p.11 #1 · RF-L or FE-GM (No Trolls, Gatekeepers, or Dismissive Responses)
People don't carry spare cameras for fear of camera failure, but to obtain greater flexibility and shot coverage and minimise lens and card swaps. You can mix resolutions, some bodies and some lenses shoot portraits better than others, others do landscapes better, others are small and nimble for cafes/interiors.
So you tailor your gig more accurately. It's the thinking behind near-identical bodies and lens in ranges - habit makes shooting faster. You can form a more intimate relationship with primes carefully designed by a master craftsman rather than a CAD zoom, and you get to know exactly what works for you, in time.
Examples: Street session: a light body with low Mp with a fast 75mm, a medium Mp camera with a 50mm, a coverall high res body with a great 28mm. Jeep work: a specialist 50mm on a high res body, a dreamy portrait lens for villagers. Mountains: a 14mm for tight rivers, a 28mm for more open, a 50mm for more compression. When you pick up a certain lens, your mind thinks with that focal length in mind. You never have to hold a large combo, or spaz at the controls.
Imagine the confidence you develop doing it this way. Six lenses, ~1800 grams, three bodies, 2000 grams. A small carry-on backpack, 30L size. It's a big world. Fortune favours the prepared mind. Luck is the nexus of preparation and opportunity.
p.11 #2 · RF-L or FE-GM (No Trolls, Gatekeepers, or Dismissive Responses)
philip_pj wrote:
People don't carry spare cameras for fear of camera failure, but to obtain greater flexibility and shot coverage and minimise lens and card swaps. You can mix resolutions, some bodies and some lenses shoot portraits better than others, others do landscapes better, others are small and nimble for cafes/interiors.
So you tailor your gig more accurately. It's the thinking behind near-identical bodies and lens in ranges - habit makes shooting faster. You can form a more intimate relationship with primes carefully designed by a master craftsman rather than a CAD zoom, and you get to know exactly what works for you, in time.
Examples: Street session: a light body with low Mp with a fast 75mm, a medium Mp camera with a 50mm, a coverall high res body with a great 28mm. Jeep work: a specialist 50mm on a high res body, a dreamy portrait lens for villagers. Mountains: a 14mm for tight rivers, a 28mm for more open, a 50mm for more compression. When you pick up a certain lens, your mind thinks with that focal length in mind. You never have to hold a large combo, or spaz at the controls.
Imagine the confidence you develop doing it this way. Six lenses, ~1800 grams, three bodies, 2000 grams. A small carry-on backpack, 30L size. It's a big world. Fortune favours the prepared mind. Luck is the nexus of preparation and opportunity. ...Show more →
Nope. I disagree wholeheartedly with your statement "people don't carry spare cameras fir fear of failure." My first camera failed me in 1984. I was shooting a sporting event and dropped my Nikon FM2. From that moment on I learned to ALWAYS carry a backuo camera. Since then I've severa "primary" cameras fail me ranging from 35mm film cameras, mefium format film cameras, dslr's, and mirrorless cameras. Machines fail. Electronics fail. Not having a backup camera is foolish.
p.11 #3 · RF-L or FE-GM (No Trolls, Gatekeepers, or Dismissive Responses)
philip_pj wrote:
People don't carry spare cameras for fear of camera failure, but to obtain greater flexibility and shot coverage and minimise lens and card swaps. You can mix resolutions, some bodies and some lenses shoot portraits better than others, others do landscapes better, others are small and nimble for cafes/interiors.
So you tailor your gig more accurately. It's the thinking behind near-identical bodies and lens in ranges - habit makes shooting faster. You can form a more intimate relationship with primes carefully designed by a master craftsman rather than a CAD zoom, and you get to know exactly what works for you, in time.
