SteveLew Loc: Sugar Land, TX

How many of you actually purchased a second camera as a backup camera for your main camera? Let's say your often take full day hikes for landscape shooting either as a group or by yourself, do you take two cameras and use the second only as backup? I have a Nikon D610 and I will be taking two workshops in the spring and summer which will required from two to three days of constant shooting plus I often take full day hikes in remote areas during the year. Your comments are appreciated.

JohnTxNC

Backup cameras often evolve from a "primary" camera that has been upgraded. I have a Canon T3i crop body camera that I replaced with the full frame Canon 6D. When I upgrade from the 6D, I'll keep it as a backup and sell or gift the T3i.

As far as use, I rarely use ths T3i anymore, but I never take on a paid project without having it accesssble.

Hope this helps.

BrettProbert Loc: Clinton, PA

When I upgraded to my D7200 from the D3200 I kept them both. Very good decision. I find myself almost always carrying both...different lenses for different purposes. I have two Black Rapid sling straps and wear one on the left and one on the right. Whether I'm out for a half hour or a half day, I find myself making more captures and of more variety because I have more immediate options.

JohnTxNC

Brett, that is an excellent comment. I don't find myself doing that often, because the T3i is lacking low light capabilities. But if I was doing the hiking, as Steve plans to, I would definitely use the T3i on a second sling.

jim quist Loc: Missouri

I normally have a full frame with a 24-70 2.8 attached, and a crop camera with a 70-200 2.8 with a 1.4 extender attached. I have slots for 2 film cards in each camera and I think I get 2,000 pictures on a battery. I do have a third camera for a back up. Although my cameras take a beating none of them have ever broken down so I have never needed a back up. The only problem I have encountered is a battery not working and my spares (all half dozen were in chargers at home.) So I used the battery out of my backup camera. Carrying two cameras around can be an actual pain in the lower back. The advantage of a second camera is that I don't have to change lenses.
If your camera is working fine just buy some extra batteries and film cards. If it breaks down at the workshop someone might have a backup camera they will let you use or there may be a store nearby that sells or rents cameras that can get you by.
However, if this is your excuse to buy a second camera...go for it.

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

My "backup" is my Nikon D40 -- it became my backup when I purchased my D3100 (which I eventually trashed in a fall!) so it was good to have my backup. The backup is actually a backup in case something happens to the new primary camera.

When I go on a photo hike I bring two cameras with me. One (D3200 my landscape camera) has a wide angle zoom lens attached; the other (D3000 for longer landscapes and wildlife) has my 70-300 attached. When hiking I had the D3000 strapped around me and the D3200 is in my backpack. I do this in case I come across wildlife. When I find a landscape scene I take out the D3200, set up the tripod, and shoot until I'm ready to move to the next spot.

There are times when I go out on a photo walk without my tripod; I have a strap that holds both cameras. I've modified a fanny pack to hold extra batteries and a few filters. It works well.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

For amateurs, back-up cameras are the ones they don't sell when GAS overtakes judgement and they buy a new one. Nothing wrong with that. I have several.

JohnTxNC

Excellent advice! haha
(and I will shut up now.....)

orrie smith Loc: Kansas

Since you already have a full frame camera, I would suggest you look into a cropped frame camera as a backup. you could carry both with straps that are made for dual camera carry. the fx camera would be great for landscape and stills, while the dx camera could be set up with a longer lens for wildlife. this eliminates changing lenses when the needs occur and helps protect the sensor from collecting dirt during lens changes.

SteveLew Loc: Sugar Land, TX

Just as I thought. Most of you use your old cameras as backup. I plan on purchasing a refurbished d7100 as a backup for my FF camera. I could probably get by with a d5300 but I am concerned with lens motor.

Thank, you all for your timely comments.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

As a hobbyist, I don't really need a back-up camera. I suppose if my livelihood depended on delivering the shot, I'd want a back-up just in case something unexpected happens.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

I have three cameras, but only because I upgraded. One has a nifty 50 and a 70 - 200 lens, one has a 18-55 and a 70 - 300. plus a point and shoot. On holiday I take all three, but rarely carry more than one (its a holiday stupid!). The rest of the time I only carry 1 dslr and the p&S. (I need the tripod when using the 70-300 but not the rest of the lenses so I choose what I will need before leaving home) The P&S is invaluable for getting down and dirty for close-ups of flora but useless for anything else.

I don't think I would have purchased a 2nd camera purposefully as a back-up. Being amateur means that I cannot justify the cost, when additional batteries and sd cards obviate the most obvious reasons for a back-up camera. If you are professional Wedding/ portrait/studio shooter then there is a need for redundancy, breakdown etc.

