Trying to decide what camera to take

I have read conflicting reports on safety in Rio and Buenos Aires in respect to carrying a camera. Normally I carry a dlsr camera and a backpack with lenses etc. but I am concerned about theft. Travel photography is an important part of our trips so I would hate to not have good photos. While I could use a point and shoot it limits the photos.

As a compromise I am thinking of using my dslr when part of a tour and only carry the point and shoot when on our own. Definitely won't use our iPads.

Comments/what have others done about camera equipment in South America.

In my experience, most ports in South America are safe and pleasant. However, I would be cautious in Rio and BsAs. A man with a gun invited one of my friends to hand over his DLSR in Ipanema, and a French tourist was stabbed to death over his camera in Plaza San Martin.

Pocket cameras like the Canon G7X have large sensors and near DSLR quality.

When we were in Rio, our Brazilian tour guide recommended that in some areas of the city that we should not carry our expensive looking cameras. Don't know if she was over reacting but we did leave the cameras in the van and the driver stay with the van.

Rather than use your P&S, I would like to make another suggestion although this will cost you a bit of money. For other reasons such as the fact that I got tired of carrying a heavy unwieldy dSLR , I switched from the dSLR to a mirror-less camera. In my case it was a Sony A6000 although there are other good mirror-less cameras. I then realized that the camera was small enough so that I did not have to have it bouncing around my neck as I walked but I could attach it to a belt clip and instead of a neck strap use a wrist strap. The camera is sits invisibly on my belt when I want to carry it and is instantaneously accessible when I want to use it. It is also theft proof as you can not see it when I am wearing a jacket and even if a potential thief sees it, how can he get it off the belt clip.

There are 2 good belt clip systems - from Peak Design and from Spider. I went with the Peak Design because they have a wonderful set of camera clips that let you use neck and wrist straps on multiple cameras without having to buy multiple camera straps. If you have several cameras, you only have to buy one camera strap and you can easily switch it from one camera to another. I bought the neck strap and the wrist strap and easily switch from one to another.

I will also point out that if you want to carry your camera attached to a rucksack strap, you have to go with the Spider system as they have a clamp that can be used on your belt or attached to your rucksack strap.

Check them out. Hope this helps.

DON

I'm inclined to agree with the G7X or similar type camera recommendation the 1" sensor is pretty darn good

When we were in Rio, our Brazilian tour guide recommended that in some areas of the city that we should not carry our expensive looking cameras. Don't know if she was over reacting but we did leave the cameras in the van and the driver stay with the van.

 

Rather than use your P&S, I would like to make another suggestion although this will cost you a bit of money. For other reasons such as the fact that I got tired of carrying a heavy unwieldy dSLR , I switched from the dSLR to a mirror-less camera. In my case it was a Sony A6000 although there are other good mirror-less cameras. I then realized that the camera was small enough so that I did not have to have it bouncing around my neck as I walked but I could attach it to a belt clip and instead of a neck strap use a wrist strap. The camera is sits invisibly on my belt when I want to carry it and is instantaneously accessible when I want to use it. It is also theft proof as you can not see it when I am wearing a jacket and even if a potential thief sees it, how can he get it off the belt clip.

 

There are 2 good belt clip systems - from Peak Design and from Spider. I went with the Peak Design because they have a wonderful set of camera clips that let you use neck and wrist straps on multiple cameras without having to buy multiple camera straps. If you have several cameras, you only have to buy one camera strap and you can easily switch it from one camera to another. I bought the neck strap and the wrist strap and easily switch from one to another.

 

I will also point out that if you want to carry your camera attached to a rucksack strap, you have to go with the Spider system as they have a clamp that can be used on your belt or attached to your rucksack strap.

 

Check them out. Hope this helps.

 

DON

A little much with the bravado IMO and a little lacking with the common sense.

How does someone in Rio get your fancy equipment, belt clip or not? Good eyes and a weapon. Do not bring anything you would hesitate one second to part with.

The only place you might use such a camera fairly safely is on the ticketed heights of Sugarloaf and the Cristo, alongside all the other tourists, taking a taxi between there and your hotel. Otherwise it's purely a matter of luck that you're not the "1 in X" statistic.

