How to Travel Safely with Your DSLR
Travelling with a DSLR can be one of the most fun and rewarding experiences. It offers you the opportunity to document your amazing vacation first hand, with some incredible photography in very high resolution. It also means you’ll be carrying potentially thousands of dollars worth of equipment to capture the kind of shots you want. That can be riskier in some countries more than others. Even without theft as a concern, you’ll want to make sure your equipment is packed in such a way that nothing breaks in transit. This advice will help you to travel around the world with a DSLR safely.
Pack Well
If you have fragile components, like additional lenses or filters, then you really need to pack using the right kind of luggage. Avoid checking your gear, if at all possible, and make sure that your camera is entirely disassembled. Each component should be in its own compartment.
Your bag should be “camera friendly” as opposed to just your average backpack or shoulder sling. That might work fine while you’re out and about, but camera bogs have pockets and sleeves for every conceivable item. You can also wrap your lenses in the padded sleeves they were shipped with. Those sleeves help reduce scratches and external defects that often come about as a result of carrying your equipment in less than ideal conditions.
Remember the TSA Rules
One major rule applies to those of us carrying cameras on the plane: lithium. Most DSLRs function on a lithium battery. Definitely bring a charger, but if you feel the need to pack batteries try and limit yourself to no more than 2.
About the Author: Samuel Phineas Upham is an investor at a family office/ hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Phin Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media and Telecom group. You may contact Phin on his Samuel Phineas Upham website or LinkedIn.