Thanks.

Thank you.

Thanks Dave, I also think Pen yr Ole Wen has some amazing views but likewise gets ignored. Don’t even get me started on Yr Aran - deserted!

Thanks Wendy.

Thanks Anthony.

Thanks Andy, the clouds kept moving up there all day and I could have sat taking pictures for hours.

Thanks Charles.

Thanks Tony

I was lucky indeed Gopi.

Thanks Gaetan, I’m lucky that the location is less than 90 minutes from my house.

It is indeed an excellent camera, I also like the original FE which has an even smoother film wind mechanism.

Thank you 😊

Thanks Julian.

Thanks Andrew.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Cheers David.

Thanks Lars.

Thanks Marieta, I think you would like the latest GoPro cameras.

Thank Martin.

It’s quite straightforward Paul and a well made path, some craggy sections through Devils Kitchen but pretty safe.

Thanks Harry.

Cheers Michael.

Thanks Sergei.

I like the equipment choice and those series E lenses are so good.

Hope the Ektachrome comes out well Murray. The old Trip 35 has a surprisingly sharp lens (and looks ridiculously cool).

Thank you.

Cheers Andy.

Thank you.

I must admit I also noticed the images weren’t up for as long as usual - I’ll fix that in the next video 👍

I’ll definitely be using the rucksack more often in the future, so much more space and it weighs less too. Thanks for watching.

Thanks Klaus. I do like Ektar but sometimes find it a bit too colourful and find that Portra has a more pleasing blue pallete. I’d certainly use Ektar if the scene was dominated by greens. PS - the extra speed of Portra was welcome here too 👍

Cheers Alan. I obviously stage the ‘healthy appearance’ clips by resting up before taking the shot. I sometimes film myself out of breath but it is just embarrassing! The clip showing the Hero 7 was made with the iPhone XS, superb quality video and stills. I keep thinking about doing a clip of all my cameras but it would have changed before the video went out 😀

Thanks Guglielmo.

Strangely I would really like to take the 8x10 up those mountains next summer just for the sake of it 🙂

A very light setup indeed 👍

Thanks Tim. I’d like to make some large prints from the iPhone soon as the quality is extremely good and with the stabilisation and video features it is my main camera when just going out casually. That whole area round the Ogwen valley is something special.

It’s on my list to try but I’d really want to see it in 120 too.

😀

Thanks for spotting the missing photos, can’t think why I didn’t upload them as usual. I’ll get them into Flickr later and update the link in the video.

Thank Robin, the light came and went almost as quickly as that morning but this time I already had the camera on the tripod! The section on my gear was made with the iPhone XS which has a very good camera for stills and video.

Thanks Steve. I wondered if it was your phone but then thought the quality looked too good. Looks like I need to change phones.

How long before the phone replaces the dedicated camera?

That will be a sad day. Having said that isn't film dead ;-)

Thanks again Mark, it was very much a good walk with a camera taken along for good measure. The mono film was rollei retro 80s which is a very sharp fine grained film developed in Rodinal at 1:50 for 8 mins. It has infrared characteristics when shot through an R72 filter even though the effective speed is just EI 1 😀

Steve O'Nions Steve O'Nions When I read EI 1 I thought I was confused, but then I checked how strong a R72 filter is 🤓. That's two more things on my ever growing shopping list. I do have an infrared filter, a Cokin P007 (who can see that number for infrared without thinking of Sean Connery on that table?) which is hardly used, but I don’t think it’s as strong as the R72. Thanks Steve.

Your P007 filter is in fact an R72 Mark so you should be fine. I also use the same filter for my large format camera and it gives excellent results with Rollei infrared.

Steve O'Nions Thanks Steve, you’ve taught me something and saved me money, I bought it just off the Cokin blurb at the time and didn’t take in anything technical. I bought it the same time as I bought my blue and gold filter which I've also hardly used, I think I had a bad case of GAS that day.

Thank Tom. I use an app called My Lightmeter which compares well to the Sekonic spotmeter I usually carry.

Thanks Steve. I have just downloaded it and it looks a pretty good app.

Thanks Dimitris, the Portra 400 certainly has a unique look.

