Camcorders-- worth bringing?
 

hi, i'll be travelling in europe this summer, in amsterdam, rotterdam, paris, london and possibly berlin and am wondering if bringing a camcorder would be worth the obvious signal that i'll be sending to the would be thieves. should i be worried that i'll be more likely to be mugged with a camcorder, as opposed to a regular camera? has anyone travelled with a camcorder who can give me a good tip? thanks a lot!

It is highly unlikely that you will be mugged for your camcorder, or anything else. The most prevalent crime against tourists in European cities is pickpockets. And, if you follow the advice on this board (scroll down), you won't know they're around. As for traveling with a camcorder - You may want to carry it in a bag that's not obviously a camcorder case. Keep it around your neck and in front of you at all times. On the subway, or highly touristed areas, keep your hands on it. Don't set it town on a table in an outdoor cafe. Just take reasonable precautions and you'll be fine. Also, take at least twice as much film as you think you'll need. It's really expensive over there. You may wish to consider, though, whether you really want to drag it around. On our first trip, we took a Minolta with several lenses and other goodies in a large case. Because of the ever changing weather and passing vehicles and folks in the way, it often takes forever to get what you want to shoot. Some people just have to be IN their photos, making it nearly impossible to get a shot of JUST a particular sculpture, building, or whatever. Always seems to be some huge person in mismatched clothes standing in front of what you want to shoot. The most frustrated people we saw were the ones with camcorders. One poor fellow stood in front of Monet's Water Lilies at L'Orangerie waiting patiently forever for a clear shot. Never got one. Stateside, when folks see you raise your camera they usually politely get out of the way. Visitors abroad from other countries do not seem to be aware of this custom. Anyway, now I take just a pocket sized camera with auto everything and a zoom, just to have some photos of my own for the album. I supplement these with the fabulous postcards available which must be taken at the crack of dawn before anyone or any vehicles are out and about, after waiting months for the perfect lighting. There are also wonderful, inexpensive, books of photographs in the gift shops at the airports. To be honest, I've missed a lot whenever I've concentrated on taking a lot of pictures, so I've put a lot less emphasis on this in recent trips.

I took a camcorder and a camera. Took them both in a special camera backpack. Yes, camcorders can be a pain to lug around after awhile. One thing that helps is to buy an aftermarket foam rubber strap which you can find in most camera stores. The memories we have from the camcorder seem to have made the hassle worthwhile.

I too debated whether to take a camcorder and even posted to this forum a few mos. ago asking the same question. To minimize the inconvenience, I slung the palmcorder around my neck and it made it easier to take pics (instead of hauling it out all the time). Didn't fear anyone even thinging about trying to steal it from around my neck. You'll also see others w/ camcorders as well. Lastly, you'll able to take pics that could not otherwise be taken by a snapshot camera (e.g., low lighting, flash cameras not permitted, etc.).

I did not take a camcorder our last two trips to Europe. Found I was spending too much time trying to be Cecil B. DeMille and setting up shots than simply enjoying the trip and the area. Also found that I got home and was in zero of the video as I was the producer, director for the four of us. Leave it at home, take a good auto camera and enjoy the time you are there instead of taking pictures for later.