Traveling with a big, bulky camera
John Irvin Buford
mail...@pop.net wrote:
>
> Hi all, I've read all the books that preach about packing lightly, and
> believe me, I intend to pack very, very, very lightly for a two-week
> trip. But I'm having difficulty imagining myself in the beautiful spots
> of France and Italy without my trusty Pentax K-1000. Aside from telling
> me to leave my beloved camera at home (which at this point is out of the
> question), can anyone give me advice on how to transport my bulky baby
> without attracting the attention of thieves and pickpockets or damaging
> my camera? Anyone have a favorite camera bag? Should I just sling it
> the whole time around my neck? We're mainly taking trains throughout
> France and Italy for 2 weeks. We're doing all our sightseeing on foot
> (no access to a car).
>
> Thanks in advance!
> KarmelaWell Karmela:
Carrying one camera body and and a couple of lens is what I call
travelling light. What i like when I am going to be moving about
quickly, is to use a fanny pack style of case. It leaves you hands free
and every thing is kept handy. It it much more functional that other
types of cases becuse even if you put your camera away you still have
easy access. Be sure and take plenty of film with you, enough to cover
any situation that you may find yourself. You never know how much film
is going to cost you away from home. If you shoot color negative film I
would take 400 asa as my main film and some Fuji 1600 for late night and
early morning. I always figure out the most film that I think I will use
and take twice as much.
I hope this helps
John
Elizabeth Vance
I spent three weeks backpacking in Guatemala. I had a backpack, a sleeping bag, a
hammock, and my camera equipment. Approximately 1/4 the space in the backpack was
allotted to photo stuff. I took one body, three lenses, one flash, a couple
filters (polarizer, UV) and about 30 rolls of film. I should have taken less
clothing and packed a tripod. It can be done. Clothes can be reworn or washed.
Wear jeans, and pack one extra pair, a couple tshirts and a few changes of
underwear and socks. Trust me, nobody cares what you're wearing. a PK-1000 is not
that big, so pack a lot of film. And don't trust your bags with anyone. Keep your
stuff in sight at all times. When you sit down, keep the strap of your pack around
your ankle, and keep the camera out of view (or your hand on it). Just be careful
and you should be fine.
- Elizabeth
mail...@pop.net wrote:
: Hi all, I've read all the books that preach about packing lightly, and
: believe me, I intend to pack very, very, very lightly for a two-week
: trip. But I'm having difficulty imagining myself in the beautiful spots
: of France and Italy without my trusty Pentax K-1000. Aside from telling
: me to leave my beloved camera at home (which at this point is out of the
: question), can anyone give me advice on how to transport my bulky baby
: without attracting the attention of thieves and pickpockets or damaging
: my camera? Anyone have a favorite camera bag? Should I just sling it
: the whole time around my neck? We're mainly taking trains throughout
: France and Italy for 2 weeks. We're doing all our sightseeing on foot
: (no access to a car).
: Thanks in advance!
: Karmela
--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elizabeth Vance
eva...@primenet.com
Okay, just one more. Look at me... hold it.. hold it... <click> Got it!
Thanks, you've been great.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
mail...@pop.net
Doug Fisher
> Aside from telling
> me to leave my beloved camera at home (which at this point is out of the
> question), can anyone give me advice on how to transport my bulky baby
> without attracting the attention of thieves and pickpockets or damaging
> my camera?
I am not a fan of fanny packs but they might be a decent compromise in
your situation. I just helped my Mom pick one out and found that, in my
opinion, the Tamrac bag was the best. It has room for one camera plus a
few lenses, seems to have great protection, has a pretty comfortable
strapping system, and is very well made. Unfortunately, any camera bag
will be easy for the pro thieves to spot. The thing I REALLY liked
about this bag is that you can (and must for security) bring both of the
main compartments zippers together in the very middle of the pack. This
means when the pack is attached the zippers are up against your body and
hard for a thief to get at (the one outside pocket is still a target,
but you can put less valuable stuff there). Every other model I saw had
the zipper "exposed" on the outside when zipped up. At first this pack
may seem large, but it is actually very functional/big enough and isn't
bad once you get used to it.
