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Photography Equipment: What to Take on Vacation
by Rachel Myerson
(Jul 5, 2007)
Vacation season is here. We love to travel and we love to take pictures on our vacations. Of course, if we packed all of our photography equipment, we'd have no room left for our bathing suits. Therefore, it is necessary to choose carefully which photography equipment to bring on vacation. There are many factors that influence these decisions. How long will the vacation be? Will the primary activity be sightseeing or relaxing around the hotel or beach? Is this a once-in-a-lifetime trip, or somewhere you visit every year? Will you be taking pictures of nature? Is space a big issue? Will you be checking luggage or carrying on? Will you need to be able to carry all the luggage by yourself? In our family, we have more photographic equipment than we typically bring on every trip. We have:
So, how do we decide what to bring? We always bring the little camera. It takes up very little space so there is no reason not to bring it. Being easy to use, it is the best camera to hand over to a waiter or other stranger to get a family photo. It is also a good camera to carry when we may not be taking photos, such as at a restaurant.
The big camera takes up a lot of space and needs to be handled carefully during air travel. Therefore, we only take it on vacations where we really want the best photos, particularly of moving things (like amusement rides) and of nature (such as birds). Acquiring the 18-200mm zoom lens for the big camera has solved the lens choice issue. We used to agonize over which lens to bring and often ended up with two. Since they are heavy, we would choose one for any given day and inevitably leave the wrong one back at the hotel. The new lens has such a wide range that it covers most of our photo needs. I'm not suggesting that you immediately junk all of your lenses and buy the perfect all-purpose lens (we actually won ours in a contest). Lens choice is tricky. If you will be taking photos of birds and wildlife, then go for something more telephoto. On the other hand, landscapes and cityscapes work well with wide angle. Photos of people or zoos are best somewhere in the middle. We used to take the video camera everywhere, until we realized that we didn't watch the videos very much. Little children like to watch certain videos over and over again, like the parade at Disney World. However, we decided that we don't really need these videos in the long run and we never have the video camera with us when something really important happens like when my son got to hold Mickey's hand and lead the parade. Since the little camera is able to take small videos, we often choose to save space and leave the video camera at home. The Digital Wallet is used to store photos if we fill the memory cards. As the size of memory cards has increased, this device has become less important. I can now store 1500 photos on two memory cards for the little camera. We only bring the Digital Wallet if we will be taking a long sightseeing trip, such as a once-in-a lifetime tour of Australia. Sometimes vacations are combined with business and one of us is bringing a laptop computer. In that case, the laptop can also store extra photos and the Digital Wallet is unnecessary. We always bring all spare memory cards, batteries, and chargers for any device we are bringing. They take up very little space, and there is nothing worse than running out of charge or space when you want to take a special picture. We carry a spare battery with us at all times. We never bring any of the film cameras anymore. Although some of them still take excellent photos, they have all been replaced with something digital that provides similar functionality. All the space that we save not packing film can be used for other items. Of course, there are other types of photography equipment that we don't have. We don't have a tripod or separate flashes. You may have more or less photography equipment than us, but chances are you have more than you need on any given vacation. Think about how many photos you will be taking, what types of photos you will be taking, and what you will be doing with them. Make sure you have enough digital storage so that you will not have to delete photos during the trip. Will you be the only photographer, or will your friends, relatives, or children be using your camera? If others will be using the camera, consider bringing one that is easy to use. Will you be taking the camera into a potentially harmful environment such as the beach (with water and sand) or skiing? In that case consider a protective or waterproof case, or bring a less expensive camera. Disposable cameras offer another solution for the beach or snow, but don't always take the best photos. You will need to balance your photography needs with your space constraints to come up with the perfect photographic combination for your vacation. One final recommendation: if you find that you guessed wrong, remember to enjoy your vacation anyway and to learn for next time.  Shop at the Scrapbook.com Superstore for all your Scrapbooking Supplies!Enjoy 5-Star service, HUGE selection and LOW prices! Click here to start shopping! Featured Scrapbooking Supplies (from Scrapbook.com):
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If we will be near water, we bring the waterproof case for the little camera. We can bring the camera onto the beach or right into the pool without worrying about it getting damaged. The waterproof case is also our only way to take photos in the water, so it is definitely needed if we will be snorkeling. The waterproof case also protects the camera from impact damage, so we pack the little camera inside the waterproof case for air travel.
If we will be visiting a place we have been before, or somewhere that the little camera will suffice, then we may choose to leave this one behind. If we are choosing not to check luggage, then we really consider whether this camera is needed.
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