How many cameras can you bring on a shoot.

If it's a vacation, usually two cameras that differ significantly, such as:


Just walking or driving around, I'll take just one camera and one lens.

To me, having to choose between multiple lenses and cameras is too distracting. Often during my outings I will seek opportunities well suited for the film, format, and lens I have with me that day.

Drew B. said:

huh? If you want to donate that swc to me...I'll accept that!

Click to expand...

What about the Fisheye and 500mm lenses?

Usually one. Sometime two, with one film and the other {d-word}.

My arms and hands are strong, as is my neck...so it is not at all uncommon for me to take lots of cameras on a trip.

If I am just going on a "photo walk" I will likely take one decent film or (d-word) camera. Could be anything from a 50s rangefinder to one of my Praktica BX20S bodies.

If I am travelling somewhere with the intention of taking photos, and when I go on holiday, I very rarely go without a big camera bag. I'm off to Malta on Saturday. In my camera bag will be:

1x Nikon D7100 with Tamron 28-300 lens and Tokina 17mm
2x Praktica BX20S bodies with CZJ Flektogon 20mm, CZJ 35-70mm and Sigma 28-200mm lenses
1x Zeiss-Ikon 520/16 folding MF camera
1x Agfa Super Silette 35mm rangefinder
1x Samsung compact digital thingy
IR filter (for CZJ 35-70), circular polarising filters for the Tamron 28-200 and Sigma 28-200, yellow filter for the latter.

Lots of B&W and colour film, all goes in my cabin bag. And yes, I will use all those cameras during my week away with the spousal unit.

The logic is that the Nikon can and will theoretically handle any situation. But it's digital and I also want to shoot film.
The Prakticas are my favourite SLR body. Usually one will be loaded with C41 and one with B&W. Though I do plan to do some IR photography with one of these....during which time the Afgfa Super Silette will be loaded with B&W film instead. The Agfa is a nice little camera anyway, fits in the pocket....as does the Samsung though it's shutter lag and noise at high ISO are a tad annoying it can go places the other cameras often can't. I also have an under water pouch for the Samsung and will use it while snorkelling. The Zeiss-Ikon is special to me as it belonged to my late father. It is this very camera that he used to teach me photography in the 70s, additionally it's a really nice MF folding camera. I'll shoot at least one colour and one B&W film on this and they will look stunning. I'll further post those MF photos all over my social media accounts and point out that they were shot with an 80 year old camera that doesn't have a battery compartment.

Now I am just wondering if the Agfa will fit in the under water pouch.....that could be fun too!

I've rarely gone on any kind of trip without at least three cameras...except during the time when I was misguided and didn't shoot film....in those dark days I'd take one DLSR and one compact (d-word) camera. I well remember my first trip to Las Vegas in 2001 I carried around a duffel bag with one Praktica BX20S usually loaded with Kodachrome, a Praktica BCA loaded with C41 film and an Elmo Super 110 super 8 movie camera with Kodachrome. Carried it everywhere up and down the strip, in the casinos, everywhere. People probably thought I was mad. Today I'd probably get pulled up by the authorities.

Sirius Glass said:

What about the Fisheye and 500mm lenses?

Click to expand...

One would not want to appear greedy, just the SWC will do...

How stout is your mule?

W. H. Jackson only packed one at a time so far as I know.

My dad used to take everything. I used to try that. Now usually one. My canon g10 is in my briefcase accompanied at present by a 120 Holga.

I find that lugging about lots of cameras and lenses self-defeating as far as taking photographs is concerned because the more gear you carry the more decisions you have to make before making an exposure and the more pooped you will be when getting to the location you want to shoot. I find this increasingly so the older I get and the more weight conscious I become and I've sold a lot of my heavy equipment because I can't haul it about any more and I'm surprised to find my work hasn't really suffered. I usually carry a Canon F1 fitted with an FD 28-85 f4 zoom lens in a Lowepro zoomster case, a light meter in my pocket and a Rollei No.1 carbon fibre lightweight travel tripod.

Andrew O'Neill said:

It depends. Road trips out to Saskatchewan it's 6x7, 4x5, 8x10, and 14x17...DSLR... Wandering around Vancouver, only one camera... Lately it's been the RB.

Click to expand...

Holy moly! That's a fun road trip for sure.

(This is an enjoyable thread.)

I don't tend to hike longer than 2-3 miles from my car, so portability isn't really an issue, outside of "will it fit in my luggage".

On my trip to Hawaii last month (Maui and Oahu), I took my DSLR and several lenses. I had to buy a new travel tripod to fit in my luggage (all of my old ones were too big and heavy, a.k.a. sturdy). I also packed an underwater camera (Sea & Sea Seamaster) but it flooded after the first use. I had to gamble on the rear o-ring because after several months of looking online, I couldn't find a suitable replacement, and I guess the old one which worked fine in the bathtub, didn't work so fine in strong currents.

A few months earlier I took a road trip along the southwest. I brought my DSLR for Carlsbad Canyon (you can't beat digital for low light), my 4x5 Speed Graphic for Arizona deserts, Grand Canyon, and the California coasts, mountains, and forests (HWY 1), and my David White Stereo Realist for all of the fun tourist traps like the Hoover Dam, downtown L.A. and the Vegas Strip.

My wife and I tend to like to see as many things as possible and not wait around for the best light or weather. Most of our best shots come from in between destinations.

