I love to take my digital camera with me when I travel. However, like many others, I have forgotten essential things like batteries, chargers, USB cords, or memory cards. My mom has a fancier camera that has some lenses and special attachments, but she has only brought it to some church functions. It’s probably a good thing as this camera would easily get stolen unless somebody had it well concealed while traveling with it and followed all tips for traveling with digital photography equipment. I have seen people that bring huge amounts of camera equipment to places and I have never understood how they are able to do that. However, there are tips for bringing digital photography equipment while traveling.
Bring Only What You Need
When my mom brought her fancy camera to the church functions, I often had a small point and shoot camera. She took some shots that I did not take which resulted in great pictures. However, it seemed that I would have been able to take the pictures, too, had I tried to capture them. I knew it was probably true from a picture that I took at a Lost And Found concert capturing the guitarist jumping from a chair in the middle of his jump. The picture was not one made from using video. It was taken from a shoot and point still photography camera.
Things like this show that you do not always need fancy camera equipment. If you don’t need the equipment, don’t bring it. This will keep people from stealing the equipment since it will be safe at your home.
Pack Your Bag in a Bag
No matter what you bring, you’ll want to pack your camera bag in another bag. Both bags should be weather resistant to keep the camera and all the equipment safe from the elements. Traveling with a camera and a photographer’s camera bag or backpack that is within another bag or backpack will help keep it from getting stolen. Instead of being the typical tourist with the huge camera around the neck which can easily get stolen because a strap can be cut with a knife in a few seconds, a thief would have to find the zipper on each backpack or bag. The amount of work needed to steal the camera will deter thieves. Of course, you still need to be careful and watch your equipment and carry it with you at all times.
Tripods
Tripods are great tools for steadying cameras. If you are concerned about steady shots, you should always have a tripod. You can travel with a tripod, but sometimes they are heavy. There are also travel tripods. They continue to get better, so if you have the money, it is worth investing in a travel tripod. There are also things known as chain pods. A chain pod is a chain that hooks on your camera from one end and the other end wraps around your foot. You hold your foot down on the chain to help hold the camera steady in your hands.
Air Travel
When you travel on an airplane, it is not a good idea to have your digital photography equipment in checked luggage. Checked luggage is tossed around and moved around carelessly. Digital photography equipment is fragile, so it should always be considered carry-on luggage.
When it comes to the security scanner, it is likely that the magnet is not strong enough to do damage to the equipment or the memory card. Your equipment will most likely be safe if put through the security scanner. Remember that this is not the same for film cameras. However, if you want to err on the cautious side, have the security agent hand check your bag.
Watch for Condensation
Condensation is one thing many people do not think about when taking photographs. However, when there is a variation in temperature, it is likely that condensation is going to occur. To keep your camera safe, keep it in a zip top bag within your other bag or backpack. This should make the condensation form on the bag and not on or in the camera. While manufacturers are getting better at making cameras with parts that condensation won’t hurt, they still have parts that can rust when exposed to condensation.
Sources:
Personal Experience
Peterson, D. (n.d.). Quick Tips For Traveling With Photography Gear by Digital Photo Secrets. Get Your Hands on Fantastic Pro-Photography Knowledge! by Digital Photo Secrets . Retrieved January 3, 2012, from http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/1707/quick-tips-for-traveling-with-photography-gear/