How many cameras do you take on a long trip?

How many cameras do you take on a long trip?

  • 1 camera

    Votes: 93 14.4%

  • 2 cameras

    Votes: 313 48.4%

  • 3 cameras

    Votes: 173 26.7%

  • 4 cameras

    Votes: 39 6.0%

  • 5 cameras

    Votes: 13 2.0%

  • more

    Votes: 16 2.5%
  • Total voters
    647
My last trip to Europe, which was my first; I took a Rollei 2.8F, Plaubel Makina 67, M3 and four lenses, Bessa L with 15mm lens, and a Leica point and shoot. This time it is a Bronica RF645 with 45mm and 100mm lens along with the Bronica dedicated flash and polariser. And a IIIf with 50mm summicron for color. This trip will last one month.

By the way, the Plaubel got the most use on that first trip.

Donald
 
I've travelled to Asia quite a lot (and these days Thailand several times a year - I'm there now), and I've usually only taken one body and one or two lenses. In the past I've mostly taken a Pentax Spotmatic with a 28mm and a 35-105, or a Nikon F3 with 35-135 Nikkor, but I once took a Bronica ETRSi with 75mm and 40mm lenses to Laos (lugging that around was a strain). Last time here I brought an OM2n with just a 35mm lens, and this time I have a Bessa-L with 21mm and 15mm CV lenses. Next time I think I might just bring a FED with J-12 and J-9. (Can you see a progress there? ;-)

Best,
Alan
 
Last year I took 1 rangefinder (Revue 400 SE), 1 minox 35gt and 1 holga. My wife had a digi P&S. Only at one point I really wished I had an SLR or a tele-lens, in a small italian town there was a medieval tournament. very cool.

This time I am taking a bessa R with 35mm and 50mm. Probably a Fed 2 as backup. And a holga. I am not traveling anywhere without a holga 😀
 
Three cameras is a good number for me. An easy to use P+S, my Leica M6, and a MF camera for big negs. I could take more but this is what I can carry easily.
 
Frank: If I had lised a MF camera among my choices for my trip, would you have recommended the MF to me? I am still debating with myself whether I want the weight or not. Maybe a minimal set consisting of:

Rolleiflex 2.8D ==> "50mm" (boxy)
Fuji Natura Black ==> 24mm (small)
CL + 35mm/1.8 + 90mm/4 (both are small and light)
 
Hi Raid,
It really it should depend on what you hope to have as a final product. If you plan to make some poster size enlargements then you should take a MF camera. If you end product is a slide show and some 8x10 prints, then MF is not required.
There won't be any major walking tours on the trip I"m taking this summer and we're moving around by rental car, so I can justify a MF camera on my trip just in chase I stumble upon a great image or 2 that can be blown up. On your trip to China with walking tours and crowded cities, you'd have to be pretty committed to wanting posters in order to justify a MF camera.
 
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Frank: I am not looking for any poster prints anymore. Our home is filled with such prints and we are running out of space. I will postpone using the MF to my next trip in the USA.

I just picked up the CL after its rangefinder got alligned. I will definitely take the CL. I am bothered by a couple of postings about Chinese airport personnel messing up cameras. I wonder whether the "pristine" M3 should stay home or not.
 
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I may be going to Turkey in September and I think I'm just going to bring my Rollei 35RF with the 40mm Sonnar and the ZM 25mm Biogon. I want to go very light with a small bag and will probably either shoot Kodak 100G or GX or Portra 160NC. I was in Italy a couple of years ago and carried a Pentax MX and a ZX5N with a Tamron 28-75f2.8 and an old Pentax 135 prime. Shot bw in the MX and portra in the ZX5N and was able to mix and match lenses. I had to carry it all in a backpack camera bag that I've got. I don't really regret it as I had enough focal lenghts to deal with just about everything I needed, but since buying the Rollei, my style of shooting has changed quite a bit and I've only used the 40mm Sonnar and the 25mm Biogon for several months. For my taste the convience of the RF wins out and although the old Pentax and Tamron lenses are quite good, the Zeiss glass is giving me noticibly better results.

Bob
 
Raid,

That M3-Summicron-Natura sounds like a great combo. Maybe you want to take your 90mm as well. A small wide angle P&S is great for all those moments you don't want to be lugging all your gear, i.e. restaurant-bar kind of stuff. When I take my SLR + P&S, I load the SLR with slide film (Provia or Sensia) and the P&S with Portra print film, usually 400VC. It's a great combination.


Peter.
 