A little much with the bravado IMO and a little lacking with the common sense.

How does someone in Rio get your fancy equipment, belt clip or not? Good eyes and a weapon. Do not bring anything you would hesitate one second to part with.

The only place you might use such a camera fairly safely is on the ticketed heights of Sugarloaf and the Cristo, alongside all the other tourists, taking a taxi between there and your hotel. Otherwise it's purely a matter of luck that you're not the "1 in X" statistic.

No argument except that with lots of people carrying cameras on neck straps or taking pictures with expensive tablets of phones, the thieves will probably go for the easier target. I will bet that thieves will go for the tablets or phones anyway most of the time as more people will want to buy them and they are also easier to grab them from you. I also suspect that there is more of a problem with pickpockets or people who will slash your camera strap than with people with guns. Obviously if someone sticks a gun in my face and demands the camera on my belt strap, I will give it to him.

To me, it is a reasonable compromise between carrying an expensive camera and getting good pictures and carrying a $150 P&S and getting bad ones. In life there are always compromises.

DON

No argument except that with lots of people carrying cameras on neck straps or taking pictures with expensive tablets of phones, the thieves will probably go for the easier target. I will bet that thieves will go for the tablets or phones anyway most of the time as more people will want to buy them and they are also easier to grab them from you. I also suspect that there is more of a problem with pickpockets or people who will slash your camera strap than with people with guns. Obviously if someone sticks a gun in my face and demands the camera on my belt strap, I will give it to him.

 

To me, it is a reasonable compromise between carrying an expensive camera and getting good pictures and carrying a $150 P&S and getting bad ones. In life there are always compromises.

 

DON

I wouldn't take that bet. Not on my life.

(And most of the photos placed online by people who fancy themselves good enough photographers to need a big expensive DSLR are just snapshot quality anyway IMO.)

You can choose how to handle yourself and your valuables, but I attribute my lack of problems over 2 decades of regular visits all over Brazil to being conservative, not to hoping the bad guys pick someone else.

 

To me, it is a reasonable compromise between carrying an expensive camera and getting good pictures and carrying a $150 P&S and getting bad ones. In life there are always compromises.

 

DON

As with everything, you get what you pay for in P&S: a G7X is $550.

I recommend adding a Lensmate filter holder and a polarizer for another $50.

I take several cameras with us when we cruise including two DSLR's and a couple of point and shoots and several lenses.

I did what you are thinking of.

On tours I took my DSLR in Buenos Aires and Rio and on my own I took just the point and shoot. I do likewise in places that I am concerned about theft including Lima, Buenos Aires, Naples, etc.

We have been to Buenos Aires and to Rio numerous times, most recently earlier this year.

Now, even on a tour when I carry the DLSR I hold it tightly and there are places where I would hold it with two hands.

Keith

Before digital cameras took over, I traveled with an SLR camera with large telephoto and other lenses.

Since I retired five years ago, we have been traveling a lot and I just didn't want to be burdened with a large camera and camera bag with lenses.

I went with a compromise. I have a Nikon camera that has a lot of flexibility. It is not a simple pocket camera, but has a lens that motors out to allow for telephoto shots.

I find that this camera gives me about 85 % of what a DLSR camera would offer. The only issue with this camera is when I want to take a photo of a subject with the sun in the background. My photos are excellent, but within that limitation.

While in BA, I had this camera around my neck and never felt unsafe. Of course, there are areas of BA that are not wise to venture into, just find out where they are and be alert to your surroundings.

I appreciate the replies. I am not looking to buy new equipment. I have decided to go with the dslr on tour and point and shoot when on our own. I will leave the backpack in the hotel and keep 1 medium sized lens on the camera.

We always buy I also stand behind my husband and be alert when he videos something at the local supermarket and use the plastic bag for the video and other cameras works like a charm!!!

I appreciate the replies. I am not looking to buy new equipment. I have decided to go with the dslr on tour and point and shoot when on our own. I will leave the backpack in the hotel and keep 1 medium sized lens on the camera.

If you have other questions about South America be sure to ask.

Keith

good tip about the supermarket bag. thanks.

good tip about the supermarket bag. thanks.

