Should we bring a camcorder?
 

Hi...My husband and I will be going to London and Paris next month. Should we bring our camcorder or is more of a hinderence? It is mid size and easy to use. We will also bring a good camera that is small. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

I don't use a video camera, but I have to say that when traveling, the people using them always seem to be experiencing the place only through the viewfinder of their video camera, and not with their own eyes. And as somebody noted on another post, moving images are good for moving subjects, and Notre Dame isn't going anywhere. I'd stick with the still camera. That way you'll look first and then take photos, instead of automatically training the video on wherever you are, plus a photo album is something you can look at whenever you want and share easily; watching videos is a production. And you can't hang a video of the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben on your wall.

Sondra, <BR> <BR>This is more of an anecdote than an answer. Two years, ago, I had two kids bring a camcorder, and I rolled my eyes when I saw it. In general, they used it inconspicuously, and the footage - - well I can't say what it means to them - - some of it is entertaining, I guess. <BR> <BR>But on a whim, I asked them if I could see what it was like to look through the viewfinder while we were in the Duomo in Pisa. I'm guessing that we were only in there 10 minutes max, and I probably shot only 3 minutes worth. But they gave me a copy of that, and it is like a fix to a junkie for me to watch those three minutes, and see the detail of those ceilings, which one's mind's eye cannot possibly record in that degree of detail. And it does something for me that looking through books doesn't do. <BR> <BR>I haven't changed my ways and started carrying a camcorder yet (I don't actually own one, though I do look at them in store windows at times). <BR> <BR>But I wonder - - the church in Hall in Tirol that I saw for all of three minutes juat week before last - - wouldn't I enjoy seeing again what is now essentially gone from my visual memory?

This is the second reply you've gotten from a non-video camera user. No doubt those who use them regularly might feel differently, but I don't take one because I don't want to carry it, I don't want to worry about having it stolen, I'd rather blend in a bit more with the locals, I don't want to carry it, I don't want to worry about recharging it, I don't want to keep staring at things through a tiny viewfinder, I don't want to worry about checking it at places where I can't or don't want to take it in, and especially I don't want to carry it. There are excellent professionally-made videos you can buy of major cities including Paris and London, as well as video and CD rom tours of the Louvre and the National Gallery, among other museums.

oops, Rex beat me in, I guess I was the 3rd

We've a good videocorder and rarely use it anymore except for the grandchildren. Have used on two trips to Europe, but no longer. <BR> <BR>The videos are boring. I admit it; I'm not a good recordist. Even at that, I find better quality 'home' videos equally boring. <BR> <BR>If you're experienced at it, take lots of videos while you're home and you and your friends enjoy looking at them often, take your camcorder. If not, you'll have a more pleasant trip, and with your camera you'll have all the memories recorded that you'll want. <BR> <BR>Rome.Switzerland.Bavaria <BR>www.twenj.com

To illustrate Caitlin's response: my sister's ex-inlaws went to Europe on a very expensive tour last year. They have video of the trip, and memories such as "that's where the battery went out" "that's where my wife screwed up and didn't turn on the camera" "that's where your grandfather stepped in dog doo"....and he has, let's say, quite a colorful vocabulary...all recorded on tape. For entertainment value, the tape can't be beat---as a record of a European adventure, it's a failure. <BR> <BR>Take nice still shots; the artsy ones, blow up and hang up. Make a collage for a bathroom wall; use one of those new display stands that hold 6 or 7 photos in a fan and change the photos every so often; buy frames on your trip and put the photos from your trip in them; have a really good one reproduced for Christmas cards....

My wife and I just got back from Paris and we did use a camcorder. I didnt carry it at all times but enough to capture a wonderful essence of the city. So far, those I've shown the video have enjoyed it tremendously, especially the Catacombs. You cant capture the Catacombs in a picture. Commercial videos never capture the little things that make the trip memorable. Such as the quaint little streets, sitting in that perfect cafe, walking through a local outdoor market or the breathtaking nightlife. <BR>And most of all, the video is there for YOU, personally, to watch and reflect on and remember all those wonderful memories.

Some people do a good job in using their camcorders. My friend took his on our trip London and I now have a tape I enjoy watching over and over again. Others have enjoyed it to. He did a great job in editing it -- added sound effects and music -- slow motion at one point where a swan bit my finger with added music from "Jaws" in the background. In between the typical scenes he added some interviews with the locals as well as conversations we had during and after the trip. If you don't mind carrying it, worrying about it, and think you'll get great pleasure from viewing it later, I say take it and try to be creative.

I hate to break this to you Todd, but you're friends are probably just being nice when they agree to sit through your vacation video. But at least you have nice friends!

