Hello,

I'm about to head off for a two week business trip that will take me to Geneva, Grenoble, Boeblingen (Ger.), Beijing, Tokyo and Singapore before returning to the States. I have a M4-P (w/35,50 & 90 lenses) and a somewhat unreliable Gossen Pilot II. I have two questions for which I would very much appreciate some informed advice:

1) I don't normally use print films, but I'm considering using C-41-based film for color and b&w. I want the additional exposure lattitude due to unsure metering as well as for the possibility of getting film developed prior to it getting too much x-ray exposure. Thoughts on this approach? Recommendations on film(s)? Best places to get film developed?

2) Do you know of any particularly wonderful spots that are a 'must see' that I should try to visit while travelling?

Many thanks in advance for the advice.

Best regards,

Sven

-- Sven S. (ssampson@inreach.com), February 09, 2002

Answers

my experience has been to get a lead protective bag for the film, and carry it with you. tell customs agents and officials that this is film. xray machines are very powerful today and you will get fogging if precautions not taken. c41 film? fuji supia 400 (cheap - great latitude). b/w: ilford xp2 or xp2 super (rated 250 or 200 ASA). cheers

-- brooke anderson (dbanders@videotron.ca), February 09, 2002.

Sven, my recommendations for film are as follows. I always use 400 speed print film whatever the conditions - XP2 Super for B&W and either Fuji Supria or Fuji NPH400 (which I am switching to mostly) for colour. No real need to worry about a few X-ray passes, I would consider it MORE of a risk NOT using your own tried and trusted lab.

Regarding places to visit, there was an excellent long thread recently on "your favourite places to photograph..." which should give you some hints, but having seen your list above I don't think you will be short on photo opportunities!

Enjoy the trip!

-- Giles Poilu (giles@monpoilu.icom43.net), February 09, 2002.

I really like the Portra emulsions because they are very color consistent across the entire speed range; 160, 400 and 800. The NC is less saturated and almost perfectly natural in color rendition, while the VC is a bit more saturated, but not too much so. The 800 is about half-way between the two. Also, the Portra 400 chromogenic is a very nice C41 B&W alternative. AND they all print at your lab with the same color pack!

Enjoy your trip!

:-),

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), February 09, 2002.

A quick round the world trip...not quite but here's my advise. take some Fuji Reala and Fuji NPH400 (which is easily pushed up to 1600 with no problems) This way you'll be covered in colour. For B&W try Fuji's new Neopan 100 and Kodak's proven Tri-X. this can also be pushed well to 3200 if you really need it. And more advise....don't get any film processed anywhere else but your home lab. If you need to overseas try to find a lab using the Fuji Frontier printer. good luck

-- kristian (leicashot@hotmail.com), February 09, 2002.

Sven,

Most all the name brand color negs are good, fuji, kodak, agfa, so just pick one that matches your speed and pallet needs. But more important is the issue of xraying. Remember DON'T put any film into checked bags, as the xrays used on those KILL film. Passes through domestic carryon xrays for 400 and lower films are usually ok, but it is much better to try and have it hand checked. Overseas who knows what power the equipment will be xraying at. So best to put all your film (kodak, anyone's) into clear Fuji type cans, then those into Ziplocks, and have it in a place in your carry on so you can easily pass it to the inspectors and ask, with a smile, for hand checking please. If you are ready they are much more likely to be helpful. You can buy new supplies of brand films in most of the locations you mention, and I'd Fed-X home shot film, if there is too much to carry, as Fed-X doesn't xray and is easy to track worldwide. (ps--my own color neg favorite is the Fuji 160 stuff... and Fuji 800 is unbelievable!)

-- charles mason (c.mason@uaf.edu), February 09, 2002.

FWIW on a recent trip from Washington, DC to Australia, a hand check involved significant extra time through security. When I informed the xray tech that I had high ASA film, the clear plastic bag of film was given to an other security person who opened EVERY canister to make sure there was really film present. The bag also got a swipe at the machine which snifs for explosives. At the same time I was stuck getting patted down because my beltbuckle set off the metal detector, and my laptop was being scanned with the battery removed...