Sorry, but I disagree. That has to be the silliest piece of advice I see repeated and repeated on forums, over all the 20+ years I've been regularly travelling to Brazil, right up there next to trying to look like a local by dressing differently. If you look like a rich foreign tourist (by definition anyone who can travel is rich), which no matter what you do you certainly will, and you are carrying something, you are a target if anyone with bad intent is in the vicinity. Therefore, carry as little as possible, and nothing you would hesitate a heartbeat to give up.

VidaNaPraia,

Not to be argumentative but what make someone "look like a rich foreign tourist" if they aren't wearing any jewelry, no watch, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt without any logos or identifying marks? I have travelled all over the world and think I have some street smarts.

While I appreciate the warnings-after all I did ask, but all advice I believe it needs to be tempered with context. For example people quote the death of the Frenchman a few years ago but neglect to mention which part of Rio it happened in - an area I won't be going to. So I will stick with my plan to only carry my "big" camera when in a group and use the point and shoot when on our own. If I can find a supermarket bag I will use it but not an H. Stern bag.

VidaNaPraia,

Not to be argumentative but what make someone "look like a rich foreign tourist" if they aren't wearing any jewelry, no watch, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt without any logos or identifying marks? I have travelled all over the world and think I have some street smarts.

 

While I appreciate the warnings-after all I did ask, but all advice I believe it needs to be tempered with context. For example people quote the death of the Frenchman a few years ago but neglect to mention which part of Rio it happened in - an area I won't be going to. So I will stick with my plan to only carry my "big" camera when in a group and use the point and shoot when on our own. If I can find a supermarket bag I will use it but not an H. Stern bag.

Your DSLR is worth what some Brazilians support a family on for 4 months. In a cheap plastic bag or a fancy camera bag, it is a temptation to some.

Your style of clothing and footwear, your way of grooming(haircut, etc), even your way of moving....all mark you as a non-Brazilian, a tourist. That you can afford to travel internationally makes you rich in the eyes of someone marginalized in a Brazil. A group of you makes not an iota of difference to someone with bad intent.

In all likelihood, nothing will happen to you specifically in a very short time in Brazil. But I prefer to minimize my risk and carry nothing I'd be tempted to hang on to when that kid bicycles by at high speed to snatch it. Did you see him or were you too intent on making that artistic shot?

Woah- this is scary stuff. I'm not going to Brazil, but I am spending time in Buenos Aires and Santiago. Are they as bad and dangerous as Brazil. I thought there would be pick pocketers, but physical attacks and guns- that's scary. I don't bother with a camera, but I do take my iPhone and mini iPad.

Woah- this is scary stuff. I'm not going to Brazil, but I am spending time in Buenos Aires and Santiago. Are they as bad and dangerous as Brazil. I thought there would be pick pocketers, but physical attacks and guns- that's scary. I don't bother with a camera, but I do take my iPhone and mini iPad.

Sorry to have scared you, karoo. There's a fine line between giving realistic advice and having someone freak out over it. In bigger cities in Brazil, you will see Brazilians with their smart phones, AND their highly developed (and often undetectable to foreign tourists) sense of vigilance. I can say that in two decades of regular travel to, and time spent living in, Brazil, I have encountered no problems with crime, but I attribute it to not carrying much anyone desperate might want. You do have to change your mindset.

I'll let someone more familiar with your destinations comment on them.

Woah- this is scary stuff. I'm not going to Brazil, but I am spending time in Buenos Aires and Santiago. Are they as bad and dangerous as Brazil. I thought there would be pick pocketers, but physical attacks and guns- that's scary. I don't bother with a camera, but I do take my iPhone and mini iPad.

We have been to Chile twice and Argentina once (we did a repo from FLL to Valpo and Around the Horn from BA to Valpo).

We haven't been to Brazil, but based on reputation and discussions with others, there are some seriously dangerous places in Brazil. Of course, that is true for the USA as well.

As far as BA is concerned, DW and I used the Metro and walked over large portions of the city and felt safe. One exception was the area outside the La Boca area. Between La Boca and the city center is San Telmo.

We stayed at a B and B. The owner was originally from New Zealand and guided us very well on where we could go safely. The downtown area is safe, as is the area south of downtown, Palermo, Ricoletta and the area adjacent to the waterfront.

