Topic: "In the Footsteps of Marco Polo"

[astrobeck]

I just watched a very good PBS show about two guys from Queens, NY that made a 2 year journey following the footsteps of Marco Polo through Asia and back to Venice. 

One of the guys was carrying a 35mm camera, but I couldn't see what it was...maybe a Canon?
Has anyone else seen this ( I highly recommend it ) and do you know what camera that Denis Belliveau used?

I tried google, but no luck.
 

[Late Developer]

Hiya Becky.

I'll track this film down as it sounds fascinating. I've found a website that confirms that Canon was one of the main sponsors - so I very much doub he'd have been allowed to carry a Nikon around with him. No digital used either (probably very few places to charge up the batteries at the end of each day's shooting and the cameras would also be very bulky compared to one of the EOS film range.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/feb/08/after-morei/

[astrobeck]

Thanks Paul!

The show appealed to me a lot since I would love to be able to just sell everything and go on an around the world trip with a couple of cameras.   

Becky

[Urban Hafner]

That's a different documentation than the one you're talking about, right? http://www.marcopolo-reloaded.com/

Urban

[astrobeck]

Urban, I couldn't get your link to work here as it said that content was not available in my country.

Here's a link I found for the program I watched:
http://www.wliw.org/marcopolo/

It's a great program.
 

[Late Developer]

"There's a lot more good people in the world than bad people" and "Travel is the cure for bigotry"

Wise words from these intrepid explorers and ones we'd be wise to heed.

Truly fascinating film, Becky. Watched the lot in one sitting. I kept my eye out for the camera but only caught a fleeting glimpse right at the very end. My guess is that he had an old Canon F1 / F1n as they really were work-horses and built like tanks - a lot less reliant on battery power than the T90 and EOS range. If all else failed, you could still use them even without a battery. If you needed to knock a nail into something and didn't have a hammer, you could always use an F1..... Not a bad camera either.

[calbisu]

Wooooww, ja ,ja, that was just great, I also saw it all in once, fantastic, thank you for sharing Becky.

Oh, some of the pictures were really great, fantastic colors, might that be kodak ektachrome?

I think it could be an A1 instead a Canon F1, which by the way will not work without batteries if you have installed the viewfider with aperture priority. The film was recorded between 94´and 95´, I think it even started in 93´, all in all a terrific adventure.

[rpmdrd]

very interesting. the canon f-1 is a beast.

[Late Developer]

Wooooww, ja ,ja, that was just great, I also saw it all in once, fantastic, thank you for sharing Becky.

Oh, some of the pictures were really great, fantastic colors, might that be kodak ektachrome?

I think it could be an A1 instead a Canon F1, which by the way will not work without batteries if you have installed the viewfider with aperture priority. The film was recorded between 94´and 95´, I think it even started in 93´, all in all a terrific adventure.

It would take a brave man to rely on an A1 with that sort of schedule. Incidentally, the F1 and F1-n had mechanical shutters. The one you're referring to is the F1-N (referred to as the "new F1") which had an electronic shutter.

[calbisu]

Wooooww, ja ,ja, that was just great, I also saw it all in once, fantastic, thank you for sharing Becky.

Oh, some of the pictures were really great, fantastic colors, might that be kodak ektachrome?

I think it could be an A1 instead a Canon F1, which by the way will not work without batteries if you have installed the viewfider with aperture priority. The film was recorded between 94´and 95´, I think it even started in 93´, all in all a terrific adventure.

It would take a brave man to rely on an A1 with that sort of schedule. Incidentally, the F1 and F1-n had mechanical shutters. The one you're referring to is the F1-N (referred to as the "new F1") which had an electronic shutter.

LD, you are right, I was referring to the F1-N, which has both electronic and mechanical shutters, can shoot without batteries from 1/125 to 1/2000. I own both the A1 and F1-n and feel both cameras are equally good (a very personal opinion). The A1 feels more ergonomic to me, very solid and never had a problem with it. The F1-n feels even more solid, and  is considerably heavier, and the viewfinder is brighter. Both cameras are just great. And asking myself which of both I would bring with me to a long trip... I think I would get with me two Canon A1,   on the other hand if I was to make a long trip I think I would never bring rely on only one camera, too many things can happen...  

