Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/01/20

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Subject: [Leica] RE: travelling with cameras
From: "Wood, Darrell (London)" <wooddar@MLE.CO.UK>
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 10:42:57 -0000

Ernest,

Many Thanks for you detailed reply.
I have one last question.  Would you suggest I put my equipment in a pelican
Waterproof bag whilst I am diving from the boat?  Or would a ruck sack be
O.K.
I can store this in my ruck sack for the rest of the trip as it is quite
small.

Regards


Darrell

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	emu@aloha.com [SMTP:emu@aloha.com]
> Sent:	19 January 1999 22:45
> To:	Wood, Darrell (London)
> Subject:	traveling with cameras
> 
> Darrell --
> 
> I use Domke bags, obtainable in Europe I am sure. Look on Saunders photo
> products web site you can ask the manufacturer who handles them in your
> area. The "satchel" models, shaped like briefcases, are most ideal for M
> Leica gear, I believe; others prefer the smaller sizes of Domke's
> conventional camera bags. Domkle's larger camera bags are designed to
> carry
> two motor-drive or AF SLR bodies and four to a dozen lenses, plus flash
> heads etc. A bit much for a Leica M user, to be sure. Having a camera bag
> that looks like it is carrying something less valuable is never a bad
> idea.
> Domke canvas bags do not look expensive.
> 
> The Domke canvas bags -- I do not use the ballistic nylon bags -- are not
> waterproof. They shed rain, but they can get wet. Being porous, they don't
> trap the water inside the bag the way waterproof synthetic fabrics might.
> You can buy padded inserts of various sizes and shapes, but when I travel,
> I use clothing to  pad and protect camera gear. And I always carry a few
> large plastic rubbish bags -- white ones, that also can double as light
> reflectors.
> 
> I spend a lot of time in -- and live constantly near -- the ocean. I have
> learned that there is no environment on Earth more hostile to photo
> equipment. Moisture plus salt equals big trouble for lenses, camera
> bodies,
> etc. I would do my best to NOT take any gear aboard a dive boat except
> camera gear made for marine use. And even that must be treated very
> carefully, especially when changing film. You may be in a third-world
> country, of course, where it would be dangerous to leave camera stuff in
> your hotel room, and that would force you to take it on the boat. Also
> realize that tropical sun can damage your gear's electronics and films
> while it is in your camera bag. When you aren't carrying that bag, keep it
> in the shade. Storage in the boot of a rented car is a no-no in the
> tropics. Your gear will get cooked in just 10 minutes. Also, if somebody
> sees you put a camera bag in the boot, they know what to pry open once
> you're out of sight.
> 
> I try to travel with as little camera gear as possible. Easy for me,
> because I am not a professional photographer. Some people do not have this
> luxury. My solutions, as listed below, work fine for me. You may have
> different needs.
> 
> My "ultra-light" minimalist travel outfit: Minox 35GL, for general use,
> lens nearly as good as a Summicron 35; Olympus Stylus for close-ups (it
> does 14 inches away with no modification, and not badly) and flash (built
> in: one less piece of gear to carry) snapshots. Lens hood for Minox, Minox
> tabletop tripod for use with either body. Loss or malfunction of one
> camera
> leaves the other as backup. Neither is an expensive camera (Olympus less
> than USD 100, Minox USD 200-300). A cheap plastic ball head with a large
> wood screw (that is to say, a tapered and pointed screw) so it can be
> attached to the nearest tree, fence post... or wooden walking stick for an
> instant but disposable monopod.
> 
> My travel outfit for trips where conventional photography is a major part
> of the trip: Leica M6, 35mm Summicron, 90mm CLE Rokkor f4 (Small and
> light;
> an Elmarit of the same size would be nice and a bit faster). Old Canon
> 1.2/50mm with bayonet M adapter if I plan serious low-light shooting (the
> poor man's Noctilux. Not as sharp, but adequate. Heavy, though) Backup
> bodies are the Minox 35 and Olympus Stylus plus accessories, as above.
> Small tripod and cheap plastic ball head as above. If you have faster
> Leica
> lenses in these lengths, they are of course more versatile. But they're
> also likely to be bigger and heavier.
> 
> For trips where I plan to do a lot of closeup work and want top-quality
> results, I leave the M Leica stuff at home and take a Nikon F3 body with
> 105mm macro lens and cheap, 28-70mm lightweight AF zoom lens plus Nikon
> two-element closeup attachments which work on the macro or the zoom. Maybe
> also a 20mm ultra-wide lens. May also take a macro flash bracket and Nikon
> flash, allowing me to shoot flash-lit flower and insect closeups without
> big heavy tripod. I hate carrying this much stuff, however, and do my best
> to avoid doing so.
> 
> I own a cheap underwater camera, a Hanimex Amphibian, but have never
> traveled with it. If I were to travel somewhere with intent to do
> underwater shooting, I would search in advance of the trip for a local
> supplier who could rent underwater gear to me once I arrive at the dive
> location. That way I wouldn't have to carry the gear over the entire
> journey. Given the maintenance headaches of gear used in seawater, even
> excellent gear like Nikonos, I am quite happy to not own any more than I
