Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/01/20
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]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 > >> > >