the importance of backup equipment

[MrJones]

last night I had a lesson on the importance of a backup equipment for the professional photographer.
I volunteered to shoot this charity benefit for the association of the wounded athletes of the israeli army which some of them will participate in the Paralympic Games in London on 2012.
needless to say, meeting all of those amazing people who didn't give up and keep working and breaking records, well.. it was just inspirational and gave me some stuff to think about.

Anyway... after an hour or so, my canon 580 EX II flash unit lost touch with reality and basically lost connection with my camera. it still worked on it's own, but pressing the shutter button didn't fire the flash.
lucky me, I had my 430EX with me in my bag so after a few minutes of trying to fix the 580EX.. I gave up and replaced it with the 430EX.. not so perfect but it did the job it was suppose to.

I don't want to imagine what I would have done if I didn't have backup equipment!

so this goes to all the professional photographers out there - don't even think of going on a job without a backup set to keep you working!

[Izzy]

I once smacked a cam on the ground from about 5 ft when on a senior port shoot. It was a rolling shutter prosumer cam with a metal body so it still worked - lucky me. Alas it made it out with a smashed LCD. I was lucky to be able to finish the shoot with the view finder. - Yes I was shooting from the LCD - so sue me

This taught me two things.

1. NEVER hoist a camera around on a tripod. I forgot cheap tripods are cheap for a reason.
2. If at all possible have a back up of everything you can possibly afford. And save for the ones you cant afford.

[John Hendry]

Yip, you always need back up equipmen.t I knocked my tripod over during a wedding, smashing my camera and flash into bits its amazing how manu pieces a bronica can break up into.

So I got my back up camera out and carried on.

[scootermcq]

2 weddings ago, I had an SB 900 do a nose dive from an upper deck to a lower deck of a ship. 15 feet on to a steel deck plays havoc with a flash. Yup, gotta have redundancy.

[MrJones]

with all of those horror stories.. I still don't get how people go out and work without backups.
it's one thing when the equipment fails on landscape shoot or even portrait shoots but if it fails at a wedding or some other event you were hired to shoot, you might as well close your business cause you're about to get the worse reputation and a very big lawsuit

[RichardTaylor]

If if you are a amateur it still pays to have backups any time you give a commitment to take photographs for somebody.
Even for personal stuff, like one off vacations, my wife & I still take enough gear so that if a lens/body/charger fails we can still keep on shooting.

[mad editor]

I was shooting my first real wedding. Someone walked into my lightstand. the flash hit the tile floor. It still works but does not lock onto a hot shoe anymore. Glad I had a spare!

[Jim Bryant]

Originally Posted by MrJones

last night I had a lesson on the importance of a backup equipment for the professional photographer.
I volunteered to shoot this charity benefit for the association of the wounded athletes of the israeli army which some of them will participate in the Paralympic Games in London on 2012.
needless to say, meeting all of those amazing people who didn't give up and keep working and breaking records, well.. it was just inspirational and gave me some stuff to think about.

Anyway... after an hour or so, my canon 580 EX II flash unit lost touch with reality and basically lost connection with my camera. it still worked on it's own, but pressing the shutter button didn't fire the flash.
lucky me, I had my 430EX with me in my bag so after a few minutes of trying to fix the 580EX.. I gave up and replaced it with the 430EX.. not so perfect but it did the job it was suppose to.

I don't want to imagine what I would have done if I didn't have backup equipment!

so this goes to all the professional photographers out there - don't even think of going on a job without a backup set to keep you working!

Gotta be prepared like a Boy Scout! My wife always ask, why do you need so many camera bodies and flashes. DUHHHHHHH!