Bicycling / hiking / climbing and photography
Carl Christensen
I was wondering if anybody had any experience with biking and photography,
or other rugged outdoor sports. I just got back from two months in the
UK backpacking with my Canon SLR's and didn't have any problems, but I
think my next trip is going to be a little rougher (mountain biking).
I wanted to move up to a medium-format camera too, but I'm afraid they'll
be too delicate to put in a pack on a bike. I also assume SLR's are
bad since the bouncing around would screw the mirror up. Should I
start saving up for a Leica, or are there any other suggestions?
I'd like something where I could have a wide angle and medium telephoto
lens at least. I don't care for zooms much as I don't want to
sacrifice quality.
I'm not going to ride down cliffs or anything, but I guess I need
something that can withstand a few bumps here and there.
Thanks in advance for your help.
--
Carl Christensen /~~\_/~\ ,,, Dept. of Computer Science
chri...@picasso.ocis.temple.edu | #=#==========# | Temple University
"Curiouser and curiouser!" - LC \__/~\_/ ``` Philadelphia, PA USA
Tom Nicinski
|> I was wondering if anybody had any experience with biking and photography,
|> or other rugged outdoor sports.
I've carried my Canon F-1 or T90 (more delicate) on short (<= 100') rock climbs.
I use the Galen Rowell camera pouch and lens case (by Photoflex) along with a
Tamrac "spongy" neck strap. They work quite well, since you can move the pouch
to your side or back and get it out of your way when climbing. The stretchy
neck strap is quite necessary (Optech also makes one).
I've also used this system when doing easy mountain biking (no single
tracking!). It's alright, the strap may be a bit too springy so the camera
can bounce up and down a bit. But, it's much better than a fixed strap, as
that only yanks on your neck. The important thing is to keep the vibration
reaching the camera to a minimum; you don't want to be loosening up any
internal screws, etc. With the camera pouch, I've never experienced a problem
with my equipment, but then, I've never subjected it to rough riding either.
Tom Nicinski
jochen m. fuehrer
>Hi,
>
> I was wondering if anybody had any experience with biking and photography,
> or other rugged outdoor sports. I just got back from two months in the
> UK backpacking with my Canon SLR's and didn't have any problems, but I
> think my next trip is going to be a little rougher (mountain biking).
>
> I wanted to move up to a medium-format camera too, but I'm afraid they'll
> be too delicate to put in a pack on a bike. I also assume SLR's are
> bad since the bouncing around would screw the mirror up. Should I
> start saving up for a Leica, or are there any other suggestions?
> I'd like something where I could have a wide angle and medium telephoto
> lens at least. I don't care for zooms much as I don't want to
> sacrifice quality.
>
> I'm not going to ride down cliffs or anything, but I guess I need
> something that can withstand a few bumps here and there.
> Thanks in advance for your help.
>
To a certain extend most cameras (at least in 35mm) will withstand a rugged
environment (shock, water,sand,...). Above that there is a zone that some will
withstand, others not. Above that almost any camera will be destroyed. In the
first two cases you will be fine with a sturdy SLR, say a Nikon F2, F3,...In
the third case you will want to limit your loss, so choose a cheap p&s like
Yashica T4 or a used Pentax K1000 or something of that kind. A Leica is
certainly not the choice.
Anyway, for bumps proper packing is the point. get a decent bag, use plastic
wrapping, foam polsters... Packed porperly in your bag I guess any SLR will
survive anything that you will survive.
When it gets to real tough environment (sand storm in the sahara, salt water
in a storm on the ocean,...) I'd suggest a Nikonos submarine camera. Probably
the most rugged thing you can get.
Jochen
Donald Farra
From: Carl Christensen, chri...@picasso.ocis.temple.edu
Date: 6 Oct 93 04:39:26 GMT
In article <1993Oct6.0...@cronkite.ocis.temple.edu> Carl Christensen,
chri...@picasso.ocis.temple.edu writes:
>Hi,
>
> I was wondering if anybody had any experience with biking and photography,
> or other rugged outdoor sports. I just got back from two months in the
> UK backpacking with my Canon SLR's and didn't have any problems, but I
> think my next trip is going to be a little rougher (mountain biking).
>
> I wanted to move up to a medium-format camera too, but I'm afraid they'll
> be too delicate to put in a pack on a bike. I also assume SLR's are
> bad since the bouncing around would screw the mirror up. Should I
> start saving up for a Leica, or are there any other suggestions?
