Backup body - what do you do?

[aavivi]

K, just gave up today. My main body is the D800E, and was getting nervous about not having a backup body. I wanted to stay in the FX factor, so that kinda limited my options a bit. Looked at getting a D600, but was worried about the sensor dust rumors... D3x too pricy for backup, and is an 'older generation'. D4 is half the res, and I don't want to get into Xqd quite yet. So today I gave up and went with a refurbished D800E from adorama. What do you folks do?

 

[Overread]

What backup body you end up using often depends greatly upon your own personal finances and situation. Most hobby photographers generally only have a "backup body" in the form of whatever DSLR they had before they got their current one. This often makes their second body a rebel or lower powered/older (but still capable) camera. Myself my backup to my 7D is a 400D rebel.

For professionals it differs a little, though in an ideal world any professional wants to have a backup which is the same as their main camera so that they just pick it up and go without having any change in their output and without any change in their method and camera use. This is very important, last thing you want is to have a sudden shift in quality or performance when working a job.

In the practical world the major thing you want the same is the sensor/film format size; that is the critical part of a backup since any change there results in a big difference when shooting. Older cameras can still perform well and if your main goes down you should have a backup to reach for if your in the working world.

 

[KmH]

I think you did the right thing.

The best back up is the same model as the primary.

 

[Mully]

I think you made the best move.... if you are a regular shooter then having a camera body that you know front to back is a plus, especially if your main dies on a job.

 

[gsgary]

My backup to M4 is a Zorki 4