Examples: Street session: a light body with low Mp with a fast 75mm, a medium Mp camera with a 50mm, a coverall high res body with a great 28mm. Jeep work: a specialist 50mm on a high res body, a dreamy portrait lens for villagers. Mountains: a 14mm for tight rivers, a 28mm for more open, a 50mm for more compression. When you pick up a certain lens, your mind thinks with that focal length in mind. You never have to hold a large combo, or spaz at the controls.
Imagine the confidence you develop doing it this way. Six lenses, ~1800 grams, three bodies, 2000 grams. A small carry-on backpack, 30L size. It's a big world. Fortune favours the prepared mind. Luck is the nexus of preparation and opportunity. ...Show more →
I always bring a spare camera on trips, just in case the others fail. Just got back from a month away. Had my a7riv as spare, which never got used.
Oct 10, 2026 at 08:45 AM
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p.11 #4 · RF-L or FE-GM (No Trolls, Gatekeepers, or Dismissive Responses)
I never take a spare camera with me other than my phone. For me photography when I travel is never about documenting the trip. It is about getting a chance to engage in some artistic expression and I love being able to do that when I travel. If my camera broke or wouldn't function I would lose that opportunity, but for me it wouldn't be the end of the world. There are lots of things I like to do when I travel and I would just do more of those things and save photography for the next trip, but that is just me and of course, YMMV.
p.11 #5 · RF-L or FE-GM (No Trolls, Gatekeepers, or Dismissive Responses)
Yeah me too, usually my spare is my iPhone 17 Pro Max. As a matter of fact it is the most important camera that I take for travel as I want to post pictures ASAP to my Facebook and Instagram.
p.11 #6 · RF-L or FE-GM (No Trolls, Gatekeepers, or Dismissive Responses)
philip_pj wrote:
People don't carry spare cameras for fear of camera failure, but to obtain greater flexibility and shot coverage and minimise lens and card swaps.
Back when I was living in Calgary and making a good secondary income from stock photography, I took a 10-day trip out to the west coast of Vancouver Island. On the very first day, after a 15+ hour drive, I stopped at a trailhead in the park before getting to my hotel, and had my medium-format camera crash to the pavement off the top of my tripod. That was the last trip I ever took without a spare camera.
p.11 #7 · RF-L or FE-GM (No Trolls, Gatekeepers, or Dismissive Responses)
To raise a related issue, some people think it's a choice - for non-pros - between enjoying the trip or doing their photography. Either/Or. I've always felt the photography enlivens the experience, breathes importance and emotion into it. You work harder at seeing, you feel more involved in the scene, not kind of floating through the location.
Thought I'd mention that, to kind of encourage people to get more from it, those that are not already doing it that way. cheers.
p.11 #8 · RF-L or FE-GM (No Trolls, Gatekeepers, or Dismissive Responses)
philip_pj wrote:
To raise a related issue, some people think it's a choice - for non-pros - between enjoying the trip or doing their photography. Either/Or. I've always felt the photography enlivens the experience, breathes importance and emotion into it. You work harder at seeing, you feel more involved in the scene, not kind of floating through the location.
Thought I'd mention that, to kind of encourage people to get more from it, those that are not already doing it that way. cheers.
100%! There's a certain spontaneity that you can capture while visiting a place for the first time! When I go to a new, exotic (to me at least) place for the first time, I like to bring decent equipment to capture as much detail as possible. However, if it's my second or thrird time visiting, then I'll take a minimum amount of gear like my micro four thirds outfit.
p.11 #9 · RF-L or FE-GM (No Trolls, Gatekeepers, or Dismissive Responses)
A long time ago I threw two cameras and a bunch of lenses in my bag. I have only ever used shoulder bags and cursed myself the entire trip. That hasn't happened again.
For many years now I carry one camera and two or three lenses on extended trips. These are not pure photography trips, but more like vacations where photography is half of the fun. So far I have not experienced a catastrophic camera failure, but if the worst happens I can always try to buy a new camera locally. Of course that depends on where I am. If it is not possible, the sun will still rise the next day.
