whowadat

Hello from the good o' US of A! I'm making my first trip to London on the 21st of July with my wife basically for shopping although we hope to take in a site or two. We'll be out in the West End near Paddington figuring there's plenty of markets to visit nearby - although if anyone knows where to buy vintage toys please feel free to share your hot spots.

I would like to take my Canon camera along for the ride, including a couple of lens and flash, all of which comes in a 16" x 8" x 8" soft case which would obviously reveal its contents given that the name Canon is embossed on it. This is a 2500 dollar outfit so we're not talking about a 100 dollar point n shoot.

Does anyone have any experiences or tips they could share about the pros and cons of bringing a camera overseas.

I'm concerned that with an obviously large camera bag we'll stick out like sore thumbs as tourists which might attract unwelcome attention from scoundrels.

I'm just taking two lenses, an 18 to 55 mm and a 55 to 250mm for telephoto purposes. Is that too much ?

If I'm gonna be taking pictures on the "fly" it would seem that leaving the bag behind and only taking the camera strapped around my neck with one lens might be a better option - I have never done that before as the bag contains other items that come in handy and I would be concerned about it getting banged around in the hustle and bustle of the day.

What about Airport security, should the picture card be taken out of the camera prior to it being put through an x-ray scanning device?

Are there any particular rules of etiquette that I should keep in mind - other than common courtesy of course.

Any pointers or sites to see for photog purposes would be enthusiastically received also.

Thanks for your time.

Mike

xyz123

Mike..

Let me ask you a question.

I ssume you might be a professional photographer based on your equipment list.

Now for many years, I had an SLR with all sorts of lenses, brought multiple rolls of film yada yada yada.

About 2 or 3 years ago, for about $150 I acquired a Canon sure shot digital camera...it is small, it has a zoom, I can shoot pictures to my heart's content...10 minutes after I get home by attaching a USB cable to my computer, I can download all the pictures, delete the ones I don't like, send the ones I like off to be printed (or print them myself).

Why the hell would you want to bring such a large expensive camera with you when youcan get pictures of almost the same quality with one of the middle range digital cameras available for less than $200 today?

hetismij

Hi Mike. Firstly at the airport your camera just goes through in it's bag. No need to wrry about x-rays with digital.
Maybe you could look for another camera bag, one that doesn't scream camera bag - look at the Crumpler range for instance though there are plenty of others out there.
Do take both lenses. You will be disappointed if you only take say the wide angle one (which will get the most use in a city) and find yourself wanting to photograph squirrels in Hyde Park for instance.
I would keep the camera and lens and all the other stuff needed for a digital camera, in the bag most of the time. However you will see plenty of people with cameras around their necks taking photos so don't wrooy too much about it. Jst be ulta aware on the tube etc jusrt as you would be at home.
Have fun and enjoy taking those photos.

hetismij

"Why the hell would you want to bring such a large expensive camera with you when youcan get pictures of almost the same quality with one of the middle range digital cameras available for less than $200 today?

Because any digital SLR will produce better photos than any digital P&S. The sensor is bigger for a start, meaning more detail and more importantly less noise.
You can shoot in RAW and correct the photos - jpegs are compressed and lossy and will lose detail EVERY time you open them, or do anything to them. You can take photos with a wider angle than a P&S offers. i could go on, but I won't.
If you have a DSLR take it on holiday with you - you will not regret it.

ira

Hi W,

>If I'm gonna be taking pictures on the "fly" it would seem that.."

it would be a lot more convenient to get a Canon Prosumer (I love my GS3IS) and save the big, heavy unwieldy, expensive DSLR for when I have time to set up a tripod.

>..should the picture card be taken out of the camera prior to it being put through an x-ray scanning device?<

Not necessary.

>Are there any particular rules of etiquette...