PeterL said:
Raid,

That M3-Summicron-Natura sounds like a great combo. Maybe you want to take your 90mm as well. A small wide angle P&S is great for all those moments you don't want to be lugging all your gear, i.e. restaurant-bar kind of stuff. When I take my SLR + P&S, I load the SLR with slide film (Provia or Sensia) and the P&S with Portra print film, usually 400VC. It's a great combination.


Peter.
Click to expand...

Peter: I used to shoot exlusively slide film but have switched to print film when my kids were born so that I could make quickly reprints. I miss the details of slide film images. I also throw into my camera bag a small P&S for the occasions when a large camera would be unsuitable. For example, when I attend a conference, I can easily put an XA or Minox or Natura in the pocket of my Jacket. I may load the Natura with color film (ASA200) and use B&W film in the M3 or CL.

Regards,
Raid
 
A long trip implies room for baggage...
OM-1, OM-2 with 24, 35, 50 and 70-210mm.
OM T-20 flash
Minox C with hot shoe att.
Minox EC with Minox flash.
Minox film (can't get that at Walmart)
Gear may vary, depending on whether were seeing scenery or relatives, city or country.
The RF dejour might now edge out most of the Minox gear. The EC you can wear as an earring so there is no reason not to take it.

and the wife's P&S.
 
It depends. This is my standard kit:

2 x M-bodies (M4/M7)
1.4/35 Summilux ASPH
1.4/50 Summilux-M
2/50 Collapsible Summicron (for those glow shots)
VIOOH finder
Sekonic 308s meter
VC Meter II for the M4

Lots and lots of Tri-X


If I am going to shoot a project (documentary, photojournalistic etc) the bag grows a little, but I try to keep things as simple as possible.
 
On my last trips (Bratislava, Budapest) I always took my BessaR (mostly color) and Leica III (b+w) both beater cameras with wich I feel more comfortable banging around (also the Kit is rather light)....For lenses I always grab my VC 50 + 21mm ... Don´t now why, but as much as I enjoy using FSU-Stuff at home, when I need to depend on lenses I grab the (new) VC ones.

Slightly OT:
My M3 never gets to see the world 🙁 ... I´m just to paranoid with this pristine machine that anything happens to it........
Do you keep a Camera that sees no Use at vacation?
I´m realy thinking of selling her and geting the R3M or a beater M4 instead...On the other hand Im shure I´ll post at the "sellers remorse" thread..
What would you do? should I just slam it against a wall (getting the first marks on) so that I´m not scared any more? :bang:
 
NIKON KIU said:
Recetly a member asked about which camera to take on a long trip and the Thread got closed before any replies to his question. Gave me th idea of posting this.
How many cameras do YOU take on a Long trip, say 5 or more days...to a far destination, say Russia.
I know I always take more than one camera body, normally 2 to 3 with lotts of lenses.
Folks, when I ask camera or camera bodies I count all of them as long as they are capable of taking pictures, so your daughters digicam counts.
Thanks,
Kiu
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Sorry, but I really wonder what this poll could be good for. 😕

I mean which worth does the information have for you,to know how many folks take how many cameras on a long trip ??? You don't know where the trips go to, what the targets are, which cameras are chosen for what reasons and for what purposes, you know absolutely nothing of all the reasons determining the number of cameras .

What does that mean to YOU when I tell you I sometimes got one and sometimes I got four with me ? Isn't this again one of these totally pointless polls ?? 😕

Fitzi
 
If one RFF'er learns from my stupidity then this would not be a pointless thread. Last month I went to Beijing with my Panasonic LX-1 and M6TTL/Noctilux. After a two hour ride to some exotic place I started shooting with the digicam. After three or four frames the battery was completely drained. Oops. I should have made sure it was charged. I then took out the Leica and realized the meter didn't work because the battery was also dead. I was shooting print film and my exposure guessimates were good enough.
 
fitzihardwurshd said:
Isn't this again one of these totally pointless polls ?? 😕
Click to expand...

C'mon Fitzi, why so hostile? If Kiu just wants to satisfy his curiosity and others like to talk about what they take on a trip, what's the problem?

95% of what's said on RFF is 'pointless' in a way, just like a lot of the things a person does and says each day are 'pointless', strictly speaking. But what's wrong with that? We're not computers, we can rant a bit about unimportant things from time to time just because it's fun, even if there is no real point. Nobody is saying the result of this poll should be a guideline for others on how many cameras to take on a trip...
 
Only as much as I can comfortably carry. One spare Besa or other cheapie can be left in a hotel as back up. The Leicas stay with me even in the shower.

Here is where digi is nice. No x-ray worries. A few weightless flash cards and you are good to go .

One trick traveling PJ`s used is Haliburton case chained to the bed frame to slow down theft. Of course you can`t stop it if they are detirmined enough, but it keeps hotel maids from doing a quick grab.
 
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