Doug
Donald Nelson~
Actually, having the zipper inside or out makes little difference. The
thieves that took a friends camera in Italy merely used a razor blade to cut the
material and take the materials out. This was while he was wearing the fanny
pack in Rome.
Another note -- a friend and his wife were making a train trip in Italy and
got robbed at night in their compartment while asleep (There is a US warning
about this - theives are apparently using gas to keep the occupants asleep
at night!)
And, while in these countries you should also watch out for the car grab scam --
a car comes by, the occupant grabs the item you have on the strap over your
shoulder and disappears up the road (hopefully you still have an arm
attached to your shoulder socket!)
--
ALL OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE MY OWN AND NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF INTEL CORP.
DON NELSON
Godfrey DiGiorgi
>mmmm..... this is Europe we are talking about, isn't it? I suppose that
>this advice can be applied anywhere in the world, although I think that the
>natives in France and Italy are usually friendly - even to Americans!
Theft is a reality everywhere.
A plain shoulderbag or belt bag are unobtrusive and can be used to
carry a camera and a couple of lenses easily with a little padding.
Any "photographic" bag seems to shout Steal Me!
I tend to carry small cameras on travel rather than my SLRs. A
Rollei 35 and a Contax TVS make an excellent, compact traveling kit
for my purposes. If I carry the SLR, camera and three lenses plus
one of the above two cameras is the kit. The SLR kit can be carried
in my ancient shoulderbag easily, either of the two compacts fits well
in a small belt bag with lots of room for filters and film. A monopod
and a table top tripod fills out the equipment list.
Godfrey
Charlie McMillion
Pack and carry your camera gear in a small cooler; the kind used to
store drinks. These cooolers are rugged, cheap and do not attract
the attention of theives.
John Irvin Buford (jb...@ix.netcom.com) wrote:
: mail...@pop.net wrote:
: >
: > Hi all, I've read all the books that preach about packing lightly, and
: > believe me, I intend to pack very, very, very lightly for a two-week
: > trip. But I'm having difficulty imagining myself in the beautiful spots
: > of France and Italy without my trusty Pentax K-1000. Aside from telling
: > me to leave my beloved camera at home (which at this point is out of the
: > question), can anyone give me advice on how to transport my bulky baby
: > without attracting the attention of thieves and pickpockets or damaging
: > my camera? Anyone have a favorite camera bag? Should I just sling it
: > the whole time around my neck? We're mainly taking trains throughout
: > France and Italy for 2 weeks. We're doing all our sightseeing on foot
: > (no access to a car).
: >
: > Thanks in advance!
: > KarmelaWell Karmela:
: Carrying one camera body and and a couple of lens is what I call
: travelling light. What i like when I am going to be moving about
: quickly, is to use a fanny pack style of case. It leaves you hands free
: and every thing is kept handy. It it much more functional that other
: types of cases becuse even if you put your camera away you still have
: easy access. Be sure and take plenty of film with you, enough to cover
: any situation that you may find yourself. You never know how much film
: is going to cost you away from home. If you shoot color negative film I
: would take 400 asa as my main film and some Fuji 1600 for late night and
: early morning. I always figure out the most film that I think I will use
: and take twice as much.
: I hope this helps
: John
--
Charlie SmallRing McMillion
c...@clark.net
*************************** DISCLAIMER ********************************
* Any advice/information/opinions given may have no basis in reality. *
* You assume all risk in heeding any advice or using any information *
* provided. *
***********************************************************************
Michael J. Gallagher
mail...@pop.net wrote:
>
> Hi all, I've read all the books that preach about packing lightly, and
> believe me, I intend to pack very, very, very lightly for a two-week
?????? You don't have to pakc TOO lightly. When I visited England in November
'95, i packed a weeks' worth of clothing, and my friend's mother did the laundry.
So one big suitcase can do it.
> ... But I'm having difficulty imagining myself in the beautiful spots
> of France and Italy without my trusty Pentax K-1000 ...
I feel the same way abot my EOS Rebel. :)
> ... can anyone give me advice on how to transport my bulky baby
> without attracting the attention of thieves and pickpockets or damaging
> my camera? ...
For getting it overseas, pack it in your carry-on bag. Even if it is
gate-checked, you still will get it back.
