One Camera or Two

degruyl

degruyl

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I am taking an overnight trip to Colorado, and I am deciding whether to bring two cameras or one.

The camera which is definitely going is a Mamiya 7. The Leica M6 may or may not be going.

The only reason for bringing the 35mm is the ease of dealing with 35mm slides, and the simplicity of scanning these and not worrying about the processing and stuff.

For the Mamiya, I need to decide whether I will be taking color or black and white negatives (I don't have e-6 film in 120 at the moment, and I have a ton of film to use up). Of course, I can take both.

I am not planning on carrying both at all times, so that is not the main concern.
 
Dear Dave,

Overnight? One.

Actually, I'm not sure I'd always take that advice myself, but then, consider what I do for a living: two Leicas don't weigh much. Also, I very seldom go away just overnight.

Cheers,

R.
 
Take the Mamiya 7 and shoot some of that black and white film you have backlogged. This time of year, everyone and their great aunt is shooting color, so do something different. You might be pleased with the results.
 
I keep going back and forth on this.

I took one camera to Mexico for two weeks (it was the Mamiya 7). It worked fantastically, and I cam home with great negatives.

I went back the next month with two cameras. For one week. In my defense, that trip was supposed to be "1 to 6 weeks".

I suspect that I will be taking the MF camera. I prefer developing MF black and white, I like the size of the negatives, and the whole packages is less weight or bulk than my DSLR. So, maybe I should just pick up some velvia or astia 120.

That being said, the leica is small. If I were travelling for some other reason than "having a good time and taking some pictures", say for work, I would not be bothered with the larger camera. As it stands, I have about 1.5 daylight days out there, with most of that time dedicated to taking pictures and eating lunch.
 
Well, next week I'm going to Grenoble (France) nearly close to overnight (will be there day and half) and owing three bodies and 3 lenses a single combination (1 body + 1 lens) only comes to my mind.
The only contemplation in this regard is whether to take M6 + 35mm cron (and Digisix meter) or M7 fitted with 50mm cron...
Since this is business trip, more then singe body/lens doesn't even gets considered for me.

So in your case, I'd also opt for single body/lens combination only to allow for simplicity and convenience during very short trip.
 
Merkin said:
Take the Mamiya 7 and shoot some of that black and white film you have backlogged. This time of year, everyone and their great aunt is shooting color, so do something different. You might be pleased with the results.
Click to expand...

I think that I will be pleased with the results. I was planning on B&W, except for some color around Red Rocks.

I love developing 120. Especially compared to spooling 35mm.

So: Tri-X and more Tri-X? I also have TMax 100 in the fridge. Probably six boxes (which would be 30 rolls, 300 shots, I guess) between the two.
 
If you have some tmax 100, it cant hurt to take a roll or two of it with you, just in case you encounter really bright light or snow. Otherwise, tri-x, tri-x, tri-x!
 
alexz said:
Well, next week I'm going to Grenoble (France) nearly close to overnight (will be there day and half) and owing three bodies and 3 lenses a single combination (1 body + 1 lens) only comes to my mind.
The only contemplation in this regard is whether to take M6 + 35mm cron (and Digisix meter) or M7 fitted with 50mm cron...
Since this is business trip, more then singe body/lens doesn't even gets considered for me.

So in your case, I'd also opt for single body/lens combination only to allow for simplicity and convenience during very short trip.
Click to expand...

I have to fill up the bag somehow...

That being said (and it is not true, anyway), what is wrong with the M6 meter? (I use an external meter for the Mamiya 7, but not the M6. The Mamiya has an annoyingly narrow spot that is not marked in the viewfinder.)
 
For an extended vacation, I'll take two cameras and 3-4 lenses.

But for an overnight or 2-4 night trip, it's usually one camera and one lens. I like traveling light.
 
Take two cameras. The principals of a backup camera works the same with an overnight trip or a month long trip. If your the kind of person who tends to take a lot of frames (like me) a 36 shot camera spreads the reload time with a 12 shot camera.
 
Completely different approach:
If you expect casual snapshots/ street photog, the 35mm can't be beaten.
For a more aestetic / landscape style, I would have taken the 6x7.
If you don't know what to expect, why not take the two and leave one in the hotel (worse case in the bag)
I really carry two cameras on me ready to shoot when I'm photography-dedicated

Of course, not even the slightest hesitation about tri-X.:)

Enjoy your trip.
 
I am there with Darren - take two. Even if one never leaves bag/suitcase, the peace of mind is worth the weight. Spoken like a true optimist ;)
 
I would take two as well even if you plan on just shooting with one. It's always a good idea to have a backup in case of a malfunction. I've only had that happen to me one time, several years ago, but having a back up saved me a lot of grief.
 
Thanks for the help, everyone. I wound up taking the Mamiya 7, and ran through 10 rolls of Tri-X and five rolls of Astia 100F. I only used the 65mm lens, although I did take the 150.

Oh, and the colors were earth-tones where I was. I decided to save the Velvia for another time.
 
I too like to travel light, and would never go out with more than one camera.
I would consider bringing a second camera for backup in case of malfunction,
but only if secure storage is available where I'm staying.
I would of course consider additional gear for an extended stay in one place,
i.e. weeks or months instead of just days.

Chris
 
I was a big fan of the one camera / one lens (or two lenses) approach until the shutter of my M7 broke all of a sudden (just two weeks before a longer trip). Now, I prefer to bring two cameras just in case.... An additional carried Leica M6 + 35mm Lens + some rolls of films (135) won`t hurt to much even when not used at all...
 
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