Taking Photos and Camera Safety

Posted by John (Malden, Ma, USA) on 11/09/09 11:12 PM

How safe is it to be seen with a $1,000 digital SLR camera around one's neck in cities such as London, Paris, Geneva, Interlaken and Munich?

I want to spend my days walking around taking pictures of the landscape, people, etc. At night I'll head out with a pocket sized, simple point and click camera.

I DO NOT want to be harassed or have some fool try to rip it off my neck. I plan on using a backpack that doubles as camera bag for my lenses, memory cards, etc. But the camera itself will be at the ready around my neck. Safe? I do not plan on being in any red light areas where this would obviously be a more treacherous idea.

Posted by John OP

Malden, Ma, USA

11/09/09 11:59 PM

6 posts

I hear you on the backpack, but I will need access to my lenses if I need to swap one out. Perhaps I'll use one that locks.

Ridiculous that I even have to worry about this.

Posted by Mary

Reno, NV, USA

11/10/09 02:33 AM

2429 posts

John,

I was worried about the same thing on our recent trip to Spain. My husband carried a nice digital slr and 2 lenses. I bought him a small Pacsafe daypack for the trip. It is slashproof and tamperproof. Plus I always had his back in crowded situations. Of course, a determined thief cannot always be stopped but this may cause him/her to try an easier target. You might want to look into these bags. I had a Pacsafe bag and it prevented a pickpocketing in the Madrid subway station.

Mary

Posted by evelyn

dallas

11/10/09 06:56 AM

24 posts

I agree about the Pacsafe bags. I took the City Safe bag to Paris and loved it. I bought it for its tremendous amount of available space and pockets, etc., not necessarily for the safety in Paris (an incredibly safe place, in my opinion), but the safety features did bring me an extra sense of security. I'm a professional photographer and left my DSLR at home, took my Canon G9 instead (unlike the G10 and G11, it has time-lapse video) to save space and because the G9 takes photos as well as or even better (especially the 1-cm macro feature) as my Canon 50D DSLR (except for sports).

Posted by Laura

London, UK

11/10/09 08:44 AM

356 posts

I walk around London with my £500 SLR and have never had any problems. You actually see quite a lot of natives walking around with cameras (art students and Flickr addicts I presume). I have never been aware of any real problems and generally find that no one evens looks at me. I do make sure I put it away if I find myself in a dodgy-looking area or if I'm on the tube. I also keep my camera stuff in a knackered old pink backpack (I have put foam in the bottom to protect my lenses) rather than a swanky camera-bag with logos all over it.

Posted by Ann

OH, OH, USA

11/10/09 01:35 PM

1158 posts

Just keep an eye on your camera and backapck at all times.I would get abckpack amde of a thicker material.I always lock my backapck while in the subway/bus with a small lock then I hold it while sitting in the crowds.
I know there is slashproof neck strip you can buy. Never used one but I heard only good things about it.

Posted by Ken

Vernon, Canada

11/10/09 01:50 PM

32219 posts

John,

I routinely travel with a larger dSLR (Canon 40D) along with extra Lenses and other gear and so far haven't had problems anywhere in Europe (including Naples). Of course, there are no guarantees so it's important not to be complacent about security.

I always try to be aware of those around me and if in a higher risk environment (ie: the Metro in Rome or Paris), I try to keep at least part of the Camera tucked out of sight and my back in a corner or up against a post. I also keep a firm grip on the Camera as well as having the strap secured.

So far I've never used a Daypack (either a PacSafe or others) and just carry the Camera "in the open" so that it's quickly available.

Happy travels!