I am contemplating taking our video camera with us to France. I just don't want to carry things around everywhere we go, also looking like a crazy tourist taking lots and lots of pictures, on top of the video camera.<BR>Am I the only freak to do this?

Why did you buy the video camera if you don't plan to use it?

Exactly - what is the point to buy one if u are not gonna use the damn thing ????

I just took a video camera with me on a trip after swearing off them 5 years ago. The camera was a gift and very small so I decided to try it. <BR><BR>I once again felt like I had to video everything and it affected my enjoyment of the trip. I became again what I had given up on...the guy with the lens in his eye for two weeks. Then the video goes on the shelf at home and never gets watched again after the one time.<BR><BR>My suggestion: Get a good still camera that is small and easy to carry. I have a Canon Elph digital. Take snaps (either photo or digital) and leave the video at home. <BR><BR>You will have a better trip and not look so stupid as the girl I saw walking through Versailles with a video camera in her eye for the entire time. The poor girl never actually stopped the video and looked at the real thing. She was too worried about having a good film to take home!

I'd leave it behind. I often see people recording (while talking to describe the setting) and there is no way that they can enjoy the moment. What's the point? In my opinion, it is best to enjoy the present by being there, not recording it to show in the future. I have a camcorder but its main use is for taping the kids at home once in a while. It is nice to have a tape of the children raking the leaves and having fun. I don't see any point in taping tourist attractions. You only miss the real thing!

Please leave the video camera at home~ it's just embarrasing! Travel is about *BEING* there, live in the moment &amp; all that. I take a couple disposables and buy some postcards along the way. Discrete, lightweight, works great, nothing to lose.<BR><BR>That's not even mentioning a video camera is an expensive item easy and tempting for someone to steal.

Here's my two cents... I am planning a trip to Italy in June and contemplating taking my fathers camcorder. But after spending two weeks in England I only found ONE instance when I said, gosh I wish I had a camcorder. So when Italy comes around, the camcorder is staying at home. <BR>By the way, the only time I would have liked a camcorder was to record driving down the narrow roads in Cornwall, there just wasn't any good spots to pull off and take pictures.<BR>

Overlooking the obvious - using the video much the same way you'd use a 35mm - point and shoot the interesting scene, and then lower it. Just because one has a video camera handy doesn't mean it's co-joined to the head and the trip is viewed through the eye piece. You bought it - simply take it along, scan some scenes you'd like to remember, and then put it away. I'm not clear exactly why the overly eager response - it's only a camera, no murky science at play. Enjoy your camera and tour trip.

My husband and I borrowed his parents' camcorder for our honeymoon, and I definitely am glad we did. It will be wonderful to have that to show our future kids someday. I don't know that we will bring one on future trips, but if we did, we would only use it somewhat sparingly, but I don't think it will get watched too much (except to show family, and later, when your kids are older, to reminisce), and I don't think it's a good idea to forego the experience just to record everything.

My husband's Sony digital still camera can also take up to 90-second videos. This worked very well at the Changing of the Horseguards ceremony and several other instances where you just want to capture a quick &quot;moment&quot;. Our camera stores images on a small CD but I'm sure there are other cameras out there that can do this with different media.

I stopped bringing mine after lugging it for many trips and then not wanting to ruin the enjoyment by being behind the camera - for me, I just don't enjoy it while I am videoing. I'm sure that is not the case for everyone. I use it now to tape my kids - that is what I want to be able to see when I get older. Bottom line, if you think you will use it and not let it spoil your enjoyment, bring it. Otherwise, leave it at home!

It's just like any other camera, except that a video camera takes up more of the trip than a still camera. I can take a still photo in two seconds and then put the camera away (I can shoot 30 rolls in two weeks in Europe and spend a small fraction of my time behind the lens). A video that combines 1 and 2 second shots might as well be stills, so most of the time people film longer. I virtually never took the old large model my parents bought me. Now that I have a small digital model, I use it a lot when traveling with our daughter and sometimes use if for other parts of vacations. I would have taken it to Italy last year if I had had it then, but I am not sure whether I would have used it much (probably not). If I were you, I would take it but not feel compelled to use it for everything you see and do. Some things translate to video better than others, and it is only when you feel compelled to tape all the time that it will prove a big hindrance.<BR><BR>

This has much to do with the value of the video/photo to each individual as a part of the trip. Many of my friends travel not to experience the different culture, the food or the scenery, but to talk to their travel companions. I wouldn't travel that way, but I would not tell them it is a wrong way to travel, either.<BR>I carry both video and still cameras. My video camera is just bigger than a Canon Elf, so the size is not an issue. Like others, I do not use video camera as a still camera substitute, each has its place depending on individual taste.<BR>One technical difference not mentioned is that I can use my video camera under a low light condition without a tripod. A still camera is not usable in dim light indoor conditions unless a flash or tripod is allowed. Many places disallow one or both.

