Safe to leave camera in Hotel rooms in Venice, CT, Rome?

Check to see if the hotel rooms you are staying in have a safe. All the hotel rooms we stayed in last Sept. had one. She could also lock it in her suitcase with a TSA lock.

I've never had anything stolen from my hotel room. However it makes sense to follow the advice above to put the camera in a safe or lock it in a suitcase.

I personally never leave my camera at any hotel, in any location (US or abroad). If there is a safe, I would use it. She might want to look at getting a smaller camera that she might feel more comfortable keeping with her at all times.

I always leave stuff in my hotel , but ALWAYS in the safe. I always book my own hotels and I always make sure there is a safe. It just makes sense.

Thank you one and all. Very sound advice.
Kathie

I have never had anything stolen from my room but I do keep my camera with me at all times. Using a safe is a good suggestion. If your friend does leave her camera in her room at least take out the memory card(if digital). The camera could be replaced if stolen but the photos on the memory card cannot.

I have never left a camera, but we recently took a laptop to Italy. We left it in all of our hotel rooms. Even though some of our rooms had safes, the laptop was too large.

We just stuffed it into a suitcase (unlocked) when we were away from the room. We left the power cord plugged into the wall though, so a knowledgeable person could easily have figured out that there was a laptop in the room.

The only thing that we never leave in a room without a safe is our passports.

We have never had any problems whatsoever.

Kathie,

I always travel with a "large 'regular' camera" (dSLR and extra Lenses) and often leave it in the Hotel room if I'm going to go out in the evenings. So far, I haven't experienced any problems.

I don't believe that locking valuables in a suitcase (Backpack in my case) is going to be much protection against theft. That's the first place a thief would look for valuables, and I'm sure they wouldn't have any hesitation about breaking into luggage (then I'd be dealing with both a stolen camera and damaged Backpack). The TSA Locks are NOT going to provide any security (trust me on that point!).

Most of the RS "budget" Hotels that I've used have not been equipped with Safes, so that's not an option either. Those that have had a room Safe, it wouldn't have been large enough to store the Camera anyway. Most Hostels have Lockers and I sometimes use those if they are well constructed (steel!), along with my own high security Padlock (highly "pick" resistant with heel-and-toe locking).

I always travel with a pocket size "backup" Camera as well, and take that with me if I'm going out in the evening (that way if the dSLR is stolen, I'll still be able to get some photos, albeit not of the same quality). As mentioned in a previous post, it's a good idea to remove the memory card from a camera that's left in a room, so that at least you'll be able to preserve photos that have been taken up to that point.

One other option would be to leave valuables at the front desk for safekeeping if you're concerned about theft.

Good luck and happy travels!

I kept my laptop in the hotel rooms all the time during my week-long stay in Italy. Had no problems. If it fits into the hotel room safe, leave it in there if you're worried about it.

Why don't you talk her into getting a digital camera? Those big cameras are such a pain the the *** when you are travelling. She'll have less to worry about if she has a digital she can keep it in her pocket, purse everywhere she goes. You never know when a photo opportunity will arise. I say leave the big camera at home. Have fun!!

My daughter had some cheap, silly souvenirs (plastic Eiffel Tower,David, etc) stolen from a nice hotel room in Rome. The saddest thing they took was the chalk drawing she had done along the Seine in Paris.

I agree with Mark. I reluctantly exchanged by Nikon SLR with 3 pound lens and 50 rolls of film for a 4 oz. Sony digital and an extra memory card. My back thanked my for 2 weeks! And I didn't have to worry about the film getting messed up in the airport X-ray machines. I biggest advantage was the digital shot great pictures in low light conditions like churches and museums.

Like the other poster, we too stayed in RS hotels which did not have in room safes. Never had any issues with leaving our laptop in the room, out in the open or not.