Fred

I will be going to Italy next month and I am still debating as to whether to bring my video camera. Anybody have sugesstions ?

liz

Fred, I quess it really depends on a few things.<BR>1. mode of transport, if you have a car then you don't always need to carry it on your person. ( But remember to conceal it well inside the car )<BR>2. if you are travelling with kids, then you must bring it to capture those special moments.<BR>3. It also depends on the size of your unit, our first video camera was the size of a small car and I wouldn't dream of taking it out of the house much less to Europe. Fortunately nowadays videos have shrunk to the size of a small photo camera and they have become quite tolerable.<BR>4. Remember to not get too caught up in all the filming and actually enjoy your vacation. Just try and capture your favorite places briefly, unless of course you are making a documentory. My in-laws are documentory film makers <BR>Have fun

Ed

Having doubts? Then the right thing is undoubtedly to leave it home.<BR><BR>Have done three trips with video cams, one a friend's (with them) and two our own.<BR><BR>In all cases the 'cinematographer' spent way too much time framing, focusing, filming, narrating. Slowed everyone down, and while the operator "saw" everything, they ended up seeing nothing as it were.<BR><BR>All that's quite aside from what you have when you get home. 99.9% of all home videos I've seen (especially including mine) are boring.<BR><BR>Unless you're a really good editor, do yourself, your friends, relatives and neighbors a favor and leave it home.<BR><BR>Ed

Patrick

I always use a simple but good "point and shoot" type camera and love the pictures I get. But I have watched people get out of a bus or car, put the video camera to their face and shoot until they get back in. They have visited Europe and never saw what they came to see except through the eye of a video camera? Wouldn't it be cheaper to stay at home and just look at those sights via video tapes to begin with? The problem with video cameras is that they take too much time. If you are taping the whole thing, when do you get to just stand back and view things for real yourself?

Paulo

When we went on a month visit to Greece and Turkey with another couple, my friend asked me if he should carry his camera. I told him not to count on me for any filming, camera carrying, etc. <BR><BR>He decided taking his camera anyways and the first day out in Athens (the Acropolis) was a pain ... Midway our visit, I asked him to make an experience: to point and shoot the camera for no more than 4 seconds. In other words, to actually use the video camera as a photo camera, extending the photo to no more than 4 seconds. <BR><BR>At night, in the hotel, he checked what he had filmed before and after forcing the "rule" on himself and concluded that short takes were the way to go. From there on, he followed the rule strictly (even when filming some dances in Rhodes and Turkey). The result was pretty good in all senses. He didn't delay our party, he actually lost a relatively short time filming (enabling him to enjoy viewing the real things live and the editing (except for the narrating part that he didn't do live) was a piece of cake. He had to throuw out very little.<BR><BR>In conclusion, I'm 100% with Ed in this one ... should you balk and don't take his advise, do yourself a big favour and keep your individual takes to the minimum possible time.<BR><BR>Paulo

JoeC

Fred, good input from previous posters. My advice, leave it home. Reason, battery and charger. Too much else to carry when you are trying to go light, not to mention the issue of where and how to plug it in. Worries about voltage. Nothing worse than a "Battery Low" warning in the viewfinder. I have a nice compact 8mm camera and extra batteries. I don't carry it overseas. My son says the same about his new Sony digital camera. He and I both stick with our trusty 35mm SLR's. You might consider one of the newer point-and-shoot cameras that are on the market today. I've read some positive posts on the travel forums about them.