Geek Factors . . .

[RJSorensen]

Well, um, oh heck . . . would it be too 'Geekey' to get a second Canon DSLR body? I find that I wish I had both long and short lens mounted and ready to go. But is this a sign of 1) weakness, 2) geekness, 3) or a real passion for the hobby?

Anyone else think of and or do this? Is it weird, are you ok? Will I be ok? What does one look for in a 'second' body? I have a 20D and a couple of G's/Pro1 at present.

How do you, or would one carry the second body . . . sounds like a CSI script line . . .

My thanks,

[tim]

Carry the 2nd body looped over your shoulder. Another option is to hire a gorgeous assistant to carry it for you. Teach her to use the camera and save yourself the bother of switching cameras ;)

Alternately, buy a zoom lens. There's a Tamron 28-200 that should do the job.

[aam1234]

I have a thread about arranging equipment in the bag. The whole purpose is to fit another body (300D). And the reason for that is, as you said, to have two bodies with different lenses ready. So I think your idea is a good one if you ask me.

[steven]

You see pros doing this all the time.

I say if your bank account hand handle the load then what are you waiting for??:)
(and if you decide not to can you send me the money because I would do it a heart beat;)

[Don Ellis]

Anyone else think of and or do this? Is it weird, are you ok? Will I be ok?
You'll be better than Ok, you'll be equipped.

Before I bought a G1 and sold all my film gear, I owned two Nikon F90X bodies, a 24-120mm zoom and the huge 80-200mm f2.8. I never regretted buying the second body... what a nuisance swapping lenses is.

How do you, or would one carry the second body . . . ,
I carried mine in a Domke bag slung over my shoulder. The big zoom was straight down and all you had to do was raise the cover and the camera handgrip was right there. The other body with the shorter zoom was right beside it on its side, grip up.

I still use and recommend Domke bags... I sold the biggest one and have medium- and satchel-sized bags now.

Go for it.

Don

[CyberDyneSystems]

I've been admitting to being a Geek for most of my life,. so i guess there's no reason to stop now,..

Actually,. having a long and short or zoom monted was the second good reason to get a second body,..

the first was when my 10D died (shutter wore out) and I was without ANY camera for about two weeks! I promised myself I would never suffer through that again.

So two bodies it is,. and I swear by it!

It's especially nice if you like primes, like for a shoot I'm doing of a Ballet,. I ave the 135mm and either a 50mm or 85mm f/1.8 going.

But even for long lens shooting,. it love it,. I have one on the 500mm on a tripod,. and one on either the 100-400mm or 70-200mm hand held.

[Belmondo]

I am also an advocate of two bodies. There is the idea of having a second body with a different lens on it when shooting on location, but there's also the added piece of mind that if anything catstrophic happens to either one, you'll still have the other.

At one point I had a 1D Mk II and an original 1D. Unfortunately, the older 1D with 4 megapixels was just too much of a step backwards to be considered a full replacement or backup for the Mk II, so I sold it and bought the 20D. Now, I have to 8 megapixel cameras, and I do use them both.

[RJSorensen]

Thank you guys . . . and Tim, on the gorgeous assistant. My wife's attorney has already advised me against that once before. So its just me, lol, this time.

[KennyG]

I have two camera bodies for practical purposes and because I can't afford a total failure at a shoot.

Now, if I could only have a spare body for myself so when mine gets a bit tired......

[BearSummer]

Hi RJSorensen,

if your pockets are deep enough then get a second body. You will feel much safer when out on a shoot with some built in redundancy. It works for me, saves time having to swap lenses and means that whe your buffer is full its a quick switch and you keep on shooting.

You may call it geeky, but what are YOU going to do with the money when you are dead?

I intend that my will will read "Being of sound mind and body, I've spent it all"

Best wishes

BearSummer

[Avalonthas]

I'd say go for the second body, it always comes in handy. Just switch from one and the other by throwing the one not in use over ur shoulder. Make sure u got a strong strap :P

Also if you have couple of G's and a Pro1 lying around, why not sell them or a few off and that will give u some extra cash for a glass or the additional body, because with 2 DSLR bodies i dont see any point in you keeping the G's, and you should only keep the Pro1 if u dont have a good zoom lens for ur 20D.

[FlyingPete]

I shot with three bodies for reasons that are not really relevant anymore on certain jobs, a EOS50 with Colour Negative ISO160, A EOS500N with Black and white negative ISO800 and a EOS500 with colour transparency for cross processing :rolleyes:

I still carry my G3 on really serious stuff as a backup, a capable little camera in the right hands, or a borrow a friends 300D.

[PhotosGuy]

I used to carry 2 motorized Nikons for lens flexibility & an extra 36 shots if things happened quickly. It might be more important now as a means to avoid adding dust to the sensor when changing in windy/dusty conditions.

[Jon]

I used to carry 3 film bodies, all with essentially the same film type, just to cut down on lens changes. I've got 2 digital bodies (didn't retire the D60 when I got the 20D) for the same reason (with a film body for fallback). Most of the time, body 2 and its lens are in the Domke; when things are active, I'll have one around the neck and one over the shoulder. When you go this route though, the more alike they function, the better. I picked up the Elan 7e the other day after a fair while of ignoring it and really thought it had died, since I couldn't get it to turn on. Swapped batteries, changed lenses, tried everything. I was trying to turn it on with the On/Off switch by the Speed Dial, not the (separate) power on/off switch on the Mode dial. Ouch!

[CyberDyneSystems]

The implication here is that the second body (though in use) exists as a backup should the other body fail.

My feeling is that if the second camera is in use simultaneously with the first, you really need a THIRD which stays in the bag or is otherwise not in use and is safe from catastrophe.

With both cameras out and at risk, they're both primary tools. Same goes for flashes and high performance batteries.

Now, EVERYONE, please go buy a third body.

But if I had three bodies,. I would just have three lenses going instead of two... ;)

[Jon]

But if I had three bodies,. I would just have three lenses going instead of two... ;)

So keep a f*lm body as the backup!

6 to go, I see . . .

[Jon]

I thought so too, once I figured out why the d@*&$ thing wasn't working! Still, it points to why I'm not buying zooms that zoom backwards even if it means paying the Canon premium.

[Jon]

Uh, Jon,

This is a professional BB, so let's use professional terminology. The right word for "zoom backwards" is "mooz." Please make note of that.

Thanks

Let it be so noted. Henceforth on this board only Canonmakes true zoom lenses. Sigma and Tamron make mooz lenses.

[aam1234]

Let it be so noted. Henceforth on this board only Canonmakes true zoom lenses. Sigma and Tamron make mooz lenses.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[DocFrankenstein]

Go for it... Even if nelson from the simpsons gonna say "HAHA!"... big deal.

Geeks will rule the world ;)

[skyphix]

Its nothing but smart... after this weekend, I certainly wish I had two (my 300D was DOA on this past weekends trip to Lake Placid)