As to on the ground in Europe, one trick I've used is to use a standard knap sack
as my camera bag. It doesn't look like a camera bag and has more than ehoung
room You may want to put it in outer pockets too keep it from rattlying around
too much, though.
> ... We're mainly taking trains throughout
> France and Italy for 2 weeks. We're doing all our sightseeing on foot
> (no access to a car).
>
Definitely use the kna sack/back pack, but how come you don't have a car?
Because it would make life a lot easier!
--
"Everything is under control" --- Wallace
Michael J. Gallagher aka mik...@prodigy.net
Doug Brewer
Sorry about the double-post before....my computer swarmed on me.
In article <32E866...@ix.netcom.com>, John Irvin Buford
<jb...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> mail...@pop.net wrote:
> >
> > Hi all, I've read all the books that preach about packing lightly, and
> > believe me, I intend to pack very, very, very lightly for a two-week
> > trip. But I'm having difficulty imagining myself in the beautiful spots
> > of France and Italy without my trusty Pentax K-1000. Aside from telling
> > me to leave my beloved camera at home (which at this point is out of the
> > question), can anyone give me advice on how to transport my bulky baby
> > without attracting the attention of thieves and pickpockets or damaging
> > my camera? Anyone have a favorite camera bag? Should I just sling it
> > the whole time around my neck? We're mainly taking trains throughout
> > France and Italy for 2 weeks. We're doing all our sightseeing on foot
> > (no access to a car).
> >
> > Thanks in advance!
> > KarmelaWell Karmela:
> Carrying one camera body and and a couple of lens is what I call
> travelling light. What i like when I am going to be moving about
> quickly, is to use a fanny pack style of case. It leaves you hands free
> and every thing is kept handy. It it much more functional that other
> types of cases becuse even if you put your camera away you still have
> easy access. Be sure and take plenty of film with you, enough to cover
> any situation that you may find yourself. You never know how much film
> is going to cost you away from home. If you shoot color negative film I
> would take 400 asa as my main film and some Fuji 1600 for late night and
> early morning. I always figure out the most film that I think I will use
> and take twice as much.
> I hope this helps
> John
--
Doug Brewer bre...@tricon.net
Doug Brewer
One body and two lenses is indeed travelling light. I usually have two
bodies and four or five lenses...at any rate, the best advice I can give
is to be aware of your surroundings and what's going on around you. That
will not only keep you from trouble (though I don't recall spotting any
roving bands of camera thieves), it will also help you see photo
ops...also, remember to "know" where your camera is at all times, either
by sight or by feel.
As to carrying the camera...I believe in photo vests, in addition to the
rattiest, but sturdy, bag you can find that will hold your equipment.
Ratty, because it won't look like it holds anything decent.
And take lots and lots of film. For me, a two week trip means around fifty
rolls of film, about 3 1/2 rolls a day. Take 36exp rolls, so you don't
have to keep changing film, and mix up the speeds, mostly 400, but with a
few rolls of 100 or slower, and at least a couple of really fast rolls,
like the Fuji 1600 Mr. Buford mentioned.
one other thing...take the camera away from your face now and again.
--
Doug Brewer bre...@tricon.net
the exposure zone
Doug Brewer
wal...@dnvn.com
In article <5cb76n$f...@clarknet.clark.net>, c...@clark.net (Charlie
McMillion) wrote:
> Pack and carry your camera gear in a small cooler; the kind used to
> store drinks. These cooolers are rugged, cheap and do not attract
> the attention of theives.
>
> John Irvin Buford (jb...@ix.netcom.com) wrote:
> : mail...@pop.net wrote:
> : >
> : > Hi all, I've read all the books that preach about packing lightly, and
> : > believe me, I intend to pack very, very, very lightly for a two-week
> : > trip. But I'm having difficulty imagining myself in the beautiful spots
> : > of France and Italy without my trusty Pentax K-1000. Aside from telling
> : > me to leave my beloved camera at home (which at this point is out of the
> : > question), can anyone give me advice on how to transport my bulky baby
> : > without attracting the attention of thieves and pickpockets or damaging
> : > my camera? Anyone have a favorite camera bag? Should I just sling it
> : > the whole time around my neck? We're mainly taking trains throughout
> : > France and Italy for 2 weeks. We're doing all our sightseeing on foot
> : > (no access to a car).
