One camera, one lens (not the usual thread)

[myoptic3]

ChrisN,
Sadly, I did just that. Went out and shot what I thought were killer photos one morning w/ a camera I don't shoot w/ much. I noticed that the film advance seemed unusually smooth and light about the 5th shot. Hmm, I thought, this camera seems a lot nicer than I remembered. Then I looked to see what film was in it. Surprise! It was a roll of that invisible film. It's funny now but I felt pretty silly at the time. Fortunately, I have made FAR worse mistakes, so it was no big deal. It's all relative.

 

[sheepdog]

Had a trip where everything went kinda awry last year.. Brought my analog and my digital maxxum 7s with good glass, and my m3 cv 21 and 35mm as well as a laptop. I saw this as a mostly digital adventure maybe with the occasional K64 shot as I'd gotten 4 rolls earlier that spring.

Upon arriving in Turkey (i'd used the m3 as my pocketcam thus far), I discovered that I'd brought 3 nearly empty batteries for the 7D and ... no charger. I think I managed 20 shots with it in all.

The local one-hour only carried Fuji Superia 200, so I shot some of that as well as the K64. Upon receiving the rolls back from Dwayne's a month later, I noticed that I had messed up my exposed/unexposed system and therefore exposed one roll twice, while another was blank. These two rolls on one ofcourse contained all the most memorable pictures..


This year I went with the 7D (with batteries and TWO chargers), and the M3. Used the latter more often, with the dSLR coming in handy for stitched panoramas and the like.

 

[Roger Hicks]

You know, I may just do that. I've dug out one tank and reels and ordered up some fresh chemistry. Four wooden clothespins and the hotel bathroom will have to serve till I investigate the tent further. I'm trying to keep everything that I need for four months on the road in two carry-on-sized roll-aboard suitcases.

The tent is a big bugger, about the size of a large cricket bag when collapsed: perhaps 3 foot long and a foot square, so if you're flying frequently, it's not really an option. But if you're travelling by car, it's well worth thinking about.

Carry three yards/metres of nylon string to make 'clothes-lines' whenever needed: often, the shower/bathtub layout is some way from ideal for film drying.

Alternatively/as well, bend some wire S-shaped hooks to hook over things. Straightened-out BIG paper-clips are useful, especially the plastic-coated variety.

You can easily process even sheet film with one of these:

http://www.rogerandfrances.com/photoschool/ps how orbital.html

Cheers,

R.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Upon arriving in Turkey (i'd used the m3 as my pocketcam thus far), I discovered that I'd brought 3 nearly empty batteries for the 7D and ... no charger. I think I managed 20 shots with it in all.

The local one-hour only carried Fuji Superia 200...

Then the pro-digi 'batteries aren't a problem' brigade starts calling you names for being so careless/ stupid/ non-anal-retentive -- as though you hadn't beaten yourself up enough already!

But it's certainly a lot easier to find film than a new Canon charger. Or laptop charger. My US/EU 110v/220v converter blew itself and the charger up in Germany when I was covering photokina a few years back and I had hell's own job (and considerable expense) in finding a replacement charger locally: obviously mail order wasn't much use. Easier now with multi-voltage chargers but you need a lot of plug adapters or pieces of electric string if you travel much.

And your experience with the Superia is why I ALWAYS wind film off completely (leader in) -- much harder to double-expose.

Cheers,

R.

 

[kkdanamatt]

I had a brand new 105mm Nikkor fail to stop down during an extended West Coast vacation in 1970. All my Kodachromes were horribly overexposed. Years later, I went to Europe for the month of October in 1984. First stop: Cologne for Photokina. My Leica CL's light meter quit on the very first day! Thank God the Leica techs at the Leitz booth were able to fix it the same day. Since then I've always carried a backup body and lens on every trip.

 

[mike goldberg]

Hi all,
I just happened onto this Thread, and I'm delighted to hear of the popularity of the Oly 35 RC. I had some difficulty in focusing mine, and Ruben got in under the top plate, and installed a small piece of ND gel near the RF. Voila; this darkens the field of view somewhat, and it's much better. Yes, the Oly RC is a great small camera with a terrific lens.

 

[kalokeri]

Has anyone had a problem with taking just one camera that then breaks/is lost or stolen/otherwise fails to deliver the goods?

