Why You Ought to Purchase Two of That Digital camera You are Wanting At

Typically, two is healthier than one on the subject of gear purchases.

From time to time, I really feel the necessity to state the apparent. It’s not that I’m repetitious by nature. However it’s normally the results of a seemingly innocuous second in my day resulting in a profound, albeit logical, realization. In the present day’s realization? It may be darn good to have your backup digital camera be the identical as your major digital camera.

Now, I’m certain that lots of you studying this simply let loose a collective “duhhhh” after studying that final sentence. And, on a primary stage, it’s not like that is information I didn’t already possess. However, as circumstance had dictated, over the course of my almost twenty-year profession, I’ve by no means truly discovered myself in possession of two equivalent our bodies on the similar time.

I’ve had backup cameras. I’ve all the time had a backup digital camera. As knowledgeable photographer, going out into the sector with out a Plan B is like going to Vegas with out setting a little bit of non-gambling cash to the facet to afford your return ticket. Certain, you may make it residence. However, if the chips don’t fall your approach, you could possibly be in for a protracted evening. In case you’ve taken on the duty of capturing a giant promoting marketing campaign to your shopper, attempting to elucidate to them that you just immediately must cease capturing and the tens of 1000’s of {dollars} they’re spending on forged, crew, and placement will likely be wasted as a result of your digital camera isn’t working is the kind of dialog you may need to keep away from. So, having a backup digital camera is non-negotiable.

What I’ve all the time performed, nonetheless, is to purchase one digital camera at a time and use the earlier physique as a backup. As a lot as we wish to debate it, if we’re being trustworthy, know-how normally doesn’t change all that a lot from technology to technology. Certain, the brand new digital camera comes with all of the bells and whistles. However, assuming your outdated digital camera was made anytime throughout the final 5 to 10 years, there’s a excessive probability that it isn’t a clunker. The outdated physique won’t be as good, however it could actually most likely do the job in a pinch. And for a backup physique, which can presumably spend quite a lot of time within the bag, this may be greater than satisfactory.

So, up till this level, my technique was all the time to purchase the brand new physique when it felt mandatory to perform my targets, preserve the earlier physique as a backup to the brand new physique, and promote the earlier backup to boost cash. I saved issues like megapixel counts and primary performance in thoughts.  However put little onus on the our bodies being equivalent. Typically even going as far as to have completely totally different manufacturers as backups. And it labored for me. It all the time labored for me. So why am I right here as we speak speaking about how nice it’s to have equivalent our bodies?

Nicely, I used to be lucky sufficient to get one of many first batch of the Nikon Z 9 cameras. I preordered mine very early and have been completely in love with the digital camera since its arrival. Aside from making me imagine in love at first sight once more, the digital camera jogged my memory of one thing else. With the performance of the digital camera lining up extraordinarily nicely with my very own private use case, I spotted that, regardless of the excessive price ticket, I actually wished I had ordered two. Not simply to say that I had two. However, quite, as a result of I spotted that, if I had two, I might actually unload all the opposite our bodies in my possession as a result of the Z 9 was able to doing all the roles I had beforehand unfold throughout a number of our bodies with sure abilities.

Getting two our bodies of a extremely in demand digital camera wasn’t tremendous simple. However as soon as I used to be in a position to get my arms on an equivalent backup, my workflow took a dramatic flip for the higher. So, what precisely are the advantages of getting two equivalent our bodies quite than an assortment of disparate instruments?

Nicely, the primary cause is pretty apparent. They’ll again one another up. In case your major digital camera goes down, you may choose up the second and carry on trucking. You may nonetheless do that in case your backup isn’t equivalent. However the benefit of getting your backup being equivalent is that you just don’t lose any of the creature comforts that always include familiarity together with your major physique. Your mind doesn’t must undergo any of the psychological gymnastics typically required when attempting to recollect the totally different button placements between our bodies. There’s no change within the ergonomic really feel of the physique in your arms. Even the viewfinder and stress required to activate the shutter button ought to be the identical. These could seem to be small issues. However, let’s face it, if you’re having to show to your backup physique in the midst of a excessive stress shoot, it’s fairly seemingly that you’re confused sufficient as it’s. Having to deal with that stress whereas on the similar time remembering how you can change the menu objects on a physique you not often use gained’t be the tip of the world, however it’s going to hardly make your life simpler.

However one of many largest causes I like having equivalent our bodies is that, whereas they will actually help one another, they will additionally complement one another. I’ve talked about it earlier than, however an rising quantity of my work, if not nearly all of work today, is coming as a director/cinematographer versus solely as a nonetheless photographer. Even jobs primarily pushed by stills nearly all the time embody some type of movement part. Fashionable mirrorless cameras make switching higher images and video as simple as flipping a change. So, it’s completely potential to do a complete job, each stills and video, with a single physique.

However regardless of the fundamental rules of nonetheless and movement being mainly the identical, in observe, they’re two completely totally different artwork varieties. There are concerns that you might want to have in mind to create the perfect video content material that you just simply don’t must have in mind for stills, and vice versa. There’s a cause movement image cameras seem like multi-tentacled robots from some futuristic alien film and nonetheless cameras can generally slide into the pocket of an outsized coat. Every artwork kind merely requires a distinct method.

So, if you’re seeking to maximize each artwork varieties, you’re more likely to need to be working each with totally different digital camera settings and a distinct bodily configuration to your rig. You may preserve increase your digital camera to video configuration, then breaking it all the way down to nonetheless configuration between photographs. However, relying in your manufacturing, this won’t be essentially the most environment friendly option to go. What having two equivalent our bodies means that you can do is to go away one physique completely arrange in a nonetheless configuration whereas leaving the opposite completely in its rig for video. That approach, if you end up on a job the place you’re needing to continuously bounce backwards and forwards between every, it can save you your self an excessive amount of time and be extra productive. On the similar time, as a result of the cameras are equivalent, they will nonetheless act as backups. So, in case your nonetheless digital camera, for instance, did go down, you’d nonetheless have an equivalent backup. All you would need to do is change the configuration. Similar factor would go if the video digital camera had been the one to fall by the wayside.

In fact, there are much more sensible advantages to having twin our bodies. In my case, having equivalent our bodies allowed me to drop the burden of my digital camera bag by a few third. Beforehand, my backup resolution was a wholly totally different model of digital camera. This meant that I needed to not solely carry two totally different our bodies, however two totally different units of lenses and equipment. Even once I’ve had the identical model as a backup, however had one be a DSLR and one a mirrorless, there have been further adapters and tidbits required to occupy area in my bag. By having each our bodies be equivalent now, I’m able to use the identical lenses and equipment for both. So, there’s no must have a number of units of every thing. Two units will suffice. In fact, as a result of I’m a glutton for punishment and might’t appear to get my thoughts round the concept that I don’t have to completely fill each nook and cranny of my digital camera bag, I’ve merely stuffed within the vacated area with extra gear that was beforehand having to be left residence. However that’s an issue to be handled one other day.

Having two equivalent our bodies isn’t completely important. As I discussed on the prime, I haven’t had this setup for years and I used to be simply positive. So, so long as you could have an satisfactory backup to get the job performed, don’t really feel you might want to rush out and purchase a second digital camera. Even with the ability to afford to have equivalent our bodies is a privilege I don’t take evenly. However now that, in spite of everything these years, I’ve lastly discovered myself able to have an equivalent backup, I can see firsthand the advantages of getting two to tango.