Backup Advice
May 5, 2022 14:41:22 #
I learned many years ago to carry two of the same cameras except one being chrome and one in black. One was loaded with color film, the other with black & white. In a pinch you could load both with one film type or another. 
Have things changed so much in 50 years?
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Have things changed so much in 50 years?
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May 5, 2022 14:42:21 #
Lost Again
Loc: Middle of nowhere Oregon
rmorrison1116 wrote:
I didn't say I didn't understand it, and I understand why professional photographers would want a backup camera. I'm not a professional photographer and in the 20+ years I've been doing digital photography, I've never once had a camera fail, never.
Food for thought.
Just returned from Death Valley.
I was teased by a friend for taking three stoves, two failed in the first two days.
We had battery chargers and a D850 contaminated by sand. Went to backup and were able
to keep going.
The place can be easy or difficult depending mainly on the wind.
We determine our backup on the difficulty and length of a trip. THINGS HAPPEN!
Like in aerospace redundancy is safety, which is backup.
You are not trying to keep a craft off the ground, just trying to keep your craft not being stopped.
May 5, 2022 14:44:58 #
rmorrison1116 wrote:
and in the 20+ years I've been doing digital photography, I've never once had a camera fail, never.
Morrison, my Nikon D500 died. After asking on many forums it went back to Nikon, no long under warrenty, and needed a new motherboard. If I had been traveling or on photography traveling, I would have been up a creek. I always have two when I travel away from home.
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May 5, 2022 15:11:02 #
I've got a D80 that's a brick and makes a nice doorstop. It died peacefully at home, so no photos were lost upon its passing, but it taught me this very lesson. Extra stuff is good. I'm also fortunate to have cameras not for backup as somebody else mentioned but to service my own laziness so I don't have to change lenses or supports (but could in an emergency). A bag of batteries and extra chargers isn't all that heavy to start with. I also usually have at least three bodies with the same batteries which can be shuffled even if I forget extras... same goes for SD cards. That happened only a few days ago when I finally found a use for dual card slots. I forgot to return a card to a single slot camera and didn't discover it till I was at my destination, so scavenged one from a second camera with two slots and had a great day, in spite of myself.
May 5, 2022 16:35:37 #
rmorrison1116 wrote:
I didn't say I didn't understand it, and I understand why professional photographers would want a backup camera. I'm not a professional photographer and in the 20+ years I've been doing digital photography, I've never once had a camera fail, never.
...happened to me once. Operator error, but I was happy to have a backup! Once removed from the field it was fun and interesting to find the glitch. That said, I rarely take a "backup" camera with me on shoots...<shrug>
May 5, 2022 17:17:16 #
Seabastes wrote:
I have previously advised when making an extended trip to have a backup camera, extra cards, extra batteries, a battery charger.
Well in a recent trip to North Carolina for my grand daughters wedding, I took backup camera, extra cards, extra batteries, a battery charger.
Things went well on the first couple of days as I made images until it came time to charge all four of my batteries.
My battery charger failed. . . . .
Well in a recent trip to North Carolina for my grand daughters wedding, I took backup camera, extra cards, extra batteries, a battery charger.
Things went well on the first couple of days as I made images until it came time to charge all four of my batteries.
My battery charger failed. . . . .
Why did you wait until all four batteries needed recharging?? If you had tried recharging the first, and found that the charged was dead, you would have had more time to find a new charger while using the other three batteries. No???
May 5, 2022 17:19:36 #
I always carry a battery charger in my car trunk; one that runs on 12 volts and 120 volts, so I always have a spare reasonably close to hand.
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May 5, 2022 17:23:52 #
Seabastes wrote:
Yes it was a third party charger. My error in not ... (show quote)
Frankly, I've found that the good 3rd party chargers are better and more useful than the name brand chargers I've had.
May 5, 2022 17:46:35 #
May 5, 2022 17:54:19 #
Judy795 wrote:
Morrison, my Nikon D500 died. After asking on many forums it went back to Nikon, no long under warrenty, and needed a new motherboard. If I had been traveling or on photography traveling, I would have been up a creek. I always have two when I travel away from home.
Sorry about your D500. My D500, which is 6 years old, has never given me the slightest problem, and I don't baby my gear, I use it and I use it well, but I also take care of it. Anyway, I understand what you are saying, and that situation wouldn't have applied to me as I never travel without multiple cameras, but, as I previously said, I don't have any duplicate cameras.
May 5, 2022 19:16:05 #
lreisner
Loc: Union,NJ
PHRubin wrote:
I have 2 cameras that can be charged via a USB cable. Unfortunately, if the battery runs dry during a shoot, a cable isn't enough. I had it happen on a recent shoot. I needed a spare battery, and my spare was also dry!
Make sure ALL batteries, INCLUDING BACKUPS, are fully charged.
Make sure ALL batteries, INCLUDING BACKUPS, are fully charged.
A power bank is helpfull to carry as well.
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May 5, 2022 19:57:58 #
Always identify and then eliminate a single point of failure in your process path.
My main charger is a Green Extreme Dual Smart charger with LCD screen with sleds for my Panasonic, Nikon, and Olympus camera batteries. Bought from Adorama. Charges 2 batteries at the same time though I never mix battery types. Easy to slip in different sleds for different batteries. Carry the original OEM single battery chargers as backup.
And I do carry backup/alternate cameras when traveling, my Nikon P7800 as backup, TG-6 for weather/nights out. Foreign travel for 2 months lends itself to caution (years ago, my Canon G12 died, luckily at the end of the trip).
My main charger is a Green Extreme Dual Smart charger with LCD screen with sleds for my Panasonic, Nikon, and Olympus camera batteries. Bought from Adorama. Charges 2 batteries at the same time though I never mix battery types. Easy to slip in different sleds for different batteries. Carry the original OEM single battery chargers as backup.
And I do carry backup/alternate cameras when traveling, my Nikon P7800 as backup, TG-6 for weather/nights out. Foreign travel for 2 months lends itself to caution (years ago, my Canon G12 died, luckily at the end of the trip).
May 5, 2022 20:08:08 #
Backup Advise
I have previously advised when making an extended trip to have a backup camera, extra cards, extra batteries, a battery charger.
I am glad I made my posting that started this discussion. My error in not bringing a second battery charger was not a terrible tradgedy as I had made several images of what I had wanted was to make a few images of Raleigh North Carolina and some family images of our extended family that had come for my grand daughter and taught me a lesson about back up gear.
Here a a few images that I made before my batteries died,
I have previously advised when making an extended trip to have a backup camera, extra cards, extra batteries, a battery charger.
I am glad I made my posting that started this discussion. My error in not bringing a second battery charger was not a terrible tradgedy as I had made several images of what I had wanted was to make a few images of Raleigh North Carolina and some family images of our extended family that had come for my grand daughter and taught me a lesson about back up gear.
Here a a few images that I made before my batteries died,
May 5, 2022 20:13:11 #
May 5, 2022 20:13:19 #
Maybe there was something wrong with the outlet where you were staying. Or the the charger wasn't plugged in properly.
A few days ago I attempted to charge my tablet. Several hours later, I noticed that it failed to charge. My first thought was, the charger is no longer working. But at closer inspection, it turned out that the cable plug wasn't inserted into the tablet properly. Human error!
A few days ago I attempted to charge my tablet. Several hours later, I noticed that it failed to charge. My first thought was, the charger is no longer working. But at closer inspection, it turned out that the cable plug wasn't inserted into the tablet properly. Human error!
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