So, going away for the winter to a warm place....

[ekimeno]

Yes, that's right folks - I'm heading to South Africa for Xmas/NY and will be there for a total of 3 weeks. Based out of Cape Town (where my family lives), and with the use of a car for about a week, I plan on doing a LOT of landscape shooting. Unfortunately I won't be going to any safari parks, but one area I'm headed to does have wild roaming animals like zebra and springbok.

Earlier this year I was in no doubt that taking a digital camera would be a must as there would be no way I'd spend days and weeks developing and scanning a pile of film and also the weight consideration. However, I've decided to just 'go commando' and take ONLY film with me...

Question is... what do I take? Limitations on hand luggage mean I can take my Crumpler Muffin Half Top and fill it with cameras, filters and film. I've packed it with the following just to test how much I can take:

Bronica SQ-Ai medium format with WLF and 2 lenses - 50mm and 150mm (leaving the 80mm at home). This is the bulkiest lot, forcing me to leave one lens behind, but since I hardly use the 80mm, it's not so bad.

Contax G2 with 45mm f/2 lens. My new camera will certainly be going along for the ride and I've bought a new shoulder bag for it which has little compartments for film canisters and filters. No other lenses yet, but I'm thinking that 45mm length will be sufficient for travel purposes. Nice for bike rides and mountain hikes and rock scrambles on the coast line. I'd love to take my Minolta XG9 along with 50mm and 28mm lenses, but space is an issue and will probably just need to be content with the 45mm on my G2.

I'm not able to bring a tripod with me for the Bronnie as I won't have enough space, but I can always buy some cheapy tripod legs once there and take my Manfrotto head along... I was, however able to fit my monopod in the backpack, so it's some stability on the move if I don't use a tripod. I will be getting hold of a small flash unit for the G2 for any night time shots.

Now, film... I've been trying to work out how much developing will need to get done afterwards back in England, and TBH, I don't want to be spending days on end scanning stuff. Dev'ing is easy - it's the scanning that gets me down... I may be investing in a lightbox and loupe to check the film and send just the best ones for drum scanning. All the second bests I can scan myself...

For starters, I'm thinking of taking:
35mm - 2 x Velvia 50 and 5 x Ektachrome 100 for colour and 5 x HP5+ 400 for B&W
120 - 5 x Velvia 50, 5 x Astia 100, 5 x Provia 400X and maybe 10 rolls of Pan F+ 50 for B&W

Any more than this can be bought over there.

It will be very hot down there - any advice on film/camera storage? General discussion on the trip welcome

 

[MartynK]

Cape Town doesn't get really hot. December - January is usually around 25 - 27C, and occasionally a bit over 30C. I lived in Joburg, which is often hotter in mid summer, for 30 years and never bothered with any special storage arrangements for my film cameras (both fully mechanical) at all. I wouldn't worry about film for such a short period either, but you could keep it in the fridge and buy a cold bag - insulated bag made for keeping beers/softies cool - from any supermarket to use during the day.

Have fun. I don't particularly like Cape Town, but that's just me, and most people think it's great.

 

[Steep]

Check availability and price of film where you are going, you may find you can get it easily and cheaply there. If you're not going to develop it there, post each roll home when you have shot it and as martyn says, buy a coolbag/box.

 

[ekimeno]

Cape Town doesn't get really hot. December - January is usually around 25 - 27C, and occasionally a bit over 30C. I lived in Joburg, which is often hotter in mid summer, for 30 years and never bothered with any special storage arrangements for my film cameras (both fully mechanical) at all. I wouldn't worry about film for such a short period either, but you could keep it in the fridge and buy a cold bag - insulated bag made for keeping beers/softies cool - from any supermarket to use during the day.

Have fun. I don't particularly like Cape Town, but that's just me, and most people think it's great.

I lived in CT for 8 years and I recall that January temperatures in Cape Town often went into 35C plus in the afternoons if the wind wasn't blowing (which it often does and quite strongly). I'll also be venturing up into the Karoo where it does get extremely hot, so I will definitely take your advice with regard to a cooler bag. Most saffas don't leave home without one packed in the car anyway!

Each to there own regarding Cape Town... it's rated as one of the most beautiful cities in the world with incredible mountain surroundings as well as long beaches with white sands.

 

[ekimeno]

Check availability and price of film where you are going, you may find you can get it easily and cheaply there. If you're not going to develop it there, post each roll home when you have shot it and as martyn says, buy a coolbag/box.

Yeah, you could very well be correct. In fact a friend of mine here in London used to use a great photographic shop in CT that did professional dev'ing and scanning and it is quite cheap too. I'll defo check out some options while I'm there.

Posting the film back to London from SA may be fraught with danger, however, as the postal system there is known to be very corrupt with lots of theft taking place... I think I'll either get it processed in Cape Town or just bring it all back with me in my hand luggage.

 

[MartynK]

CT can go over 30C in January, but I don't remember it hitting 35C too often, unless there was a berg wind. I do remember the south easter though!

The photographic store is probably Orms. They were still there a few months ago. Ordinary 35mm film is easy to get, but I doubt if you'll find Velvia, Provia and the others you mentioned at most stores. Orms should have it. Posting stuff out of SA isn't quite as dodgy as sending it in, and you can send mail through Post Net (most malls) who deliver it to the post office at the airport handover point. I wouldn't risk it for for anything important though.

CT is everything you said, but I love the Karoo, the bushveld in the north and the Berg. Just never bonded with the Western Cape. I like Namibia too - I was there last year - and I'd really like to go up the Skeleton Coast one day, funds permitting. The sense of loneliness, isolation and the idea of shipwrecks in the drifting sand intrigues me.

 

[Pirate Neilsouth]

Africa

 

[MartynK]

Africa

Why do you say that? South Africa is frustrating, dangerous, corrupt and incompetent, but it's Africa and I love it. I left a few months ago, because my wife wants to live in the UK, but I miss it terribly.