> : >
I use a classic padded camera bag with lots of little outside pockets --
I wear it like a shoulder bag sort of in front with my hand on the strap --
while of course, one can be assaulted and have anything stolen, this
is not as easy to grab as something hanging from the shoulder or in
a back pack. I have traveled extensively in Italy and France and never
had any problems -- in fact I use the camera bag to carry all my
other stuff e.g. I carry a nylon poncho under the camera, and have my
lipstick, comb, kleenex, medication collection [the stuff one wants to
have at all times] and a little money and a credit card, and the sun
glasses, all in this case along with a day's ration of film. It has
been the most comfortable 'day bag' I have had. It is easy to whip
the camera out -- but the camera is protected from bumps and bangs
the rest of the time. Because I don't have anyh other purse, or pack
or whatever, it is easy to keep secure. [I use a money belt under
my clothes for passport, most cards and money and air ticket]
My bag is about the size of a 6 pack carrier and is made of black
padded nylon. I just don't worry that it looks like a camera bag --
it isn't as if a thief won't notice you are using a camera -- if like
me, you love to take pictures and are doing it continuously.
WILLIAM R MEYERS
Forgive me if I mess this up, this is my first post to this group. I use
an Olympus Stylus Zoom 105, a 38-105mm compact camera with a sharp lens
and an exposure meter accurate enough for slides. I keep the camera in a
pants or jacket pocket and the film in another pocket, although the small
belt pouch supplied with the camera is good also. I shoot slides only. For
slides of people and urban scenes, my interest, the unobtrusiveness of the
camera is a big advantage. I don't look as much like a camera-laden
tourist and I am less self-conscious and more comfortable.
On the down-side, if I took my Olympus OM -1 instead, the sides
might be a slight bit sharper, or not. But they would be different. Also,
an SLR has much faster lenses, and the possibility of using, say, a 100 mm
lens at f 2.8 to throw the background out of focus and so give a feeling
of depth to a portrait.
I used to use a Pentax IQ Zoom 115, a 38-115 zoom compact, but it
tended to give slides about a third of a stop too much exposure. This is
because most compacts, except Olympus models, have the autoexposure set
for print film, which gives better results a half or two-thirds of a stop
overexposed (and then underdeveloped). The major drawback of most compacts
when used for travel slides is the user cannot set the film speed
manually to compensate for this tendency.
I take about a 36 exposure roll or more a day of slides with the
Olympus when traveling and am well pleased with the results.
I hope this helps.
Bill Meyers
Cc:
Lorne Walton
?????? You don't have to pakc TOO lightly. When I visited England in
November
'95, i packed a weeks' worth of clothing, and my friend's mother did the
laundry.
So one big suitcase can do it.
Please provide your friend's mother's address and phone number. :-)
While on the subject of photography, a friend tells me that Fuji 400 is
all that he uses. I asked him about the graininess that always used to
be a problem with high-speed films, and he says, "Not any more!"
Comments, please.
--
______________________________________________________________
I have not yet begun Lorne Walton
to procrastinate. Maple Ridge, BC, Canada
Ron Walton
Lorne Walton <lor...@wimsey.com> wrote in article
<32EBB9...@wimsey.com>...
: ?????? You don't have to pakc TOO lightly. When I visited England
in
: November
: '95, i packed a weeks' worth of clothing, and my friend's mother
did the
: laundry.
: So one big suitcase can do it.
:
: Please provide your friend's mother's address and phone number.
:-)
:
: While on the subject of photography, a friend tells me that Fuji
400 is
: all that he uses. I asked him about the graininess that always used
to
: be a problem with high-speed films, and he says, "Not any more!"
: Comments, please.
:
In general the ISO 400 films are pretty good and Fuji Super G+
seems to be one of the better of the ISO 400 films. Your standards
may be higher than your friends tho. If your enlargements will be no
larger than 11 X 14 you will probably be satisfied. If your prints
will be no larger than 4 X 6 you will be hard pressed to see any
difference between ISO 400 and ISO 100. A friend brought 4 prints, 3
on Super G+ 400 and 1 on ISO 100 Reala. I couldn't tell which was
the Reala. Even with 11 X 14 once you move back to a proper viewing
distance you won't see much difference.
