Is a back up battery necessary?

I'm tossing up whether I should get a back up battery for my 7D.

I recently sold my 550D but remembered I didn't use the back up battery once.

Do you think its really necessary to have one?

Sportidi wrote in post #10783707
I'm tossing up whether I should get a back up battery for my 7D.

I recently sold my 550D but remembered I didn't use the back up battery once.

Do you think its really necessary to have one?

I certainly do. There are situations where I could not afford to fail in my mission and a failed battery would not be acceptable.

If every shooting situation you encounter allows you the option of simply packing up and going home when you run out of juice, then you probably don't need one.

Most folks like to be able to stick around and keep shooting!

I can't imagine not having a spare battery. Something might come up while the primary is dead or recharging. Spare batteries are pretty cheap insurance...much like spare memory cards.

I have no spare batteries... but I have a battery grip full of AA batteries, so far haven't run out of juice in a day of continuously shooting around 1000 photos.

You know, I bought a backup battery for my 5DII and never used it. LOL

A month later I sold the camera (and the battery).

Mainly I don't need one... but they're good to have just in case.

Basically... if you're shooting for money you should have one (and/or a spare camera)
If you're shooting for fun, it's up to you.

The only time I ran out of a battery on a shoot is when I (luckily) had a backup camera... a spare battery is a LOT cheaper than a new camera usually.

There is a simple law of nature. All the time you have a backup battery, you'll not need it; The moment you leave home without it, you'll need it.

Roger

I would say always get at least 1 spare battery. You might say you don't need one right now but when you do need it, you'll be happy you did.

its better to have one and not need it than need it and not have one i think.

I don't know if its a law of nature but murphys law states if you have x number of spare components you will soon discover you need X+1 components. That a component will fail( read die) when most needed.

I always carry a spare...

I would rather have the extra batteries and not use them, versus not having them and needing them. I have extra batteries for my 5DMII. Have only needed them once.

Best insurance in the world and cheap. Always carry a spare fully charged battery for both camera,s just in case.
Comes in real handy in this climate when you're out shooting in the winter and it"s -20, batteries die fast.

Think of it like insurance, you know it you have it even if you never use it.

There will come a time and you will regret not having it.

Sportidi wrote in post #10783707
I'm tossing up whether I should get a back up battery for my 7D.

I recently sold my 550D but remembered I didn't use the back up battery once.

Do you think its really necessary to have one?

I've gotten > 1600 shots out of the battery on my 5DII (same battery as the 7D) and it still had 10% left.

I have a second Canon battery and 2 third party ones. Why, I have no idea. I bought them before I knew how well the 5DII/battery worked. I would not have bought the 2 third party ones. Always good to have 1 spare.