Getting a camera ready for travelling
Safety is always key when I am travelling and over the years
I have changed my camera from what was a sparkling new camera to an old camera
so it doesn’t look worth stealing. All of these can be cheaply bought from EBay,
Amazon or a local camera shop.
These have been my changes
Neutral camera strap –
this can be seen from a good distance
away.
Body armour (
camera body protection) unique to your model of camera. It protects from
dropping, knocking your camera as well as from sand.. Its another way of
neutralising your camera so it can’t be recognised.
Screen protector
– I have managed to chip the corner of my protector but this did not affect the
screen. This is also on all my mobile phones and the amount of times I drop
them and have only had to replace the screen protector.
Lens cap strap - There
are two different types that I have on my lens. If the lens cap has a hole in
it then it can be tied directly from here onto the strap. This is my preference
and replacements can be bought very cheaply from EBay (when looking I noticed
they were from the far east and had a long delivery time)
The other type has a sticker on and attached to the front of
the lens cap and sits around the lens towards the camera. I have used this on
other lens for years. The downside is the sticker will eventually come off.
Covering the brand
name near the flash and on lens caps if applicable – I use black electrical
tape for this and it has stayed on for years. It helps to make the camera look older,
broken and not worth stealing.
Other extras I have bought for my cameras
Spare batteries -
I usually carry three so I always have a charged one available
Extra handle - to
go onto the base of the camera. This either has space for AA batteries or spare
camera batteries. The benefit is it gives extra space to hold your camera with
as well as converting it to use regular batteries in an emergency.
Silica packets –
These are great for humid countries. Often can get them from shoe shops who no
longer need them or bought in bulk from EBay.
UV filter – This
protects the lens. I often see people with expensive DSLR’s without this bit of
kit. What happens if the lens gets scratched? UV filters are cheap to replace
whereas a lens, well it doesn’t bear thinking about as it also ruins the trip. Pay for a good quality brand (circa £10) as it
has a better quality of glass inside it and added benefits for the photos as
well. I have generally used Hoya or Marumi. On my last trip my lens cap managed
to get detached and I opened my bag one day to find the UV filter had smashed. On
a previous trip my camera was accidentally knocked off a table and with the
armour and the UV filter I only had to replace a smashed UV filter.
Circular polariser
filter – Great for bright sun conditions. These are more expensive