> do.
> 
> Carrying a lot of camera gear in third-world countries -- and also in
> industrialized countries -- presents considerable security headaches. The
> proceeds from selling one nice camera can double or triple a thief's
> annual
> income in many backward countries. You are, indeed, a ripe target: In
> their
> eyes, you are an incredibly wealthy person, wandering about with a thing
> around your neck that may be worth more money than they can imagine. So
> stuff gets stolen. I always keep my rather tiny backup system(s) -- the
> Minox and Olympus Stylus -- packed separately. That way I don't lose
> everything if somebody rips off my camera bag. I always ask if the hotel
> has a safe or other secure storage area for valuables. I would never want
> a
> camera bag that looked expensive or that had "Leica" or "Nikon" -- German
> and Japanese words that translate into "Steal Me" -- printed on it. And I
> keep my Leica or Nikon hidden in a bag when not in use, not dangling from
> a
> strap in plain view. I even use black plastic tape to cover Leica and
> Nikon
> logos on black camera bodies. But then I live in a third-world place where
> half the population survives by robbing tourists, so I probably am more
> paranoid than most people are.
> 
> Before you travel, it is a good idea to visit your country's passport or
> customs agency, carrying all the camera gear you intend to travel with, so
> officials can record all the serial numbers in your passport or on a
> separate paper which they date and sign. Ordinary tourists do not carry
> lots of camera gear. So it is not uncommon to find customs officials in
> any
> number of countries, possibly including your own, suspicious that you are
> either trading in camera gear or trying to import/export it without paying
> proper taxes and duties. You want to have proof that you brought every
> major piece of gear with you from home. If you carry such an "official"
> list of your gear, it does present one complication:  If a piece of your
> gear is badly damaged or destroyed in a foreign country, do NOT discard
> it.
> Carry it home. If you don't, some customs inspector may conclude that you
> actually sold it abroad. In some countries, that in itself is illegal. And
> any number of countries, including your own, may expect you to pay a tax
> or
> duty for such a presumed foreign sale.
> 
> Traveling with camera gear is rewarding. It's also a pain in the arse. So
> I
> take stuff with me, but I take as little as I can.
> 
> Ernest Murphy
> Honolulu, Hawaii USA
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> >Ernest,
> >
> >Thanks for the reply.
> >*	What bags do you use?  Can they be purchased in Europe?
> >*	Are they water proof?
> >*	Would you take them on board a boat when diving.
> >*	You say you carry much less.  What do you carry?
> >
> >Regards
> >
> >
> >Darrell
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From:	emu@aloha.com [SMTP:emu@aloha.com]
> >> Sent:	18 January 1999 20:54
> >> To:	wooddar@exchange.uk.ml.com
> >> Subject:	camera carrying gear
> >>
> >> Hi Darrell --
> >>
> >> Can't give you useful advice on what bag to use -- that's a fair amount
> of
> >> gear you're planning to take, and much more than I ever travel with.
> >>
> >> But can give you this useful advice, since you are going to steamy
> >> tropical
> >> spots like Belize, Mexico City and Borneo: Besides guarding against
> loss
> >> or
> >> theft of your photo gear, you have to guard against moisture in the
> >> tropics.
> >>
> >> The plus of a Pelican-type case is that it is watertight when closed
> up.
> >> The minus is that if there is any moisture on or in your gear, the case
> >> seals it in there with your stuff, where it can damage all your gear
> even
> >> though only, say, one lens or one body had moisture in it when you
> closed
> >> up the case.
> >>
> >> I use Pelican and other airtight cases at home, in Hawaii, for gear
> >> storage. On the road I use only breathable, porous canvas (heavy
> cotton)
> >> camera bags, no synthetic bags of ballistic nylon or fabrics with
> >> anti-moisture coatings. Each night, if I am in a hotel or whatever, I
> take
> >> the gear that has been used in wet or humid locations and let it sit
> out
> >> in
> >> the open, uncapped, overnight. This helps get rid of moisture before it
> >> does harm. In very wet or humid conditions, I carry small packages of
> >> silica gel for removing moisture from equipment. I carry these sealed,
> one
> >> each  in an airtight zip-closure plastic bag. When needed, I take one
> out
> >> of the bag and put it and the moist camera gear into a large plastic
> bag
> >> which I seal. The silica gel adsorbs -- not absorbs-- the moisture.
> >>
> >> Photo equipment suppliers sell such silica gel, sometimes in small
> >> pillow-shaped plastic or fabric bags, sometimes in small aluminum
> >> containers. Get a bunch of them before you leave home since they may be
> >> scarce in third-world camera shops. Most are long-lived. They have a
> >> chemical color indicator: pink when charged with moisture, blue when
> dry.
> >> You recharge them by baking them in your oven at a low temperature for
> >> several hours, then keeping them sealed in a jar or plastic bag until
> use.
> >> These are not the tiny throw-away silica gel packets that you find
> inside
> >> the box when you buy a new lens. These are for professional and
> extended
> >> use.
> >>
> >> Aloha
> >>
> >> Ernest Murphy
> >> Honolulu, Hawaii USA
> >>
> 
>