Second body to go with a Canon 60D

[davyherben]

<p>Hi everyone, <br>

I will be shooting my first wedding in a few weeks, as a favor for a colleague of mine. And before you ask: yes, I've considered this well, and your advice to those before me has been a tremendous help in getting prepared. A big thank you for that :)</p>

<p>I've got a 60D, and I know that I need a second body (to limit lens changes and as a backup). My initial plan was to rent a second 60D, but it looks like this will not be possible in my area. My options are 50D, 7D or 5DMkII. </p>

<p>In any case, I plan to rent this body a week in advance, so that I have time to get to know it. Still, I think it would be best to choose a backup that is as similar as possible in handling and controls to my own camera. I'll have plenty on my mind already, without having to make the mental click between wildly different bodies all the time.</p>

<p>What is your take on this? Will the 50D or 7D will be more similar? Or should I let the improved high ISO and AF performance of the 7D be the deciding factor? In that case, shouldn't the 7D become my 'main' body with the most used lens, instead of the 60D, or should I stick to the most familiar body for that? Or will I be better served by the 5D2, for even better low-light performance, and probably a better combo with my lens setup.</p>

<p>I have the following lenses: Tokina 11-16/2.8, EF 24-105/4 L, EF 50/1.4, EF 70-200/2.8 L IS (on loan). I will probably need to rent an extra lens for backup, too. I was looking for the EF-S 17-55/2.8 IS, but I can't find that one for rent either. Buying is not an option, I've already spent quite a bit of money on getting prepared to do this favor well :)</p>

<p>Any advice would be greatly appreciated.<br>

Davy</p>

[sherijohnson]

<p>I will say don't choose the 50D, not your best option compared to your other choices.</p>

[maira_sharron]

<p>I use the 7D along with my 40D. There aren't a whole lot of differences, and the transition was pretty easy.</p>

<p>My first thought after looking at the list of lenses is that if this is your first wedding, I'm not sure how much you'll be switching lenses on your camera bodies. In fact, I really don't do a whole lot of switching out of lenses - never at the ceremony and little at the reception. I would worry less about having an arsenal of lenses and more on the best functioning lens to stay on the camera. Personally, I use the 24-70 and 70-200 on my two cameras at the ceremony. At the reception my 24-70 is my workhorse, but I also use the 70-200 when I want to capture close ups of the dancing. I'll occasionally switch out to the 85 1.8, but only because I don't have a 50 1.4. </p>

<p>Looking atyour list, if it were me, I would keep the 17-55 and the 70-200 on your cameras. I would switch out the 17-55 at the reception with your 50 1.4, and keep the 70-200 on your other camera.</p>

<p>Do you have speedlights? You'll need them at the reception.</p>

[picturesque]

<p>I also think you should use one camera--the one you have--and the lenses you already have. A backup might be a 24mm lens. For the back up body, the 50D. Know how to use it but leave it in the bag. Unless you are very used to shooting with two bodies on the fly, under pressure, you can easily become overwhelmed trying to shoot a first wedding with two bodies. This is also true for trying to use an unfamiliar camera at a wedding, so a 5DII and 7D would be out.</p>

<p>I'd leave the 24-105mm on the camera most of the time, except for if you need to shoot with no flash during the ceremony. Then I'd use the 50mm f1.4. I would much prefer that than the 70-200mm, unless you're talking about long aisle and big church and movement restrictions. It might be nice to use your extreme wide angle at times, but it is more important to keep things simple for a first wedding, and concentrate on the next shot you you need to get.</p>

<p>You can probably rent a 24-70mm if you can't find a 24mm to rent.</p>

[Marcus Ian]

<p>In your case, another 60D is better than the 'better' cameras. If you dont have a speedlight of some sort, that should come before even a backup body. For an amateur, don't go for outstanding gorgeous imagery --concentrate on the basics, knock out the essentials. The rest --if you can get it-- is great, but be careful not to miss the bouqet toss because there's a cute flower girl backlit by a gorgeous sunset.</p>

