Lost Camera on Rome Train

Gone gone gone.

It is the Rome train station! You are lucky to make it out the door without having someone try to pickpocket you. That camera was gone the minute you stood up on the train and was sold on the street at the next stop.

Identification would not have helped at all.

Sorry.

I don't know that it would have helped in this case, but something I do before leaving for a trip is to take a picture of my whiteboard at home, on which I have written my name, address, and Mobal international cell number. I have no illusions of getting the camera itself back if lost, but maybe someone would be good enough to mail back the memory card.

Cathy, as previously mentioned, it's highly unlikely you'll ever see your Camera again. Having identification would have made no difference, especially given the fact you were travelling between two of the cities with typically high levels of petty theft.

The only solution to the "lost" photos is to plan another trip, and revisit some of the same areas.

I absolutely agree that the odds are not at all in my favour. Somewhat like the snowball's chance in hell. I've started shopping for a new camera and a back up system, while making peace with the loss. In the meantime, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

So sorry about your camera and pictures. To help my sister with getting some pictures, we went to google.com and clicked on pictures. We then searched for things as Queen Mary 2 and Rome+St. Peter, etc for her and found some great pictures. We clicked on the box to make them larger and then right clicked on ones not copyrighted so she could have some memories. She had enough real pictures she took that combined it looked okay. It still doesn't seem quite the same to the person that took the pictures, but she really enjoyed the DVD I put together of her trip for her.

I love my travel photos as much as anyone, but losing photos doesn't wipe out the experience and the memories from your mind -- this is more important. Learn from this situation, and return again wiser --- but don't let it obscure the positive.

Nancy - what an ingenious idea! I'm going to do that from now on!! (Taking a picture of name and PO Box and maybe a message "If lost please return Memory Card to..."). Thanks for a great tip!!

What my whiteboard actually says is: "This camera belongs to:" and I have listed my name, address, home phone number in the US, and the Mobal cell number. When I had a single destination where I was going to be in one hotel for a week, I listed the hotel as my address. Easily kept current for wherever you will be even if your location changes while traveling -- just take another picture and wipe out the first one.

Cathy - I am sorry you left your camera. You would be surprised by how often that happens! For your future travels one thing I always do is change out my card every two days. With the new mega cards I know it is easy to just let the pictures add up on the card, but by changing your card you will only lose the pictures for a particular point of your trip. I know that doesn't help you this time though.

Thanks to all of you for your helpful replies. Just wanted to post a fabulous link that I have come across in my research on backing up photos on the road. Turns out I could have very easily used my Ipod and there are many other great approaches. Here is the link to a Mac World

article.http://www.macworld.com/2006/10/secrets/novdigitalphoto/index.php

Cathy, using an I-Pod to store photos is certainly an option, but I'd recommend some caution with this approach. In my experience this can be problematic at times. My Son was using an I-Pod to store photos, but ultimately lost ALL of them when the unit developed a "technical problem" and had to be reformatted. It's not a method I would ever use!

Some of the other methods described in the article you linked WILL work, however I'm not sure all of them are entirely realistic. For example, using a Treo or whatever to E-mail photos to yourself is completely ridiculous. The technical limitations of trying to upload 8 MP / 3 GB files would be very difficult, both in terms of time and roaming charges.

I've been using a PHD for photo backup so far, and while this is similar in many ways to an I-Pod, I suspect that the different operating system is one reason this hasn't malfunctioned so far. The unit I'm using is www.ezpnp-usa.com/show_product.sstg?code=e7a540d139f1418a (there are others)

Cathy, part 2 of my reply
I've also found it helpful to travel with at least four memory cards. I use 4 GB cards and a couple of 2 GB cards. Many people are "nervous" about using larger cards, as they're worried about losing photos if the card develops a problem. However I believe that using good quality cards (SanDisk, Lexar, etc.) minimizes this risk. Memory Cards are REALLY inexpensive these days, so there's no reason not to have several on a trip.

Keep the cards separate from the Camera (ie: back at the Hotel) and that way if the Camera is stolen, only part of the vacation pictures will be lost. After transferring the files to the PHD, I also don't reformat the Cards until I need them.

If really worried about losing photos, one can also stop by a local photo or computer shop, and have the photos burned to a DVD. Some people burn 2 copies, sending one home.

Good luck finding the solution that works for you!

Thanks Ken.