Traveling to Europe

bobaab

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Im going to be in Europe for 7 weeks. It's gonna be my 20th birthday trip (20th is big in Japan) and fell perfectly on the 2006 World Cup in Germany :D

Anyways, of course I will be bringing my 350D, and I had a few things in mind..

1) How should I transport the camera? Sure a camera bag is handy, but I will be backpacking Europe, staying at youth hostels, etc etc with my friend. What are some ways you guys recommend I take my camera with me?

2) What should I do about storage of pictures? I have a 512mb cf card, but of course that isn't enough to hold 7 weeks of pictures, if even a couple hours. I know there are portable HDD's which let's me insert the CF card into it directly and has 10, 20, 30 gb of storage. Which one's do you guys recommend? I'd like to find the least expensive one..

Those two are the biggest concerns in my head right now. Thanks in advance! I'm hoping for some great suggestions! :mrgreen:
 
the first thing to remember is to padlock everything and if you have a large amout of kit look at getting a hard case also if ya going to stay in hostles arage your bags so that to get to the expensive stuff the hav got to move everything elts idealy have stuff like pots and pans in the pile to make noise if they are moved.

in the way of storage the new epson at 40 gb its very good abit pricey over here tho also if you are going to be able to get internet access every now and then look at gettin online storage to upload your photos to theres a lot of free stuff ones about
 
just out of interest, which areas of germany will you be visiting?
 
at the least, I will be going to Kaiserslautern, Nurmeburg, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, and Dortmund. We will also be traveling to France, Spain, Switzerland, and Italy...it's gonna be one hell of a trip :)

I will be able to access the internet, but I dont know how often. At the rate that I take pictures, it won't be the best idea to just count on internet cafe's or anything like that. I did hear good things about the Epson, but I'm looking for something cheaper..preferably under 150...
 
With film, you never wanted to go through the x-ray machine because it would slightly (harshly?) expose it. Instead you would choose to carry it through the metal detector.

With digital gear, it is the other way around. The metal detector might adversely affect all the electronics, in this case your memory chips, various components of the camera, and of course your sensor. Instead, make sure you have a sufficiently-padded case and send it through the see-through machine.

Do NOT check it as luggage. It will get banged around, and possibly stolen along with your underpants.
 
bobaab said:
1) How should I transport the camera? Sure a camera bag is handy, but I will be backpacking Europe, staying at youth hostels, etc etc with my friend. What are some ways you guys recommend I take my camera with me?

2) What should I do about storage of pictures?


i got a belt-pack with an extra (cyclindrical pouch) for a 500ml water bottle. i binned the bottle and i use that pouch for my 28-200 lens.
my body and motordrive go in the main (rectangular beltpouch).

when im not wearing it, it sits in the top of my rucksack.


re: storage - there are photo-cd kiosks everywhere, plus internet cafes can help you burn cds, or ftp your files over a fast connection onto a webhost.
 
Iron Flatline said:
With film, you never wanted to go through the x-ray machine because it would slightly (harshly?) expose it. Instead you would choose to carry it through the metal detector.

With digital gear, it is the other way around. The metal detector might adversely affect all the electronics, in this case your memory chips, various components of the camera, and of course your sensor. Instead, make sure you have a sufficiently-padded case and send it through the see-through machine.

Do NOT check it as luggage. It will get banged around, and possibly stolen along with your underpants.

Now you really got me worried cause I'm going to europe as well..

How sure are you that the Xray machine won't hurt digital gear? I'm buying everything new a few days before I leave and won't get a chance to use the camera.

I'm worried that the sensor could get 'degraded' due to the Xray machine.


-Frankie
 
bobaab said:
I did hear good things about the Epson, but I'm looking for something cheaper..preferably under 150...
i know jessops do a own brand one that 20gb/40gb and is about 120 pounds but i dont know what would be avalible to you


if your going to Nurmeburg you need to go and check out the dragracing if your intrested give me a vaigue idea what date your going to be their ish and ill tell you whats on. I might be there so check with me befor yo go and ill get you in Nurmeburg ring for free with the vip treatment :D
 
I'm not the manufacturer (send them a quick e-mail) but my understanding is that the xray WILL NOT affect your sensor. I've been told repeatedly (by two pro photographers) to avoid the metal detectors with equipment. It MIGHT have some affect.

I've put my dSLRs through the X-ray machine dozens of times with no adverse affects.
 
I'm leaving for Egypt this weekend via London and coming back through Paris. I was leaning toward film and my F5, but after reading several threads I'm still unsure abut leaving the D70 behind. I only want to take one body. A mention that there are many photo shops which transfer flash cards to CDs, maybe the D70 is the right choice. I have lots of 400 and 200 film but only one 1GB flash card. Suggestions........please.
 
Thanks for the advice guys, every bit of information helps.

Yea I've taken my camera to Boston, and I passed it through the x-ray machine but everything was fine.

Are photo kiosks that available in the countries I'm visiting (Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy)? Im thinking I might just buy another cf card and shoot on medium or small resolution.
How are the MicroDrives from Hitachi?

And does anyone know the power outlet situation for the different countries?


Thanks again guys!
 
acsonpg, figure out how many film images you might take, and what it will cost to get those developed and then printed. That's your budget for additional CF cards. If it gets above $300 on this one trip alone, think about buying some kind of digital storage device. The fanciest is the Epson P-2000 (40 gigs), which currently goes for about $380 after rebates. There are more affordable versions. Transcend makes a 40gig version for $220, Sony makes one for about $275, or you can get a Belkin Media Reader for $15 and dump your data on to your iPod.

bobaab
, I have found better kiosk solutions in Germany than I ever saw in the United States.

Power in Europe requires a different plug shape in every country, but they all put out 220 volts. Check the back of your power supplies, almost all of them will show that you can plug them into anything from 60v - 240v. The output will be whatever it is supposed to do, and does NOT hurt your equipment.
 
Just check with Nikon digital dept. They assured me, with much emphasis, that there are no ill effects from the x-ray equipment at the airports to digital cameras or flash cards. Shall we take them for their word????

Does anyone have a copy of the regulation regarding airport hand inspection of film? I’d like to carry a copy in the event of a dispute.

Thanks, Paul
 
Newegg.com has a photo hard drive for $150. It's a INOi Photo Handdisk HD182-20 and stores 20gb.

Adorama.com has several under/around $150. Just do a search for 20gb.

I was looking into getting the Media Gear 20gb model a while back. I never bought it but if I remember right, I found good reviews for it online. It is $140.
 

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