Traveling to Europe with your Digital Camera?
|
The Vacation Season is fast approaching and naturally you will be taking your digital camera along for the journey. After all your vacations are far and few between and it is nice to look back on those memories as you slave away at your job. However, when you travel with a digital camera, it is a completely different experience from that of traveling with a film camera. This is a lesson that far too many travelers seem to be learning the hard way, especially if you’re traveling to Europe. After a couples years of relying solely on digital for taking photos when I travel, there are things you should consider before you head off on your next trip. Charging Batteries is one of the biggest stumbling blocks you'll face when you travel. Outlets can be scarce in hotels. On a recent trip to Europe, only one of the five modern hotels I stayed in had more than one outlet available for use when charging up electronics. Charging your battery can be more of a hassle if you're traveling by train: If you take an overnight train in Europe, they don't have power adapters at the seats (certain trains do, but it's not something you can count on). I suggest bringing at least two rechargeable batteries, three if you plan to travel with overnight trains, or don't think you'll be able to charge every night. If your camera uses regular AA batteries, consider yourself lucky-you'll find those everywhere. Scope out the situation in your room when you check in: You should get at least one usable outlet, but don't count on more than that. Bring your plugs. Some digital cameras typically come with a power brick that can handle international voltages, so you won't need a voltage adapter. However, you will need a power plug adapter to convert a US outlet plug to the local plug. Most of Europe is on the same outlet now-but not all countries accept the general "Europe" plug. Be sure to research what you'll need to jack in, and try to buy it before you leave (try CompUSA, Radio Shack, Rand McNally, or your local luggage store). If you don't have a chance to get what you need Stateside, don't fret: You should have no trouble finding an outlet converter overseas. How do I offload my images? For fellow travelers using digicams, this was the number one problem I have heard repeatedly. Many comments from folks traveling for a week or more are: "I'm taking more pictures than I expected to." "I'm not shooting at the best resolution, because I need the room on my memory card." "I'm only halfway through my trip, and I have only 50 shots left." When you travel, odds are you'll take more pictures than you expect to also. A 1 GB card is very useful, and should suffice for low-usage shooters. But for those of us, who can go through a gigabyte or more in a day, not a week? Whether it's because your a high-volume shooter, shooting in RAW format, or a combination of the two. What I discovered is many who had digital SLRs, that had 5 megapixel or more reported they were traveling with a laptop to off load their images. None of these folks were traveling on business, so they didn't need to bring a laptop along. The sad fact is, for now, a laptop remains the most efficient and usable means of off loading images. Epson and Nikon have dedicated handheld units with a hard drive, card reader, and LCD display for copying over and viewing your images. But neither has a full-blown keyboard. If you're first buying a laptop, and intend to travel with it, I suggest going for the smallest one you can. Fujitsu, Panasonic, Sharp, and Sony all have models under four pounds. A laptop provides several additional advantages. For one thing, you can see your pictures on a big screen-to view how you're doing, and if you see any problems you want to correct with your exposure, for example, or if your pictures are being affected by dirt. For another thing, you can properly label your folders, so you know which pictures were taken where. Most newer laptops have integrated memory card readers, but otherwise, you can buy a small external card reader. For the wire-free approach, use a PC Card slot adapter for your memory card; and invest in a 32-bit Cardbus adapter (Delkin and Lexar Media offer these), for speedier transfers. Nothing's worse than coming back to the hotel after a long day of sightseeing, and needing to stay awake another 40 minutes just to off -load two 1 GB cards, at about 20 minutes a pop. If you bring a laptop, I also suggest investing in a portable hard drive. A portable hard drive can serve multiple purposes: It can be a means of backing up your photos on the go; a means of giving you a way to take your photos with you if you have to leave your laptop unattended; and a means of expansion, if you somehow manage to fill up your laptop's built-in hard disk. If you don't want to bring a laptop, and already have an Apple iPod, Belkin sells an attachment for using your iPod with memory cards; or, consider the pricey units from Nikon and Epson. And if you're in a bind, remember you can always buy memory overseas. I was surprised that when I went to Europe, the prices were high, but not so outrageously so that I wouldn't buy another card if I were in a bind. Cards were more readily available, too, than they were when I last traveled through Europe three years ago. Look at it this way: Even if you overpay on the card, you can still reuse it-which beats overpaying for a single use 35mm film cartridge when you were in a bind in years' past. Be prepared for problems. Things happen when you travel and I've had more things go awry carrying my digital SLR than I have had with my 35mm over the years. Lens paper is always useful to have on hand, but if you have a digital SLR, another supply is absolutely critical: An air blower bulb, to blast out the dust and dirt that will inevitably get trapped inside your camera. I never had problems with my 35mm SLR, but with my digital SLR, I constantly find dirt gets trapped inside, when I change lenses. And there's nothing worse than having a splotch marring your otherwise awesome shots. Finally, remember the philosophy of redundancy. Whether your battery dies and you have no way to charge it, or you run out of space on your memory card(s), and don't want to buy another at a higher-than-usual price, I suggest packing a second camera if you can. A digital point and shoot is a good option but I usually carry a point and shoot 35mm to use if I run into any problems just so I won’t lose any precious pictures.
