Bother having a backup body for photo vacation?

I'm putting a lot of eggs into my photography basket for an upcoming vacation. For me it's pretty much all about photography. I have a 50D with a good set of lenses. Should I get another body for the trip?

I just crossed 10k clicks and wondering how many I have before a problem arises. It's said on here so many times that a shutter can fail at anytime, no matter the rating. Well, I hear that enough times, I start to worry. If my camera where to break, it would pretty much ruin the trip.

I was about ready to get another 50D from the CLP program, but news that their out of 50D's and many folks interested, closes that route down for me. Used market around here (via craigslist) is vertually non-existant as well.

For a future camera, I'd at least wait to see what a 5DIII might be, so I'm not really in the market for an upgrade per se, unless it was forced upon me. I don't know what to do; with the CLP program running low, I'm getting a bit nervous. I do have a 300D, but that would suck to have to use that.

I never take a back-up body on a trip. Reserve room for an extra lens instead.

Just take the 300D as a backup. The chances you will have to use it are really slim, and if you do, you know that camera is capable of great results at low-mid ISO. You'll have something.

What would you do if your body died or had a hard malfunction?

your camera can fail at 100 clicks, 50k clicks, etc. no telling50D shutter life is 100,000 average.

do you want to be bogged down with the extra weight of a body? it's a vacation, you're supposed to relax and enjoy yourself

300D, or get a point and shoot or compact camera to bring along for emergencies. P&S pics are better than no pics if your camera dies.

Is this some sort of photo safari? If photography is the primary reason of the trip, then sure see about renting or buying a second used body. But if the trip is a pleasure trip rich in photo opportunities there is no reason to expect your camera to fail.

PWard wrote in post #12559316
your camera can fail at 100 clicks, 50k clicks, etc.

That's the statement that makes my heart palpitate and I get an instant headache.

I'm an amateur for the most part, so vacation IS photography.

I would just bring the 300D. If you must pick up a used body. (like a 40D shouldn't cost you too much) and sell it when you come back home.

Bring another body, it's not that big or heavy and is very good insurance.

I never take just one camera on a trip. Usually three or more. But I usually shoot with two cameras at a time.

Having a second body you also can spread the work around and that means accumulating clicks more slowly on any single camera.

I agree with two cameras...

I agree with bringing two cameras IF PHOTOGRAPHY IS IMPORTANT TO YOUR TRIP.

I always shoot with two cameras if the photography is important to me. I usually shoot with 17-55mm f/2.8 IS and a 70-200mm f/4L lenses on those cameras. I love the combination of those two lenses for general purpose and travel photography. I also bring my 12-24mm f/4 Tokina which, could function as a mid range zoom if my 17-55mm goes down - redundancy is important...

If it is a business trip in which photography is totally secondary and incidental, I bring one camera and my 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens. Sometimes I don't even have the time to shoot at all on these trips...

However on a once in a lifetime trip, there is always a chance that your camera will go down and the second camera can save you from losing out on photo opportunities...

It doesn't matter a darn bit how many actuations your camera has. I fell on a slippery Alaska slope and broke my new 40D camera (but not the lens). My second camera, a 30D, saved the trip for me. Or at least photographic documentation of that trip...

I brought two cameras to China and loved using them. However, thankfully both cameras worked fine during the entire journey. However, a fellow tour member fell on the street outside the City Walls of Xi'an China (you don't need to be climbing in the boonies for this to happen) and broke his Nikon. He had no backup camera and lost out on photography until he could get a replacement camera in Hong Kong, several cities later...

I shudder when I read posts of people traveling to the Himalayas, on African safaris or to other once-in-a-lifetime (at least for me) locations with a load of lenses and a single body.

MURPHY'S LAW OF PHOTOGRAPHY: The possibility of a piece of gear failing is in a direct relationship to the importance of the shoot and in an inverse relationship to the availability of back-up equipment...

I either carry a spare body or my G9--depends on the importance of the situation

If you're travelling through fairly developed parts of the world then no, I wouldn't bring a full 2nd body. Just use the P&S you would have with you, or you might consider something like a Sony NEX-5 and adapter to fit your Canon lenses to get you through to the next city where you can grab a proper body, but that's as far as I'd go (keeping in mind you cannot stop your lenses down or use AF with such a set up).

Of course if you're going on a safari or something then that's a whole different matter, and having a 2nd body is probably a wise decision.

tkbslc wrote in post #12559308
Just take the 300D as a backup. The chances you will have to use it are really slim, and if you do, you know that camera is capable of great results at low-mid ISO. You'll have something.

Excellent advice - the OP says he wouldn't want to use his 300D but that was my first DSLR and I can assure him it would be a decent light-weight back-up in the unlikely event of his 50D failing during his trip.

David

A lot of it depends where you're going. If it's in an urban environment where you could purchase another body then a backup isn't as critical. If you're going to be in the wilderness then I'd take a second body, even if it's the dRebel.