Carrying Cameras

Good Morning Everyone,

Getting more and more excited for our trip on Enchantment next month! I am an avid photographer and scrapbook and I want to hear what you carry for a camera (on board/private island/ports) and what you do with it during activities. We are stopping at Coco Cay and Nassau. I have a DSLR, point and shoot and an iPhone.

I'm having a really tough time making a decision. My biggest problem is that I love to take pictures but we are also really big on swimming at the beach. It is just the two of us, so no one sits with our stuff. I worry about leaving it in my backpack while we snorkel at CocoCay. It would kill me to leave big camera on the boat all day and be stuck with my point and shoot or iPhone.

Thoughts or recommendations? Would it be difficult to take back to the boat mid day in Nassau?

How about one of these Kyss Bags? I've seen them recommended frequently on these boards

http://kyssbags.com/

I take my DSLR whenever I can, usually by itself around my neck rather than in a camera bag. I can usually avoid putting it in situations where it might get exposed to damage. While the camera still might attract some unwanted attention, leaving the camera bag in the cabin keeps me from having a bright target on my back. If we'll be at a beach, I make sure that I can wrap it in towels in a beach bag if needed. I NEVER leave it alone anywhere. If I'm swimming, someone else is watching the camera.

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Getting more and more excited for our trip on Enchantment next month! I am an avid photographer and scrapbook and I want to hear what you carry for a camera (on board/private island/ports) and what you do with it during activities. We are stopping at Coco Cay and Nassau. I have a DSLR, point and shoot and an iPhone.

 

I'm having a really tough time making a decision. My biggest problem is that I love to take pictures but we are also really big on swimming at the beach. It is just the two of us, so no one sits with our stuff. I worry about leaving it in my backpack while we snorkel at CocoCay. It would kill me to leave big camera on the boat all day and be stuck with my point and shoot or iPhone.

 

Thoughts or recommendations? Would it be difficult to take back to the boat mid day in Nassau?

You can use one of these http://kyssbags.com/ to secure your stuff on the beach. I like to snorkel so sometimes I use a waterproof bag like this one http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004K6LY5A/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=OIQ0S9HU2UL5&coliid=I1R2KTQ35J6ABE&psc=1 and tie it to me and tow it along. Like you I hate to leave my DSLR behind especially when I want to get much better pictures.

First let's eliminate the unrealistic: While you COULD return to the ship mid-day to drop off your camera, that's not a good choice. You have only a short time on the island, and you don't want to use up your time returning to the ship, waiting in line to reboard, returning to your cabin, and then disembarking again. If you were at a beach right next to the ship, that'd waste a full hour. When you see how long the pier is and the time necessary to reboard, you'll understand.

Better options:

- Pick up a waterproof disposable camera. Since they have essentially no value to a thief, no one will look at them twice. Do label this camera since other people will have the same thing.

- Bring your point-and-shoot in a waterproof container and take it in the water with you.

- Store your point-and-shoot in a secure container at your chair -- the aforementioned KISS bag is one option. This isn't completely safe, but it is safeR.

- Join your cruise's thread on this website and see if you can organize a group to go to the same beach /same snorkel trip. LOTS of people want to bring their stuff but are concerned about leaving things on the beach. If you go with a group, you can take turns watching one another's stuff. You'll have to determine your own comfort level. Personally, in such a situation, I'd be okay leaving my point-and-shoot, but not one of my DSLRs.

I would not bring the DSLR off the ship. It's just too large and cumbersome, and your point-and-shoot will serve you well for the island pictures you'll want; after all, you're going to be taking outdoor, full-sun pictures -- no need for the fancy features or speed of the DSLR. With good composition, you're going to get great photographs.

I am not a big fan of photos taken from cell phones. One of the things I teach is photography, and as my students begin to actually DO something with their photographs -- that is, something beyond posting them on social media -- they are often dismayed to realize that cell phone photos don't print well, and their lighting is always inferior.

After traveling much of this planet, some time you just have to take a chance, if you must have your DSLR with you. While my artist lady and I love our DSLR, after three years, I could easily enjoy a new one if it disappeared, and you will still have the lens. Personally I would worry more about Nassau than CoCO cay.

