Summer time is coming, and for a lot of photographers, meaning travelling together with your digicam, and taking a number of pictures all over the place you go.
The issue is although; how can we make sure that all of our tools goes to be secure?
Is it well worth the problem of carrying round all the mandatory gear, worrying that it could be stolen?
I say sure! You shouldn’t let something put you off taking pictures, so right here’s a group of my 9 favorite tricks to preserve your tools secure: whether or not it’s from thieves, or the weather.

Use Padded Circumstances

Once I journey, I all the time convey two baggage with me. The primary is a backpack, which carries every little thing I may have.
The second is a day bag (which I get to beneath). These baggage are extremely effectively made, and closely padded.
In case you’re transferring round quite a bit, the very last thing you need is to make use of a poor high quality bag, which not solely makes it uncomfortable to hold, however doesn’t defend your gear.
An excellent, padded case, is commonly going to be very effectively made and waterproof too. I like to recommend the Gura Gear Kibobo 22L+.

Shoulder Bag

The very last thing you wish to do whereas strolling via the crowded streets of a busy metropolis, is to be knocking stuff over with a giant backpack, which may be simply opened from behind your again.
Once I’m travelling with my digicam, I all the time carry a shoulder bag, even when I’m solely utilizing one digicam and lens.
I can disguise my digicam discretely and it’s all the time at my facet, so I’ve all the time obtained a watch on it.
The bag I exploit is the UNDEFIND One Bag, with the leather-based cowl, and digicam insert. It’s very effectively padded (sufficient to maintain 8 cans of cider chilly till I’ve completed the final one, haha), and classy too.
It makes use of a zipper and a clasp to make it tougher to enter undetected. It additionally doesn’t appear to be a digicam bag. Overview to return quickly.

Carry Your Gear In Your Hand Baggage

I barely belief baggage handlers to take care of my socks, not to mention hundreds of kilos price of digicam tools. Unfair? Maybe. True? Completely.
So it goes with out saying that I all the time carry my tools with me after I go on the airplane.
Most lengthy haul airways perceive this and are fairly lenient concerning the weight of your bag in these circumstances.
My digicam bag was chubby after I flew to San Francisco earlier this yr, however I as quickly as I confirmed the person on the check-in desk what was inside it, he allowed me to take it with me.

Conceal or Take away Digicam Branding

I do know it feels nice to choose up a model new digicam, and not using a scratch or mark on it, wanting shiny and model new, however guess what? Thieves like selecting these up simply as a lot too!
Once I’m away, I take a small little bit of black duct tape, and I put this over any branding on my digicam. That normally simply means the brand on the physique, however typically the lenses too. And undoubtedly eliminate your producer’s strap.
And for all you Nikon shooters on the market; as a lot all of us just like the little crimson element below the shutter button, it’s a good suggestion to cowl that up too.

Shoot on Movie

I all the time really feel safer after I’m taking pictures on movie, somewhat than digital, even after I’m utilizing the identical lenses costing excess of the digicam physique is price.
It’s because folks have a look at a movie digicam another way to a digital digicam. It has a really completely different perceived worth, and could be a lot much less fascinating to a thief who most likely doesn’t know all that a lot about cameras.
Plus, I really like taking pictures on movie.

Wire Digicam Strap

I’ve been a reasonably large advocate for the Solar Sniper strap, as a result of it’s the primary strap of it’s form that I attempted. Over the shoulder, on a carabiner, which slides up and down the strap, making it a lot simpler to entry your digicam rapidly.
The advantage of this strap is that’s has a metal wire working all through it, that means that if anybody tries to chop it off when you’re not wanting, they’re going to be met with extra resistance than they had been anticipating.
It’s additionally backed up with a $500 insurance coverage from the strap producer.
You may learn my overview of this strap right here.

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Clear Your Digicam Day by day

I’ve been to some fairly fascinating locations with my cameras, and one that basically springs to thoughts is the desert close to Las Vegas. And what do you consider if you suppose desert? Sand.
Your lens is just not air tight, it wants to maneuver out and in to zoom, which permits air out and in too. I’ve seen some fairly horrible outcomes of lenses what have allowed mud in, akin to within the photograph beneath, which was the results of a ‘Coloration Run’.

Backside line is to maintain your lens coated if you’re not utilizing it, and clear it recurrently. There’s each likelihood you’re going to be in a really completely different surroundings to what you’re used to.

Use A number of Reminiscence Playing cards

Strive as we’d to maintain our gear secure, there are nonetheless folks on the market who want to take it from us.
Your gear is replaceable, however a variety of the time, your pictures should not. That’s why I all the time recommend spreading your pictures out over two or three reminiscence playing cards all through the day.
That is good apply, whether or not you’re travelling or not, as a result of reminiscence playing cards, like laborious drives, do break.
The have a life span, and also you don’t wish to discover out the laborious means when that life span ends. I substitute my playing cards each two years. Simply to be secure.