Am I worrying too much about my new camera?

I just bought the Olympus TG3. I mainly want to use it for snorkeling but may use it for my main camera for our cruise since it takes fantastic pics!

My biggest concern is what happens if for some terrible reason, the camera leaks? Will all my pics be gone? I don't want to take my laptop with me to transfer pics everyday. I've read on here that the ship's computers don't have USB to transfer photos. The Eye-fi seems to have issues and they are a lot of money.

Should I buy smaller SD cards and change them everyday or am I just stressing for no reason? I do have an old mini-laptop that is Windows XP but not sure if that works anymore.

Depending on your financial situation, I recommend a card a day on a vacation where lots of memories are being recorded all the time.

16gb should be a thousand pics and/or video and they're as low as $5-$10 apiece.

That being said, I've heard stories of soaked memory cards, going through the laundry process, dropped and recovered cameras from the ocean where they survived-but that's 3rd party stories - not sure I would count on it.

If for some reason your camera leaks the best thing to do is wash the memory card with fresh water as soon as you discover the leak. The camera may be a goner but getting a memory card wet will not damage it (pocket + washing machine has confirmed this more often than I care to admit) but salt water may corrode the contacts.

Dave

I prefer to pack a small laptop for travel...

• get to backup pictures nightly
  
• get to see and sort the pictures right away
  
• can do emails or watch movies on the go
  
• yes it can be bulky for travel (emphasis on small, not the 17" gamer rig) and there is fear it will be stolen too
  

I say plug your WinXP machine in and see if it still works. Although....

• there are no patches for it so you need to be careful when connecting out on the internet.
  
• do you have a second laptop?
  

Waterproof cameras?

• great on tropical trips, especially when going from an air conditioned vehicle to outside and most cameras will be full of condensation like taking a soda from the refrigerator.
  
• SD card slots have a rubber gasket. Over time those gaskets dry out and water will get in.
  

Used to carry a laptop for this reason. Now I have a 10" tablet which I carry and a SD card reader with a USB connector that I can connect to the tablet. Much easier and lighter than a laptop, plus the power consumption is better with the tablet than the laptop

Not sure I want the expense of a tablet. They are getting pretty cheap though. If I take my old netbook I probably won't connect to the internet anyway. My laptop is 17" and don't know if I really want to take it. I would have 3 carryons and think I can only take 2. My husband will have 2 because he will carry his cpap.

Ok, now I'm looking at tablets. Never really knew what the new Amazon Fire was. Looks like that's a tablet but is it for sure? Does it have a USB port?

Ok, now I'm looking at tablets. Never really knew what the new Amazon Fire was. Looks like that's a tablet but is it for sure? Does it have a USB port?

I just picked up a 7" tablet (android) at best buy for $50. It is the current android (OS) version (4.4) has a microSD slot and a microUSB slot. For $50, can't be beat. And since it is android, there are a bazillion apps available.

Not sure I want the expense of a tablet. They are getting pretty cheap though. If I take my old netbook I probably won't connect to the internet anyway. My laptop is 17" and don't know if I really want to take it. I would have 3 carryons and think I can only take 2. My husband will have 2 because he will carry his cpap.

You might want to check with your airlines but Southwest does not count my wife's SeQual concentrator or separate battery carrying case as part of her "two carry-on items" because they are "medical equipment". I have two carryons (roller bag and camera bag) and my wife has four (two medical, roller bag, and large purse).

I carry my Acer tablet/laptop (13.6") for internet use as well as copying daily camera downloads. In addition, I also copy to a portable HD before reformatting my camera memory card.

Your camera was made to get wet, dropped, shocked and froze. Hopefully, freezing won't be a problem. :D While accidents can always happen, I don't think you really need to worry about the camera as long as you are careful with the double locks on the doors. Leaking may be a bigger problem when the camera gets older and the seals start to get brittle. I recommend just carrying extra memory cards and changing out daily. I take a LOT of pictures and rarely fill a 16gb card in a day (and I shoot both RAW and JPEG).

That's my recommendation for you, but not what I actually do. I have a small device (about the size of a portable hard drive) to back up my SD cards, called a Hyperdrive Colorspace UDMA2. I still use a different card for each day and then backup the pictures on the UDMA2. You can view the pictures on it, but the screen is small. You can use it to send pictures to your ipad for larger viewing & sharing. I carry 2-3 cameras, depending on where I am going and what I will be shooting (plus my iphone & ipad).

OP: the simplest solution to your concerns, as others have suggested, is to buy more memory cards (they are so relatively cheap now) and swap them out. This is a good practice (and one that I follow) regardless of whether you are taking pictures underwater or not. Things can happen to any camera (loss, theft), or a card might get corrupted (not that likely, but still could happen); if you are swapping out cards, you haven't lost a whole trip's worth of images should something go wrong.

If you aren't bringing some device for backing up your photos, I strongly suggest using more memory cards.

Have a great trip!

Not sure I want the expense of a tablet. They are getting pretty cheap though. If I take my old netbook I probably won't connect to the internet anyway. My laptop is 17" and don't know if I really want to take it. I would have 3 carryons and think I can only take 2. My husband will have 2 because he will carry his cpap.

I carry my 5 year old Netbook, portable USB drive, and my CPAP (without the humidifier) in my carry on. I do not connect to the internet on a cruise.

I carry my 5 year old Netbook, portable USB drive, and my CPAP (without the humidifier) in my carry on. I do not connect to the internet on a cruise.

I just purchased a 7" Android tablet at Best Buy for $50. Not the greatest but it is the current Android OS, has a slot for a microSD card, and can connect to an external device via a microUSB cable. So this provides an easy and inexpensive capability for backing up and viewing the pics daily.

I just purchased a 7" Android tablet at Best Buy for $50. Not the greatest but it is the current Android OS, has a slot for a microSD card, and can connect to an external device via a microUSB cable. So this provides an easy and inexpensive capability for backing up and viewing the pics daily.

Sounds like a decent solution!

Why not simply take another camera to use for most of your shots, leaving the TG3 for underwater pictures? Or if you have a smartphone with an excellent camera (like an iPhone 6 or Samsung S5) use your phone for most of your pics.

When I go on my upcoming cruise to Alaska I'll be taking two cameras (an ultrazoom and a Canon Elph pocket cam) and my wife will be taking one (her Canon Elph).

Sounds like a decent solution!

yeah, for the cost, unbelievable solution. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, it also has a built in GPS that works very well and Bluetooth. So no need for an expensive GPS system since there are free GPS apps in the Google Play store.

Got the case on ebay for $5. Not the best, but it works to protect the tablet.

yeah, for the cost, unbelievable solution. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, it also has a built in GPS that works very well and Bluetooth. So no need for an expensive GPS system since there are free GPS apps in the Google Play store.

 

Got the case on ebay for $5. Not the best, but it works to protect the tablet.

what brand and model tablet?

what brand and model tablet?

DigiLand - DL 7 Tablet - 4GB - Black

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/digiland-dl-7-tablet-4gb-black/6299107.p?id=1219203331805&skuId=6299107

I always say if you buy something use it. SD cards are pretty much life proof aside from being broken or melted in a fire heat cold or water should be fine I got something sticky on a card and washed it in the sink. . That's why I love SD cards I have everything backed up on cards for that reason also you could buy a micro and transfer everything to your phone everyday unless you have one of those silly iphones.

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