Hi Ulrik,
I believe that the answer to your question lies in Rule 165.20 of the Competition rules of the IAAF:
There should be at least two photo finish cameras in action, one from each side. Preferably, these timing systems should be technically independant, i.e. with different power supplies and recording and relaying the report of the starter's gun, by separate equipment and cables...
It goes on to state that one camera should be designated as official prior to the start of the competition, and that the times and places from the other camera should not be considered unless there is reason to doubt the accuracy of the official camera of if you need to resolve an uncertainty in the finishing order (ie. an athlete is obscured).
Practically, in my mind, this means two cameras, one on each side of the track. Each has its own UPS backup and its own set of cables going out to a start transducer (ie. two sets of cables and start transducers. In Australia, we generally tend to run with this type of setup from State level competitions and above, with some exceptions when the equipment and manpower is available. In fifteen years of using this type of setup I have never personally seen both systems go down at the same time.
Regards,
George.