Wedding and Memory card question.

AnimalRights

Hi, been a while since I posted here but now I need a quick refresh.

Going to a good friend's wedding and will not be the photographer but will be taking some candid shots and the night before the "Lads pre drinkies session"

My memory card is a Sandisk extreme 64GB 120 mb/s UDMA 7,
I was thinking for such an important occasion I should have a back up memory card in case this one goes corrupt?
And what card would you recommend and I assume Amazon is far better value then brick n' mortar shops?

I'll be bringing a flash, 24-70L II, 70-200IS f4 and maybe the old 15mm Fisheye.

Lots of batteries ofc for flash and the 5D III

Wedding not until December but am I missing anything else referring tips etc?

Oh since Pixie went belly up and I who don't believe in backing up I now use Flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/131273502@N02/albums

(I barely bring the camera anywhere anymore 'cept for gigs)

My Samsung 7 sees to that.

Bacchus

Amazon is a bit better value yeah, especially with the way the £ is. That's where I'd be buying my cards anyway.

As for tips... you're not the main photographer so I'd say shoot as you normally shoot - I assume that's why you were asked, to shoot in the style you do. You don't need to be worried about where to be for the ceremony and when so I won't go into that. One piece of advice I guess, don't be an "Uncle Bob" and if you do have licence from the couple to get stuck in, please speak to the photographer first when you see him. 1) it's the courteous thing to do, 2) it'll just help make sure you don't end up getting in his way. Heck, he/she might even point you in the direction of some good shots as a 'second shooter' Also it's just important to be on the same page. If the main photographers style is very candid and low-key without any flash and you're FLASH FLASH FLASH around the place that could.... cause some tension.

Not sure what tips you really need, there's no pressure on you, you look experienced enough so just be yourself and trust your instincts. Gear-wise you look covered. At a stretch, a second body would be good for backup but is it worth the expense? What's your backup plan? How long will the only copy of the photos be whats on the SD card? I personally, don't really relax until I have em backed up to my laptop and will have them backed up to an external drive within 24 hours. Oh! You probably already have it but a good sling/holster is a must if you're carrying around the camera all day/night. Diffuser for flash? Can't think of anything else right now.

Bang Bang

Regarding the memory card, I sought a Sandisk 128gb V30 card recently and I couldn't find anywhere cheaper than Eurieka.ie, they are based in Ballymount Dublin, I rang one day and it was in stock ready for collection the next morning, postage is an option too.

magicbastarder

the pressure's off a bit if you're not the main photographer, but one thing i'd do is not depend on a single memory card if the shots are going to be important. eggs in one basket, etc.

CabanSail

Sandisk are probably the best cards out there. Having said that ANY card can let you down. If a shoot was important I used to use smaller cards and then change them so if there was a corruption the whole shoot would not be lost. The problem with this is the risk of physically losing a card when out of the camera. The bodies I use now have dual card slots and I have a 32Gb card in each. This can set in various modes. The options I have used are;

Card 1, Card 2
RAW, RAW Overflow
RAW, RAW Duplicate
RAW, Jpegs

The first mode is my default. A critical shoot it's the second. A couple of times a year I need immediate Jpegs and use the third mode.

I am assuming the Canon range have dual card slots. I have not checked but I think all the Nikon Pro range have this facility.

CelticRambler

Tesco were selling 64GB Sandisk Ultra SD cards for £18 a few weeks ago, £3 cheaper than Amazon.

Bacchus above has interpreted your post as you being invited to take photos, rather than you doing it for personal interest. If that's the case, ignore the rest of this post! :pac:

At a few family events over the last year, I've got some great photos by giving my camera to one of my nieces. She's not "mad into photography" by any means, but she's a typical mid-teens snap-happy smartphoner, and obviously has the confidence and quick reflexes needed for getting great candid shots because of this. Letting her loose with a DSLR, one zoom lens, a 50mm and a quick explanation of f.stops and shutter speed has been very rewarding. It's also meant that I've got photos of myself at these events on my own camera! For the wedding itself, it might be worth finding an enthusiastic sidekick.

toe_knee

Cards wise I would stick to Lexar or SanDisk

flyingsnail

As you have the 5D Mk3 I would recommend putting a card in each slot and having the camera write to both cards simultaneously. If buying on amazon make sure you buy direct from amazon rather than a third party seller, there are lots of fakes out there but as the wedding is in December you have plenty of time to get one and test it.

ED E

Been using mymemory.co.uk for yonks, cant recommend them enough. Big fan of Amazon but service from MyMem has always been great so use them for cards.

Sandisk or Samsung myself. Class wont really matter too much for stills, only a big deal when shooting high bitrate video. Once you're C6 or better chances are the cameras buffer will be the limiting factor not the card.

AnimalRights

Thanks guys and gals, I picked up a few nuggets of information referring mem card...I like using flying snail's idea of using both cards simultaneously and I might try that Ballymount place, I'm going to Hong Kong on Sunday so might as well bring the extra one there too.

CabanSail

Hong Kong is fantastic. Some very interesting shops in Mong Kok.