Back up camera?

[Patriot]

How many of you have a second body to shoot with? I know a lot of people that don't have a back up body in case their main camera goes down. I was thinking of getting a second body ever since I damaged my D7000 which took over a month just for Nikon to fix it. For those that do have a second body are they both the same camera or is the second one a lesser one?

I was thinking of adding a katzeye focusing screen to help with manual focus. Is it a bad ideal to have the back up specialized or modded like that? I ask because I was thinking if my main goes down I'll be stuck with the "specialized" one for some time until I get it back. But then again I don't know how much those screens affect auto focusing if they even do.

 

[KmH]

Any backup camera is better than no backup camera. However, it is nice if the backup has the same button/controls layout as the primary camera.

If you are set up as all DX, have a DX backup body.

I had both FX (D3) and DX (D300), and had backups for each, so 4 camera bodies. The D3 and the D300 both had essentially the same button/controls layout which made switching between them easy.

 

[SCraig]

I do. Primary = D7000, Backup = D90, Sub-Backup = D60.

 

[Overread]

I think its important to realise that most hobbyists tend to have a backupcamera which is the camera they bought before their new main camera. As such their backup tends to be fairly well used and also "lesser" than their main camera. For them its generally enough to have a decent backup, but the luxury of having the same model of camera just for backup is often not an option (and often as not its not often something they feel strongly in need of).


Working professionals who invest in their gear, on the other hand, tend to operate differently and will tend to consider the investment in the backup as part of their business structure, and thus will tend toward having the same model as they currently use for backup.



That is a very, very rough, view on things. Often as not there will be exceptions in both camps, also remember backups don't have to be lesser or equal - they can be different and complimentary (eg having a crop sensor and fullframe camera). In general, treat it like any other expense - do you feel the need to have a dedicated backup camera and can you afford it without having to forgo other things you'd much rather have?

 

[SCraig]

I think its important to realise that most hobbyists tend to have a backupcamera which is the camera they bought before their new main camera. As such their backup tends to be fairly well used and also "lesser" than their main camera. For them its generally enough to have a decent backup, but the luxury of having the same model of camera just for backup is often not an option (and often as not its not often something they feel strongly in need of)....

Very good point. It was the case with me and probably most others.

 

[Josh66]

But then again I don't know how much those screens affect auto focusing if they even do.

I don't think they would affect AF at all. The focusing screen is not in the light path to the AF sensors.

You may not be able to see the red dot on the AF point, but as long as you know where the AF points are, that shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[Steve5D]

I started with a Rebel, and then went to a 20D. The Rebel was the backup until I bought a second 20D and gave the Rebel to my brother in law. The I sold one of the 20D's and bought a 40D. That was my primary rig and the remaining 20D was the backup. I gave the 20D to my daughter when I bought a 5D, which changed things up a little because now I was going from two crop bodies to one crop and one full frame.

Now, I'm at a point where the shoot determines the primary rig, and the other is the backup...