<p>The reason I say a 60D is several fold:<br>

a) 50D, 7D, 5D2 all have CF card memory --as a backup, it should be as cross compatible as possible for a non-pro who doesn't have a backpack full of memory cards.<br>

b) The interface, and ergonomics of the other cameras are DIFFERENT, a 60Ds setup is identical to another 60D -- less learning means less mistakes. less mistakes is a good thing<br>

c) APSC ==> APSC no worrying about FOV differences is a GOOD thing when your level of experience is less than ideal.</p>

<p>Given your lens selection, I'd plan on using one 60D for the 'general purpose work' w/ the 24-105, and the other for the 'task specific' work ie it has the 70-200, or 11-16, or 50-1.4 mounted - depending on circumstance. As far as a backup lens goes, even an 18-55 IS or 17-85 should be fine for GP zoom backup</p>

[davyherben]

<p>It looks like my prayers have been heard. I just checked the website of my local camera shop, and they have started offering the 60D since this afternoon. This is good news, I feel much more confident about a dual-body setup with two identical bodies that I know well.</p>

<p>Nadine, your point about becoming overwhelmed by multiple bodies is well taken, though. I've got a test shoot with the couple lined up a week before the wedding. I'll make sure to have both bodies by then, and if I can't handle them there, in a lower stress situation, I'll stick to a single body at the wedding.</p>

<p>Part of the reasoning for using two bodies is as a safety measure. The 60D doesn't have a dual-card setup, so if, heavens forbid, a card would die, I'd at least have some shots with the other body. I've got plenty of cards, but I probably won't remember to swap them every 30 minutes.<br />Nadine, I was indeed planning to keep my 24-105 on most of the time, on my main body, and then keep a complementary lens on the second body on a blackrapid strap on my back (70-200 in church, 50/1.4 for the B&G formals...). I'd expect to use the 11-16 mainly for some overview shots at the church and reception.</p>

<p>One thing I'm not so sure about yet, is if 24mm on crop won't be too long for close quarters stuff, like the bride getting ready etc. That's why I was looking for the 17-55/2.8, but it looks like that will not work. I guess I could rent a 16-35 instead. Or I can let the 16mm end of my Tokina 11-16 fill that role, might be a bit limiting though. Maira, don't you feel limited at the wide end with your 24-70 on crop?</p>

<p>Also, Maira, I was intrigued by your suggestion (if I've understood correctly) to use only the 50/1.4 and the 70-200 during the reception. That sounds like a difficult combo for candid, PJ-style shots?</p>

<p>And finally, yes I do have an EX580II speedlite (with a second one rented for the backup body), and 8 sets of eneloops to go with them. I think that should get me through the day.</p>

<p><br />Thanks a lot for all the advice. </p>

[davyherben]

<p>Marcus,</p>

<p>Your post came in as I was writing mine. Yes, I absolutely agree that for me, a second 60D would be better than anything else. I've been studying very intensively since I accepted the job, and there is still much more to digest. I don't need the extra hassle of learning a new camera, so I'm glad that my shop is offering them now. Strangely, the 16-35/2.8 has disappeared though, oh well...</p>

<p>As for the lens combos: exactly what I was thinking. You're probably right that a cheap-and-cheerful zoom would suffice as a backup, but I don't have one of those, and my shop only has the standard 'good stuff' for rentals. So I'll probably go for the 24-70/2.8, which will also serve me well in church (no flash)</p>

<p> </p>

[ianivey]

If there's time for shipping, borrowlenses.com has the 17-55 for rent. I've never used them for rental, but it might be a

good option for you, given the apparent scarcity of lenses in your area. I think you'd be very happy to have that range

of zoom on one body most of the time.

 

If you decide, either during the test shoot or even the day of the wedding, that using two bodies actively is unwieldy,

just put the second one in the bag and keep it in reserve as your backup. No sweat.

 

Otherwise, as far as kit goes, it sounds like you're in good shape.