Two Film Ms - B+W and Color

I don't have two Ms but I do find myself occasionally bringing a 2nd camera (or more) and I actually find it crippling vs beneficial. I find when I just concentrate on one camera going forward it's more rewarding.... Yes a lot of times I have B&W loaded and wish for color, or the opposite...but sometimes that forced limitation promotes creativity.
 
I don't have any Leica but I have brought two cameras on vacation. Fast and slow film, but mainly to avoid changing lenses and the little bit of anxiety of dropping one. I mostly end up walking around with just one of the cameras anyway though.
 
This was my main way of working for a long time, Two M bodies, one color and one b&w or both the same film type and different lenses. Translated this into a two M9 body kit for a long while as well. I rarely carry more than one body at a time now.
 
I really find I can't shoot colour and black and white successfully at the same time (some might say or instead of and). If I want to cart around two bodies - with reluctance nowadays - it would be one 35mm and one medium format.

I did for a while shoot an M2 and M3 at the same time but they are heavy beasts when you add lenses and other kit such as meters. It's a bore.
 
I'm more likely to carry an M (film) and a medium format camera on longer trips. Not that i usually carry them at the same time though....
 
I really find I can't shoot colour and black and white successfully at the same time (some might say or instead of and). If I want to cart around two bodies - with reluctance nowadays - it would be one 35mm and one medium format.

I did for a while shoot an M2 and M3 at the same time but they are heavy beasts when you add lenses and other kit such as meters. It's a bore.
I have had the same issue with B&W vs color; I can adjust my thinking to one or the other but not both interchangeably. Back in the day doing urban street shooting I often carried an M2+35 below a Spotmatic+85 both with Tri-X and that worked ok. More recently I recall hiking around San Juan PR with two Contax G2 cameras and three lenses and that bag got awfully heavy well before the end of the day! These days I may have two cameras available but carry only one at a time. And... when adopting the M8 I discovered that I'm really a color shooter, so that simplifies that! 🙂
 
+1
Simple is better!!!

I have had the same issue with B&W vs color; I can adjust my thinking to one or the other but not both interchangeably. Back in the day doing urban street shooting I often carried an M2+35 below a Spotmatic+85 both with Tri-X and that worked ok. More recently I recall hiking around San Juan PR with two Contax G2 cameras and three lenses and that bag got awfully heavy well before the end of the day! These days I may have two cameras available but carry only one at a time. And... when adopting the M8 I discovered that I'm really a color shooter, so that simplifies that! 🙂
 
FWIW, I sometimes carry multiple bodies because I don't like changing lenses. If I'm on a big trip I might carry 3 bodies with 21mm, 35mm, 90mm lenses. Ive done this a few times and been glad to be able to grab the camera/lens setup when I see the composition I need that lens for. If its too much to carry my bag all day I just leave it in the hotel room and take one body with the 35mm.
 
I gave up on the fright of switching lenses in the street long ago.
Quite often I shoot two M's: one with a 50, the other with a wide (28 or 35).
I shoot B&W only.
 
Two bodies, two different focal lengths, two different (colour) films:

MP 0.58 with 28 Elmarit M ASPH and Ektar 100
M2 or M4 with 50 Summicron and Portra 400 or 160

No lens changes, and always film in at least one camera. My favourite travel setup!
 
Having had a film body fail on a trip (through operator error), and having one become unexpectedly unavailable right before a trip, I always figured three is the minimum number (assuming those are your only cameras). With three you're reasonably assured to have two for a trip.
 
The less clutter on my back, the more my mind is free to conceptualize and shoot. I don’t even like having a strap with me. If I know I’ll be out all day, sometimes I’ll keep a small P+S with me for indoor flash snapshots, which makes for more of an impact than color vs. B+W IMO.
 



This was my setup a couple of years ago shooting film at the local dragstip for a season. Black paint M4 and an early double stoke M3. One for colour, one for b and w. It was great for the duration of the project but I didn't find another project to justify keeping them and they are both sadly gone.
 
When I did air shows I carried two cameras because you need a tele lens for planes flying but a WA or Std for things happening on the ground and may not have time to swap lenses and so on...


Regards, David
 
Sometimes I carry 2-3 bodies of different brands/formats/film types.

One thing you need to be careful: if the films are of different speed, setting exposure requires extra caution with respect to which camera you're now using. It has happened to me multiple times that when I set exposure I mistakenly set it for one film speed on a camera loaded with a different speed film 🙁
 
I do sometimes. I have two M3's and one M2. Plus a few LTM.
But most of the time I just pick the one I want to shoot with that day.
 
I usually use digital cameras, but since a week, I am using the M3 with color film and the Standard Leica with B&W film. I felt like a change away from digital only.
 
When I was shooting weddings and other events with film cameras, I tended to carry two M's with different lenses and usually (but not always) the same film in each. If I was still doing event work I'd prefer to have two digital bodies with a fast prime on each rather use zooms. I still have two M film bodies, but now that they are just for personal use I normally only carry one unless I'm traveling somewhere I doubt I'll go again. Sometimes I'll carry two or even three lenses with me, but most of the time I just carry one, especially if I'm just carrying a camera about my daily routine. More often lately I will put something like a little Olympus XA in my bag to have another lens option but still keep my carry kit small and light. Low weight and small size has always been a priority for me, and has only gotten more of my focus as I get older. The more important my photography is as part of what I'll be doing, the more gear I am willing to carry - but I always have an eye on size and weight.
 
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