Camera Theft/saftey?

What do you do to keep your camera safe? I would really like to bring my DSLR on my upcoming cruise but I'm worried about leaving it up on the beach while my friends and I are in the water. I'm keeping it light and just bringing the camera with a 50mm prime lens. So it would be in a small camera bag inside of my back pack with my other things I would bring on each island. No one ever bothered with my things last cruise so I'm probably just over worrying myself. I will be going to San Juan, St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Maarten so there are some great photos to be had. I'm just curious what others do. Thanks. :)

I got a KISS bag that padlocks to a chair, have to Google it, not sure of the website link.

I would never leave any expensive camera unattended on a beach. I leave the good gear on board and bring a small waterproof p&s to the beach.

Are there lockers? In semi-secure environments, I use PacSafe for some additional protection. For determined trouble makers, they will still get through.

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Another vote for not abandoning your equipment.

Thanks for the responses. All valid points. Ugh..I'll probably be undecided right until I leave my house for the airport. I keep going back and forth. My point n shoot takes decent enough photos I guess. I bought this nice Canon T3i about a year and half ago and haven't been able to use it as much as I wanted.

I vote for a waterproof P&S, that is what I used on my cruise when I was at the beach....I didn't regret leaving the dslr on the ship. If you are going for the sole purpose of taking photos by all means take it, if you just want snapshots of your day ENJOY the day worry free and use a small camera.....

I took a Sony waterproof p&s on my last cruise asking with my DSLR. W planned a beach day in St John and it was very handy. I also carried it all over the boat so if we were getting in the pool or hot tub I just kept it on my body and the water and all didn't matter. Make sure I'd your go the route you get one marked 30 meters instead of the ones marked 10 meters.

I use several tactics, combined. I have physical control of my bag as much as possible. Not just "near" me, but somehow secured to me. If I'm at the beach, for instance, and want to step away for a shot or for a dip, I have eyes on it and a small padlock around something too big to carry.

Those little pocket-sized point & shoots are asking to be lost or stolen. I recall two people on our last cruise who "just set it down for a minute" and walked off without their cameras.

...I'm just curious what others do. Thanks. :)

I generally avoid immersing myself in sea or lake water (not a water sports fan), so when visiting beaches to photograph them, I carry whatever I am shooting with in a small PacSafe bag carried cross-body. PacSafe bags are very difficult for a pickpocket to access without you knowing and have steel cable inserts to foil cut and run tactics.

Were I to visit a beach to swim and play in the water, I would heed the advice of some on this thread and pick up a decent waterproof P&S to take with me. I have no desire to donate my camera equipment to the local economy by leaving it unattended on the beach while in the water.

Dave

It is never wise to leave you gear unattended on the beach, but the extremes that people go to are almost always overkill. You are more likely to leave a camera someplace than you are to have it taken off of your person.

For the beach, if it can't get wet, leave it on the shop,

Pacsafe makes a great backpack we use that has an inside part of metal mesh that you can lock around something permanent...very nice as a backpack for carrying our gear to the beach or wherever as well as attaching it to something if we are staying in a hotel without a safe for our gear, laptop, iPad, etc.

However, all that being said, for your trip I agree about getting a waterproof P & S.