[Photo_Utopia]

The new F1 had an elecro-mechanical 'hybrid' shutter, speeds from 1/90-1/2000 & B could work sans PX28 battery. Here's mine on the day I bought it in the Canon Salon.


I had it for 20 years, never let me down...

Edit ^  post above added before I could hit button.

[LT]

talking of the A-1, this look alike a fair deal to me ... even if it is just for splitting up and selling individually ...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/canon-AE-1-and-A1-cameras-lenses-joblot-/221024653157?pt=UK_Film_Cameras&hash=item3376188f65#ht_500wt_1219

[calbisu]

Leon, yes, that is a sweet deal.

20 years, wow, that is a long time!! great

Please indulge me if I quote from the Canon F1-N manual:

¨IMPORTANT
The New Canon F- 1 can be used even if the battery fails simply by removing the
exhausted battery from the camera. The mechanically controlled shutter speeds are
1/2000 to 1/125 sec., ”S” (1/90 sec.) and ”B” (bulb).¨

By the way something happened with my F1-N and my canon fd 50 1,2 lens. It seems as the camera and lens were non calibrated between each other and many shots were unfocused, I would say this is impossible to happen with a reflex machine, and I am pretty sure is not because I was not able to focus correctly with the 1.2, as not always I would use the 1.2 aperture but 2.8, 4 and so on. The only thing I can think about is the viewfinder to have a diopter adapter on but then I think I would have noticed...  does it make any sense?

[Late Developer]

Down the years, I've owned a lot of Canon gear. Mostly excellent:

- Canon Pellix. I liked the pellicle mirror in good light but a pain in the ar*e in low light unless you had an ultra bright lens. I had the 58mm f1.2
- Canon F1. A brilliant piece of kit. Like a tank and a good range of FL, Breechlock and FD lenses. For me, the last great film camera that Canon made.
- Canon EF. Electronic shutter version of the F1. Great camera but couldn't accept a motor drive.
- Canon F1. (as above)
- Canon F1-N. Eergonomically and meter-wise a great camera but very heavy and I never warmed to the matt finish or the plastic sticky-out thing on the side of the AE Metering Head (as it kept snagging on the camera bag).
- Canon A1 - first ever multi-mode camera. Nice piece of kit. Famous for "the squeak". Entirely dependent on batteries and mine "died" on me half way through shooting a wedding (as main photographer)
- T90. Weird looking (for its day) but excellent multi-spot metering system and TTL "fill" flash capability. Cost me a fortune in AA batteries.
- EOS 300v. High specification but cheapo plastic build. Horrible yoghurt-pot EF auto-focus lenses at the price point I could afford and ultimately precipitated my move to Nikon......

[astrobeck]

After watching the show "In the Footsteps of Marco Polo" I ordered the companion book that goes with it.

The book is fabulous, except for the fact that the printing could have been much better.  The photos are fine, but they are lacking due to the printing which makes them kind of flat and dull in appearance.  

This is sad, because the same photos we saw in the show and have seen online just ooze with color and excitement.   This is not so for the book.

I'll keep it because the text and story are fabulous, but I'm really quite disappointed in the quality of the photo printing.

[Late Developer]

Hi Becky,

Do you happen to know if it is available as an e-book for download to an iPad? I got my missus one for her birthday and "borrow" it occasionally when there's a book with a lot of photos in as the reproduction tends to be so much better than the type of printing you mention.

I prefer a good quality printed paper book but as e-readers and iPads/tablets become more commonplace, I suspect a time will come when we won't have that option.

Paul.

[astrobeck]

Paul,
It looks like it is, I found this link
https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=iPuG0GQQ1ZQC&rdid=book-iPuG0GQQ1ZQC&rdot=1&source=gbs_atb

Let me know how it looks if you do get it.