Take the camera. Don't try to make the issue into some profound philosophical stance like some of these posts: &quot;it affected the enjoyment of my trip . . .&quot; I have seen people obsess over losing a camera, or having it stolen, or breaking it or exposing it to the elements and to that I say 'get insurance' and get over it. I really don't understand why some of the posters have exaggerated the issue to the point of absurdity: &quot;it is best to enjoy the present by being there, not recording it to show in the future&quot;. Whaaaaa???? To her point, however, if you NEVER take the camera from your eye, you will probably bump into LOTS of stuff . . . learn to keep the other eye open.<BR><BR>As a GENERAL rule, I try to video 30-60 seconds every half hour . . . this is neither excessive nor does it cause me to miss being there. <BR><BR>I apologize to those who may be offended by my ascerbic comments. Anyone who is dogmatic about not taking a camera on vacation probably really NEEDS a vacation.

Well Snoopy, the way I figure it some people just like/need more *stuff* than others. I take plenty of photos to make me happy (with my handy disposables). I don't own a video camera, but then again I don't have a microwave, cell phone, digital camera, etc.<BR><BR>The OP clearly stated &quot;don't want to carry things around everywhere we go, also looking like a crazy tourist taking lots and lots of pictures, on top of the video camera&quot;...<BR><BR>Those in &quot;opposition&quot; to the video camera merely reponded to the question asked.

We have found that looking at videos brings back memories of the trip more vividly than photos. Using a small digital camcorder allows me to just put it in a jacket pocket so I don't have to carry it around. Balances the 35mm camera on the other side of the jacket.<BR>A minute or so of video in place of a photo works well for me.

I actually bought a digital camcorder to take with us on safari to Kenya this past April. But after considering the potential for theft, and the limited space in the van I opted to leave it at home. Best decision I ever made. Kenya was the trip of a lifetime and I never once wished I had brought it, often events happened so quickly, I knew I would have missed them had I been lugging my camcorder. Besides who will ever want to see more then 10 minutes of your tape once you get home? When I recall Kenya, I smell the wet grass and feel the wind on my face... every color is so rich and pure..as seen by my naked eye and not through a camera lense.<BR>I do use my camcorder a great deal though, annoying my friends by filming them at wild parties....lol.

No. We took our video once on overseas vacation, and wouldn't do it again. We found we were taking too many videos and not enjoying the experience. Plus it was necessary heavy and bulky (before the smaller camera days). Of course, video cameras are great for family gatherings and entertaining, but not vacations.

I agree with MJS.<BR><BR>Modern mini-DV camcorders don't require &quot;lugging&quot; -- some are even pocket-size.<BR><BR>You don't have to obsess about it; these camcorders can be easily operated/stowed with one hand.<BR><BR>The sounds you bring home won't be found in any postcard...

Over many years, I have developed a theory that there are those who like to enjoy an experience as it happens and those who like to &quot;capture it on film.&quot; I am in the former camp. Plenty of friends of mine are in the latter. I just think it has to do with WHEN you want to enjoy your travel experiences. Me, I like to savor them as they occur. Some people would rather have a photo album to pore over 10 years later. Which is the better approach? Well, I know what I think, but others will differ. We have relatives who attended our wedding who never spoke a word with us on the day itself who took extensive video footage of it and who always remind us of what a special day it was and how they love to see the video - my personal feeling is, it would have been nice to have had a good chat with them on that day. <BR>The same thing applies to travel. Do you want to savor the moment, or capture it on film? Perhaps you can do both - I've never managed. I do take lots of pictures, and I always keep a detailed journal of everywhere I go, and those two things make up my memory bank. But videos, no, I don't want to be toting some large, heavy thing around to &quot;capture&quot; the moment - I'd almost for sure never watch it back home anyway, and I really don't want to be distracted from where I am and what I'm seeing, anyway, and a &quot;machine&quot; like that is a distraction. <BR><BR>The more I travel, the less I worry about preserving the memories, anyway. I think it's a neophyte's preoccupation. I remember more with my eyes and ears and nose and hands these days than I ever did back in the days when I felt compelled to film every moment. The memories just gel for me now, because I have accustomed myself to remembering travel. If I am free to experience the moment without some machine to capture it for me, the moment is somehow a lot more genuine. I do write up very detailed trip reports for every trip I take, so maybe for me the images aren't that important.