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[at-l] Re: Film for a thru-hike

At 05:12 PM 1/28/97, you wrote:
>On our thru-hike we are carrying an SLR and will be shooting slides.
>Now we are trying to decide which film to carry. We normally shoot
>Fujichrome Velvia, or Provia, but are concerned with using them for
>a thru-hike, due to their need to be kept cool. Has anyone had any
>experience carrying a pro type film on a thru-hike ? We have carried
>the Velvia and the Provia on backpacking trips as long as two weeks
>before without a problem, but wonder how they or any of the pro
>films would hold up to the climatic changes of being mail dropped.
>
>erehwon and erehwyna
>
>ME to GA '97  (REXX says leaving in 109 days )
>

Sandy,
I would be somewhat inclined not to chance it. After all, if the heat
bothers them and the colors change it's a bit hard to go back and reshoot!
Though Velvia has beautiful colors, having an ASA of 50 will make it hard to
use in the woods unless you have a Tripod or extremely fast lenses (which
would then weigh so much you couldn't carry them).  It was for those reasons
that I wanted to find a film that had enough speed to shoot in the woods
while I tried to steady the lens as much as possible and also wouldn't be
bothered by the heat. The amateur films today are excellent and the one I
used (Fuji Sensia 100) is quite good and a highly rated film.  Even 100
speed film is tough to shoot in the woods without a Tripod, especially if
you are using a longer zoom.  For that reason I took along some 200 as well,
but not much.  I can see the grain difference between 100 and 200 with an 8X
loupe.  I also used my 20-35 zoom a lot more than my 70-210 simply because
it is much easier to hold steady at slow speeds (and I would hold it steady
down to an 1/8th of a second or so - something impossible to do with my
70-210).  There are also some very good Ektachromes on the market (Elite
100) that I have used with great results.  

I took along a lightweight 2# Tripod (Slik 9600QR, as I recall) for the
first month and did use it a few times, but the hassle in taking off the
pack, setting up and then trying to shoot just takes too long on a thru-hike
(my opinion - others have carried them the whole way). I did miss it though
- taking photography seriously as I do makes it difficult to compromise, but
you do what you gotta do!

I eventually used my Dana wet rib and a small Sundog holder slipped over my
hipbelt to carry my camera and both lenses. Then I never had to take my pack
off to shoot, which made it possible to capture a lot more "action" shots.
And when you've lost 30 lbs on your hike and are getting skinnier by the
moment, the less you have to hoist that pack onto your back, the better!

Just my .02 worth.

Mark
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	Mark and Janet Holmes 						       
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