I am generally out and about for the day with only one camera, but if it is a road trip, I'll have 5x7, 8x10 and 11x14 in the van...and probably a Rollei. Which camera I use sometimes depends on how far I will be walking with it. I took just the 5x7 to Chile for a month (just finished developing the negs) and would walk perhaps 5 miles with it (4 km out and 4 km back) in the afternoon...some pretty steep and nasty trails and I am not in the greatest of condition.

The 8x10 (with two or three lenses and 5 to 7 holders) I can haul around several miles. I tend to wander around with the camera most of the day, looking at the light...perhaps set the camera up 4 or 5 times. When the light dies, or hunger and thirst suggest I return, I am often surprised how long it takes to get back. The 11x14 stays pretty close to the van for now -- until I get a good pack for it.

Backpacking trips -- I'll take one camera/lens. Depending on the destination, length, and distance of the trip, it will be the Rollei, 4x5 (150mm) or the 5x7(180mm or 210mm lens).

I have a little Sony digital camera I can toss in any camera bag, too.

TheGreatGasMaskMan said:

I shoot multiple formats, and when I go out often take multiple cameras (though other times I'll just take one). I found I can do the best with two cameras (ie, one digital, one film- or a 35mm and medium format). I've done three cameras before, but that only really worked once- and that involved carrying one camera in the camera bag while keeping the other two out. In preparation for my spring break, I've been thinking a digital, 35mm, medium format, and 4x5 all at once would be way too excessive.

what have been your experiences with using multiple cameras?

Click to expand...

after a few miserable trials, I restrict myself to only one camera per shoot or I take two of the same kind with different focal lengths because, different bodies require different handling and that can quickly get confusing. However, since I try to avoid zooms, taking two of the same bodies with different focal lengths works for me

Too many, a number which becomes smaller each year. Sometimes, these days, the right number, to not become excessive, is one iPhone.

Oh no he didn't!!

Sirius Glass said:

I almost always shoot one format:

• 35mm usually two Nikon sore, one for color negatives and one black & white.
• 6x6 one Hasselblad plus sometimes the Hasselblad SWC.
• 4”x5” one of two cameras, never both.

There are other 35mms such as the WideLux that are added in at times.

Click to expand...

If I am driving only, not flying, I will bring all my Hasselblad lenses in a large backpack and take the lenses that I want to use at each place I stop to photograph.

2 cameras, 35mm. One with 50mm lens (Leica or Nikon), and one spare camera (usually with zoom, or tele lens, and most of the time spare stays in hotel room).

Canon's been mirrorless is an inflection point ... wish I could afford one....

I generally have specific kinds of shots in mind so those shots call for specific cameras, just as they would if I was working on some assignment other than my own.

....Unfortunately many modern kit zoom lenses, are outright astounding so I no longer can defend my old zoom disdain.

Canon's NEW mirrorless, not Canon's "been" mirrorless... Oops.

Unless you are just interested in loading up a backpack and going for a workout, I see no reason to take more than one format. Multiple cameras are a distraction. I usually am working on a project and will take a main body and a couple of lenses, and a backup body. If it's MF or LF, I only have one camera for each, so it makes the choice easy.

faberryman said:

...If it's MF or LF, I only have one camera for each, so it makes the choice easy.

Click to expand...

I carry a modified darkslide so I can take 4x10s with the 8x10 at anytime. Nice -- like having two formats for just a few ounces more.

I usually just take the dSLRl and the P645N or the dSLR and the 4x5. A few times, I've been going somewhere I knew I wouldn't be going back to soon and I took the 4x5, P645N, and dSLR. I did shoot with each and made slightly different shots with each, but I wouldn't do it often. I almost always have the iPhone with me.

I wrestled with four 35mm cameras on one occasion. Never again! On an extended photo expedition a friend and I shared 6 or 7 cameras: one Leica rangefinder outfit, one Pentax Spotmatic because our best 400mm had that mount, and the rest were Nikons with a variety of lenses and films. Neither of us carried more than two cameras away from the car. After a few weeks we had 80 rolls of B&W film to develop and many rolls of Kodachrome to send to Kodak.

Whenever I go to New Orleans' French Quarter, I always take 4 Nikon film cameras and 7 assorted Nikkor lenses. It all fits in a Domke F2 bag. I've been doing it for years, so the weight doesn't bother me.

"How many can I bring?"

I'll assume the OP meant "How many do you bring"

For me, it very much depends...
If the purpose of the outing is mostly photographic in nature,and Ive decided to use 4x5 for the "assignment" I'll bring a 4x5 and a couple of lenses along a 35mm SLR with one to three lenses. In this case the 35mm stays in the hotel or car and serves as a back up or gets used on days where the 4x5 wants to stay back at the hotel and rest.

If however I've decided to use small format for the "assignment" then I'll carry two identical, or at least mount compatable 35mm SLR bodies and 2 or 3 lenses along with some other 35mm SLR with one lens. As an example, two Nikons, with 28mm, 50mm and 105mm lenses and a Spotmatic with a 50mm. Again the lone Pentax would stay back at the hotel most of or if everything goes well all of the time.

If I'm just going about my business, walking around, going to work, hiking, on a family vacation or whatever, where the primary purpose is not photographic, I'll carry a 35mm SLR with either the 50mm or the 28mm lens mounted and notheing more.

Like others, I find having more choices, due to carrying too much gear leads to poor results or, worse no results.

Usually only one, but every now and then I will carry two. However, I need to have a logical reason for more than one.

How many can you BRING...what is more important is how many you can actually USE ! If you set one up pre-aimed on a tripod and can trigger it remotely perhaps off the shutter of a second camera, and have a third camera poised so that you can put one down to pick up the second with different FL lens...