[LargeFormat] Lensboards on the road

[Brock Nanson]

Clothes packed down to the size of a softball?  Man, I'm going to be careful
of which way the wind blows when I'm around you! ;-)

I know you'll just love hearing this...

If space is a concern, why not ditch the monorail and go with a press
camera?  MUCH easier to pack... and I'm going to bet you don't need much in
the way of movements for the typical hiking scenes you'll find.  The Super
Graphic has a fair bit of movement in any case and can be had on EBay for
not too much if you shop around.

Now to the lenses.  Because the press cameras don't have that much movement
(and you aren't likely to use much anyway), coverage by the lens isn't
nearly as important.  You would probably find some of the old original
lenses for these cameras do fine for you.  And they are small, small, small.
And the lens boards are smaller, smaller, smaller!

As for a light meter, the analog Pentax spotmeters are good... I've got a
IV... or is it a V?  Haven't looked at the labelling in a very long time!
Just make sure it is the newer model that uses normal batteries.  The dial
is perfect for adapting to the zone system if you are so inclined.  You do
need to check the calibration now and then... I underexposed eight sheets of
Velvia on a mountain just after dawn (wildflower meadows) because I trusted
the meter even though I thought something was wrong...  I WILL NOT make that
mistake again!  I carry a small grey card now, and often double check with a
shot on the blue sky... that's the most accurate I've found!  Failing that,
a simple incident meter would serve most purposes.  And if you've blown all
your cash on glass, the sunny f16 rule works as well!

Brock

----- Original Message -----
From: "Hornford, Dave" <Dave.Hornford@Compaq.com>
To: <largeformat@f32.net>
Sent: Sunday, April 07, 2002 7:40 PM
Subject: RE: [LargeFormat] Lensboards on the road


Ah clothing... My clothes pack down to about the size of a softball.

I have not found a wide lens I really like for backpacking - and am
currently with the Fujinon 90 to get the advantages of a modern lens in
a size I used most often in 35mm - the Fujinon is larger than I like,
but hits a favourite size with reasonable coverage.

I will look into the Super Symmar HM (85 & 110). Do you have a reference
you can point to, I couldn't find anything quickly. Lots of reference to
the 210.

How is the swapping of the elements in a G_Clarion different than
swapping lensboards?

Regards Dave