Lightening the Load with Cambo+IQ260+Sony

[mesposito]

I just finished an experiment in an attempt to lighten my bag, and wrote an article on the results. Hopefully someone here can benefit. Sorry it's not a short article. :facesmack:

Read the Article here

I don't want to be rude - I'll put an overview here.

I've been on Phase One for a few years (DF+, 45/80/150), (Guy is to blame for that) and only do Landscape. Anyway, I didn't jump on the lighter-is-better bandwagon because I felt (and still do) that I need the quality that I get from the IQ260. I don't print large just for fun. I print large because it best represents the subjects I shoot and my vision for the print.

Having said that, I've obviously run into the trials of the bag getting too heavy to explore the way I would like. I'm 54 years old, (is that old?) and healthy, but the knees were having a hard time with a 30 lb bag after a couple of miles on tough terrain.

That's the background. The solution I found, with getting the weight down as the objective, was to move to shooting the Cambo + IQ260, (leaving DF+ and lenses home in studio) and bringing a Sony A7 along for detail shots. I tried this out last week and am very pleased. I ended up downgrading (lightening) my tripod and ballhead as well, and some of you may enjoy reading about the results as I've come to the conclusion that we may be carrying more tripod/ballhead then we need. (at least sometimes)

As always, these things are very personal, and what works for me won't work for someone else. Still, the end result seems good as I didn't sacrifice quality, and I don't mind using the Tech camera workflow a larger % of the time.

You all have given me lots of great information here, and I wanted to give something back.

Thanks,

Your comments and experiences welcome.

 

[Jack]

Light is nice for sure. And you'll be amazed at how many great landscape captures you can make with just 3 lenses --- one at approximately the diagonal of your format (~70mm for your IQ) one at the short side of your format (~40 for your IQ) and one at 2x the long side of your format (~105 for your IQ)

It is no secret why Canon and Nikon made their TS lenses in 24, 45 and 85, as they follow that same formula pretty closely...

 

[Paul2660]

I follow a similar line of thought. For my territory 40mm and 28mm in Arca mount. Instead of the Sony I carry the Fuji X -t1 for macro and shots I just don't want to take the time to setup the Arca.

Paul

 

[mesposito]

I follow a similar line of thought. For my territory 40mm and 28mm in Arca mount. Instead of the Sony I carry the Fuji X -t1 for macro and shots I just don't want to take the time to setup the Arca.

Paul

Funny. Great minds think alike. I had the X-T1 just in from B&H for a trip to Colorado when I decided that for my purposes the fullframe would serve me better, as well as the extra resolution, so I returned the X-T1 and brought the A7.

The friend I went with had the X-T1 on my recommendation and loved it.

 

[voidshatter]

I currently carry IQ260 + ALPA 12 SWA + Rodenstock 23mm HR + Sony RX1R + Gitzo GK1582OT + Arca-Swiss P0, which is about 8-9 lbs in weight.

 

[mesposito]

I currently carry IQ260 + ALPA 12 SWA + Rodenstock 23mm HR + Sony RX1R + Gitzo GK1582OT + Arca-Swiss P0, which is about 8-9 lbs in weight.

Thanks. You came up with the same formula. The ARCA Swiss p0 looks like a nice solution, and very light.

 

[mesposito]

Light is nice for sure. And you'll be amazed at how many great landscape captures you can make with just 3 lenses

Thanks Jack. Since going MFD that's all I've ever had. :^}

--- one at approximately the diagonal of your format (~70mm for your IQ) one at the short side of your format (~40 for your IQ) and one at 2x the long side of your format (~105 for your IQ)

I do need to fill these gaps on the Cambo. Just need to find some money. I don't like the idea of ever selling great glass anymore to pay for new glass. There are more sorry people around here that wish they had some of that glass back. Maybe Guy will lend me the money?

 

[Guy Mancuso]

I've pretty much lightened my load a great deal but I still have yet to address the tripod ball head. Problem is I really like my RRS series 2 tripod and my Arca Swiss Z1 double pan head which is pretty heavy. My system now really does not need that much overkill but its hard to find a tripod in lightweight/ travel style that still gets over 6ft. I'm not a tall person but I do like to be taller sometimes on a shoot with my cam. Have to have a look at what RRS has these days. The head is the tough one as I just love the Z1

 

[Richard Osbourne]

Thank you Mark, very interesting. Am considering similar moves with an A7r but it could also go the other way - especially with the new Phase One 40-80 lens. The image quality I'm getting out of the IQ260 is so good that I don't think I'll be able to give it up easily. So it's now looking like the DF+ with 40-80 and 75-150 lenses (the latter is a wonderful lens) and the Cambo WRS with Rodenstock 28 TS. The amount of crop available with the Cambo Rodenstock is ridiculous so I'm sticking with only one lens for the moment.

I'm now going to the gym to prepare for the 40-80. It weighs 4.1lb on its own.

 

[mesposito]

I've pretty much lightened my load a great deal but I still have yet to address the tripod ball head. Problem is I really like my RRS series 2 tripod and my Arca Swiss Z1 double pan head ...

Right, now I'm more convinced that a single tripod/ballhead setup for everything isn't optimal if one wants to keep the weight down. (Heck, if we're shooting a quarter mile from the car who cares) This was the big surprise of the experiment for me. The BH-30 is tiny, and I know it wouldn't work for a big DSLR + 200-400mm lens, but, for the Cambo, IQ260, and tech lens it seemed fine. That's actually not so light at just under 5 lbs. A Nikon D800 with 70-200 f/2.8 is only 1/2 pound heavier. If mounted correctly on the lens foot that might work fine. Anyway, something to think about.

