Hi Thomas,
> Again, thanks for a lot of valueable information...
Ye're most welcome, as you already mentioned, I'll answer any off-list
queries in detail as well. :)
Good, another reply here to the comments you made:
> I will get to stay, at least, 4 days for work in Yokohama. From what I
understand, there is
> nothing much of any "historical" interrest in Yokohama, although it as a
modern city has a lot
> of interresting things to offer.
Correct (AFAIK).
> I believe that I will do the skyscrapers there ;)
Sounds like a good idea, I believe the Yokohama one is the tallest in the
Tokyo vicinity, so it should give you some good views :)
> Also, I was told that some of the views from there might warren bringing
the 300/4.5. While
> I would love to, it is a big lens...
Hmmm, they may, but if that's the only purpose you have in mind for the
300/4.5 I would not bring that lens. I have the 300/4.5 as well, yet I've
never really been tempted too much to bring it along on such trips. I guess
I'm not much of a "telephoto guy" (though the 300/4.5 is a lovely lens). I
personally think the 200/4 should be fine; perhaps you could add a small TC
to save weight and still be able to get longer focal lengths...
> Yep. I think, though, that I am more of a country-side/nature kinda person
than a "big city"
> kind (said he, who moved from a suburb of a small city in Denmark to the
heart of Paris,
> France...). So while I definitely will go around Tokyo, I do not want to
spend the majority of
> my time there, I think....
That sounds like a VERY good plan then. If you don't like big cities, you
will absolutely hate Tokyo. I found that city to be just too immense.
Experiences of being jam packed in subways (like sardines in a can),
spending hours in the city's traffic jams, the overall cost of whatever you
do in Tokyo and the complicated train system are not very inviting to me for
desiring to spend too much time there. :)
Nonetheless, Tokyo is an experience on its own, and it made me realise a bit
what life in an ant hill must be like :) Seriously, I had a good time there,
but I too was glad to go out to the country side of Japan (and the not so
big cities), which I appreciated a lot more. Ah yes, these remarks are
coming from someone who also prefers the country side, but who has lived
happily in the very centre of Madrid and of Lima, so I'm not entirely
unaccustomed to big cities, so I think you can imagine that Tokyo is indeed
extreme. :)
> Well, the problem is that I will be going for work. That implies, among
other things, carrying
> along a laptop and various work-related items, easilly filling up one
suitcase - and with a
> weight to go with it. So in my case, too much mobility would require that
I rent a car -
> something that I've been strongly reccomended not to do for
traffic-reasons.
Fair enough. I think the Samurai castle in Kyushu and Mt. Aso indeed require
a rental car, so you may give those a miss. Either way: what specific
traffic issues did you hear about regarding Japan? Other then having to
drive on the left side of the road, and immense traffic jams in Tokyo, I
didn't really see any issues with the traffic (gasoline is not overly
expensive over there either)...
> I was/am planning on setting up camp at a hotel with an in-room safe, and
> thus only have to carry the zuik's around (any ideas as to hotels, btw?)
Sounds like a good plan. I don't have any particular hotel recommendations.
When I went to Japan I had just graduated from university, so I had to do
everything on a budget, and the few times we could not stay at the houses of
relatives of my friend, we stayed in low-cost youth hostels. Regarding the
in-room safe: don't worry too much about that; just like I experienced,
you'll find that Japan is about the safest place on planet Earth to go where
theft etc. is concerned. Seriously I think you could leave your camera bag
with everything readily visible in the centre of Tokyo on the streets,
return a week later and no one will have taken it (unless some western
tourist passed ;) ). O.k., this may be a bit exaggerated, but indeed you'll
find Japan to be extremely safe and relaxed in this aspect. :)
> Also, I do not know what to leave out: bw, slide or color print? I want
> them all, so 3 bodies will have to do. Considering that I plan on setting
> up camp on a hotel (see above) and do day-tours from there, this may not
be as cumbersome....
This is just a difference in "preference to approach" I think. At times I've
travelled with two bodies (in fact: most of the time I do), but other than
having had the camera ready for Gioconda, or having it in the hotel in case
a back-up was needed, I never really used the second one. I very much prefer
to simply bring one body on a photographic trip and use lots of
identical/similar types of film. I find that approach to be less confusing,
but I know that others prefer the multiple camera approach. Also, the
drives/winders, while extremely handy IMO most of the time just add
unnecessary weight to the set-up. For most of my shots I do not require fast
film winding, and I don't have any issues with the way the body handles
without a drive/winder, so I normally prefer to leave the drive off. Then
again, this is also a matter of personal preference. You have made good
points for bringing the three bodies, including winders/drives, so I think
you should stick with that plan. :)
> A flash, good idea.
Yes, you will not regret that.
> As for the 50, I may want to go with the 85/2 instead. The advantage of
the above setup is, that
> all are 55mm thread, limiting the number of filters I may need to bring.
Either a 50 or an 85
> will break that pattern. However I agree that the distance from 24 to 135
may be a bit big.
> Hmm....maybe time to look for that 55/1.2 to stay with 55mm threads... :)
Hehehe, yeah the 50/1.2 would be the ideal addition to this set-up :)
> How would you choose if it was either a 50mmish or an 85/2?
A bit tough to say: the Zuikoholic reply would be to bring both :0
Then, of course every bit of light you can gain in indoor situations is more
than welcome, so if you have a 50/1.4 I think I'd bring that, but if you
only have a 50/1.8, you might as well bring the 85/2 which is not that much
slower, and which will get you considerably closer to where the action will
be for indoor sports events.
> Indeed. Trouble is, that I meant "Portra", not "Provia".
I know, I read that in the other message. I just recommended Provia as it is
such a lovely film with most excellent characteristics, of which not in the
least place the reciprocity (up to 2 minutes!) and the pushing ability
should be mentioned. :)
> I have no experience with Provia atall, so I'll probably choose not to
gamble on this trip:
Fair enough. I can understand that. Hmm, maybe this trip may be good for
shooting one roll of Provia in one of your bodies, so you can get a good
indication of how it performs...
> despite the fact that I am sure that Provia is a great film, I'd rather go
with something I know
> well when I am travelling (and then spend the summer at home, learning how
the Provia fares...)
Understandable. I found you cannot go (very) wrong with Provia, but it's
indeed good to get the hang of a specific type of film before applying it to
"critical shots".
> I'll probably grap a few Portra 800.....and probably a monopod as well.
Good idea! That should cover you pretty well in the low light situations.
Cheers!
Olafo
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