> I'd like something where I could have a wide angle and medium telephoto
> lens at least. I don't care for zooms much as I don't want to
> sacrifice quality.
>
> I'm not going to ride down cliffs or anything, but I guess I need
> something that can withstand a few bumps here and there.
> Thanks in advance for your help.
>
=================
Carl,
You may want to check out the Fujica 645 camera. It has a built in meter of
sorts, and its optic are very good. There is no mirror and it is well built.
The camera uses medium format film and produces 6x4.5cm negatives.
I use the 645s bigger brother, the 690GSW (or more commonly known as the Texas
Leica), it is the best camera I have to create "super" sharp 20x30" prints.
The 690 produces a 6x9cm negative and retains the 35mm ratio of 2:3. The 690
has no meter so you will have to get a hand held meter or use the exposure
recommendations on the film instruction sheet. The 690 gets eight shots on a
120 roll and sixteen shots on a 220 roll. The 690 like the the 645 has no
mirror and uses a unremoveable focal lenght leaf shutter lens.
Both cameras are rangefinders and either camera will work out fine for you.
I hope I have been of some help to you,
Don Farra
PS. Which Canon camera did you take along your trip and why did you want to
take along something more rugged? Also when I go mountain biking I carry
carry my camera stuff in a padded day pack on my back to reduce the shock to
the camera.
=================
====================================================================
"Have you ever been in love? Only then you can photograph."
A. Stieglitz
Don_...@radar-email.jpl.nasa.gov
====================================================================
Chris
: Hi,
: I was wondering if anybody had any experience with biking and photography,
: or other rugged outdoor sports. I just got back from two months in the
: UK backpacking with my Canon SLR's and didn't have any problems, but I
: think my next trip is going to be a little rougher (mountain biking).
hi carl,
i have just recently come back from a weekend mountain biking ride, and boy
was it rough! there were the usual boulders, drop-offs, and fast decents,
but also included were large muddy puddles that rivaled small lakes in size
and depth. ;-) well, my camera is not very electronic, but i give credit to
my camera bag for withstanding the bumps of trees and rocks and dirt, and
for repelling (even intimidating) the inevitable water which drenched me.
my outfit was a minolta SRT101 with tamron 2x teleconverter and vivitar
70-210mm f2.8-4 zoom on it shoved into a Lowepro "magnum" type zoom case
filled with film and cokin filters/polarizers. i wore this bag at my hip
(the strap that i comes with can be used for this purpose) but my friend had
a similar type bag and wore it over his shoulder (again the strap that comes
with it is good). we both had fun, and rode hard (*ouch*) without worrying
about our cameras (his was a minolta 3000i ?? w/70-210 zoom).
whatever bag you use, be sure you can stuff enough film in it, and have
quick access to your camera at the same time. it also MUST MUST MUST be
totally waterPROOF!!
later 'tater!
--
Christopher Nguan (____)
ng...@ug.cs.dal.ca \oo/------\
01...@ac.dal.ca moooo-oooops! \/|______| Maintain Your Cool!
cow...@ac.dal.ca ll ll o~~
Joshua_Putnam
> I was wondering if anybody had any experience with biking and photography,
> or other rugged outdoor sports. I just got back from two months in the
> UK backpacking with my Canon SLR's and didn't have any problems, but I
> think my next trip is going to be a little rougher (mountain biking).
> I wanted to move up to a medium-format camera too, but I'm afraid they'll
> be too delicate to put in a pack on a bike. I also assume SLR's are
> bad since the bouncing around would screw the mirror up.
I've had good luck taking bicycle pictures using an OM-1 bolted
to my rear rack to get shots of other riders. The camera is on a
winder, and the winder's tripod mount is bolted to a 3" thick
block of balsa wood that in turn is bolted to the rack. The
winder lets me use an electric remote putton on the handlebars.
Since I can't focus or aim precisely, I use a 28mm lens focussed
at infinity.
On smooth roads I'll use my OM-2 for this, since it has auto
exposure, but for rough conditions the OM-1 has mirror lockup so
I'm not bashing the mirror up and down on bumps. I can only set
the exposure when I'm stopped, so I use wide-latitude print film
for these shots. Ektapress 400 is nice, and the fast film lets
me keep a fast shutter speed to minimize blurring.
You might want to check out rec.bicycles.marketplace for a
discussion of lightweight cameras for bicycle touring. It tended
more towards weather-resistant P&S cameras, but had many good
comments for any sort of camera.
