Travelling and your camera

Hey guys, Im going travelling at the end of the year for about 3 months (around europe) and i will mainly be backpacking. Currently I have a sony P8 Cybershot (3.2mp) camera.

Now the quality of photo it takes is fairly average - the colours, etc are pretty blan. I was looking at buying a Pentax *istDS DSLR, but my only worry is taking it over seas (especially backpacking around europe) the cameara might become a bit of a burden - ie bulky and I might be worried about it getting stolen, etc.

What are you experiences in this situation?

Money permitting, i was also thinking about buying an MP3 HDD player (20gbish) that would double as my photo storage.

Let me know what you think! thanks!

 

I've traveled with a Film SLR and am again going backpacking aroudn Europe at the end of this year with my 350D. The bulk has never really been a problem for me, the main issue is getting it stolen. Especially when u are backpacking your staying in hostels in dorms with 4-8 other randoms. You pretty much have to keep your camera on you 24/7. Its a pain in the arse but you don't have much choice.

Never leave it unattended. Dont leave it out in the open hanging off your sholder as you cruise around the busy streets. Pick pockets love tourists. I had a guy come up to me asking for directions. Shoving a map straight in front of my face, his mate then attempted to take my bag from under the map where i couldnt see. Luckly i clued to it and stopped him. Another guy i knew was on the train in london, he for some stupid reason just had his wallet sticking out of his back pocket of his jeans. Some dude punches him in the stomach which bends him over the other bloke then grabs the wallet out of his pocket.

I've used an Iriver for photo storage it works but its sometimes quite slow especially with large file sizes. An X Drive might be worth looking at.

 

My last trip OS was to Africa for 2 months.

I took my trusty Pentax SLR with a 28-80mm and 100-300mm zooms and never had a problem.

When I look back at the pics now I'm glad I didn't opt to take a compact as the shots I have are personal treasures of a great OS holiday.

The Pentax *Ist DS with a Pentax-FA 50mm f1.4 or f1.7, (if you can get one), would be small and light enough to carry around without too much fuss. I'd also consider getting a handstrap for walking around. It's much less touristy looking than a neckstrap.

bazz.

 

Hey guys, thanks for the replies.

Like you silenthunter i really think getting the camera stolen is my main issue. To add to this, if I buy an IAudio X5l to store the photos onto, ill easily be carrying around $1k+ in electrical stuff (while backpacking)

I havnt ever really stayed in any backpackers OS, so I'm not sure what to expect security wise - ie if someone can go through my bag while im sleeping at night.

Maybe I should just take the Sony DSC-P8 crappola and photoshop all my photos so they look pretty

If anyone else has had an experiences backpacking/travelling with their cameras OS id love to hear.

thanks again,
Jayden.

 

Some places have lockers to keep your shit in, some dont. Yeah i worry about the same things. Eg in Europe at the end of this year i'll have my 350D, 2 Lens's, 2GB of CF, 20GB Zen, $300 Phone etc. Which is easy 2k+

Its possible for people to look through your shit wwhile you sleep yes but unlikely. Bigger problem is if u leave shit at the hostle during the day. make sure you can lock hte zips on your bag.

I don't think your risk of getting your shit stolen really increases by having a DSLR over a P/S i really doubt a thief is going to sort through ur shit and leave a P/S but take a DSLR.

Just make sure you get travelers insurance. I've got the backpackers package which gives you $3k of insurance on personal items but the catch is it only gives you $200 per item So i had to pay an extra $60 to boost that up to $1700 per item. If it gets stolen well it gets stolen atleast if you have insurance you can re-coup the cost.

 

I have taken a P&S on long holidays before and i remember saying quite a few times that im glad i didnt bring all my gear. Especially when its summer over in europe/asia etc. If you know how to take pics then your going to come up with some excellent shots as the content of your pics isnt determined by the camera.. only the output of quality etc. So from this i talked myself into only taking P&S's even after i tried to convince myself to take a DLSR. You can get amazing shots with a P&S and alot of the time cos its less obtrusive you can get more natural or unoticed shots off.

