Backup equipment -- If you ain't got it.........

I have done plenty of jobs without a backup, and I've been lucky.

Speaking of backups, I just bought a 20D to compliment my 30D. It will last me till I have enough to get a 1Dmk3, or the 5Dmk2 sometime next year.

ryant35 wrote in post #5710597
I have done plenty of jobs without a backup, and I've been lucky.

Exactly. Lucky.

During the hundred odd wedding i've photographed i've had failure of my primary camera three or four times, and i've had failure of both my primary and first backup once - in the middle of a ceremony. Failures have happened on all my cameras, 20D, 30D, and 40D. Failures happen even on 1 series bodies, otherwise i'd just have bought one of them, but as they fail too I find it better to have three xxD bodies than one 1 series.

adam8080 wrote in post #5710557
Just because you have backup equipment doesn't mean that it will save the day if something goes wrong, and just because you don't have it doesn't mean that you are unable to complete your job if something fails. It is ideal to have it, but it isn't necessary.

ok, how would you complete your job if your sole camera body fails?

my 5D stopped working tuesday night during the Swervedriver gig, and i had to use my 30D for the rest of the set.

nothing i did could get the camera operational again.

adam8080 wrote in post #5710557
Just because you have backup equipment doesn't mean that it will save the day if something goes wrong, and just because you don't have it doesn't mean that you are unable to complete your job if something fails.

Absolutely right. It all depends what it is. To me backup doesn't always mean more hardware, as it could just as easily be a alternate plan should something happen, and frequently it is.

For example, do you really to bring or rent additional strobe lights, or can you just shoot with higher ISO if the equipment fails? Can you foot zoom if the primary lens fails, or do you really the perspective that lens gives you, or are you limited to one shooting spot? If your light meter fails, can you just wing it with the histogram? Do you have cash to hire a van or taxi if your car breaks down on the way to the shoot? Do you more than one way to reach a client if their cell phone battery dies?

But when it comes to the light tight box and sensor, you must have backup for it as a working pro in almost any situation I can think of. The only exceptions would be shoots with little preparation needed, and impacting a very few people. A portrait sitting is one of these. Its inconvenient to have to reschedule, but its not the end of the world. But inconvenience a crew of people, or cost your client time and money because of a camera malfunction, and you probably won't be working for that client again, or those potential clients they talk to.

Image everyone gets to the shoot on time, and shooting starts. 10 minutes later the camera jams. Everyone spends the next 20 minutes watching the photographer and assistants trying to fix the camera. Then they wait 45 minutes while the assistant setups up a rental, and goes to pick it up. By the time the shoot starts up again, the mood is list.

Now image the same situation, but when the camera malfunctions, the photographer says, hang on, I want to switch bodies, then continues on with the shoot. If you have a malfunction happen, you can walk away a hero because you resolve the problem quickly, efficiently, and without even missing a step. Or, you have cause a disaster by not.

I've had some malfunctions happen during a shoot that my clients weren't even aware of it. Sometimes not even the assistants knows. But after the shoot I mention it to the client so they know there was an issue, but we had it resolved before it ever became an issue for the client. A slight pat on the back, but a great way to build a clients trust, and a very good reason they will use to justify hiring you back.

You are right it really depends on the circumstances, and those may change for each person depending on their comfort level, their financial situation, and the importance of the assignment. But one of the major 'circumstances' in my book is that you are a pro hired to deliver images, consistently, day in and day out, without excuses. You can't claim bad lighting, broken tools, inadequate preparation, you forgot an extra battery, or your camera failed. It doesn't fly. They hired you to deliver, and paid you well for that expectation (well, in the case of pros charging market rates thats true )

To me that is the #1 reason to have backup, and why I can't think of one photographer in the industry that I've meet or know that shoots naked, regardless of the circumstances. I have a backup plan for just about everything of importance, including carrying enough cash to cover hiring a van or taxi should my car break down. The show must go on

I voted yes because you have to start somewhere. I started with a 300D and kit lens. My next purchase was a plastic nifty-fifty. That setup got me through 2 years and quite a few paid assignments.

I wouln't recommend anyone shoot WEDDINGS or other time critical gigs w/o backup equipment. But there's still plenty of paid work out there for a single camera shooter where if something breaks, it's no big deal and you can come back in a day or two to reshoot.

But yes, as soon as I could afford it, I upgraded. Now I have a 5D with a 20D for backup.

JM2C...