How much does a dual-card slot matter?

[bdunbar79]

If those two cameras were available when I began photography, that would have been my setup. My main would have been a 5D Mark II and my backup a 60D. No second thoughts.

 

[RGomezPhotos]

The BIG reason I'm getting the 5DMKIII over the 5DMKII is because of the SD slot.

I am a professional and largely shoot beauty work in well let conditions using manual focus lenses. So all the tech. advances of the MKIII don't mean much to me. Picture quality isn't any better in the MKII in the ISO range I shoot in.

But being able to shoot and view images on another device wirelessly in real-time without using that overpriced MKII WiFi option would be super. Once you buy that option you're almost at the cost of the MKIII. And now that the SD Standards organization is going to have wireless as part of their standard, prices will come down and options/performance will go up for these accessories. PQI is coming out with a SD-WIFI card WITH a microSD card slot! So now you can have your backup AND another backup if you send it to an iPad and not tax your system.

Now that prices are coming down for the MKIII, I'm okay with the premium of the MKIII. I think it's the best all-around camera out there without spending double for a 1Dx. Certainly capable of any professional requirements I'll throw at it for the next 3 - 4 years.

 

[Philco]

I've got my 60d camera and am going to buy some 5d - does that count as "two bodies" for you, tough not both are ff? I've gotten really used to the 60d and Magic Lantern, and as a second body with a faster lens even the crop sensor should do ok, or at least that's what I hope.

I shot for almost a year with a 5D+30D combo and it worked out fine, though I usually had a gap in focal length between the two bodies that was just another thing to deal with. Plus, looking through the 30D felt like shooting through a keyhole compared to the FF viewfinder. I think the crop+FF has advantages though, at least in terms of reach. My point was really more about the SD slot being worth the extra money if the other features ( already well enumerated in this post) aren't your main concern. I personally have yet to buy any SD cards to use in that slot, though I've shot 4 or 5 weddings, which I realize is foolish considering I have that option.