Lightening the Load with Cambo+IQ260+Sony

[Guy Mancuso]

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

That's the issue nothing really comes close to the Z1. It's just to good. I may get the travel legs though from RRS and just mount the Z1 on it when I hike.

 

[alajuela]

Hi

My experiences are as follows.

With the Gitzo Traveler GT1541T with ArcaSwiss P0 head. - I can shoot with the Cambo (RC400) 80meg back and any Cambo lens I have (28, 40, 60, 90, 120) The 90 the heaviest or the 120 the longest.

But the DF + - No way -- the shots are not shape. even with the 45Dmm -- Have to move up to series 2 Gitzo. Of course with MU and 10 sec timer and cable release.

I think also if I went longer than 150mm - the RRS 3 series.

It is not just weight load - it also has to do the resonance of the camera / lens shutter, mirror and also the lens length.

Phil

 

[Geoff]

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

Another thought is to slice this down the middle; bring three Leica lenses as the main "walk around" kit; for inspiration (but not all the time) the Alpa with just one lens. If landscape shots, you might not need the Disto (check focus on the screen, and just take more shots to get it).

 

[mesposito]

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.
Dave

For me the solution came down to accepting that under certain conditions there was a balanced load of gear that while making some sacrifices, it didn't sacrifice quality or flexibility. The Sony doesn't weigh enough to leave behind, and that's the point of having it in a Landscape bag.

The hard part is determining what to sacrifice to make the perfect bag, and only you can decide that. I go back to ROI and determining which lenses give you the most bang for the buck, (in your planned scenario) and which you might not use at all. With a reduced bag I'd leave those home.

I just thought of something to add to this. If I've determined that a 14 Lb bag is what I'm comfortable with on a 6-mile hike, than I should be able to get my bag to that weight. Otherwise, just bring everything and suffer.

 

[mesposito]

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.

Woody and All,

Thanks so much for the feedback on this subject. I put it out there but I'm still philosophizing over it, so this helps.

Your post makes me think again about the actual problem, and how you've resolved it for yourself. We all have more gear than we can carry. No arguments there right? :^} My dilemma has been the battle in my own mind that goes something like this: "You bought this gear to use! You're going to travel how many miles and not bring that lens?"

This isn't good thinking. Going out into the wilderness isn't like going across town.

A little cropping on a high-resolution Back isn't the end of the world. Also, a lot of us have a favorite range, so that narrows things a bit.

Maybe having dozens of lenses is good! At least you realize right from the start that you can't take it all!

 

[Paul2660]

By Z1 are you guys referring to the Arca Z1? I still have the old B1 that looks just like it only about 10 years older. Has only the one knob with the fine tuning lock inside?

I just upgraded to a D4 geared, and love it. Less mass and size than the RRS BH-55 by far. Just starting to use the D4 but really like it.

As for the Sony A7r, my other main reason not to carry it when I have the tech camera on a trip, easy, I would tend to favor the Sony. Setup time alone with the tech solution can get old in a hurry. But the results still show me it's worth it.

Having the Fuji along, at 16MP is great for macro shots, I can't get with the tech, or just don't want to take the time to setup. It also is a easy camera to stitch with with the 1.5 crop.

Paul

 

[dchew]

Another thought is to slice this down the middle; bring three Leica lenses as the main "walk around" kit; for inspiration (but not all the time) the Alpa with just one lens. If landscape shots, you might not need the Disto (check focus on the screen, and just take more shots to get it).

That's a good idea. The 60xl may be the ticket.

I just thought of something to add to this. If I've determined that a 14 Lb bag is what I'm comfortable with on a 6-mile hike, than I should be able to get my bag to that weight.

That's exactly how I would approach this. As the miles go up the weight goes down, to a point. For me at 51, backpacking with 30 lbs is a joy, 40 lbs is pleasant misery, and 50 lbs is just plain misery. A lot depends on what my brother and I decide in regards to climbing. If we stick to Class 4 stuff so all we need is a rope and ice axe, that's one thing. But if we are bringing harness, hardware, etc. for Class 5 stuff, then the Alpa will probably stay home.

I just upgraded to a D4 geared, and love it. Less mass and size than the RRS BH-55 by far. Just starting to use the D4 but really like it.

I too like the D4 very much. I currently have three heads: cube, D4 and BH40. The BH40 is still half the weight of the D4, so over the next few months I'm going to figure out if the BH40 is good enough for this trip. I can deal with a ball head's annoyances for a few days if it saves me 1/2 lb with no hit in image quality.

Dave

 

[alajuela]

That's a good idea. The 60xl may be the ticket.



That's exactly how I would approach this. As the miles go up the weight goes down, to a point. For me at 51, backpacking with 30 lbs is a joy, 40 lbs is pleasant misery, and 50 lbs is just plain misery. A lot depends on what my brother and I decide in regards to climbing. If we stick to Class 4 stuff so all we need is a rope and ice axe, that's one thing. But if we are bringing harness, hardware, etc. for Class 5 stuff, then the Alpa will probably stay home.



I too like the D4 very much. I currently have three heads: cube, D4 and BH40. The BH40 is still half the weight of the D4, so over the next few months I'm going to figure out if the BH40 is good enough for this trip. I can deal with a ball head's annoyances for a few days if it saves me 1/2 lb with no hit in image quality.

Dave

Hi

Try the Arca Swiss P0 - I like much more than the RRS 40.

Thanks

Phil

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Paul yes the Arca Swiss Z1. It's rated for like 130 lbs. it's as strong as the Cube if not better in some cases. I used it on tech kits, big phase kits and nothing seems too big for it I ran into. The cube is nice but for my diverse set of shooting the ball heads are better.

 

[Paul2660]

Still take my old B1 out in the field. May be a bit smaller but looks just the same. Mine just says monoball but looks the same as pics of the newer Z1, expect the mounting plate. The old ones like mine had the habit of locking the ball. Have had to send mine in 2x over last 12 years to Precision Camera works to free it up. Last time was about 6 years ago, so they have changed out something.



Paul

 

[Jack]

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.

I am still amazed that with literally every system I've ever owned and every new one I purchase, the 3 main lenses that were in the bag always followed that same format guideline. The only exception was when I was big into bird and wildlife photography.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Mine has almost always been 24,35,85 and in some cases 21,28,50. But I always liked the start at 24mm than add a extreme wide. I have that today in Sony 24,35,85, 135 than a 55 and a 18 equivalent . I tend to rent above 135 when I need it. This goes back to even film days. I never had a math equation it just felt natural to me.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Now my favorite on a tech cam was a 28,60 and the 120. I liked the 23 a lot also. Heck I did a whole workshop with just the 23 90 percent of the time. Lol

I tend to like wide angles and I also like the 85mm focal length in 35mm. For some reason that just works for me

 

[Geoff]

There seem to be two ways to look at this:

1) what do I need for the range of images I want to take?
2) what is the least I could take, if things were really minimal?

The first seems to lead to a few lenses (gee what if there is a long shot? or a wide?) and its hard to say no to the work flow and the options. Everything is treasured, and cutting is hard.

The second is useful when traveling: you talk to the gear, and make it behave - and tell "its either minimal or you aren't coming". If we can do this with our families, we ought to be able to do it to a bunch of stuff that doesn't talk back.

Seen this way, one lens, one back, a few batteries, hyper focal, a small tripod… and a few bits… might work. Or something along those lines. Remember the days with one camera, one lens?