Amongst photographers, there seems to be a sort of universal interest in what
sort of equipment other folks carry when they go out to make photographs.
So, here it is. My large format kit consists of:
A Linhof Technikardan 45s with the standard GG removed and a BosScreen
fitted. A Kirk Enterprises Arca-Swiss style tripod plate nearly the
same length as the main section of the rail is fitted to the bottom.
bag bellows for the Linhof
90mm f/8.0 Nikkor SW lens with a
cable release fitted.
135mm f/5.6 Rodenstock Apo-Sironar-S lens
with a cable release
210mm f/5.6 Rodenstock Apo-Sironar-N lens
with a cable release
300mm f/9.0
Nikkor-M lens with a
cable release
450mm f/12.5
Fujinon-C lens with a
cable release
a Darkroom Innovations
darkcloth, which actually is designed to fit on a
Wisner 4x5 Technical field but is pressed into service for the TK45s.
A Pentax Digital Spotmeter
a spare battery for the Pentax meter
a red Gara Gear filter wallet with the following filters, all B+W
67mm: #021 (light yellow), #031 (yellow), #060 (yellow-green), #090
(red), #040 (orange), a linear polarizer, a 52mm-67mm step up ring, and a
49mm to 67mm step up ring. Recently added are another Gara Gear (now
seemingly renamed to MC Photographic?) wallet with several neutral density
filters ranging from .3 logD to 3.0 logD (one stop to ten stops)
a flat metal Rodenstock lens wrench.
a Leica microfiber lens cloth.
I'm not a brand bigot but the Leica cloths seem softer, and they're white so
they show any dirt that accumulates on them.
a LensPen camel's hair brush
a Kodak Readyload holder
a box made from mat board and masking tape which holds up to 30
readyloads. Typically there are about 20 TMX readyloads and two or
three sheets of Astia in the box. The box has dividers to keep film
types separate and keep exposed film separate from unexposed.
several sheets of .5"x2" labels variously printed "N",
"N+1", "N-1", etc. which are used in place of the
'exposed' labels that come with readyloads. I used to use complicated
2"x3" labels that I filled with exposure notes, but too many N-1
sheets snuck into the N+1 pile, so I instituted a simpler scheme which
substantially reduces both the number of errors and the time spent recording
exposure details.
a Pilot Precise rollerball pen, .5mm line width
a Lee compendium style filter holder/lens shade, with the filter
holder bits removed, and the 67mm adapter ring.
a Toyo long barrel 3.6x loupe for
focusing and close examination of the ground glass.
a Calumet 6x focusing loupe, which I'm carrying to decide if I like it
better than the Toyo.
A Grafmatic film holder loaded with six sheets of
TMY.
a cardboard viewing frame with a
4"x5" cutout, white on one side, dark grey on the other..
All of the
above fits into a Tenba PBL backpack case. I like the Tenba pack a little
better than the Lowepro case it replaced but still think better packs are
possible.
In addition to the stuff in the bag, I
also carry a Gitzo 1349 tripod with an Arca-Swiss B1 ballhead fitted, and a golf
umbrella. If I'm working from the car, I usually have a camera first aid
kit which has a set of screwdrivers, some duct tape, some gaffer's tape, etc. in
the car. Extra film gets carried in extra deep .50 caliber surplus ammo cans
with the inside painted silver (easier to see stuff inside) and the outside
painted white.