It's a good idea to ask permission before taking a person's picture.

xyz123

Let me just back up a little bit..I wasn't looking to put the OP down...if he is a professional photographer or a very advanced amateur and photography is his thing, who am I to criticize and I have no doubt the pictures will be of a higher quality than I can get with the smaller p & S digital cameras..but the question, of course, is to what purpose.

I still maintain that in general, perhaps not for Mike, today's mid range digital camera, do absolutely as good a job, if not better, than the old SLR cameras I used to lug around with me and for 95% of tourists who are not professional photographers, will more than do the job better than what we could do back in those days.

But if Mike or anybody else is somebody who loves photography and it is important to them, that's fine and certainly and clearly their perogative.

gmlawyer

Will mention that on a recent tour to Russia in broad daylight on a busy street one member of our group who always carried two cameras (he is a pro) had one of the lens removed from his camera by a professional pickpocket. It was incredibly brazen. He had the names of his cameras covered with blackout tape because he had previously had camera equipment stolen from him in Europe. Just be aware that your expensive equipment will be very obvious to all.

whowadat

Well, I'm sure not gonna argue about why in the heck take the high end stuff when my Fuji P+S will capture some "memories" just as well. That's why I posted, to get some feedback whether or not taking the "gear" is worth the risk. Obviously it depends on what I want to do with it, I'm leaving behind the macro lens and tripod even though I would love to get some extreme closeup pictures of the local flowers and bugs....

Thanks for the practical advice of taking a more discreet bag along, maybe I'll take the Canon bag for the trip to the hotel and back for traveling protection given that's what it is designed for, and use something more common for the touristy stuff. I guess just like anything you got to use some common sense.....

sshephard

There is always plenty of advice on the Fodors forum - that's why it is such a great resource. And plenty of opinions. So here's mine:

I am a advanced amateur photographer who has been traveling to Europe for the last 10 years. Every time I go, I take less camera equipment.

I just got back from 5 weeks in France, Italy, Croatia and others and towards the end of the trip was wishing I had a high quality point and shoot and nothing else. I've thought that for the last 5 years.

Then I get home and start working on the photos and realize that I would not be happy with anything less than my DSLR. But that's just me.

Here's what I traveled with this summer

Canon 5D with three batteries and charger. Vertical grip removed.

Canon 24-105mm 4.0 L
Canon 50mm 1.2 L
Lens hoods for both lenses
2 4 gig cf cards
No flash

All of this was carried in a Mountainsmith lumbar bag. One water bottle pocket holds a lens in a neoprene lens bag and the other holds my sunglasses, etc.

The Mountainsmith bag works well because it doesn't necessarily say "camera bag." However, its hard not to see that I have a camera and even if I blocked out "Canon" on the camera, a wise thief would know I have an expensive set-up. The bag holds about $6K of stuff.

Next summer I think I will take 1 lens - the 24-105 4.0, which is image stabilized. I used to travel with a telephoto lens but I found that most of my photography requires wide angle lenses rather than telephoto. Landscapes or buildings shot from a distance with telephoto are often hazy. I also think that telephoto shots often make the subject seem out of its context.

Here are a few photos from my recent trip:

http://web.mac.com/sshephard1/Portra...e_2008_01.html

kerouac

In Europe, I don't worry about this too much, but in quite a few Asian or African countries, when I am not using my camera I carry it in a ratty plastic bag.

Michael

I switched to a Prosumer camera, but for 35 years I traveled with an obvious camera bag over my shoulder and had absolutely no problems.

If you are still using film, consider a lead-lined bag, which will guarantee that you will be re-checked by security every time. The film shold be out of its container, otherwise European security will then pass it through the X-ray machine after taking it out of the lead-lined bag.

willit

sshephard - I am curious - I know you created your website on a Mac, and it works fine with Opera and Explorer, but have you any idea why it doesn't work with Firefox ?