Now that you're all Sony all the time, I think that rig can definitely work fine on a lighter setup when you go out in the boonies.

 

[mesposito]

Thank you Mark, very interesting. Am considering similar moves with an A7r but it could also go the other way - especially with the new Phase One 40-80 lens. The image quality I'm getting out of the IQ260 is so good that I don't think I'll be able to give it up easily. So it's now looking like the DF+ with 40-80 and 75-150 lenses (the latter is a wonderful lens) and the Cambo WRS with Rodenstock 28 TS. The amount of crop available with the Cambo Rodenstock is ridiculous so I'm sticking with only one lens for the moment.

I'm now going to the gym to prepare for the 40-80. It weighs 4.1lb on its own.

Thanks Richard. Hey, you might be younger than me as well, and the weight might not be an issue. Still, thinking about what helps get you to better locations without sacrificing quality is worthwhile. You can always try it and see.

I remember reading in Ansel Adams Biography how he carried a 40-50 lb setup into Yosemite when he was younger. He didn't stay on the valley floor either.

 

[Uaiomex]

In his golden years he used a Hasselblad. Today he would be using an A7r.
Eduardo

Thanks Richard. Hey, you might be younger than me as well, and the weight might not be an issue. Still, thinking about what helps get you to better locations without sacrificing quality is worthwhile. You can always try it and see.

I remember reading in Ansel Adams Biography how he carried a 40-50 lb setup into Yosemite when he was younger. He didn't stay on the valley floor either.

 

[Charles Wood]

I can remember the days (20 years ago) when I would head out on a three day backpack in the Escalante River canyons north of Lake Powell, Utah with a 75 pound pack on my back. I carried a Toyo View 4x5, lenses, film holders, changing bag plus a Pentax 645n, several lenses (my daytime walkaround 'point and shoot'), film, camping gear and food. Basic prep for a 4-6 mile jaunt was a hardy snack, plenty of water before hand and a megadose of Ibuprofen. I can't even comprehend doing that type of thing now but thankfully some of my best selling images remain from those backpacks.

 

[mesposito]

I can remember the days (20 years ago) when I would head out on a three day backpack in the Escalante River canyons north of Lake Powell, Utah with a 75 pound pack on my back. ...

Charles - That's impressive. I was a musician as a younger guy, with no intentions of having anything but my trumpet bag on my back. I do wish I would have started earlier, but it is what it is.

 

[Charles Wood]

I also started late. I was in my 50's when I started backpacking, a result of the need to get beyond the typical national park overlooks and pullouts. I discovered I liked the hiking and camping as much as the photography--especially the solitude. Those trips were in the days when my wife allowed me to do the solo trips. Now I feel it if I have more than 35 pounds on my back, requiring a friend, son or grandson to help carry the load.

 

[Bill Caulfeild-Browne]

I must confess to getting lazy....

If I'm shooting from my truck/camper, I take the full Df/IQ180 kit with 28, 45, 55, 80, 150 and 240 lenses along with a big Gitzo and The Cube. I then rarely stray more than a kilometre or so from the truck! Often, though, I'll just take the 55 SK lens, my favourite.

For real hiking I now take the a7r, FE 24-70, FE 55 and FE 70-200. Very light and very compact with results rivalling the MF gear up to 24 inch prints.

Different horses for different courses!

Bill

 

[tsjanik]

................... The head is the tough one as I just love the Z1

Guy,

The Z1 is less than 1 lb. and close to perfect, how much lighter do you need ? I have an Acratech on a 2-series Gitzo for light weight, but it doesn't hold a candle to the Z1 and it's not much lighter.

Tom

 

[AaronK]

I have no problem getting perfectly sharp images while supporting my PO 645AF body / IQ140 combination on a Gitzo GT1542T tripod with the Acratech GPS head. As long as it's not blowing more than 20 mph it's tack sharp. I rarely hang the backpack from the center stand hook for more mass. I use a combination of self timer (3 seconds) and mirror lock up. It's a tiny bit slower but to me perfectly acceptable. I carry 4 lenses and a film back with a couple pro packs of film.

According to my scales, everything (back, body, 4 lenses, tripod, accessories) weighs in at 20.8 pounds. I guess I'm in the bantam weight category... I'm using a LowePro Mini Trekker AW backpack (had it for over a decade and still love it). It's definitely full, but not uncomfortably so. Any notion I have of getting a larger bag would only lead to temptation to lug more (unnecessary) stuff with me.

 

[Woody Campbell]

Interesting. Completely independently my walk around kit with my Leica Monochrom is a 24 lux, 50 chron asp. and 75 chron. That pretty much does the trick for me, despite owning dozens (literally) of lenses.

 

[dchew]

Good timing for me with this topic. My brother and I are planning a trip to the Wind Rivers in early September, and I am trying to figure out how much camera I am willing to haul. Do I bring the a7r and the Alpa, or just the a7r? The Sony is definitely going so I can shoot while hiking and climbing.

It looks like the Alpa will add about 10 lbs w/ STC, 3 lenses, back, Disto and batteries. The a7r is less than 4 lbs with Leica WATE, 35 FE, 55 FE and Leica 90/2. I'm struggling to justify bringing the Alpa, but the thought of photographing with it in the Wind's sends excited chills up my spine.

Another option would be to just bring the two Leica lenses for the a7r, and then the 60xl and 90hr for the Alpa. That would be a few pounds less...

Dave