We quit taking the DSLR several years ago and now travel with a water proof camera, and with two wide angle point and shoot cameras and a iPhone as a back up.

We bring our DSLR and point and shoot cameras on cruises. I tend to leave the DSLR in the room when we're doing a beach day, and I just bring the point and shoot. If we are exploring a port, or doing more of an excursion that isn't just sand and water, I will bring the DSLR. It just isn't worth keeping it in the sand to me! We also travel only the two of us too, so I don't want to leave that camera on a chair. The point and shoot stays in our beach bag if needed, and it isn't so expensive to replace if necessary.

I've taken my DSLR everywhere except on an excursion boat. I enjoy taking pictures more than I enjoy swimming so security isn't too much of a concern. If I do want to take a dip I use a retractable ski lock to secure my backpack to a chair or tree (the bag in post #2 looks like a decent product) and keep an eye on it. Or we take turns in the water.

For the most relaxing time at the beach I'd definitely leave it on the ship and take an expendable point and shoot. Or a Gopro that you can take in the water with you and if you get one of the hand wands you can get some great selfie pics of the two of you. I just picked up one myself and I'm looking forward to trying it out on our April cruise.

For me, it's not much of a problem because I rarely swim, and when I do, it's usually been when I've been with a friend who wasn't swimming so the friend could watch my stuff. However, I'd be quite comfortable asking a fellow passenger to watch my stuff - I did this on an excursion from Roatan and my stuff was fine. I'd chit-chatted with fellow passengers on the boat ride to the beach, and ended up with a beach chair near them and we watched each others stuff when the other needed to step away for a while. I had my DSLR with me, and went snorkeling (leaving the camera in my beach bag).

I think it's a waste to take a nice DSLR on vacation and leave it in the room the whole time. There are some shots that just look better when taken in manual or aperture priority mode, and the vast majority of P&S cameras don't have that option.

I recently bought a Kyss bag (looks awesome, btw) and will be taking it on my upcoming cruise but doubt I'm really going to need the locking feature all that much. I figured it's nice to have just in case I do need it.

I take my Nikon with me as much as possible off ship but for many onboard activities such dinner and shows it's not practical so I use my phone or a small point & shoot.

We have a bag from Pacsafe that works well to secure valuables.

http://www.pacsafe.com/camera-laptop.html

Go Hawks!!!

I usually carry my towel, Kindle, wallet, & camera in a beach bag - and leave it next to my chair if I go in the water. There are usually enough people around most beaches - and most from various cruise ships - that it's unlikely someone will try to take anything. It might help that the bag isn't anything fancy.

After traveling much of this planet, some time you just have to take a chance, if you must have your DSLR with you. While my artist lady and I love our DSLR, after three years, I could easily enjoy a new one if it disappeared, and you will still have the lens. Personally I would worry more about Nassau than CoCO cay. We quit taking the DSLR several years ago and now travel with a water proof camera, and with two wide angle point and shoot cameras and a iPhone as a back up.

I would just warn not to become complacent on the private island stops. There was a thread not too long ago from someone who had stuff stolen at Labadee. And I personally know someone who had things taken at Labadee.... my mother.

We take turns going into the water and keep an eye on our stuff. We are also camera aficionados and enjoy taking photos. Check out B & H Photo (website) for underwater camera cases. It depends on your itinerary whether the underwater photos will be a possibility, but we have taken amazing photos in the Caribbean and Hawaii. If your ship visits the Cayman Islands, you are in for a treat - this is snorkeler's paradise, especially near Cayman Kai on the north shore. Don't forget a stop at the Rum Point beach bar!

How about one of these Kyss Bags? I've seen them recommended frequently on these boards

http://kyssbags.com/

These things work!

We use pacsafe products as well, and they take the worry out of petty theft.

Shirley, Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Unless you don't mind needing a new camera, I wouldn't leave it unguarded. Also keep in mind if you do lose your dSLR, you probably won't find a good replacement on the ship. They do have cameras, and but only one dSLR if you're lucky. Also, high prices.