I had as much film as possible developed in Melbourne and put it in my checked baggage for the return trip.

I used Fuji 200 and 800 as well as Ilford XP-2 Plus, and am still scanning after being home for a week ; )

-- Michael Rivers (mrivers@mac.com), February 09, 2002.

Sven, sounds like a great trip - just hope you have time to enjoy it! Xray: others are right, make sure film all goes as hand luggage. Xrays are cumulative, so the fewer inspections you have the better. Go for slower film - I would recommend mostly 100, plus perhaps a couple of rolls of 400 for low light.

All consumer print film is very good IMO, such as Agfa Vista, Kodak Gold, or Fuji Superia. Remember you can easily buy it at airports in Europe or Asia, rather than feeling you have to take the lot with you to begin with. The big thing is to have a bag for it, and clearly label which film has been exposed. As with all print film, take it to a good lab on your return.

Sights: Geneva, a bit boring I thought. Try to take a train even on a short trip if you possibly can into the mountains. Interlaken and Grindelwald offer sublime mountain scenery. France: enjoy the wines and fresh produce markets. Germany: look for pretty villages and baroque church interiors. Beijing and Tokyo: sorry, can't help. Singapore: Raffles Hotel. Great food next door in Raffles City food hall. Chinatown. Chinese medicine shop. Hindu temple. Buddhist temple. Junk cruise at night. Jurong bird park. Botanic Gardens. Night safari... BTW, camera gear is no longer a bargain in Singapore. But why not do yourself a favour and invest in a new meter before your trip? Have

-- David Killick (dalex@inet.net.nz), February 09, 2002.

Sven,

I'll echo previous responses regarding ISO 400 speed film for color or black and white. I use Fuji NPH 400 for color and have been experimenting with the Kodak chromogenic black and white films. The results have been very good, using a "1 hour" lab.

The Vivid Light Photography web site has a pretty thorough article on travel considerations that might be of value to you (e.g., XRAYs, etc.). It's at http://www.vividlight.com/articles/1211.htm .

Have a great trip.

-Nick

-- Nicholas Wybolt (nwybolt@earthlink.net), February 09, 2002.

I do a lot of international travelling for photography and I have *never* asked for a hand inspection of film and *never* had any fogging. Certainly in the 1st-world countries it is a non-issue unless perhaps you are carrying ISO 1000 or greater film (my fastest film is Portra 800, my "available light" film). Normally I shoot transparencies, ISO 40 (Velvia), 125 (Elite Chrome)(those are my ratings, not the box speed)and Provia 400F. I have never used on- site processing either.

I would definitely invest in a better meter than the Pilot II (I've got one, it's my toss-in-the-suitcase-just-in-case backup-backup). May I suggest the Sekonic L208 Twin-Mate. It will mount in the accessory shoe, has a narrow angle (equivalent to the 90mm lens) and a reading lock so you can take readings at eyelevel using the 90 frames as a metering guide. It cost about $170. Or you could sell the M4-P and buy a used M6 for perhaps a bit more.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), February 09, 2002.

First of all do not rely too much on being able to get hand checks on your film here in Europe, also a problem with lead bags is that the xray operator will often turn up the radiation levelwhen they encounter one of these. In general one can purchase standard consumer types of all the leading film brands on every street corner but if you are looking to use anything out of bog standard range you would have to seek out a specialised photo outlet. That said todays standard films are capable of some excellent results.

In the region of Boeblingen you have the Black Forest and in particular a town called Tubingen which boasts one of the oldest Universities in the world and is worth a visit.

A visit to the Mercedes museum in nearby Stuttgart or the Mercedes factory in Boeblingen is also worthwhile

The streets of Beijing are full of photo opportunity, Look out for the local market streets. Go to the parks early morning which are full of people exercising and are surrounded by street food sellers and street barbers to attend their needs.

