Originally posted by houstonmacgregor Thinking of trying to get some " for pay photography" situations. Obviously need a back up.
Why do you say "obvious"? I guess I would not want to take any kind of assignment without having backups for everything. But the backup is more important for some things than others. For example, if you're going to do informal portraits, and you have the ability to reschedule the appointment if a technical problem occurs, then the backup is perhaps not critical. On the other hand, if you're shooting a wedding, you absolutely must have a backup camera.
So whether you need a backup and what kind of backup you need depends to some extent on what kind of photography you're doing.
When shooting weddings and graduations, I take FOUR cameras. The first two (K10D/K20D) are my actual working cameras. I carry both of them with me throughout the event - well, at least during the ceremony. I may use just one for the reception. I have in fact had technical problems occasionally, and I know that they don't occur, um, in the middle of the night when you're not using the camera. They tend to occur right before the kiss. If my K20D were to freeze up on me at that moment, it wouldn't do any good to have the K10D in a bag in my truck, or even in a bag in a nearby pew. I need to have it around my neck and ready to go.
The other two cameras are an *ist DS and my old Nikon 35mm film camera (an N65 - not fancy but takes decent photos). These stay in my (locked) truck.
In theory, I'm taking a roll of film every month to stay in the film game, sort of. But the truth is, I now go for months without shooting film, then I go out and shoot half a dozen rolls in a week. If I had to shoot a wedding entirely with the Nikon, I could do it, but gosh, I hope it never happens.
My personal recommendation - worth what you're paying for it - is that you need a second digital camera, and it needs to be good enough to do the job all by itself in a pinch. This doesn't mean that you need to shell out for a K20D, if that's simply not in your budget.
Quote: At this point have a k10d and a pz-1. Do you think the pz-1 is adequate for the back up or should I get an inexpensive dsrlr ie. the *1stD or k100 for that purpose.
The K100D or K200D would be better than the *ist DS, in my opinion, because shake reduction is worth a lot.
Quote: Oh it took me 2 weeks to get power back from Ike
Glad you're coming back, although I know it's slow. I'm up in Dallas now but spent 20 years down in Houston and have lots of family and friends down there still. MOST have returned home and are doing well, but one nephew who was going to Texas A&M at Galveston now lives in College Station: Apparently they moved the entire school off the island.
Will