I have returned from China and the result is generally good. Twenty something days travelling in China and I feel good, I lost weight, and the dry mouth I was experiencing is completely gone. I think I may have lost as much as 15 pounds. This is not because I did not eat. I wonder with the utmost fascination why every chicken in America tastes the same and every one in China tastes different. I think that we Americans have somehow broken our meal plan in some significant way.
Since my last camera failure in China, I took three camera setups to China. My 20D with two lenses, and the Pentax 67, plus my 4 x 5 with the 6 x 9 back and the Shen Hao 6 x 17 cm back. The tally looks like this, 12 rolls of 120 film, and 25 gigs of digital images from my 20D.
The casualties were significant. The Pentax broke in 3 different ways. I was still able to shoot several rolls of film. One -- It was unable to be adjusted by time value due to loose set screws. If you need mini screw drivers try the street market in Hong Kong ... Two -- the mirror froze which was easily fixed by replacing the battery. Three it now won't advance film. It will need to be serviced. it was mechanically damaged during shipping.
The 4 x 5 took a couple of significant hits. The 6 x 9 cm back was taken out of the game by having it's winding mechanism ripped off. Additionally, one of the lockdown levers (for the swing), fell off.
The 20D lost a lens filter when I managed to tip it's backpack over. Shattered glass everywhere.
I drove my car today. Well yesterday actually. It was a bit weird. I haven't driven a car since March 3. In China it is really urban ... even in places you feel are less than urban there is concrete. And street lights. The government does this. Even in the seemingly ancient village of Mishi, there were concrete roads and street lights, belying the ancient feel of the place.
I was carrying my cameras in a backpack. The several women helping me were complaining because I was carrying the backpack -- it was too heavy. They decided I needed a rolling bag. So in one of several fishing villages in Hong Kong, we moved all the camera gear from the backpack to a rolling suitcase. It was a brilliant move. From that point on I hardly touched the bag. They pulled it along ... and brought it to me when I needed it.
So the take down from the trip is good. I had a great trip.
Since my last camera failure in China, I took three camera setups to China. My 20D with two lenses, and the Pentax 67, plus my 4 x 5 with the 6 x 9 back and the Shen Hao 6 x 17 cm back. The tally looks like this, 12 rolls of 120 film, and 25 gigs of digital images from my 20D.
The casualties were significant. The Pentax broke in 3 different ways. I was still able to shoot several rolls of film. One -- It was unable to be adjusted by time value due to loose set screws. If you need mini screw drivers try the street market in Hong Kong ... Two -- the mirror froze which was easily fixed by replacing the battery. Three it now won't advance film. It will need to be serviced. it was mechanically damaged during shipping.
The 4 x 5 took a couple of significant hits. The 6 x 9 cm back was taken out of the game by having it's winding mechanism ripped off. Additionally, one of the lockdown levers (for the swing), fell off.
The 20D lost a lens filter when I managed to tip it's backpack over. Shattered glass everywhere.
I drove my car today. Well yesterday actually. It was a bit weird. I haven't driven a car since March 3. In China it is really urban ... even in places you feel are less than urban there is concrete. And street lights. The government does this. Even in the seemingly ancient village of Mishi, there were concrete roads and street lights, belying the ancient feel of the place.
I was carrying my cameras in a backpack. The several women helping me were complaining because I was carrying the backpack -- it was too heavy. They decided I needed a rolling bag. So in one of several fishing villages in Hong Kong, we moved all the camera gear from the backpack to a rolling suitcase. It was a brilliant move. From that point on I hardly touched the bag. They pulled it along ... and brought it to me when I needed it.
So the take down from the trip is good. I had a great trip.
