If you are a pro, do you use two card slots for backup? Locked

1. LensSodomist wrote:

Noogy wrote:

Holscen wrote:

What if ...your card failed, what if it was your camera, your lens? Could you get the job done? Would your client like it if you failed to get the shots, your name and business would be tarnished

I always do paid jobs with 2 bodies, which was just as well because failure happens.

First big assignment I did for an international music magazine had me going to New York from London to shoot a band. I shot it on 2 Nikon F100 film cameras. Guess what, my motordrive failed on frame 1. No worries as I had a backup F100 otherwise my career might have ended before it began.

I used to shoot transparency then too, you had to be spot on with exposure and have perfect development. You wouldn’t always put all your rolls in processing at the same time, in case of an issue, and you’d run a clip test if you were a perfectionist.

The bottom line is that things fail and accidents happen. I’ve had cards fail, shutters fail, aperture blades fail, lenses get smashed and stolen, but I’ve always had a way round because I had a backup.

If you’ve been lucky enough to avoid problems with one camera, card, lens or flash...well that’s good..but luck can run out.

I believe if a pro prepares for the worst “what if” scenarios, then they can just roll on through any problems without breaking a sweat and deliver the job successfully.

I use 2 cameras, both with dual cards, many lenses, 2 flashes. The only thing I don’t have room for in my bag is excuses or apologies.

Two cameras is also my preference, sometimes three. Only one needs to have dual cards. Most often two cameras with single cards is more than enough for me for paid gigs. Two cameras are less likely to fail. Therefore the argument that the only way to go is dual cards and to arrogantly insist such as the standard is flawed.

Properly backed up files demand redundancy. Having redundancy on 1 of multiple bodies only means that that one body is protected.

And your stance is exceedingly silly because, for the cost of a 2nd card for each body, you think it "arrogant" to spend that $$.

Thank God you do not work in IT...your thinking would never make it at Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, nor any even 3rd rate IT company.

My God, spend the $35 already!!

I never said I don't back up. There are multiple wireless options to do back ups, while shooting, during breaks in some gigs, etc. Where do you work? Is it a Fortune 100 company like where I work?

IT as experts in backing up, that's why teams are built to manage Sev1s? Never assume your field is superior to anyone's. My original stand is pro cameras don't automatically must have dual cards. I am never against the idea of having a back up like having two cameras. Removing an SD card after taking 80 to 100 shots so that it can be downloaded and using a fresh one thereafter is also a back up strategy.

The worst and costliest outages in the corporate world were triggered by the failure of IT to be proactive.