Now we’ve established in what situations, backup equipment is recommended or needed……and what features are important, or work together as far as primary / backup SLR body combination…….now it’s about keeping your backup equipment ready to use, and keeping you familiar with it. Anytime I am preparing for a shoot, especially on location and away from my studio, I charge batteries for both bodies, and all the batteries for my flashes and battery packs. For certain shoots, or fun events I attend, I’ll bring my backup Mark II to keep it being used, and keep myself familiar with the interface and the few little differences between it and my primary Mark III body…..this is very important, so I can adapt in faster paced environments such as weddings, events, and advertising shoots. Even if both cameras are exactly the same……it’s cool to give the primary more use……but letting the backup just sit in your camera bag and collect dust isn’t good for it. Exercising the batteries by using the camera, and charging when done, is better for the battery life of the camera as well, as opposed to letting it sit for long periods of time. The whole purpose of having backup equipment is to be able to depend on it, should the other fail. This was a fun random shot I took at Oktoberfest with my backup Mark II…..that dog needs to be famous LOL!