Travelling - what do you do with the cameras you're NOT using?

[__jc]

I'm heading to Boston, New York and LA later this year and have decided what gear I'm taking, but I won't want to have all of it on me all of the time. So what do you do when you have gear that is going to be left in the hotel room or air b'n'b room?

 

[marcr1230]

if it's expensive, get personal articles insurance or like

I have always left stuff in hotel rooms and never had a problem - AirBnB also
I think the AirBnB owners have more to worry about than the guests

consider taking less - but just make sure if in the rare case you lose something, you don't care one way or another

 

[taemo]

i've always left my extra camera gears at the hotel room or airbnb with no problem.
if they have a safe, then i'll store them inside.

i've been hearing more horror stories and people breaking into cars than hotel rooms

 

[Bingley]

I use hotel safes for gear I'm not taking out on a given day. Otherwise, I pare what I'm taking to just what I can carry and keep it with me at all times.

 

[__jc]

Thanks marcr1230, taemo and Bingley for your thoughtful replies.

Yes I'm hoping that the hotels I'm booked at have safes. I'll check that. The Air BnB in LA won't but I made sure to check that it is rated very safe by previous guests.

I should take less gear but I have specific uses planned for my time away which will involve different configurations of gear, as Steve suggests. There will be a Contax G2 and zoom as well as two Leicas with four lenses, so I really don't want to lose any of it! I've travelled quite a lot in the past with a fair bit of gear and the only time I've been robbed is by having my car broken into (twice in the same fortnight) as taemo points out. An extremely unpleasant experience that I wouldn't care to repeat.

However it has been five years since I did any significant travel like this so I wondered if the whole paradigm had changed.

I will also itemize the Leicas for insurance - that's a really good suggestion marcr1230.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

It's a good idea also to read the insurance policy well beforehand and photograph the gear taken and left behind...

Regards, David

 

[daveleo]

Somewhat of a side note:
for the expensive gear that I leave at home, (despite that we have an alarm system and insurance) I cardboard-box it up and store it in the basement under of 30 years of junk.

 

[santino]

I saw signs in the Czech Republic telling you "your car is not a safe"... so usually the hotel rooms safe should be sufficient.

 

[robert blu]

I oft travel with two (different) cameras but one usually stay in the safe of the hotel.
I like to go around with only one camera, one or max two lenses...

robert

 

[Dpingr1]

Room safes are made to order for this, unless you're storing a Gandolfi. Most items are pretty safe in rooms with computerized electronic locks these days. It's a good idea to scope out the hotel's practices, though -- do housekeepers prop doors open when they are not in the room? Actual B&Bs frequently do not have electronic locks or room safes -- ask the manager if they have a safe place for storage. AirB&B has introduced lots of people with no experience in the basics of hospitality security into the business -- apply an extra level of caution in those. I was in the hotel business for 15 years, but it's a whole new animal now. When in doubt -- insure!

 

[raid]

I carry everything each day. Keep it manageable.

 

[__jc]

Sincere thanks for your thoughts Dave, Dave, santino, robert, photomoof, Dan and Raid.

Great idea to photograph the gear - I'll make sure to do that. I have all the serial numbers written down. I am glad there are safes in most hotel room, but if not I will use the hotel safe. Stuff left at home shouldn't be a problem as it will just be me and one son travelling (he is starting college in Boston) and my wife and other son will be at home where we have alarms and stuff.

A car is most certainly not a safe. It is like a display counter in a self-service deli to some people.

Robert, most times I will do the same as you. Other times two cameras with four lenses. It would be possible to take all my gear with me each day - I have an excellent backpack, a Streetwalker which it fits in comfortably, but if my gear is secure at the hotel/airbnb then I think I can safely leave some behind - why carry extraneous gear as I plan to walk a lot.

Yes Dan I have ensured that the airbnb in West Hollywood (which is probably the weakest link as it doesn't have a safe) is very secure. Having said that, LA is possibly the most likely place I'd choose to carry all my gear, as I may hire a car some days - not to leave gear in, but to get from place to place so I can carry all the gear in a backpack.

