Backup Camera??

[renaldo]

Who has a "backup" camera!?

Years ago when shooting the old all mechanical and manual cameras, I used to carry two cameras many times. But the second one was not a backup camera. I used all single-focal-length lenses then and would generally have two different focal length lenses on the two bodies.

They were very dependable cameras and never broke down. Oh yeah...maybe a battery gave out...but one usually carried a spare or, since the camera still functioned, employed sunny-16 or used a handheld selenium meter.

Even with the advent of quality zooms and the electronic body, I never had a backup body but always carried fresh batteries. Yes...pros who went off to Timbucktow or Lower Slobovia had backups, but I do not think many prosumers did.

It seems today that many many photogs mention and tout their ownership of a"backup" body. And these are usually photogs who shoot digital.

Removing the pro category...and considering only the general prosumer shooter...I raise this question.

Are digital bodies more inherent to failures than film bodies??

Or is the carrying of a backup more of a "trendy" thing to do??

What are the opinions of members who shoot...or don't shoot even...digital cameras???

[Deleted]

I think DSLRs are a lot like computers. If they are going to fail any time soon it will be during the first few weeks. If they make it through that initial phase they are likely to work a loog time.

I suppose there might be a slightly higher chance of failure for digital than mechanical bodies but I don't think it's a huge deal. Initially I wished I had kept my Nikon D100 as a backup when I got my D300 but we're planning a trip for this fall and the "backup will be an 8 mp point and shoot digital. It may not be as nice as the D300 but it does take decent pictures when handled properly and takes a lot less space than a backup DSLR body.

[GeneW]

I often go out with a backup camera. For a number of years my backup camera was mainly an Olympus XA that I wore in a belt pouch. I rarely take along two SLR bodies due to the combined weight -- something I really feel since developing some ticker problems.

Later I got a Canon SD700 (which my wife swiped) then an SD800. Again, wearing it in a belt pouch that holds both the camera and a backup battery and is so light I don't even notice it's there. It's now my main backup camera.

I'm actually having a bit of trouble right now with the weight of my Nikon D200. I really love the camera but the weight is telling on me. Because of that, I don't think I'd ever take it on any vacation trips.

On our Alaska cruise last summer my wife took an SD700 and I brought along my Canon S3 IS P&S digital superzoom (approx 35mm-420mm equiv) that is also very lightweight. For backup I brought along a film camera -- a Bessa L with 21mm lens. It too was small and lightweight and it seconded as a wide-angle camera. I used C41 colour in it and the pics I took with it nicely complemented the tele shots I got with the S3. The two together in a small camera bag were easy to tote everywhere.

Gene

[mickeyobe]

In 1957 I purchased an Exakta VX IIa. Several months later, concerned about the complexity of the Exakta I bought an Exa as a backup camera. I never used it.

Since then I have used a Yashicaflex (TLR), Minolta SR2, Cannon FTb QL, Canon T90 as my primary cameras. Notice the increasing complexity of each. I have also used numerous other cameras from my collection. But I have never had a camera let me down and have never carried a spare since the Exa.

Now that I have said those words I suppose I am due for a massive catastrophe.

Currently I am using a Pentax K100D and am considering a tiny, pocketable, inexpensive digital camera as a safety measure.

Will my luck continue?

Mickey

[PeterW]

Mickey,
Your luck will hold for as long as you carry a back-up camera. If you start to carry one, and one day forget it, that's the day your main camera will give trouble.

I don't get out on photo trips as much as I used to, but when I do I always carry some sort of backup. When I was shooting as a pro it was a Canon FX body but I also loaded the car with a tripod, big Metz flash, spare batteries and half a dozen spare films

Nowadays my backup's usually a little plastic AE, AF, zoom job, Canon or Nikon P&S. My son John, naturally being a lot younger and fitter than me, packs a big bag with his Pentax DSLR and half a dozen lenses.

I don't very often show my pictures because when I look at the results I'm seldom 100% satisfied with them. It's the old "I should have moved left/right a bit, moved closer/further away, looked for a higher/lower viewpoint or chosen a larger/smaller aperture" syndrome. John says I'm too much of a self-critic, but I still enjoy taking them and that's what matters.

Sometimes I also put one of my vintage folders in my bag, but that's just using it for fun or nostalgia, not as a true backup.

When I'm just 'out' and not looking specially for pictures I usually slip one of the P&S cameras into my pocket or a small shoulder bag. I don't often use it, but bet your life the day I forget it I'll miss some great opportunities.

PeterW

[casualcollector]

I bought a Canon A-1 to backup my F-1 in 1982, when I started shooting stock car races at the local track in New Hampshire. Neither camera failed. The A-1 did get cranky on my 2001 trip to Singapore, the first time I had gone on a trip with only one SLR body. I took my Canonet G-III along as a walkabout camera and used it as backup.

[nikonbob]

I used to travel with two bodies then decided not to do so to lighten the load. I have not been caught out yet but as Mickey says I'll have trouble just for saying that. I cheat a bit too as my wife usually has a camera too on trips.

Bob

[SidW]

I don't think I've ever caried a second camera as a backup, but I have done so for other purposes such as a second body with a different lens, or with a different film. For the last 20 years I've had a compact camera as a complement to an SLR for informal occasions or situations calling for less intrusion, and I've carried that over into the digital era.

[Randy]

Usually when I go out I have at least 4 cameras with me, one being a digital so I can see a sampling of what I shot.

[herron]

I often take along several cameras on trips. Sometimes I use them all, most times not. I like to have one of my vintage 2-1/4 folders with me, and I now carry my Canon dSLR all the time. I also have a Mamiya NC1000 with me everywhere. I also take my Voigtlander Bessa-L and occasionally a nice Fed-II. Have a large, padded aluminum camera case that holds them all nicely.

Of course, it's a bear to lug around, so I usually only have one or two with me for "strolling." The rest, along with that heavy tripod, are usually in the trunk.

Been thinking about getting a nice "bridge" digital, so I can ditch the Canon dSLR and lenses. It's just too much, and I find myself leaving home lenses that I later wish I had with me.

Time for something with a long zoom range ... and image stabilization, so I can leave the tripod more often. Just don't know where to start.

[renaldo]

Herron...

What Canon DSLR do you have???

Last month I got a very little used Canon 30D, and am now still in the reading part of the learning curve as this is my first venture into digital shooting.