As far as Chile was concerned, we had tours that took us all over Santiago and we never felt unsafe. Our guides did mention that there were areas that we should not enter, but those were few. We were warned about Valparaiso at night to be careful.

Here are my reviews of our trips and cruises

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=248878

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=94024

We just returned from Brazil, but cannot comment on Rio. We backpacked on the local buses from Salvador to Recife for 2 weeks. We had a bridge camera with us, an older and simple one that is probably still worth about $ 50. Every day, we would transfer all the pictures to an online photoalbum like Photobucket or Dropbox. That way, parting with the camera would not have been a big thing. We did not walk around with the camera around our neck, not in certain areas of town and not after dark. Just common sense.

Once or twice locals warned us that they saw a known troublemaker coming and to put the camera away. People are really friendly and helpful that way in Brazil. However, the upperclass tends to be on the paranoid side. We were walking in the daytime in the most exclusive area of Recife with expensive shops and gated communities (think Beverly Hills), and not a person in sight wearing less than an Armani shirt and Gucci bag, when a woman wound down the window of her latest BMW and started yelling hysterical warnings that it was dangerous to walk on the street. Everybody was laughing at her.....

Tourists will always stand out in any country, because they dress, behave and look differently than locals. That is a fact in any part of the world. We are 6 foot tall and blond with blue eyes, so everybody noticed us in Brazil, there was no getting around that. Just don't take anything valuable with you, and have the mindset to just give away anything you have on you. We did not feel unsafe anywhere in Brazil, but admittedly have seen a lot of the world. We felt that the chance of being pickpocketed or bagsnatched was probably greater in Barcelona or Amsterdam. We do the same as Loerie: one person takes a picture, the other checks the surroundings. Same with reading a map, buying something or getting something from the bag.

To tell you the truth? Most pictures of most landmarks have been done to death. You can find coffee table books or Panoramio full of all the pictures you will ever need. Bring a cheap camera and take a few snapshots of your loved ones. Leave the expensive gear at home, it is just not worth fretting about and worth looking over your shoulder all the time.

You probably have to differentiate between cities with many non-violent pickpockets and cities with heightened danger due to potentially violent thieves, Rio comes to mind. In the street market in Manaus, one vendor smiled, waved and then motioned to put my camera away again after the photo.

In all cities, my husband leaves his camera in the hotel and we take my small but excellent point and shoot camera. I put it away in a small inconspicuous cross body bag, preferably worn under a loose jacket. This worked in BsAs where the locals look somewhat like us. We are short, have dark hair and our clothing is a mishmash of international origin.

It sure is nice to travel in countries like Japan where you don't have to worry about safety like that.

VidaNaPraia,

Not to be argumentative but what make someone "look like a rich foreign tourist" if they aren't wearing any jewelry, no watch, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt without any logos or identifying marks? I have travelled all over the world and think I have some street smarts.

 

While I appreciate the warnings-after all I did ask, but all advice I believe it needs to be tempered with context. For example people quote the death of the Frenchman a few years ago but neglect to mention which part of Rio it happened in - an area I won't be going to. So I will stick with my plan to only carry my "big" camera when in a group and use the point and shoot when on our own. If I can find a supermarket bag I will use it but not an H. Stern bag.

When I was studying Portuguese before my first trip to Brazil, my professor (who grew up in Sao Paulo) told me that often, its the shoes which give away a tourist.

Brazil is a racial composite - there are blond brazilians, dark haired brazilians, there are over 1 million Japanese Brazilians living in Sao Paulo alone (in fact that area of town is worth a visit).

So you CAN fit in....but dress down, and nothing you'd fight over losing. I even left my wedding ring in Toronto and instead took a symbolic ring we'd given each other before we married.

I went to Canadian Tire & bought a couple of $10 watches.

Wore mostly jeans & t-shirts. Took photos on my P & S when I was alone, and on my DSLR when I had a tour in Rio.... but every 2 - 3 hours I switched memory cards (I had 3 with me....enough to cover my day) so that even if they took the device, they wouldn't likely take my whole day's worth of souvenir (photos)

.