How many rolls of film do you take?

[Arvay]

Suppose you are going for a vacation to some other country for 10 days. And suppose there is no place to buy film there or it is twice as much as at your place.
How many rolls will you take?

[feenej]

!0 rolls of Reala and 15 rolls of HP5.

[erikhaugsby]

When I went to Europe last year I took 20 rolls of 36-exposure Tri-X, thinking that I would shoot an average of 1 roll per day.
I wished I would have taken at least 30 rolls.

[palec]

2 rolls per day

[Arvay]

When I went to Europe last year I took 20 rolls of 36-exposure Tri-X, thinking that I would shoot an average of 1 roll per day.
I wished I would have taken at least 30 rolls.

That's quite close to my opinion...
A friend of mine says:"Youl'll never have plenty of film..."

[narsuitus]

Minimum of one 36-exposure roll of 35mm film per day.
or
Enough medium format film to shoot at least 24 shots per day.

[jky]

I budget usually 3 rolls/day... better to have unused rolls than missed photos...

[EcoLeica]

1 or half a roll a day is what I find I take with me quite often, however I am a poor masters student so I cant burn through film like most people :)

[MRohlfing]

2 rolls per day, mostly Fujichrome Provia

[mervynyan]

2 cameras, B&W 400, Slides 100

Normally pack 50 rolles, depends on what is left in my fridge.

[Chris101]

I never seem to take enough - it's that I will usually shoot whatever I have. And yes, I have paid twice as much for it when I run out. :(

[chris000]

2 rolls per day rounded up to the nearest 10 - is the formula that I use to plan. But I don't why I came up with that formula because I generally end up buying more mid holiday!

[mh2000]

I guess I don't shoot as much as most people, but I would probably take 10 rolls to be safe and only shoot 5 if I'm lucky.

[dof]

Presuming we're talking about 35mm film here, I would bring 25 - 30 rolls.

Film is fairly small and light weight. I'd much rather carry a few unexposed rolls back than be left with the nagging feeling of missed opportunites because I didn't pack enough.


-J.

[Silva Lining]

For 10 days I would take 15 rolls PANF 5 Rolls Delta 100 and 5 rolls Delta 400 for the M6 plus 10 rolls of TriX in 120 for the FUJI.

[WoolenMammoth]

I usually take what I plan to shoot, I'll expose everything I bring. Came back from the last trip with 4,000 frames.

[Pherdinand]

well,depends on the place as well, but for 10 days...probably 15 to 20 rolls if i have all the days for myself.
As said above, better too much than not enough.

[photophorous]

If there is no opportunity to buy more at all, I'd probably take 20, but if buying more only meant paying too much, I'd probably take 10. Take a digital point and shoot for the pure touristy shots and you'll shoot less film. But, it really depends a lot on the trip, what I plan to do/see, and how conducive the activities are to photography. If it's all about photography, I'd take 30, but my trips never are.

Paul

[Pavel+]

Always about twice as much as I need! :D

[pvdhaar]

1 roll for each day..

If I need more, I'm doing something wrong..

[manfromh]

atleast 2 per day, but often i dont shoot even that much.

[dazedgonebye]

Are you going to just grab shots as you go along or are you planning on taking the time to exploit specific photo opportunities?
I need 2 rolls of color 35mm film (at least) for each day of sight-seeing. If I plan dedicated shooting time for landscapes or architecture (whatever the locale offers) I plan that film in addition to the snapshot film.
I can get 35mm film anywhere, but I can't get 160VC, or PanF+ at every drug store, and that's what I want to shoot with. Further, I can't get 120 film anywhere but dedicated camera stores so if I don't bring enough of that, I'm simply out of luck.
Add to that the need to bring 400iso in color and black and white, "just in case" and you see I carry a ton of film.
I bring one less change of clothing or get by with one pair of shoes, or don't pack that book to read on the plane, or God forbid, leave a lens behind...whatever...I bring the film.

[Faintandfuzzy]

Has anyone travelled with 100' rolls to load themselves? I'm curious how this was viewed at airports for security. It would be cheaper and to be able to pack a few reels to get 60 or 70 rolls worth would be lighter and smaller.

[oscroft]

I'd probably take enough for 2x36 exp rolls a day, and then use a bit less than that.

[KenD]

Assuming that each day is a full wander/ see/ shoot day:
20 rolls transparency
30 rolls Tri-X

KenD

[swoop]

However many can fit in my Domke X-Ray bag.

