bs and small hotels. If you're tired of getting rained on on the Hilo side, stay at Dolphin Bay and get a kitchen. (about $85) Do not avoid the rainy side -- the light is transcendent!!! And the foliage bodacious. Just use a lens hood to keep the mist off the lens. We did not have 4WD so you will get up Mauna Kea which we did not do. Here are our highlights: Snorkeling: buy equipment at Snorkel Bob's in Kona, go in off Two-Step down at Cities of Refuge. Also Kapoho Tidepools in Puna area. Also left side of Hapuna Beach (BEST swimming beach). Drive: along Puna coast to lava flow, stop at black sand beach. Hike: in Volcanoes Nat'l Park, do Kilauea Iki and Byron Ledge to center of Caldera (trail name beginning with H) and over to Crater Rim trail - 8 mile loop. Incredible landscape changes.Lava: Go before dusk to lava flow, ask rangers where. Flashlight essential. In Volcano - the Thai restaurant is great and Kilauea Lodge even better. Hilo: splurge on this restaurant, or at least have a drink: Kakaido, it's new. Used to be a bank, they keep wine in the vault.See Pacific Tsunami Museum.Visit Hawaii Botanical Gardens - beyond gorgeous.Wed & Sat -- Hilo Farmer's Market, great stuff Hike: Waipi'o Valley -- 4WD can drive down but we were studdly and walked - steepest paved road on earth. Cross the stream, hike up other side for best view. I will try to attach 2 pictures in a few minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy_sorlien Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 Here is a picture of Kamehameha Avenue in Hilo. Only the upside of the street survived the tsunamis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy_sorlien Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 Hmm that didn't work, sorry. I don't know why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triblett_lungre_thurd Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 by the way sandy, how's that fuji treatin' ya? i know this isn't the place but... me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christian_olivet Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 I do not think you should involve yourself and your money in a 55mm lens. Sure if you had it you would probably use it some, but you would have to carry it. I live in the island of Maui and have been to the Big Island. It is BIG and beautiful. I wish I had a large format camera when I went there. I guess I can jump the stream and be there again soon. When I was doing 4x5", I only owned one lens, a 110mm supersymmar XL. I found that I could do a lot of work with that lens alone. At times I wish I had a wider one, but I think 55mm is too wide for scenics. Don't forget longer ones. The slopes of the volcanos are very photogenic and would require long lenses, 210mm and beyond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_kasaian1 Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 Matthew, FWIW, I found my old 127mm quite usable. IMHO a 90mm would have been nice, but certainly not neccesary. If I could have had another lens besides either of these I'd have to agree with Christian and go with a long one---maybe my 240 G-Claron will stowaway next time 'round. Have a great trip!---------Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy_sorlien Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 Tribby, I love the Fuji but I am blowing through a lot of film. That's OK, I am definitely getting some good shots I would not have gotten with the Arca. I only handhold the Fuji so I've decided to use 400 NC film from now on to get an extra stop over the 160 NC. My best pictures from Hawai'i are closeups of small rocks on black sand beaches -- talk about your Zone III --- I would not have subjected the Arca & tripod to the salt water and sand, and I would not have been able to stop motion on the waves with the 160 speed film. Cheers,Sandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triblett_lungre_thurd Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 same goes fer me and mine... glad yer pleased sandy. i shoot lots of delta 400, 3200, nhg through it... s'my point and shoot. lookin' back, i don't know how i lived without it. tempted to monopod some pan-f... very liberating little cam no? me p.s. someday when i grow up, i'll buy an m7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy_sorlien Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 With both a Fuji 69 and an Arca 69 I want for NOTHING. Pure street-shooting happiness. Plus, the Fuji is so ugly, no one will ever steal it. It's like one of those giant telephones in "Police Squad." Makes your head look tiny. Sandy the Pinhead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foraker Posted June 6, 2003 Author Share Posted June 6, 2003 Been reading that Big Island Revealed guide. Wow, am I psyched! Any info on where one can find the best gas prices (relatively speaking of course since gas is expensive in HI by mainland standards). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy_sorlien Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 As I recall they were a little lower in Hilo, which makes sense because there's more competition there. That's the only big town. It was about 2.20 a gallon and up, last month. But you won't be driving that much. There are only, like, two roads. Get out and hike! I hope you will report on your trip when you get back. Maybe I'll have something written for my website by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triblett_lungre_thurd Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 in a perfect world, i'd be happy with two cams too. alpa 612s/wa and the lotus 8x20, me p.s. so glad to hear yer contented sandy. happy shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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