RM67

There are digital compact P+S cameras that can shoot in raw - most of the older Canon Powershot range could (not that it necessarily matters to the OP, but just in case anyone else is interested 8-) )

BKP

We have a decent camera setup as well -- canon DSLR with a wide angle, a telephoto and a macro lens. I ALWAYS want the lens I don't have. If you're going to be flying halfway around the world bring it all with you. In fact, I might even invest in one of those tiny tri-pods too, just in case. The worst that happens is that you lug it around one day, realize you won't use it and you can leave it in the hotel. Well, I guess the very worst that could happen is that they could be stolen, but as long as you are observant and stick to safe areas I really don't see that happening.

I guess the question I would ask you is "How sad will you be if you are unable to get the shot you want?" Heartbroken? Then bring it all with you. Mildly bummed? You can probably do without some of the equipment.

This is all coming from the girl that took her bogen tri-pod to Europe and made her husband carry it everywhere they went, just in case!

sshephard

willit - you are the first one to tell me it doesn't work on Firefox. In fact, I use Firefox on both my Mac and my PC and it works.

Are you using Firefox on a PC? Do you have the latest version of Firefox and Java? I am running 2.0 on my PC

I'm not trying to put the blame on you and I do appreciate the head's up.

sshephard

I would certainly take my tripod if someone else would carry it. In fact, I'd take another lens or two, if they would carry those as well.

The image stabilized Canon 24-105 4.0L lens is truly amazing. I have a shot taken inside of St. Peters hand held at 1/15 sec. that I have enlarged to 16x24 and there is no evidence of blurring due to camera shake. IS is now part of many P&S cameras. It's revolutionary!

SandyBunny

Most recent trip was early May 2008 to England and Scotland.
I took my DSLR Canon XTi w/ 17-85mm lens, 1-1gig card, 2 batteries, battery charger, and a photo vault. I came home with over 2000 photos in 2 weeks. Everything was shot at the highest resolution so I could crop and zoom when I returned to my computer.
There were times when I would have preferred a longer zoom. However the resolution is a godsend in those cases.
Is it possible for you to purchase or borrow a combination wide to zoom lens so you would only be traveling with one?
I did not use a camera bag. The camera was either carried in hand or over shoulder or in my 'shopping' bag.
Each evening I downloaded the card into the photo vault, erased the card, changed batteries and put the used one on the charger. Worked great. If I knew I was going someplace where I would be taking a lot of photos, I would throw the vault in my shopping bag also so I could download mid-day if necessary.
No problems at airports.
And I even got the camera back from a youth in York who volunteered to take a group shot so I could be in it too. That was a gamble that thankfully turned out to be a great photo and story.

slangevar

A friend of mine brought her fancy camera on a trip to England once and just stowed it (and its bag) in an average-looking backpack while she walked.

She was careful not to pull it out in dodgy neighborhoods, but had no trouble when she pulled it out even in touristy (i.e. pickpocket haven) areas.

nytraveler

My concern wouldn't be crime - it would be toting all that stuff all over with me. Plus leaving it in the hotel room (or safe?) every night when you go out to dinner.

We never take valuables of any variety unless it's something we wear all the time (a watch or ring) and now I even take a toy watch - since I was unexpectedly splashed while wearing a good one.

Agree - that for vacation photos there's no reason not to take a small digital with a built-in flexible lens - unless you're a professional.

MichaelL913

I guess it depends on what you plan to do with the photos once you're back home. I typically take my DSLR and 2 lenses with a compact bag when I go to Europe. Sure, it's a bit inconvenient at times to have the extra bulk, but the amazing photos I've enlarged to as much as 24" by 36" more than make up for the inconvenience and are some of my favorite souvenirs. There's no way a P&S would ever do this. Most of the hotel safes will accommodate this limited amount of gear (minus the bag). In my experience, I forget the inconvenience a few days after I'm back home, but I enjoy the mega-sized prints for years and years. If 4X6 prints was the goal, though, I'd just take a P&S. Enjoy your trip!
Michael