Never had that kind of problem, but I always fear I will.

Travelling light aka one camera/one lens is really liberating. But a backup like you suggested is always a good idea as long as you don´t have to take it with you all the time ...

Thomas

 

[Paul Jenkin]

If it had to be 'one camera, one lens' it'd have to be my D300 and 17-55mm f2.8. However, if I get to take a spare, I'd also take my M6 and Cron 35/f2.

 

[dee]

Hmmm .
I am strictly an amateur considered snapshooter , so usually take more than I will ever NEED ...
Buy I am a pro Designer / illustrator of Interiors, so would I venture out withot a spre pencil , Rapdograph pen nibs , pens , eraser etc ?
Would I heck !
Back Up is essential when someone is payimg me to achieve a result .
In any field , I guess ?

 

[wlewisiii]

Went on my annual whitetail deer hunting & Thanksgiving trip this past week. I only took my Kiev 4a with an uncoated (prewar) collapsible 50/2.8 Tessar for the lens. I got a few good landscapes of the woods I was in but before the big family function for Thanksgiving, the camera decided to stop working. No family snappies this year.

This is not as big a deal as if I'd been on assignment, but it does remind me of Roger's OP and the delemma it poses. I had enough things to carry and so decided against a second camera (probably would have been my Contaflex) and chose the Kiev by default as due to a fall on a concrete sidewalk, my Contax II was already out of service.

I'm no closer to a solution as I prefer the idea of a one camer and one or two lens setup. But the reality of problems is there. Wish I could afford a R2C as that would be a big help to me at times like this.

William

 

[FrankS]

The beauty of carrying/using 2 bodies is that it allows you to use different film emulsions in each, either B+W and colour, or different film speeds; it allows the use of 2 different focal length lenses without the need to change lenses in the field; and if one camera decides to pack it in, you have a backup body to continue shooting with.

Now, I'm not suggesting that you need to carry 2 bodies on your way to the village corner store to buy a newspaper and cigarettes in the morning, but if you are away from home and plan to be taking pictures, I believe it would be prudent. Certainly if you are on a paid assignment and certainly if you are on holiday. I have 2 M2s for this reason.

 

[Lilserenity]

I have tended to carry my Oly XA as my notebook and backup camera and the EOS 3 as the main camera. The XA is so small and light that when in my pack on big hikes (most recently a week of walking 100 miles) I never notice it. So it's a quality small backup. I was only walking with a 35mm prime anyway. As it happens I had Delta 400 loaded in the XA and HP5+/Tri-X in the EOS 3. The XA never got used.

That said, when I do the North Downs Way (131 miles) I'll again take the XA but my main camera will be my Leica M2 which I'm picking up on Saturday all being well. But a backup is important to me. I like to travel light but I remember when my EOS 5 died a few years ago, and how did that spoil Christmas for me. I do get the grumps when things don't work*.

(* : And this is why I question why I ever ended up working with computers!)

 

[dreamsandart]

Maybe I've been lucky... On a 2 year bicycle trip it was just an M4 and a couple lens, no problems. And although making photographs is one of my main enjoyments 'seeing' when I travel I still carry just one camera. Having a very high quality compact outfit is my main consideration and not being loaded down with gear that can make the type of travel I do a backache. I'm basically a one camera, one lens (at a time) kind of photographer anyway. For the last 10 years or so even though I have a great Leica outfit I've taken a single Rolleiflex (love the square and big picture), also without problems in dust and cold/heat.

Now that said all it would take is a one time camera failure to change this. And if I was going some place where I really thought I was going to be changing lenses a lot I would probably take a couple cameras (one Leica and the Rollei or two Leicas) with the idea I had a 'back-up', but till then I guess I'll stick with the easy to carry way to go - knock on wood.

 

[Rob-F]

That depends on where one is going. A few years ago, I took three cameras to Durango, CO for a rail charter trip.

@Al: Sounds like maybe you took the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge railway (DSNGRR)?

@Roger (et. al.) My Leica M2 was my only camera for about 10 or 12 years, before I started buying more stuff. It went all over the world with me, Asia, Europe, SW United States. Never a failure. I did manage to break my Nikon FE2 transport during a Colorado trip. Fortunately, I had a spare FE2 as a backup, plus the M2.

