Me and my bro are thinking about walking hadrians wall this summer and I was wondering if people had any recommendations for gear. I'm thinking about using my EOS 300 equiped with it's 28-80 mm lens (I know it's crap and I might have the money to buy a new and better lens before then). I'm having trouble chosing film though. Is there a big difference between Fuji Velvia 50 and Fuji Velvia 100F? Also I have a relatively crap tripod so I should probably get something better.
A wide angle lens is a must (your 28-80 should be ok... but if there's any way you can stretch to something that goes down to 24mm then go for it :) ), plus a telephoto if you have one - 75-300mm or something similar will let you zoom in and isolate aspects of the landscape, as well as compress perspective for things like lines of trees, or the receding shapes of the crags the Wall is built on.
Filters - ND grads, polariser and warm-up (81b).
Film - Velvia 50 every time for me, but then I suppose its entirely personal... I love to get some movement in my shots - long grass blowing in the wind, clouds racing across the sky, rushing water turned to mist - so the slow speed is ideal. I think the colours and saturation etc are pretty similar, so you might want to go for the 100 ISO to give you a bit more versatility. Also consider some black & white shots - maybe a few rolls of fast film for grainy, atmospheric images.
Your tripod should be as sturdy as possible - in general the heavier the better, but as you'll be walking, weight will be an issue...
A couple of locations to look out for when you're on the Wall include: Sycamore Gap (made famous by Kevin Costner in Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves), Steel Rigg, and Crag Lough... do a Google Image Search on these for an idea of what to expect.
Some ND Grad filters!
.. else i could have told you that the Velvia 50 and Velvia 100F are very close in colour. The 100F being a bit more natural and easy IMHO. Regarding grain size both are great and comparabel.
I sort of tested both films under the same conditions and decided for 100F for practical reasons.
The Velvia 100 (without F) however is a different stors.. would not recommend it. Strange colours.
Velvia is quite good for the UK .. rather versatile if you like strong contrasts and punchy colours.
So, did you walk Hadrians wall? been up there two years ago, and thought it very nice!
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Hadrians Wall