KenM!

[40oz]

maybe 5 or 6 rolls. I don't like constantly taking pictures. I try to budget my shots, because I don't want to process that many. And I don't think it is solely my job to completely document every place I go in pictures :)

I try to take back a nice assembly of shots that cover the trip, and can help tell the story. Some duplicates, but mostly I restrain the implse to shoot everything in sight. I keep track of what I have left, and don't worry about missing anything important. I often ask myself if a particular shot is worth the film. Most often I decide it isn't. But I feel free to shoot random shots of people on the street and cars going by if I like the shot.

I don't know. That's just the way I do it. I have to pay for and process the film myself, and still feel like a beginner. I don't feel like I get better by shooting more often, I feel it comes from remembering what I've shot before, and what the meter said last time I was here at this time. Or the last time I was someplace like this. I think about how the film looked after processing, and what it took to develop it. I think if I shot so much, it'd all run together and I'd be worse off.

I don't mind coming home from a trip and thinking I should have got a particular shot. It just makes me want to travel more. How many missed shots have I never even seen yet? I don't worry about the ones I've seen. (Well, honestly it happens all the time, and I do regret it :) ) But what are you going to do, you know?

[Bob Michaels]

I always take at least 2X what I think I can possibly shoot. That way I never have to question taking a shot because of the potential of running low on film.

I'm going away for 6 days next week, traveling light since I will be flying. I will be carrying my Mamiya 7 and two lenses plus a 35mm RF and two lenses. I'll take 20 rolls of 120 and 20 rolls of 35mm, all Neopan 400.

[victoriapio]

I know this is a film question but pardon my opinion as I have committed to digital RF photography. Still, I just got back from a vacation in London - 10 days there - and I shot more than 1,000 photos. That is three rolls per day on the film equation. I still had three more 2GB cards unused - and felt the amount of photos was determined by what inspired me. If I had more time or inspiration, I had digital memory to use.

So planning on "x rolls per day" could be limiting, especially if something really inspires you. So my recommendation is as someone already said, "take more than you will need."

This is a different scenario but when I was a fulltime PJ, I did a week's work in Saudi Arabia and shot a brick of Kodachrome (144 rolls) and ran out of film. Granted I was there for work and someone else eventually paid for the film and processing. I also took a case of AA batteries as I was shooting Nikon F3s and F5s plus I had two Vivitar 285 flashes.

Ahhh, the memories of film but the committment to digital.

O.C.
Texas

[amateriat]

If there is no opportunity to buy more at all, I'd probably take 20, but if buying more only meant paying too much, I'd probably take 10. Take a digital point and shoot for the pure touristy shots and you'll shoot less film. But, it really depends a lot on the trip, what I plan to do/see, and how conducive the activities are to photography. If it's all about photography, I'd take 30, but my trips never are.
And this is where a decent digital p/s comes into its own. In fact, having such a camera sometimes frees me up from the "black-and-white or color?" dilemma: the digicam gets used for happy-snaps in color while the other cameras get a steady diet of XP2 or HP5...unless, of course, I decide on shooting nothing but color.

In the past (and once again, as soon as it's fixed), my Ricoh GR-1 served this role: I'd stick a roll of Kodak E200 or Portra or Fuji Pro 400/800 in it when the Hexars were loaded with b/w.

As far as "how much?" goes, for a ten-day-to-two-week trip away, I figure on 15 to 25 rolls; 15 works nicely because that's about the amount I can squeeze (loose, in a zip-lock bag, which helps if I'm flying...er, jetting) into one of the two bigger pockets of my Domke 803. If I need more, another zip-lock goes into my duffel bag with all my other carry-on stuff, which for me is dragging along a lot of stuff (I was a big believer in traveling light long before 9/11). I'm pretty good at regulating my shoot-rate without despairing over passing up a photo-op, and often I'll find myself with at least a roll or two left over.

And if I run out prematurely, and can't easily buy more, I just remember what Winogrand said about reloading...


- Barrett

[Doug]

I'll typically average about one roll per day on a trip, whether 220 or 35mm/36 exp. I'll take 50% more than that just in case. In April, overseas, I took the M8 and made about the same number of exposures per day on average as with film.

I don't feel inhibited by the cost of film & processing, nor do I feel free to snap more with digital; quality still takes the same attention and care.