I find I am more confident using my old Canon than using the Sony, so that actually gets more use. Having thought that I 'needed' a better camera, I find it a little less simple than the 'rebel'. The Sony slows me down (not a bad thing for landscapes) plus that niggle at the back of the head - the canon can be dropped at a low cost, rather than the Sony. Not particularly valid but it is how my brain works.

I would wait until you have completed your training course before making any sort of purchase. One idea of getting training is to highlight what you 'can't do' with your existing kit. It would be a shame to shell out for a camera and then discover it is a lens you most now need!

As has been said, weight is an issue. Walking away from a bag of kit 'to get the shot' is fraught enough when the camera is in your hand, but leaving one behind is an additional risk. Plus you may look like a Japanese tourist festooned with cameras and bulging with pockets filled of extra lenses and other kit.

Planning is one of the most important aspects of photography. You plan the time of day, the habitat / Venue you want to explore, the kind of picture you hope to achieve etc. So making sure that your kit is correct for what you mean to achieve becomes a part of this. Lets face it, we always miss 'the shot' that matters no matter what we are carrying. But that is human nature making excuses for not being prepared for the unexpected. We can't be! The one that got away is what we plan for afterwards when possible, and if not it just remains a rueful story.

To buy a back-up camera is dependant upon who you are and what you do. A little fore thought and planning should be all that is needed for those that 'can come back another time'. However, if you have a one off deadline like a wedding or studio space, then having a spare is probably prudent - 2nd shooter, Bought or Hired camera's are the options.

Do not be intimidated by those carrying loads of kit, (they probably buy into the myth that better kit means better photographs!!!) Play nice with the other photographers and have fun.

jederick Loc: Northern Utah

I am primarily a wildlife photographer, and mostly from my car as I travel around refuges and marshes. For this activity, I use a Nikon D7200 and a Nikon 200-500 lens. I do keep a Sony A6000 with a Leitz 16-70 lens hand in the car. Then if a landscape opportunity pops up I use the Sony. Also, when hiking in National Parks or elsewhere I generally just use the this Sony combo or the Sony 10-40 WA for landscape. However, if there is a special landscape photo I want, I take both cameras and my tripod. Both cameras are equipped with Arca plates which work well on my Induro CF tripod and ball head. For casual shooting when we are out to dinner or mall walking etc., I just use my old Canon S95 p&s.

orrie smith Loc: Kansas

Look at the d7200 as well, better camera with a larger buffer.

Bugfan Loc: Toronto, Canada

Ok, to answer your question, I have never purchased a second camera as a backup. Add to that, in the 45 years I've been taking pictures the camera of the moment has never failed on me so there isn't an incentive to spend the money.

However ... I have four DSLRs and two point and shoot cameras. The first SLR (D70s) lasted me a year before I upgraded. I keep that one and two kit lenses, spare batteries and a charger in a small case. I loan it out to kids and young adults who want to learn photography. It's very useful for that since it has all the settings as my later ones, it's only their range that is limited.

My first upgrade was to a D200. That one made me really happy for about two or three years. At that point I got a good deal on a D3. At the same time I came to realize that the D200 is excellent for travel, it's light and with an 18-300 lens mounted on it I don't need any other lenses. So I travel with it, a flash and a charger and it's performed admirably for over fifteen years now.

The D3 became my workhorse camera and remains so. It's never failed on me either.

When it came out, I added the D800. I do mostly macro and the resolution of the D800 was exactly what I needed to do insects and smaller subjects. This is not my primary camera, it's my macro camera though I sometimes use it other times when the weight of the D3 is a bit too much for me.

I got two point and shoot cameras more for convenience than backup. They are light, one fits in my pocket, and they don't require any fussing or additional gear. I do use one for a backup when I travel but I've never needed it. I also like having one when I travel because I don't always feel like lugging a large DSLR around some evenings.

So ... when I am in the bush doing nature stuff I sometimes will carry the D3 and the D800. The former has a long lens on it and the latter a macro lens, usually a Sigma 150 or 180. This allows me to go after any image I want without struggling to change lenses in record time. When I do events I go with one camera and sometimes with my point and shoot though usually that little camera stays home.

I get around the backup problem by testing the gear before I head out and by charging two batteries instead of just one. In fact I have spare batteries for my flashes too. I also carry spare memory cards, I've actually had the odd card fail on a mission. So unless I drop the gear under a truck I can expect it to perform flawlessly.

If you sleep better having a spare camera along then by all means use one that was left over from an upgraqde. But if you're buying high quality gear and if you're maintaining it properly, odds are that it's not going to fail on you. I find too that when I am in the field with two DSLRs around my neck or off my shoulders, by the time I get back my back is a painful mess and I'm really exhausted. So I tend to prefer only using the one camera as a rule.