Dont be surprised if when visiting the Great Wall if you get dragged into family photos by groups of Chinese tourists who want evidence to show to their friends and family back in their village that they have actually seen a Westerner in the flesh.

-- Gabriel Shaw (gabriel@gabriel.homechoice.co.uk), February 10, 2002.

I second the recommendation for Reala- it is a wonderful film. I was not happy with XP2 Super or Portra 400 with my lab, who does nice proofs of TCN400. Maybe bringing a bunch of Tri-X should be the way to go, as suggested earlier.

When I traveled pre-9/11, film out of their cannisters and in a ziplock was accepted readily for speedy manual inspection. I'll see how it goes when I travel again soon. I wanted to bring some 3200, but maybe I'll just settle for pushing the heck out of Tri-X.

If you're in Beijing the first time, then I guess the Great Wall should be on your list of sites. Otherwise, the 'hutong' are interesting, if there are any left. These are old, old neighborhoods which include 4 homes sharing the same courtyard, walled from the street. Many have been demolished for more efficient highrises, but many pedicab entrepreneurs are trying to do their best with what's left.

-- Tse-Sung (tsesung@yahoo.com), February 10, 2002.

If you are in Grenoble for a few days, take your films to either Fnac or A2C. Fnac will have a decent job of developing done in a day or two for colour. For black and white, a contact sheet is fastest, but if you are around for a few days, ask for "la bande de lecture" - development and contact prints, for not much more than the cost of a contact sheet.

What are you interested in seeing? If you are in the center of town take the tram, get off at Place Ste-Claire, go to the Maison du Tourism and get a street map. From there you are in the center of what is left of the old city. You are also in proximity to several of the daily outdoor markets that make living in town worth while. Walk around. There are also plenty of small and very good restaurants around.

Contact me directly by email if you want any more precise information.

-- Margaret (fitz@neptune.fr), February 10, 2002.

if you intend of uprating some of your films, don't forget to bring a thin permanent marker with you. i just mixed some of my films up. very annoying...

-- stefan randlkofer (geesbert@yahoo.com), February 10, 2002.

Sven- A reliable light meter shouldn't be beyond the reach of a Leica- shooting world traveler. I would not leave home without it. For film, I'd go with only one ISO for it all. Here in USA, we have a thing we call "Murphy's Law." This is the perverse law that says that if anything *can* go wrong, it *will* go wrong. When in a hurry, you do not want to think about too many things at the same time. If you use different filters on a non-TTL metered camera, and then with different film speeds, you risk activating "Murphy's Law". Whatever ISO you are most used to, is the one to go with.

-- Frank Horn (owlhoot45@hotmail.com), February 10, 2002.

Ditto Jack Flesher's answer. I just came back from a trip to the U.K. and used these films in my M3. Worked just fine. Get yourself a used Gossen Lunasix 3. Cheap and incident.

Regards,

-- Alan Purves (lpurves@mnsi.net), February 11, 2002.

I agree with Frank. I have shot whole trips with T-Max 400 and Fuji Superia 400. I have pushed them both when necessary and gotten good results. Both are inexpensive, so you don't have to worry about burning through them quickly.

This forum enjoys really arcane discussions about grain size and color accuracy of emulsion, which is all fine. But getting the image is of primary importance. Using a film whose characteristics you know and can predict, to my mind anyway, is more important than switching films for (alleged) qualities in certain situations. You can drive yourself crazy thinking, "I wish I had used Neopan for this scene. Too bad I had Portra in the camera." Shoot first, ask questions later.

BTW, I have my films processed in New York (where I live), regardless of where they were shot. I trust the labs here more than the ones elsewhere--again, it has to do with predictability. I can shoot a scene in India and know roughly what the print will look like.

Those two films didn't show any effects from X-rays (in handbaggage) after multiple scans. I was generally able to have the film hand inspected, too.

Good luck!

-- Preston Merchant (merchant@speakeasy.org), February 11, 2002.