tuge

I purchased a Nikon D40 camera a while back for the purpose of bringing it on my trip through South East Asia. It's bigger than a regular camera and less discrete. I was wondering if anyone has brought along an SLR to foreign countries and if so, what were your experiences with it? Did people look at you? Did they follow you etc.? Is it safe to bring a large camera like this to South East Asia?

space virgin

I have a Canon 30D (a bit larger/heavier than your Nikon) and brought it with me to India, Turkey and Greece for almost two months. I will also be bringing it with me again when I go back to India next week. The only thing that bothered me about it was that the damn thing was heavy! People are probably going to stare whether or not you have a camera with you. If you're really that worried about becoming a target while carrying it, well, I'd suggest a good long day wandering around your own city taking pictures to get a feel for how skeeved out it makes you. My guess is you'll be surprised at how much it's so not a big deal. Also, a discreet but functional camera bag can make all the difference.

You bought this camera for a reason, right? Don't let the fear of what could possibly happen stop you from taking advantage of fantastic photographic opportunities. (Also keep in mind that tons of professional photographers are always traveling all around the world with equipment that you'd need to take out a mortgage to finance.) You will not regret bringing it, but I would bet next month's salary that you WOULD regret NOT bringing it!

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Esterina

I agree with Jeanie that the bag makes the difference. When I travel, my non-digital camera and its 3 lenses are kept in my daypack, a regular shoulder-strap bag, with a distressed patina finish that I made myself.

And I traveled in SEA with that bag.

Plus, if you travel off the beaten path, you'll see that often locals think that large cameras are worth less than small ones.

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people are people

raoulduke

I'd just add that you should make sure your travel insurance will cover the full cst of all your gear.

Also I'm in love with my Lowepro Primus AW backpack. Not the cheapest one out there but has stacks of room for all your stuff and doesn't look like a camera bag. It is pretty bulky though and would replace your daypack. I got mine off Ebay.

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tuge

thanks for the help guys. i was thinking of buying a sling camera bag to wear along with my daypack for easy access if i want to take pictures. is that too much? or should i just buy a bigger day pack and put my camera in there?

TheWills

just dont make it too obvious, like everyone said you wanna be discreet about it. And be very very careful abou it when you think its safe, what I mean is even if your sitting on the internet in some cafe and its under your chair ppl will rip you off, it ahppend to a girlfriend of mine in Malaysia she had her bag under the chair and against her legs and some crafty facker took all her money and switched it with fake notes made from newpaper so she couldent tell the weight diffrence. Make sure its always in visual.