If you have a quality waterproof camera, you may be able to take it into the water with you.

I carry my DSLR with me almost everywhere (exceptions being on a dive boat and on a dune buggy excursion... for which I brought my compact Nikon 1). Most often I am with family members, so I can have someone watch my bag if necessary, but I've also risked leaving it alone in a chair or on a beach towel before (in a backpack that does not look like a camera bag).

When I'm traveling alone and don't have anyone to watch my stuff, I try to not draw a lot of attention to myself. I'll check out my surroundings and often wait until I feel comfortable to pull out my camera. For example, if I'm going to the beach by myself but know that I'm going to fall asleep, I'll wait until after my nap to break out my camera. And then if I know I'm not going to be long, I might pick out someone (who I've been observing) who looks reliable and ask them if they would mind watching my stuff for a few minutes.

My reasoning for "risking" my camera being lost/stolen/damaged is that I bought it so that I could use it. While I do love my camera, ultimately it is just a tool for a hobby that I love. It is an object that can be replaced. I would be much more upset about losing the images on the memory card than I would the physical camera (that is, unless I just wiped my memory card).

I've gotten some great shots that I think were well worth the risk of bringing my camera in a debatable situation. I have yet to regret bringing my camera, but I know I would regret not bringing it.

Sure would not take much to cut the chain on the bag. My motto would be to leave the expensive camera in the cabin or home. I use my iPhone 6 for all my pics now. So much easier and realistically I have enlarged pics to 11x14 with no issues. Or a waterproof camera for in the water.

Enjoy

Marcia

I love my DSLR's. I always struggle with bring them or not. Then I need to decide which lens or lenses do I bring. Should I bring a tripod/monopod? For me , my decision is based on where I go and what kind of pictures I want. Just memories, I will use a point and shoot. But if I am looking for unique pictures like HDR or long expose, I will use the DSLR. A couple years back I did purchase a Sony RX-100, it is a point and shoot with many of the features of A DSLR.

I always thought there wasn't much point bringing a camera along if you weren't going to carry it with you. I lost my first SLR in an accident but it was insured :) Nowadays I just carry a Lumix point/shoot, smaller is better.

There is another more basic problem- sand. There is nothing worse for a dSLR than sand. it destroys the moving parts of the camera. If you insist upon taking the dSLR to the beach, put it into a dry bag and put the dry bag inside of a plastic bag. Don't take any pictures at the beach w the dSLR.

DON

I carry a Nikon D800. If the camera will always be with me, I use an Aquapac dry bag. Otherwise I use a Pacsafe backpack with a cable lock.

- Join your cruise's thread on this website and see if you can organize a group to go to the same beach /same snorkel trip. LOTS of people want to bring their stuff but are concerned about leaving things on the beach. If you go with a group, you can take turns watching one another's stuff. You'll have to determine your own comfort level.

This is GREAT advice I always join the cruise critic Roll Calls. I have meet some very nice people that way that I still am in contact with through Facebook.

Also if you are really into photography there are groups that cruise so you might look into that next time.

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Getting more and more excited for our trip on Enchantment next month! I am an avid photographer and scrapbook and I want to hear what you carry for a camera (on board/private island/ports) and what you do with it during activities. We are stopping at Coco Cay and Nassau. I have a DSLR, point and shoot and an iPhone.

 

I'm having a really tough time making a decision. My biggest problem is that I love to take pictures but we are also really big on swimming at the beach. It is just the two of us, so no one sits with our stuff. I worry about leaving it in my backpack while we snorkel at CocoCay. It would kill me to leave big camera on the boat all day and be stuck with my point and shoot or iPhone.

 

Thoughts or recommendations? Would it be difficult to take back to the boat mid day in Nassau?

I also love photography and scrapbooking. I would love to see some of your pages.:D

How about one of these Kyss Bags? I've seen them recommended frequently on these boards

 

http://kyssbags.com/

This is what I use - not only for beach time but also when on the ship, in case I want to take a dip in the pool or soak in the hot tub and don't want to leave my stuff (iPad, camera, etc.) without some sort of security.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk