"I've got three of those"

[RalphLambrecht]

Seen quite a few people on here with several examples of the same camera. No criticism intended or inferred, but what drew you to buying several of the same model, or did they kind of just land in your lap?

My justification for having multiple cameras is they are at least all different and have their own qualities and quirks. (Bit of a weak justification, but there it is.) However I don't have two of anything. I guess if I found a really nice champaign OM-4Ti ridiculously under-priced I'd probably buy it because it compliments my black one, but I don't have an urge to proactively hunt one down because it's going to be just like the one I already own other than being a different colour.

I have multiples of the ones I really like.You never know if you can get them ever again and they don't last forever or repairing gets more and more difficult. Of course, you end up being in danger of spending more time on maintenance than photography.

 

[pthornto]

I second some of the comments here....if you find a camera you like, it is worth having a couple of copies. With a few exceptions they aren't making them anymore.

 

[jscott]

Sure, Rolleiflex, Hasselblad, Leica, you name it. Kept buying them whenever condition seemed good and price seemed low. No regrets. Love the stuff, and shoot photos all the time.

 

[MattKing]

OM-2s, because it has always served me well.
OM-20, because it is so light and inexpensive.
OM-2n, because I wanted a chrome body with similar capability to my OM-2s, when I needed one body for one film and another for another.
And my recently acquired OM-4T, because if you have black and have chrome, you need champagne.
Actually because I've always wanted one, and I was able to examine one before buying one at a really good price.
In the past I've owned a new OM-1 (non-MD) which I traded for the OM-2s, and an OM-1n that I subsequently sold. I also had a second OM-20 that I gave away to a young photographer.
The first one was acquired almost 40 years before the most recent one was acquired, so I don't feel guilty about any of them.

 

[CMoore]

I do not use Zooms. I have nothing against them, i simply do not use them.
Especially for "Street Photography"...i find it easier to carry two bodies.
I usually stuff both of them with HP5, and then mount a 35mm on one and an 85 on the other.
I usually carry a 28mm just in case the 35 is too long.
In THIS scenario, it is awesome to use the same camera. It is just like you changed a lens on the same body. Everything stays the same, even though you are switching between Two Cameras.......

 

[sportster44]

The only cameras I have more than 1 of is 2 Canon AE-1s, both given to me by family; and 3 Canon F-1s...... 1 f-1n, and 2 F-1N. I would buy another in a minute if a good deal came along.

 

[benjiboy]

Having three of a camera model you really like that hasn't been manufactured for more than twenty years and there are no spare parts available for to me makes sense because if the worst comes to the worst and one of them breaks down you can have a camera repairer cannibalise one of the bodies to keep the other two cameras going .

 

[CMoore]

Having three of a camera model you really like that hasn't been manufactured for more than twenty years and there are no spare parts available for to me makes sense because if the worst comes to the worst and one of them breaks down you can have a camera repairer cannibalise one of the bodies to keep the other two cameras going .

At This Point In Time.....^^^^^^^ That is probably the best reason right there.

 

[guangong]

I bought two Leica M4 cameras, one for b/w, the other for Kodachrome to use back in late 60s &70s. Still use these cameras. My Hassy 1000F died just when 2000FCM was introduced and bought one since with adapters I could use the same lenses. With the drop in used Hassy lens prices I bought a Hasselblad c/m. A bunch of Minox cameras because some can be more discrete while other models are easier to carry and use on the fly. I must say that several of my good friends, world respected photographers, used only one camera at any given time. There is really no best way for everyone.

 

[Molli]

Having three of a camera model you really like that hasn't been manufactured for more than twenty years and there are no spare parts available for to me makes sense because if the worst comes to the worst and one of them breaks down you can have a camera repairer cannibalise one of the bodies to keep the other two cameras going .

This is the reason I've kept hold of a camera that broke and was replaced immediately with the same model. The broken one is now a "parts camera" for its sibling - poor thing!

 

[Sewin]

I now just stick to basic budget mechanical M42 bodies, Praktica, Chinon,sometimes Zenit or whatever takes my fancy.

If I don't like the camera or it is faulty, no big deal, I've others to fall back on and my lenses will fit.

 

[GRHazelton]

I have 3 Pentax MXs - one for parts, probably, the other two eat meter cells in only a month or two. Gotta get the black MX to Eric! I also have three Pentax LXs, one with the sticky mirror syndrome, the other two working fine!

 

[Theo Sulphate]

I have many 2-of and 3-of cameras -- ostensibly bought for backup or flexibility.


Minox - thought I'd get just one, a IIIs, but that broke and while DAG was fixing it I bought another, then a B, then I found a III.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I have never gotten to the point that I needed more than one copy of a camera or lens.

 

[MattKing]

I used to photograph weddings.
I wouldn't have even thought about going out on a job without a backup of some sort - ideally a backup body and additional, usable lenses.
Now however, I have no good excuses.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

A good argument can be made for having a backup camera; one that's identical to your main camera. Even if you're not a photojournalist, or wedding photographer, or some other type of pro, if your main camera malfunctions you can use the backup while the main one is being repaired. Also, with 35mm, you can have different film in identical bodies.

 

[Kino]

When the price of Nikkormat's became about the same as a good rear lens cap, I bought one for each Nikon prime lens I had in my possession. Why not?

 

[benjiboy]

I have never gotten to the point that I needed more than one copy of a camera or lens.

It can make economic sense Steve considering the price of lens repairs these days and how cheap some lenses can be bought in good condition these days.

 

[blockend]

When the price of Nikkormat's became about the same as a good rear lens cap, I bought one for each Nikon prime lens I had in my possession. Why not?

Got into buying Nikkormats for similar reasons, though I'm currently down to 4 or 5 having given some away. Bought my last one seven years ago when the market for 35mm cameras had bottomed out.

When I started out in photography a Nikkormat was the quintessential student camera, an F or F2 was way beyond our budgets. I never got round to buying one in the 1970s and went down the Olympus route. Thirty + years later I picked one up and marvelled at how well made it was. Beautifully mechanical aperture engagement pins and door locking mechanism, the little supplementary light meter on top, the proper optical glass lens on the frame counter, they'll never make cameras like that again. And those gorgeous pre-AI scalloped lenses. If I had to choose a single 35mm camera for the rest of my life the Nikkormat would be it. A true camera for the people.

 

[narsuitus]

I use the following screw-mount Takumar lenses permanently mounted on a Spotmatic body so I do not waste time changing lenses:
28mm f/3.5
50mm f/1.4
135mm f/3.5



Pentax Spotmatics by Narsuitus, on Flickr

 

[Theo Sulphate]

That's what I do - leave a lens on a camera and almost never change it. When I go out to make photos I choose an existing lens and camera combination for the day and stay with that.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I never had to use photography to provide an income so I never need to have back up equipment.

 

[benjiboy]

I have five Canon F1's (3 New F1's and 2 F1n's) I'm retired and shoot almost every day, and they all get used regularly..

 

[colin wells]

Three Canon F1s two i originally had one for color and one for B/W . I then bought a third for spares but it turned out to be the best of the lot so thats how i ended up with three

 

[narsuitus]

When I depended on the Nikon F2 for income, I routinely carried two chrome bodies in the field and left my spare black body at home on a copy stand.

During the rare times when I needed all three in the field, I carried one body with a 35mm f/2 lens (later replaced by the f/1.4 version), the second with an 85mm f/1.8 (later replaced by the f/1.4 version), and the third with a 180mm f/2.8.



Nikon F2 by Narsuitus, on Flickr