by: Doug Rogers
About The AuthorDoug Rogers has worked as a freelance photographer for the past 25 years in various fields of photography. In the past two years he has become an avid and devoted fan of digital and video photography and a life long lover of new technology. F |
| Most people, who go on a family beach vacation, take plenty of photographs. Once you're home and you view or print them out; are you ecstatic, bored, or disappointed? Be honest, now! Does this sound familiar… You arrive at your destination, check the place out, and quickly change to go to the beach. Happily, you've remembered to take your sun block, nose plugs, and bathing suit. Maybe you remembered your camera, maybe you didn't. Going on a family beach vacation brings up contradicting desires. On the one hand, you want everyone to have a wonderful, fun, relaxing, memorable vacation. On the other hand, most people don't want to do what's required to preserve the memories. We will show you how to have the best of both worlds. By providing photography tips, you can capture outstanding beach vacation pictures, enjoy taking the photos, and ensure that when you look at the photos at home, you won't be thinking: "Was this OUR vacation!?!" Can’t-Miss Beach Vacation Photo Tips 1) Packing the Right Equipment When you pack for your dream beach vacation, remember these essential items: Camera, batteries, memory cards, camera case, battery chargers, external flash (if available), tripod, and portable digital storage device. If you have an abundance of memory, you can leave the storage device at home. 2) Consider These Purchases I know… you’re already spending more than you want to on the vacation. So the last thing you want is some stranger suggesting you spend more on photo accessories. But, read on and find out what these low cost accessories will do for you before you skip to Tip #3. Consider purchasing a circular polarizer filter for your lens. STRONGLY consider it! It will be one of the least expensive accessories you can buy, and you will LOVE the results. What are the results? A bluer sky, the ability to see objects under water, and creating colors that will “pop” off the page. 3) Insurance Do you have insurance on your possessions? Did your camera cost more than $25.00? Then do yourself a big favor and buy a UV filter to place over your lens for protection. If your lens becomes damaged, your camera is ruined. You can probably get a good UV filter for under $20.00. 4) The Magical Landscape Shot If there are colorful bluffs, harbors, or other landscape picture opportunities on your beach vacation, you want to capture them, of course. Not only that, but wouldn't it also be impressive to add some family member(s) to the shot and have the people AND the background in focus? Set your F-stop for a high number (at least F-11, or at the "infinity" or "landscape" setting of your camera). Position the people in the foreground, the landscape in the background. Focus on your human subject(s), while being at least 15 feet away (25 is even better, if you have a telephoto). Adjust the circular polarizer filter to obtain the desired shade of blue in the sky. Skip this step if you didn’t purchase a filter. Don’t worry, though. If you don’t like the vividness of the sky after the print is developed, you can always take out a magic marker and color the sky. (You didn’t hear that from me.) Finally, gently squeeze the shutter and… voila! A perfect “postcard” photograph. 5) Silhouettes Silhouette beach vacation pictures (or, non-beach vacation pictures for that matter) produce one of the most artistic and/or emotional-looking photographs possible. Most people never take silhouette photographs, and yet, they are just as easy as photographs taken during the day light. The best time to take silhouette photos is from approximately 1 hour before sunset, to ½ hour after sunset. Use evaluative or matrix metering (which is probably your default metering mode anyway), and focus on the HUMAN SUBJECTS, with plenty of the cloud-filled sky in the background. Then compose the shot, as desired. Did I mention that sunset shots without clouds are fairly disappointing? Sort of like winning the lottery and losing the ticket. The silhouette effect results from the camera thinking the overall scene is brighter than it is, and therefore under-exposes the dark areas (human subjects). To see sample photos and additional tips, check out http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com/beach-vacation.html . Article courtesy of http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com , where you can see numerous sample pictures & photography tips on many subjects and events.
by: Robert Bezman
About the Author
Robert Bezman is a professional photographer and owner of Custom Photographic Expressions. Robert has created http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com to help the digital photography users create better photographs.
|
