Spare Body or not

[chris_l 6]

Why would optical fiber strobes be considered a greater risk? I've seen lots of hard wired synch cords and or sockets leak or break. Some of them frying the camera or strobe.

 

Only problem I've seen with optical fiber connections have been fixed with duct tape

 

I think you misinterpreted some posts.

I know I was saying that a flood was easier to recover from if you had fiber optic strobes. Thus, I consider FO strobes less of a risk.

[onewolf 2]

Well I've been convinced, so I just joined the "spare body" club. I picked up a backup T2i from EBay for $350. Hopefully I won't ever need to use it in the housing....

[nathanm 0]

The cost of a housing for DSLR is generally about again as much as the camera (ranges from say 50% of cost of camera for Ikelite, 150% for Seacam). By the time you add ports, strobes and lenses, the camera is actually one of the cheaper parts of the system. It is also one of the least reliable. For example, I have had many more camera problems than lens problems over the years.

 

So I always travel with two identical bodies - one is nominally dedicated to topside use, the other goes in the housing. I also tend to have multiple lenses - not duplicates, but as a post above suggested the 50 and 100 macro lens, and 20mm and 15mm lenses. I have had a lens fail (diaphragm stuck) and was glad to have a more or less comparable lens along. I mostly use the 100 mm and 15mm but the 50mm macro is small and cheap. A 20mm lens is pretty small too.

 

I also try to travel with an extra set of strobes - in my case a pair of DS 125 manual strobes that I've had forever. I have had to use them a couple times when my much fancier strobes crap out. Note that this means bringing along an adapter or other cables so I can use them.

 

Obviously if you can't afford two bodies that is a different story, but you have to figure that bad things can happen and dive trips are very expensive too.