I have carried a video camera on one occasion to Europe. The charger went out on me after some use, but I found that I did not miss it. I am a serious 35mm still photographer and simply find that much more enjoyable. For me, the positives of a video camera are: in interesing environments with motion or human activity (such as a festival, boat or train ride, walking through the streets), good if you have a lot of sound (such as hawkers in China) or yourself narrating. The negatives: does encourage seeing things too much through the lens, even if you have one with a viewing screen (photography books suggest seeing what is around you, and then taking pictures of what interests you - this not only makes better photos but enables you to enjoy yourself more), a little more cumbersome to carry around (then again, I have spent an entire day in Washington, D.C. [including museums] lugging around two large cameras, a tripod, and a backpack), it can substantially slow down your sightseeing and that of travel companions (first hand experience on this one), and for me at least a video just doesn't capture the emotion of something the way a good photo does. <BR> <BR>I did get a copy of a friend's video from a school trip to Asia (on which my wife and I went). I thoroughly enjoyed watching this one, and even my mother didn't fall asleep during it. The reason was that there was usually a lot of sound and activity, it was somewhat exotic, and there were lots of shots of group activities (versus just monuments). I can't say that I would have wanted to be the one lugging the video camera around though. He seemed to spend a lot of time looking through it. <BR> <BR>After that long-winded response, the bottomline is this: if I had a good small one with viewing screen I would take it along just in case I wanted to film something, even if it never left the hotel room.

Well, we take one and here is why. I must admit, before we had one, I can remember being in the cathedral in Seville and seeing a man walk around it and record everything, down the every display case and thinking "who would ever watch all that tape"...well I wouldn't, but I still like to have some tape to get the flavor of the trip and record some specific things...my kid running around the Rubens room in the Louvre, the great inn we stayed in in the country, etc. We don't take it everywhere and often don't take it out when we do, but it is fun to have for certain things. Of course, we tend to have a crowd on trips and it is always fun to record family things for posterity. Just think before you film "would I want to watch this again"?

I have to disagree with some posters above. We gave up to temptation and brought along a video/camcorder to our last trip to Spain/Portugal. I AM SO HAPPY WE DID!!I have watched the videos like 10 times with friends, family, by ourselves, etc.... I just absolutely loved that the video captured the sounds, the colors, the people, the weather, the voice of the nice old lady, the laughter of the small boy who had never seen himself on a video, the unexpected local wedding, the sound of the ocean in Viana, the music in Plaza Mayor in Madrid. I am a convert; won't leave home without it.

<BR>This is also my predicament. To bring or not to bring. We will be going to Italy. Although if it will be just the two of us (me and my husband) I will not bring it, but I want capture in video our 3 yr old son who will be with us. But then, we will be carrying a lot of things... camera, bag for kid stuff and separate bag for the camcorder.. then holding on to the map..

You're closing your eyes to centuries-old solutions. <BR> <BR>Get a travois and a head-harness for your three-year old. Have him help out.

Gerry, if I was you I would take to record your child, if nothing else. I posted above that I am much more into still photography, but I will probably take a video camera when our daughter makes her first trip to Europe. She and we would probably really enjoy it later.

Hi.. We went to Paris last September. We didn't bring a camcorder and regretted it. I don't know how many times my wife said to me 'We should have brought the camcorder'!! I took many still shots with a good SLR but it couldn't capture the beauty of this magnificent city.

Opinions?

We only took a video cam once to Europe. Primarily because our 21 year old daughter was doing a semester in Augsburg with 35 others from the US. We went over the last week and left her the camera to record the last week there which was memorable for her. When we picked her up and toured, we never used it. It did become a hassel at the airport. They (KLM) wanted to count it as a carry on. This was problematic because of all the breakables we were bringing back and the weight limits they imposed. One individual even suggested checking it! <BR>On our last trip, we were in the south of France and just caught view of a man video taping the landscape and not watching were he was going as he fell in front of a car. He was okay, we do not know about the camera. <BR>We do take lots of stills, and in reality, after the initial viewing, it is not something you bring out regularly. (Note the tourists prayer posted some time ago) We do have photos in strategic places around the house to encourage memories of our trips. (not that we need much encouragement) <BR>Besides, if we cannot remember, it is a good excuse to go back!

I take both a Cannon A1 SLR and a video camera with me on my trips. Yes they are heavy(the SLR) and somewhat inconvenient and I don't use the video camera nearly as much as the SLR, but, there are some things that a still camera can not catch such as the Astronomical clock ringing with the motions of the deciples above, People in period costumes moving about the town square, gondolas moving in the canal. I used to take a movie camera (how old am I) and I could only see through the view finder but the new cameras have a build in VCR with a view screen that you can use. This way you never have to use the view finder if you don't want to, just bring extra batteries. My latest is a Sony Digital 8mm with build in digital camera that you use memory sticks with. Anyway, to each his/her own and what ever makes you happy. I'll always take both my SLR and Video with me. <BR>Art <BR>