Your 4MP P8 should take some great pics and the fact that you WILL take it everywhere cos its so small will make up for the moments you might have lost because u didnt want to lug your DSLR to the club/pub/bar/beach/market etc etc etc. I've been on heaps of overseas trips in the last few years and all i've learnt each time is to pack less and less..if ur traveling around heaps..

Having said that i was impressed with the qualities of my latest point and shoot thats what reassured me to just bring that. It had low light shooting without flash by way of using high ISO and it had sharpness and resolution that is at the top of its class.

FUJI F10 - around $550 delivered

The battery last 500+ shots even with some flash shots, movies, reviewing on the lcd etc. Thing is you never use the flash with this camera cos of low light capabilities. I was able to shoot inside the vatican and get sharp shots. Or at night at a bar with little kerosene burners which gave the shot an ambience etc rather than the usual washed out flash shots.

OOPS this is turning into a camera review.

in short i wouldnt take SLR. all that gear adds up and is too heavy and too much to worr about.

I'd pack light..

 

I have gone travelling through Peru, Europe, Egypt, Canada, America, etc with an old film P&S and more recently a Canon S500 point and shoot. This includes taking it scuba diving to 30m (with case), snowboarding with it, multi day rainforest hiking with it, camping, etc and have had no problems with it. I always pack light, especially when backpacking and would not even consider taking a 'large' camera, though it might take better quality photos I always find some of my best photos have been spontaneous with travellers, wildlife, etc and that is what the P&S is for and that is why you are backpacking. Also you will have less to worry about because you can shove it in your pocket, etc. I try and always wear a goretex jacket when backpacking (except when too hot) which has inside zippable pockets which are extremely safe to store cameras, money in.

 

oh yeh forgot to say I use an Iriver H320 for photo backup, etc. Very very useful, even watch family guy on it on the long flights when you have watched every single movie on the list. As stated b4 a bit slow to copy (I usually leave it going while eating or something). Be warned though the hard drives can fail so try and have another backup somewhere, bring blank CDs with you and burn them at internet kiosks (everywhere in europe), even try and bring a USB card reader to make it easier on you, even though almost every kiosk I have been in has had one.

 

I'd say get a slightly higher-end P&S like a Canon PowerShot S70, 2 batteries, two or three 1 Gb cards and you're set. You'll be able to travel light, take good quality shots and have the camera with you everywhere. Burn your CF cards to DVD. Always burn 2 copies. Send one home via post and keep the other with you as backup. Easy!

 

I have 2 daughters that have traveled extensively in Europe, both started with little P&S cameras and both returned with them, the only complaint was that they didn't have enough zoom, my eldest did a 58 day safari through Africa and purchased a film SLR for that specific trip as they were doing the gorilla safari as part of the trip and couldn't afford a digital SLR. Their advise to friends has been to travel with as small a camera that you can use and with as bid a zoom that is available in the camera. Currant cameras that fit that criteria are the Panasonic FZ5, a couple of the Konica Minolta Z series, Sony H1, Canon S2, Fuji S5500 (unstabalised). With a smaller zoom the Panasonic LZ series, and then the unstabalised compacts such as the Ricoh R series.

 

I backpacked around Africa & Europe back in '94. I had my SLR stolen in the old "shove a map in your face" scam and my wife had hers stolen while we slept in a train compartment. Her pack was sliced open with a razor to get past the locks. This was back in the days before digi cams and internet cafes. I lost 1 complete roll & 1 started roll of film and my wife lost the started roll in the camera.

'Twas a real pain in the arse. Both went out and bought new P&S Pentaxs. Still have both of them but only 'cause they're not worth anything s/h and we can't afford new digicams.

The shots from the Gorillas and other different safari parks were worth it all tho'

griffo

 

Thanks for all your replies.

Yeah at first I didnt really consider the issue of stealing, but it really is a problem over there. So ill definatly just take my little Sony and IAudio for storage.

Thanks again guys!

 

Oh god.
And ive just bought a 17" Laptop and a 350D to go OS with.

Although i wont be "backpacking" as much... more living in Canada for ~9months, then a few weeks in the UK.