I’m a Nikon man when it comes to 35mm Mark although I have owned OM and FD Canon models too. My personal favourite for hill walking is always the Nikon F80 with a good zooms lens, it has the best ergonomics I’ve ever come across (including modern digital cameras) and is light yet well built.

@@SteveONions Thanks for the suggestion

Thanks Craig, most of the GoPro audio was made with the inbuilt mic as my adapter hadn’t arrived in time. I did a few of the noisier areas with the separate Lav mic though. The mic on the Hero 7 is absolutely fine on its own providing there is little or no wind. PS - just watched your video from the downs, really like the images.

Thanks Steve, that's good to know. Keep looking at GoPro for a lighter set up and have read/heard from a lot of others that the audio is much better than previous models.

It’s back to the quality they had with the Hero 4 range thankfully. Better than the Yi 4K+ too.

thanks Steve, that's good to know

Hi David. I’d only attempt a route in the dark if I was already familiar with it. That said it certainly helps that the light is coming up pretty quickly an hour or so before sunrise so it isn’t too risky unless the conditions are treacherous. I never attempt anything risky or take chances if I am on my own. I prefer heading up early if a sunrise is likely so I can get the best light from an elevated position. This makes the shot less like the typical images that are taken well into the morning due to people starting the walk after the sun has risen.

Hi John. You are right to be concerned about the scanning stage as this is where most of the problems occur in a hybrid workflow. The difference between a good image on film and a successful end product will depend on your scanner and technique. You are fortunate in many ways that you are using 35mm as you have a greater range of options and can achieve very high quality home scans for around £500. Larger film sizes contain more detail but to extract all of it means horribly expensive scanners, most of which are obsolete and need old hardware to support. You will also need to consider the type of film you are scanning, negative materials (black and white or colour) present few challenges to a good scanner but slide films like Velvia are another matter. The density of slide materials makes underexposed parts of the image impenetrable to the average home user. Getting back to the point I would recommend you look for something like a Nikon Coolscan V or Minolta Elite 5400. I have used both and they make excellent scans that are not too far off an expensive drum scan (not for slide materials sadly, although if well exposed you will be OK). Bear in mind that these devices will be at least 10 years old and are often unserviceable so it is a risk. There are a handful of new scanners out there from the likes of Reflecta that get close to the quality of the Nikon and Minolta - check out the reviews on www.filmscanner.info Good luck on your journey, it can be a lot of fun.

Blimey James, that was a tough trip. Did you manage to get a shot with the RB67?

@@SteveONions nope, I was smothered in foil blankets from fellow hikers so I only had a glimpse of the sunrise unfortunately :( couldn't even take a phone shot! Another time though...

And a lighter camera perhaps. 👍

@@SteveONions ah, I wish! But the RB67 was my dream camera and just recently got it! It had the old prism finder that came with it so will swap it out for the waist level finder, that'll be 750g less!

At least you won’t need any gym membership 🙂

I will use a spotmeter when shooting Portra film in 120 and large format but rely on internal camera metering with 35mm format. Overexposing Portra will ensure good shadow detail but brighter areas such as the sky will start to lose saturation. You can either use a graduated neutral density to retain more colour in the sky or, if possible expose at the films box speed providing there’s sufficient light in the shadows.

It is a very sharp and fine grained film Miguel, a little contrasty too and best rated about EI 50. Pan F is similarly contrasty. I like the fact that Retro 80s can be used as an infrared film too.

@@SteveONions Thank you very much Steve.

It’s called the LED Lenser.

I haven’t yet Daryl but I can make them if you are interested.

@@SteveONions Yes. E-mail me please: darrylroberts@hush.com

I’m not sure if I’ll be using Ektachrome any time soon unless they come out with a 120 version. Whilst 35mm has its uses, especially in B&W, it struggles in comparison with the bigger formats (and digital).

Maybe it was a vertigo sufferer?

I also struggle with digital B&W, I end up adding grain and texture but it still looks a little bit too clinical.

@@SteveONions I Steve, don't know if I missed it in your video, but which B&W film were you using?

It’s Rollei Retro 80s developed in Rodinal 1:25 for 8 mins.