 

[Roger Hicks]

That said, when I do the North Downs Way (131 miles) I'll again take the XA but my main camera will be my Leica M2 which I'm picking up on Saturday all being well. But a backup is important to me. I like to travel light but I remember when my EOS 5 died a few years ago, and how did that spoil Christmas for me. I do get the grumps when things don't work*.

(* : And this is why I question why I ever ended up working with computers!)

Love the footnote!

Like others, I've had very few camera failures in 40+ years, but as you say, it only takes one...

And as a dear, long-deceased friend once said, "I don't think I'd bother to travel unless I could take my camera." He was my gaffer when I started as an assistant in London in the 70s. Photography is clearly more important to some of us than to others.

Cheers,

Roger

 

[SimonSawSunlight]

I often take LOADS of gear. different bodies, different lenses, film and digital, sometimes even 2 dslrs, because they all lead to a different way of photography and therefore to a more versatile view on the whole trip. but I mostly end up using my Leica M4, my EOS 1D and maybe one of my yashica 124 / 124g almost all of the time and the rest, such as my canonet ql17 giii, my yashica 44s or the minolta x-700 system only come out for special use.
when the weather really sucks big time, I'm happy that I have my Nikon f5-tank to rely on (although the 1D and the m4 tolerate a lot, but I somehow feel less anxious about the f5. plus it can serve very well in terms of self defense. you never know!).
then again, I just take the m4 with me on some trips - as it is my all mechanical, trusty and sturdy everyday/everywhere camera - and happen one more body + 1 lens max, if any.

 

[Frank Petronio]

I think theft is a greater risk than break down, so I don't want to be leaving spare Leicas in hotel rooms or rental cars, much less checked baggage. If I can't carry it, it shouldn't come.

A credit card is your best spare camera on vacation. Unless you are on an expedition or off in the third world, you're never more than 45 minutes away from a perfectly usable $500 D40 or Rebel from a Walmart or Best Buy. You can always resell it for a slight loss later. Even the $90 digital cameras they sell in the Supermarket/Drug store aren't so bad.

It's easy enough to bring extra digital or 35mm cameras on a serious job, even 120 cameras, but once you start getting into large format it makes more sense to bring tape, tools, and a spare ground glass.

The busiest local pro in my town has twin Mamiya-Phase One set-ups, $80K invested. He says he simply has to have a back up and doubles the price of everything he buys. It's a shame he's a hack! lol

 

[Roger Hicks]

I think theft is a greater risk than break down, so I don't want to be leaving spare Leicas in hotel rooms or rental cars, much less checked baggage. If I can't carry it, it shouldn't come.

A credit card is your best spare camera on vacation. Unless you are on an expedition or off in the third world, you're never more than 45 minutes away from a perfectly usable $500 D40 or Rebel from a Walmart or Best Buy. You can always resell it for a slight loss later. Even the $90 digital cameras they sell in the Supermarket/Drug store aren't so bad.

It's easy enough to bring extra digital or 35mm cameras on a serious job, even 120 cameras, but once you start getting into large format it makes more sense to bring tape, tools, and a spare ground glass.

First bold and second: agree completely.

Third bold: disagree completely. Even if you're in the USA and don't mind an unfamiliar camera with a rubbish standard zoom, it's a lot quicker to pull out your other Leica than to go from Bug Tussle, Arizona to the nearest city with a camera store. Elsewhere in the world: do YOU know where to look for a camera in Lyon, or Athens, or Madras?

Fourth bold: and a spare lens in shutter, of course. In fact you can always fake the ground glass.

Cheers,

R.

 

[parsec1]

Bought a couple of Nikon F90x's in 1996. Both packed up on me on third use in the middle of a riot. (Live animal export protestors) phoned Nikon and got the usual'please leave a messge'crap so held up my cell to record the riot and left a 'terse ' message about their new cameras. Next day Nikon biked two new bodies down to me. Now almost totaly dig but always carry a Leica M film camera 'just in case'.

 

[parsec1]

By the way Roger if you still think press photography is 'irrellevent' take a look at the whole page pic on page 5 of todays Sun by my friend and collegue Arthur Edwards. For those not able to view it a whole page pic of a Para back from Afghanistan missing a left arm and two legs who still managed to walk to HRH Prince Charles to recieve his bravery decorations.
If that pic does not do something to your emotions I would respectfully suggest another planet might suit you.