Second-string and knockabout cameras...

R

Roger Hicks

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...why? Or perhaps, when? Some people seem to be lusting after the X100 as a cheaper or lighter alternative to their existing M system, but when I look at the 'second string' cameras I have for my film Ms, I find I almost never use them. Why should the X100 be different? If I'm worried about risking $7000, I'm sure as hell not going to risk $1200 either, so I'll go for my old Retina IIa or Pen W. Or a cheap digi (not a $1200 one). Who here has 'knockabout' or 'second string' cameras, and when do you carry them as an alternative to your 'best' camera(s)?

The argument is developed at greater length on http://www.rogerandfrances.com/, where there's also a pretty picture of a Nikkormat with a GN-Nikkor. If the Short Schrift has changed by the time you get to the site, just click on the link above the picture for earlier pieces, which will by then include this one.

Cheers,

R.
 
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X100 is not a second string and knockabout (or knockout) camera, it is the camera of hope... But in all seriousness, a camera is as good as the eyes behind it, so if someone cannot frame even if their life depended on it, you give them any camera and they'll produce visual boredom.

We should try to be better photographers first and better camera shoppers second.
 
My backup 35mm film camera is a Canon FT with a 55mm FL f/1.2, a 50mm Macro, and a slow 35mm FL. The body cost $20 off craigslist.

I used to use it more for low light stuff but ever since getting a DSLR that has become my go to camera for low light. I accidentally threw the Canon FT across the dinner table and onto the floor and it was totally fine and didnt miss a beat. Thats a good quality for a back up, i think!
 
I went for Bessas as my second string camera for years till my kids got old enough that I did not need to carry them. Then they sat and eventually sold to pay for housing/food.

I am not into second string, but I do believe that there are special purpose cameras that might be confused with a second string by some folks(e.g. Nikonos III). There are types of photos that RFs don't do as well as SLRs and some times nothing can beat LF negatives.

I carry different first string cameras for the occasion. For me it's the style of picture I'm going for more than the danger to the camera. They are just things and things can be replaced.

B2 (;->
 
A few times over the last 35 years of photography I have bought a second string camera, something to backup my main camera, and guess what, they also have never been used, or only rarely. I suppose it was insecurity, thinking 'what if' something happened. And of course nothing does happen. I did think about the X100, but thankfully decided this time I'd rather take my M9 with me. I think with the M9 finally the GAS for backups has passed, long may they gather dust.

Steve
 
When I had a back up camera (Ricoh GR1) it became the primary camera and the M6 went into hibernation. I lost the Ricoh and the M6 got used again.

Don't know what this means but the convenience of something tiny overruled all other considerations.

Michael
 
Don't really get the concept.
I've always just bought the camera I wanted to use and then used it.
Never had a camera I wouldn't take anywhere I would go.

Cheers,
Gary
 
Leica IIf + Summitar-bought cheap,
Minox GTE,
one of several 6x6 folders, if it looks like MF might be good to have.

All either inexpensive, or in the case of the Minox, well used, mostly depreciated and bought for the purpose in the first place. It also has a very good lens.
 
When I went to Barcelona two summers ago, I took my XA because I could slip it into my pants pocket. (It was too warm to wear a jacket.) When I go into NYC for a conference, I usually take one of my Zorki's, a Zenit, or my $7 Spotmatic . That way I don't have to worry about leaving my backpack in my seat when I go out for a break.
 
I don't buy cameras as back-ups, I buy them simply because I like to use different cameras on any given day. Some days the M8 does it for me, some days a film camera, some days a P&S, etc. I like variety. The cameras I use aren't very hard to figure out or get used to.
 
My knockabout camera, if you can call it that, is an M6 and 50mm lens. It has almost exclusively taken over from my dSLR for travel and when out and about. It fits in a coat pocket, or a very small backpack.
My second-string camera is an LX3. It fits in a motorcycle jacket pocket. I tried using an external viewfinder with it, as I don't like using the LCD screen, but found the combination too cumbersome.
I would like a 35mm field of view for sub-sDLR use. I did consider the X100, however I reckon I will go with a 35mm lens for the M6. Easier to carry two lenses than two cameras. I haven't seen it in real life, but from web size comparisons I reckon the X100 will be too big to displace the niche the LX3 has found itself in.
 
Interesting discussion no doubt. IMO, and that is all it is, a second camera should be no less capable than the first camera. That said, I would love to be able to afford another M to go with my M3. Alas, that simply is not possible without generating income prior to....

So, I have traded bits and pieces for a like-new Leica R4 and will pick up a 50mm Summicron F2 tomorrow. I have two or three projects lined up that will take a month to complete and hopefully will begin to generate income.

The second camera in this case will offer me the ability to do those things that SLR cameras and long lenses do best at a fraction of the price of another M body plus lenses. It also sets me up for using the 35 Lux and the 80 Lux to do what I have in mind next. (And even if the R4 broke tomorrow, there are many available in town for less than $200....).

Somewhere down the road, I hope to get that M9...what a second-string camera that will be.;)

As far as the X100 goes, meh...I cannot afford to buy something that will not produce anything different than I have. Sure, the X100 is the darling of the market place now, but it offers nothing useful for me. Cameras and all things photographic are only tools for me. If the D40 breaks tomorrow, I will still not be looking for an X100. It just doesn't fit.
 
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chippy said:
really? i mean i appreciate that if you have a camera you have saved for you want to and practically have to make use of it, after all if no other options are available you have to make use of it...but what about a knockabout for use in BAD weather, no sense getting that multi thousand dollar camera all wet in the rain, snow and mud, well unless you dont care or can afford to risk it...

was nice when they started making cameras with seals and weather proofing, they cost a few bob though, not sure everyone could/can afford them
Click to expand...


The F5 is perfectly affordable these days... Best/toughest SLR I ever owned.:)
 
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I've just got smaller cameras for when I want to carry less. The T3 slips into nearly any pocket- the GR1s and GRD2 as well.
 
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