--
Joshua...@happy-man.com Happy Man Corp. 206/463-9399 x102
4410 SW Pt. Robinson Rd., Vashon Island, WA 98070-7399 fax x108
We publish SOLID VALUE for the intelligent investor. NextMail OK
Info. packet free. Send POSTAL address: Solid...@Happy-Man.com
Bruce Barrett
chri...@picasso.ocis.temple.edu (Carl Christensen) wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I was wondering if anybody had any experience with biking and photography,
Not exactly mountain biking, but I spent about 6 months "touring"
with a mountain bike, mostly streets, a little off road. We took
Minolta 7000 & 9000 bodies, and a 28-85 zoom. Packed then in a bag
on the front rack, (padded, insulated.) Worked great, was easy to
get to.
-- Bruce B.
Dan Baum
|> Subject: Bicycling / hiking / climbing and photography
|> From: Carl Christensen, chri...@picasso.ocis.temple.edu
|> In article <1993Oct6.0...@cronkite.ocis.temple.edu> Carl Christensen,
|> chri...@picasso.ocis.temple.edu writes:
|> >Hi,
|> >
|> > I was wondering if anybody had any experience with biking and photography,
|> > or other rugged outdoor sports. I just got back from two months in the
|> > UK backpacking with my Canon SLR's and didn't have any problems, but I
|> > think my next trip is going to be a little rougher (mountain biking).
|> >
|> > I wanted to move up to a medium-format camera too, but I'm afraid they'll
|> > be too delicate to put in a pack on a bike. I also assume SLR's are
|> > bad since the bouncing around would screw the mirror up. Should I
|> > start saving up for a Leica, or are there any other suggestions?
|> > I'd like something where I could have a wide angle and medium telephoto
|> > lens at least. I don't care for zooms much as I don't want to
|> > sacrifice quality.
|> >
|> > I'm not going to ride down cliffs or anything, but I guess I need
|> > something that can withstand a few bumps here and there.
|> > Thanks in advance for your help.
|> >
|>
|>
|> =================
|>
|> Carl,
|>
|> You may want to check out the Fujica 645 camera. It has a built in meter of
|> sorts, and its optic are very good. There is no mirror and it is well built.
|> The camera uses medium format film and produces 6x4.5cm negatives.
Try the Fujica 645 out first, if possible. I also do a lot of hiking & cycling
(road bike only) photography and I had one of these Fujis. I ended up returning
it after using it for a few months, however. It came with a defective film
advance (sending it back to Fuji didn't get it fixed either). I also wasn't wild
about using a rangefinder. It's harder to frame since your viewfinder distorts
the image. It's also a pain to use with filters such as polarizers since you
can't see/meter the effect of the filter. On the positive side, it is quite compact
for a medium format camera.
My 35mm system is a Canon A2E. This has worked out well although the USM zoom
lenses have a tendency to collect a lot of dust inside. Also, the Canon doesn't
like cold temperatures. Previous to the Canon, I used a Nikon FM/FE for many
years. These cameras saw a lot of extreme conditions and help up quite well.
|>
|> I use the 645s bigger brother, the 690GSW (or more commonly known as the Texas
|> Leica), it is the best camera I have to create "super" sharp 20x30" prints.
|> The 690 produces a 6x9cm negative and retains the 35mm ratio of 2:3. The 690
|> has no meter so you will have to get a hand held meter or use the exposure
|> recommendations on the film instruction sheet. The 690 gets eight shots on a
|> 120 roll and sixteen shots on a 220 roll. The 690 like the the 645 has no
|> mirror and uses a unremoveable focal lenght leaf shutter lens.
|>
|> Both cameras are rangefinders and either camera will work out fine for you.
|>
|> I hope I have been of some help to you,
|>
|> Don Farra
|>
|>
|> PS. Which Canon camera did you take along your trip and why did you want to
|> take along something more rugged? Also when I go mountain biking I carry
|> carry my camera stuff in a padded day pack on my back to reduce the shock to
|> the camera.
|>
|> =================
|>
|>
|>
|> ====================================================================
|> "Have you ever been in love? Only then you can photograph."
|> A. Stieglitz
|>
|> Don_...@radar-email.jpl.nasa.gov
|> ====================================================================
--
Dan Baum d...@sgi.com
Silicon Graphics
Mt. View, Ca.