Momliz

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bushwoman2002

I have travelled so much I have never missed a thing. One thing I can recommend is to buy a Polaroid Camera and plenty of film--although the quality leaves much to be desired; the instantaneousness (is that a word?) is so special for the locals....

tuckeg

I brought a portable printer and took shots of locals with my SLR, processed them and printed them up. I had used a Polaroid on a previous trip but this time was able to give them much better photos.

steeliejim

Yes, the portable battery powered printer was so much and allowed us to give something back in return for the joy the people we met at the school, along the road on the way to Luangwa River Lodge, and our amazing guide and now, friend, Victor, as well as the other staff members. We were determined to find a compact portable printer to take along after our trip to India where we met some of the most amazing people and saw how excited they were to see their image played back on the digital camera screen. It takes a bit more room, but no more than a separate Polaroid camera plus film, and it is now an indispensible item for our travels.

Jim

Jim

Khakif

Tuckleg/Steeliejim,

I’ve been toting that Polaroid Camera around for decades. A portable battery powered printer sounds like a great alternative, because I’m often taking group photos; this would allow me to give a print to each person rather than one photo to the group.

Please share with us the printer brand name and model you selected after much thought. What features did you like/use most? How was the battery life? Did you have to recharge during your safari? Any issues with dust or moisture from extreme temperature shifts each day (printer as well as photo paper). Do you take any other accessories- scissors, etc.?

Thanks for sharing.

steeliejim

Hi kahkif,

I did a lot of research and settled on the Canon Selphy 600. It's apparently not made anymore, and the closest equivalent I found is the Canon Selphy 730 (The 720 model is a lot cheaper but does not offer a battery option). Tbe battery is an optional add-on for the 730 and weighs about a half a pound. The printer weighs a little over 2 pounds wo battery, and is quite compact.

It uses a dye sublimation process whereby the cartridge is self contained (no ink cartridges or nozzles to clog), and the print comes out dry to the touch after making 4 passes in about a minute.

I also looked at HP, but they use (or used--haven't looked lately) ink cartridges and pictures need time to dry--not good if you are out and about. The Epson was a real heavy "brick." And the Kodak was a
nice package, but inexplicably offered no battery option--at least when I was shopping for it.

I don't know if Crutchfield is a good source to buy from, but here is their website with the specs on the Selphy 730. You buy the print paper and cartridge as a kit. I also bought the credit card sized cartridge so I could make lots of small prints quickly.

Yes, you will need to charge the battery from time to time (Can't remember how many prints we got from a charge, but it seemed to be pretty good), but we were able to charge camera/printer batteries everywhere we went even in the bush camps way out in the boonies (virtually every camp has a generator which operates at least part of the day). Having the printer along was so much fun. Many of the people to whom we gave photos had never had pictures of themselves before and were absolutely thrilled. But, we got as much joy from seeing their happiness. Good luck, and please let us know how it all works out for you.

Jim

http://www.epinions.com/Canon_SELPHY...ay_~full_specs

matnikstym

jim- how many pics do you get off each ink cartridge or whatever it uses?
Thanks!

Patty

Dennis,
You get the paper along with print cartridge(s) in a kit. It doesn't work with regular photo paper. You have to buy their kit, but the cost is reasonable (less than 30 cents per 4x6 print if you get the larger kit). The 4x6 paper is also a ready to mail postcard.

http://tinyurl.com/35gvbq and click on Supplies & Accessories.

steeliejim

The kit comes with the print cartridge sized for the number of prints (and photo sheets contained in the package. Eg, a 36 sheet package contains a print cartridge sized to take 36 pix. The cartridge slips in easily, and when you are out of paper you done with the cartridge. Also, the final layer is a clear film that is supposed to protect the photos and, along with the inks, give them an archival quality.

http://picasaweb.google.com/steeliej...37332132582690

This is a picture of the vice-principal of the Chiutika school for whom I had just printed out a picture.

Jim

LAleslie

Hair conditioner.
I never take shampoo, conditioner or soap, on trip these days because every place, down to the motels, provides them. In South Africa, however, I was surprised to find even the most upmarket spots tended not to have conditioner, esp. on safari. So it was painful combing the tangles out of my justs washed hair. OUCH!

Almosthere

Steeliejim: Thx so much for the suggestion; we are packing now for a 3 week trip in Africa and I think that could be my MOST favorite carry-on. will let all know how it goes! Samantha

Khakif

Steeliejim,
Many thanks for the great information and link. Great tip in my opinion.

spiegelcjs

ttt

atravelynn

Now Spiegelcjs, don't go overloading your bags with every item on this thread!

moondoggie

Please explain--what is a 'fleece'? Sweatshirt? Pashmina-type shawl/throw? Quilt?

twoteachers

I think one of the best things we took was a polaroid camera, similar but cheaper than the portable printer. We were able to take and give away pictures of these beautiful people, and they were enthralled. When we were lucky, we set it up so that I took the polaroids, and my daughter, with the better digital camera, took the most stunning portraits of people when they were not posing. A mistake I made was not to take some kind of plastic bag or small scrapbook to give people with the pictures. Think of their small houses and how hard it is to store anything. We visited 3 World Vision children, and the one child still had a picture my daughter had sent him 10 years ago, though definitely the worse for wear. I also would have had the polaroid with me more often because there were children we met along the way whom I would have loved to give pictures to. We took other things to these children, but the soccer balls (with an air pump) would bring cheers from the whole neighborhood. Jump ropes and balloons were also big hits along with educational supplies. I also took $1 watches from a dollar store, and you should see the pride on the face of a man owning his own digital watch. We also took first aid supplies to the families, but our mistake was not to have a local translate the directions into their language. They don't know what neosporin or even bandaids are. I also took small baggies of needles and safety pins for the mothers. I concur that it is appreciated if you have "American" (or whatever your homeland) gifts, especially for guides and other special people. We took a small photo album of our own family, and they were clearly fascinated by seeing our people as we were seeing theirs. I am an inexperienced traveler, so I had some kind of adaptor for the outlets that was sold as if it solved all the traveller's problems when actually I needed another thingy to go with it. I almost paniced since I had my recharger and multitudinous rechargeable batteries, but no regular. Even In Rome the "Kodak" batteries I bought were clearly knockoffs and ran out quickly. In Africa, the guide went into the camera shop for me and then I got good batteries at a good price. It is also good to have a blank CD or DVD in case you need to download pictures, and the internet place doesn't know that part. That totally saved my daughter as she ran out of memory cards near Lake Nakuru. Safe travels to all.

ShayTay

Moondoggie, a "fleece" is something like a pullover or jacket made of "fleece" material, such as Polartec.

Twoteachers, thanks for the ideas!

jenbertoni

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moondoggie

Merci, Shaytay. Fleece explained!

CarlaM

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