Again, thank you all for your wise and considered suggestions - I had not thought of many of the ideas you've come up with. Can't wait to take the pictures!

 

[aoresteen]

I make my wife carry them 😀

Actually, I use the safe in the hotel room

 

[__jc]

All things considered, a much better idea, Tony.

 

[Merlijn53]

Somewhat of a side note:
for the expensive gear that I leave at home, (despite that we have an alarm system and insurance) I cardboard-box it up and store it in the basement under of 30 years of junk.

That's what most people do and burglars know it 🙂

 

[David Hughes]

Dare I add a small P&S to your list? They are best for going out in the evening without attracting attention to the camera; or perhaps (gasps) a smartphone would do?

Regards, David

 

[Kent]

If I am staying in hotels when travelling, I don't bring much so that I can carry around my gear.

On a family vacation we don't stay in hotels. Our holiday homes offer good way to keep your equipment safe.

Plus, I do have an insurance. 😉

 

[agricola]

Dear Johnny - come April I will be 8 years older than you - so I speak from experience (if not sense). Take only one camera. Truly. I'm not kidding. I've trekked the Camino to Santiago, the Chemin le Puy and the Pennine Way in England/Scotland.
On the last of those - for the first time - I took a Leica M4 in addition to the Fuji X100s. Just because I love the form factor of the Leica and it's Summitar lens born in the same year I was.
But it was overkill. The quick convenience of the X100s made the Leica superfluous. I shot only 3 rolls on the Leica. The 35mm field of view is hard to beat. Zooming with your feet is easier than carrying a zoom. Cropping with modern sensors beats all but the most expensive and longer zooms.
Enjoy the journey.
Buen Camino

 

[daveleo]

That's what most people do and burglars know it 🙂

Probably, but he has to dig through piles of basement crap to find them all, rather than snatching them out of the parlor cabinet.

 

[__jc]

Again, thank you all for responding - Merlijn53, David, Kent, agricola and Dave.

I don't want to open a can of worms here, but taking a small point and shoot, or a digital of any kind, is not what I dig in photography. I tried digital for two or three years and came to the conclusion that I didn't enjoy photography any more, or the photographs I made at that time. I went back to film (at a time when film cameras were absurdly cheap) and immediately enjoyed my photography again - maybe even more than I used to. Put it down to, if you will, "process" being an integral part of my enjoyment of photography. This trip will be a chance for me to really indulge in photography in fantastic places using gear I have carefully and thoughtfully acquired that I truly enjoy using. Of course there are other ways to photograph while travelling, and everyone has their own preferences, but I am very specific as to what I want to shoot with and, to an extent, have a very strong vision of the "look and feel" I am after with the photographs I will take. Day to day I will only take the appropriate amount of gear - my intention is to usually use one camera and one or two lenses at a time - and again, I will have quite specific reasons for my selection each time. Hence my question regarding what people suggest as the best way to stash the other gear when I'm not at the hotel.

Agricola, I'm with you on the 35mm - I will probably take two (for Leica and Contax). I want to carry the Contax for some colour work I have in mind, and will probably in the end forego the zoom for just the 35mm lens. Or maybe not. By the way my son's camera is an X100T, which I recommended for him when he asked my advice within certain parameters. Great little camera, just not my thing.

Kent - all my gear (should I choose to carry it all at once) fits incredibly easily into my small ThinkTank backpack, which I can carry all day without getting fatigued (as opposed to my over-the shoulder Domkes which I am nowadays finding a bit more of a burden). But I just prefer not to carry it all, all of the time. For a large part of it, after I've helped my son move into college in Boston, this is not a trip where I will have to fit in with anyone else's timetable, wants or needs. I will be by myself and able to photograph all day every day if I so choose. Pretty neat, huh.

David - well, the iPhone will be with me, but all I seem to ever use the camera on that for is to replace the desktop or screensaver of the phone itself! That and illustrations for the auction site of course.

Thanks again, everybody - great to get some great opinions and ideas.