Ron Walton
: --
:
John Irvin Buford
I have to agree with your friend I get 20x30's done all of the time from
400 asa fuij. In fact the 800 ASA fuji has the same grain structure as
the 400 ASA. This is one trully great film. BTW the 400 asa royal gold
has great color saturation, but I do not like the way that the skin
tones come out.
Hope this helps
John
math...@ix.netcom.com
mail...@pop.net wrote:
>
> Hi all, I've read all the books that preach about packing lightly, and
> believe me, I intend to pack very, very, very lightly for a two-week
> trip. But I'm having difficulty imagining myself in the beautiful spots
> of France and Italy without my trusty Pentax K-1000. Aside from telling
> me to leave my beloved camera at home (which at this point is out of the
> question), can anyone give me advice on how to transport my bulky baby
> without attracting the attention of thieves and pickpockets or damaging
> my camera? Anyone have a favorite camera bag? Should I just sling it
> the whole time around my neck? We're mainly taking trains throughout
> France and Italy for 2 weeks. We're doing all our sightseeing on foot
> (no access to a car).
>
> Karmela
You havn't mentioned how many lenses. I carry my camera through the
streets of New York all the time. The camera lives on a strap (A good
one with quick release hooks if I want to get to in a real hurry) around
my neck undermy arm, under my jacket if I am worried about it. This
works brinliiantly because the camera is hidden when outside and at risk
and pretty easy to get to. Otherwise it just gets slung over my
shoulder usually with my hand on the strap. I carry at most one other
lens which I keep in a coat pocket (Along with film for the day and
other crap in other pockets) or in a us army surplus 4.95 ammo belt case
that has room for 2 lenses and a pocket for crap and fits on my belt. I
would never carry anything more because it is to bulky - I keep extra
film in the laugage and carry a days supply with me. I typically use one
film stock (late lamented 100 Lumiere). Note in this scheme my hands are
free and there is no chance of putting down a bag and leaving it
somewhere or getting it grabbed. A small hiking fanny pack can be good
too. Under no curcumstances will I ever walk around with anything that
says any camera name or bag brand.
J
Yolin Lih
Whatever can help you survive through New York and San Fransico
should be good enough. Besides, if you are carrying Pentax K-1000,
it'd be better off to expose the camera then to hide it in a bag.
Now Pentax K-1000 is hardly considered a hot item for that market,
but any bag on a undoubtedly tourist is undoubtedly valuable,
and probably you'll carry a tripod anyway. It really doesn't matter
which bag you carry. On the other hand, get a stick lock if you
have a Contax TVS or Leica Minilux or a Nikon 35i!
My interpretation of carrying lightly is to bring the right guns
and to be able to pull them out fast. My
compromise is an auto camera with 35mm~70mm or 28mm~90mm to shoot
under the sun, plus a manual camera with 28mm lens on it
to shoot in the dark or indoors, and a 50mm or a 85mm lens if the
manual camera is interchangible. Somehow lenses above 100mm
aren't quite useful to me but your miledge can certainly vary. For
indoors, a minipods or a beam bag can be more useful than a real tripod.
Many tourist spots do not allow real tripods. An ISO 800 or above
might be useful for low light indoors, but ISO 100 or slower can be
useful too. The trick is to shoot with very low speed (few seconds)
with one camera and use the other camera's flash just to light the
person or people in a proper distance and in the proper direction.
I managed to carry only one type of film (ISO 64) for my last trip
to Italy.
Niloy Hil
cam
dne...@sedona.intel.com (Donald Nelson~) wrote:
>Actually, having the zipper inside or out makes little difference. The
>thieves that took a friends camera in Italy merely used a razor blade to cut the
>material and take the materials out. This was while he was wearing the fanny
>pack in Rome.
This usually occurs in very crowded areas where you are getting bumped
a lot. This has happened to friends of mine on the tubes in London
(nothing stolen as this must have happened just before we were getting
off at a junvction.) Madrid, and Paris. I should laso mention that I
have travelled on these metro systems and manyother in Europe dressed
in a suit, carrying a brief case and have had not any trouble
what-so-ever. Touching wood as I type this though. :-)
You need to realize, if criminals want it badly enough they will get
it. Your only course of action is to be carreful and make their job
as difficult as possible. Same precautions as if you were in New
York, LA, Chicago, San Diego, etc.
