One large format camera in a backpack on a road trip can take up a lot of cargo space but two packs full of gear would be prohibitive on the family vacation. So with some judicious packing and selection of bare essentials I manage to pack the 5×12 and its 3 holders, the 4×5 in its soft case , plus a lens case containing 300/500mm, 210mm and 135mm lenses in the Shimoda 60 Liter pack. 6 4×5 holders were in a pouch attached to the side. Accessories: meter, dark cloth, loupe, cable release, ND and Orange filter, step up rings, and notecards all fit into pouches and crammed into available gaps or pockets. The lid of the pack could barely close over the gear. Tripod was not attached but could have been mounted on front if needed. Surprisingly the pack was not that heavy and was quite manageable.

I knew I would not have much time to photograph so knowing my location and planning helped. I knew I wanted a particular beach area for the 5×12 and that there were some opportunities at a garden we would pass on the way to Epcot. The well arranged pack was not too difficult to work out of and made it easy to move the gear indoors at night. There were some issues with the gear however which were not easy to fix without my normal tools that were sitting at home in the other pack. The 300/500 had a mounting issue that needed a lens wrench and small screw driver so it did not get used. The thumb rest of the cable release came off and was lost so no way to fix that on the road. And the rear protective glass for the 4×5 shattered which made the ground glass assembly loose so focusing require a bit of dexterity. None of these obstacles prevented me from shooting but it did slow me down a bit more than usual.

Once I got home I was able to develop the few images I did capture and was pleased with the negatives at least. Still need to print and am devising a method for the 5×12 contact prints since none of my easels fit that format very well.
I repaired all the gear and put things back into the two packs ready for the next adventure. The following weekend I ventured out with both packs to a location an hours drive away and took a couple of shots with the 5×12.

I think I could probably hike with both cameras but I would want to scout an area first to make sure I would use both of them. I have a 6×9 roll film back I could also take with the 4×5 to give me 3 formats but thats just crazy. I have given up smaller film formats because they do not bring the same fulfillment that the LF process does. I do have a large duffle bag that would hold all the gear comfortably that is suitable for working near the car, but I wouldn’t want to hike with it. More adventures to come.