my D3's shutter went down during a shoot (a lot of actuations) so I pulled the D700 out of my bag, nobody knew what happened, it was a pretty seamless transition.
A backup camera is a given for every shoot but an assignment in Russia many years ago required that I take duplicates of EVERYTHING, including strobes, power packs, converters and light meters. The only thing I did not bring as a duplicate was my 4x5.
Just remember that if you shoot with two cameras that means that you need two backups for critical assignments. On one shoot I had one camera malfunction leaving me feeling kind of naked with one working camera.
For events: 2 duplicate cameras at a minimum but 3 are better. 3 on camera flashes. I've had one catastrophic shutter failure at a digital event that left me with one working camera and like billkoe I felt crazy naked. Minor failures like flashes etc aren't as big a deal but still sucker punch you in the stomach. I don't like to cross platform bodies even within Canon's lineup because they place identical functions on different buttons so all my like-function cameras wear the same badge. 2 5D's, 2 1V's, etc. I only have 1 Contax 645 body but I'm looking for a 2nd body for that, too. The 35mm's work fine for a backup and the 2nd 645 body would really only allow me to shoot 2 focal lengths simultaneously. For commercial: It just depends on what format the job requires but usually 2 bodies and then backups with strobes.
Yes. Always and
I mean always have back-up. My back-up camera is not the same model but close enough and I know where the functions are so it is not a big problem to use fast.
I also have a extra lens and flash unit just in case. Not Canon L but a tamron in the same range. I have a had a camera , lens and flash go out during paid shoots.
At one time I had 2 back-up cameras but sold to get one new back-up which I think is safer in the long run plus had high ISO option my older models did not.
I was shooting a job for a shopping mall and my RZ 67 conked out because of a dead battery, the spare was in another case...ok, I'll shoot with my Hasselblad, that was fine until it jammed when my assistant was changing a lens...ok, that's why I brought my Nikon stuff too.
All this happened in about 15 minutes
What pro shooter would not have?? Anyone that hasn't must not have been in the game long.
I have had so many failures over the years i couldn't even recount them. The irony is most of the time they have been on newer or recently serviced equipment.
Back in the film days I owned 6 compies of the exact same model camera. Found one I liked so I bought all that I could find. Still have one that has had less than 20 rolls of film through it.
I wouldn't go on any job without backups. I don't take the same gear all the time but I rarely do jobs where the backup camera won't suffice just as well. Things like flashes I have multiples of the same models of and a couple of popular lenses I use but as long as you can get through the job, with what you have, dosen't matter.
The bigger the job, the more backups I take. I have burned through 3 lots of gear on some jobs, just bad luck they all fell over at once rather than something about the job itself killing them.
I have also had idiots spill drinks right over brand new equipment so just because something is new dosen't mean you wont need a backup.
I had batteries in camera's die where I ran out of spares. A couple of times I got some wire out of the car and flash charged them off the car battery till they were burning hot. Gave me enough power to finish the job. Also once made a makeshift battery for a Metz flash from a 12V Video light battery by making a resistor out of a tail light globe.
I think it was a bit hard on the flash but it didn't kill it and I finished the job that was worth so much I would not have cared if the flash did die right after the last shot.
As for card failures, have had a couple fall over but somehow never lost an image yet. always got everything off them, just coupldn't get them to work again or format.
One card I left in my shorts pocket and got it wet in the surf. gave them to my wife who washed, tumble dried them and then ironed them repeatedly trying to get the funny crease out. by the time she pulled the card out of the shorts it was momentarily too hot to touch!
Got all the pics off it and used it for a couple more years till it became too small to be bothered with. Far as I know it still works and it would be 7-8 years old now.
yup, you just roll with the punches and carry backup. As for cards: anyone remember when popphoto put the top 20 cards out there tapped to the street in the middle of times square during a rainy day. The counted the number of times they got ran over and the test was pointless because of non failing. Personally I have put mine throuhg washers and dryers, dropped one of a ride at disneyland and found it later. heck, left one in a taxi in my 5d in Beijing, and it was returned the next day to the bar I was at, and they gave it to me.
glort wrote:
One card I left in my shorts pocket and got it wet in the surf. gave them to my wife who washed, tumble dried them and then ironed them repeatedly trying to get the funny crease out. by the time she pulled the card out of the shorts it was momentarily too hot to touch!
That's one of the funniest card stories I've ever heard.
Had a 1D classic blow its shutter at the start of the UCI World Cycling champs men's road race. It was my second body, so not a disaster. The crappy thing was that I had to carry it around for the rest of the day. Worse, it will cost more to repair the shutter here than to simply pick up a 'new' one on the used gear board.
I have had two cameras go down and one strobe (turned out to be a bad new NiMh battery that tested OK). After the first time I started taking 3 cameras. Also take four strobes though seldom need more than two.
The mark of a pro is that you finish the job and that means despite equipment failure.
last wedding a few weeks ago, during ceremony in Church, an SB800 flash blew the tube. I wear two D700 bodies on a dual R Strap, one with a long lens and one with a wide lens, each with an sb800. I just picked up the other camera and kept going.
Later that night, during reception, I blew the other SB800. I followed the video guy for awhile and shot at 1.4 on a 50mm until I could borrow a flash from another shooter.
Both sb800s were 5 years old, and while I do occasionally rapid fire and heat them up, this day I had not. I now carry three sb800s.
I tried a Quantum Trio the last few days, because of it's resistance to overheating and robust design, but found the TTL would not function correctly, so back to the store it goes.
I have lenses that cover similar ranges, but not dupes. Typically I will have a 14-24, a 16mm fish, a 35-70 2.8, a 50 1.4, an 85 1.4 Samyang/Rockinon, a 135 dc and a 70-200VRII. If the 35-70 or the 70-200 go down, I am still functional and can get the job done. I do know a photographer that claims to have dupe 24-70 and 70-200 lenses. To me, that just seems cost prohibitive.