For money, passport, etc., I use a neck wallet when exploring. This
hangs around your neck inside your shirt. Eddie Bauer makes a pretty
good one. Not too practicle for businees situations, so then I simply
buttont he inside pocket of my suitcoat.
cam
cam
"Michael J. Gallagher" <MIK...@Prodigy.Net> wrote:
>As to on the ground in Europe, one trick I've used is to use a standard knap sack
>as my camera bag. It doesn't look like a camera bag and has more than ehoung
>room You may want to put it in outer pockets too keep it from rattlying around
>too much, though.
I use a daypack as well. I have lined the bottom with foam in an
effort to protect he camera and lenses from getting banged around. Of
course putting a zoom/macro lens into a carrying case adds to the
protection.
As a precaution, I never wear the pack with both strap on my
shoulders. Simply sling one over a shoulder. If I am in a busy area,
keep the pack tucked under one arm.
cam
Rick Barfoot
My suggestion is to get an inexpensive padded camera bag (I recommend
Lowe) and put this in a small backpack with all your other valuables such
as Walkman, etc. This bag NEVER leaves your sight. I would also suggest
that you purchase a cheap personal alarm that will alert you if someone
tries to take the bag. Having a small lock handy is also good. I used
these techniques to travel with my Pentax ME Super and a bulky zoom
lense for 4 months through Southeast Asia without a single incident. I
would not suggest carrying around your neck at all times. Try to be
discrete and you will avoid problems. Please, be very, very careful with
your stuff on the trains...
Rick
Shuichi Odaka
Donald Nelson~ <dne...@sedona.intel.com> wrote:
> Actually, having the zipper inside or out makes little difference. The
> thieves that took a friends camera in Italy merely used a razor blade to
> cut the material and take the materials out. This was while he was wearing
> the fanny pack in Rome.
I have to agree. It doesn't make much difference if the thief is
professional and determined.
I wouldn't be too worried about theft, though. No offense, but Pentax
K-100 isn't exactly a worthwhile target, as it looks like an old and
inexpensive model. Brand-spanking-new Nikons and Canons would be more
attractive for theives. I should also add that I've never felt any
danger in this respect, especially in France - and I live only a few
miles away from there.
If you try to protect your equipment too much, you will end up having to
remove layers of protection like flaps, zippers, belts before you can
shoot. In the end you won't bother to take your camera out of the bag.
I use a Domke bag, which is light, pretty flexible and well designed.
It's good enough for a casual photographer, and it gives good access to
what's inside.
--
Shuichi Odaka
od...@iprolink.ch
http://homepage.iprolink.ch/~odaka/
Shorecam
Dear Karmela,
Have you considered renting a camper van for your trip? Much cheaper and
safer than trains and hotels. And you can go where you want quickly and
easily and stay as long as you want. Also no packing every day or wasting
time looking for rooms. See website: members.aol.com/europevan .
David
David Talmage
math...@ix.netcom.com writes:
>
> mail...@pop.net wrote:
> >
> > Hi all, I've read all the books that preach about packing lightly, and
> > believe me, I intend to pack very, very, very lightly for a two-week
> > trip. But I'm having difficulty imagining myself in the beautiful spots
> > of France and Italy without my trusty Pentax K-1000. Aside from telling
> > me to leave my beloved camera at home (which at this point is out of the
> > ...
> ...
> shoulder usually with my hand on the strap. I carry at most one other
> lens which I keep in a coat pocket (Along with film for the day and
> other crap in other pockets) or in a us army surplus 4.95 ammo belt case
> that has room for 2 lenses and a pocket for crap and fits on my belt. I
> ...
> somewhere or getting it grabbed. A small hiking fanny pack can be good
> too. Under no curcumstances will I ever walk around with anything that
I've used a hiking fanny pack successfully in London, Paris, and
Washington. I put my lenses in padded leather lens bags that I bought
from Ritz Photo for about a buck each. My fanny pack expands, so
there is enough room for two lenses, film, a map or guide book, and a
snack. After I've eaten the snack, there is room for my K1000 body
without lens.