Do you need a backup body?

ian-83

ian-83

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Ian
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Noticed quite a few people on here say they have a back up body. I am guessing for the majority of these people photography is their job so I can understand why they have two bodies. But for the average amature is a back up needed?

Only asking as I am trying to decide to sell or keep a second body I have as the freed up cash could be put to use elsewhere.
 
My main body is a D700 and I have a D70 as well - not so much a backup as a completely different tool - it's a Dx Crop body while the D700 is Fx. Back when I used only film, I would usually have one body loaded with colour slide film and another with B&W and even further back, I would have one loaded with slowish B&W and another with a faster emulsion.

ETA... I shold add that Ive never needed a spare because the main body's developed a fault, although I have run out of battery charge at critical points and have even once run out of battery only to find that I had left the case of spares at home.
 
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I have two digital bodies as I didn't need to sell my D70 to afford a D700. In the three years since I bought the D700, it's never gone wrong and I've used the D70 just the once, when I needed something smaller and lighter. I don't need a backup, but it's there if I ever need it.
 
As an amature who shoots purely for pleasure, the answer to your question is no you don't need a second body, however I have more than one body simply as I sometimes shoot triathlon events etc where I have a wish to use more than one lens in quick succession of each other ...having a different lens on each body helps me to not miss the shot while changing lenses!
 
i have a D300s and a D90, i generally use my D300s for my sport photography and the D90 for my landscapes, when i do a wedding then the D300s becomes my main with a shorter focal length lens and the d90 gets a 70-200 on it.

And if i ever shoot with my 35mm prime i find the balance is nice and light with a d90, all depends what you shoot and if you need a backup camera, i have to shoot sport every weekend for a paper, and i do the occasional weddings so i think a backup is needed.
 
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Agree with the above. Cameras fail so rarely that you don't need a back-up unless you are getting paid for the job. That said having different lenses on two bodies does give a lot of flexibility....
 
As an amateur I used to have 2 film bodies, which held different film.

As a pro, I keep several bodies for different lenses, for redundancy, for peace of mind.

When I'm out shooting for fun I only keep one body with a small selection of lenses.
 
Cheers for the reply looks like I will be putting my spare body up in the classifieds for sale. Only shoot landscape and bit of general street and maybe some sport stuff but nothing to warrant carrying a second body.
 
For an amateur, i'd say an iPhone is a back up body. For a professional, I'd say a semi-pro cam would be a good back up. Say your main body is a 1Dmk4 and a 7D or a 60D is your back up, that makes sense.

If you are into sports and using a 7D or something, a pro cam with crop. Then either another 7D or a 60D again is a good back up.

If you're just a casual shooter and you have a 550D or a 600D or both. mod edit: removing uncalled for comment
 
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I dont alway carry two bodies,but i do take 2 bodies if i am a long way from home,maybe even 3, an mirrorless one as well.

I hate to be without a camera :D
 
I find it useful to have a second body, most of the time it's at home, but I'd I know I want the extra reach of a cropped sensor it's good to have and I've been very glad of it the times I've had to send my main camera to get fixed/serviced.
 
I upgraded from a 400D to a 7D this time last year.

Fortunately for me I didn't need to sell the 400D to purchase the 7D and kept it as a spare/backup.

I don't do paid work but in November I was asked by an old friend to get some shots at the opening night of a new skating rink. There was lots of interest and it was quite a high profile event (locally anyway) so I took my old 400D along "just in case".

To flip it around a bit, I went back there on Wednesday to get some shots of their over 18s night, I didn't bother taking my old camera too as they hold over 18s night every Wednesday so no big deal if I had a equipment failure.

I also took my 400D on holiday with me to save weight in hand luggage and because I wasn't too comfortable taking the 7D with me (you never know how secure your hotel/room with be ;) )
 
I've got 2 bodies because one is FF the other is crop and they produce different styles of photos. I went from a 550D to the 7D first and then got a 5D2 and gave the 550D to the wife. If I'd got the 5D2 before the 7D I would of stayed with the 550D though and not got a 7D at all. I didn't want to sell the 550D so I had to think of a way of having 3 bodies and the best way to keep it was to let the mrs have it.
 
As an amateur the only time I would consider a backup body is if I was heading off into the wilderness or some adventure that was once in a lifetime type thing. And if that adventure was nearby a reliable camera store then I wouldn't even worry about it then.

Backups are necessary (as has been stated above) when you're getting paid and duplicating the shoot will cost money or is a once in a lifetime type event (i.e. wedding, surprise engagement, etc)

That's my advice. All of this holds true unless, of course, you can get one for free...then why not?
 
as an amateur you don't need a second body but i can think of times when its worth having one the two lenses thing for a start - also still having one if one is in for repair, has a dirty sensor or whatever, plus the ability to use a cheaper body as a sacrificial one if you are going somewhere dirty or dodgy, or need to leave a trap camera out overnight or whatever

Personally my cameras get hammered so they arent usually worth much by the time i come to change them (or looking at it another way i only change them if i really need to - not simply to get the next widget) so I tend to keep them til they're dead

I currently have a 20D , a 450D, a 300D , three compacts in the digital range , and an Eos 3, eos 5, eos 30E, mamiya 645, and Holga in film (the 300D as been up on a kite, the compacts been strapped to a remote control heli etc ) I used to have 2 10Ds as well but i killed one of them while shooting gannets from a rhib, and the other one just died of overuse (shutter failure at arround 100,000 actuations)

(Thats for hobby/unpaid toggery - I do do weddings - but currently I'm hiring a 5D2 for those jobs and taking the 450D as a back up - In the fullness of time I Intend to buy a 5D2 and a 7D when i can afford it)
 
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You only need a backup body if you're committing to photographing something for somebody else as having the body fail would result in you letting them down.

Though it's nice to have to save changing lenses constantly or if you have something you really want to photograph for yourself and you want to reduce the risk of missing it.
 
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