Traveling: Film vs Digital

Vilk said:
what an elegant summary of what my travels programmatically spurn :cool:
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Seconded. "Joy" is not a word I would use about lugging a laptop around. Why would I want to play TV or Films, take along my entire music collection (wouldn't do much good - most of it's on vinyl), 'connect to work, book flights, print out booking forms and boarding cards, surf the web, etc?

All those things are poor substitutes for reality, and get in the way of actually being anywhere. Frances once heard a certan kind of tourist described as being like raisins in a pie -- the pie gets passed around, but the raisins are always in the same place relative to the pie. Why not stay home if you are taking half your home with you?

I sometimes carry a laptop for other reasons, but not solely for backup. Card death is a risk I'll take, just ike losing films or processing screw=ups.

Cheers,

R.
 
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I'm thinking about getting an iPod Touch to carry with me on travels. Not for the music, but for the mini-computer aspect. Like Roger, I wouldn't carry a laptop (I'd need to buy one first). But, I typically collect a great deal of travel info on the web while planning a trip. Sometimes it would be nice to be able to get at it during the trip.

Now, the question: Can an iPod be used to backup an SD card?
 
I now travel with film, as I find it better for all the reasons stated here (less stress, lighter loads overall)

However -- I have travelled with digital gear and I got an Epson P2000 (older model, newer ones are out now) for backup storage.

These things are ideal -- much lighter, tougher and reliable than a net/laptop. Their screens are amazing so you can have slideshows to display your work...and they hook up with a USB cord to download to a computer when you get a chance to.

Ideal for travel, if you insist on digital.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Seconded. "Joy" is not a word I would use about lugging a laptop around. Why would I want to play TV or Films, take along my entire music collection (wouldn't do much good - most of it's on vinyl), 'connect to work, book flights, print out booking forms and boarding cards, surf the web, etc?

All those things are poor substitutes for reality, and get in the way of actually being anywhere. Frances once heard a certan kind of tourist described as being like raisins in a pie -- the pie gets passed around, but the raisins are always in the same place relative to the pie. Why not stay home if you are taking half your home with you?

I sometimes carry a laptop for other reasons, but not solely for backup. Card death is a risk I'll take, just ike losing films or processing screw=ups.

Cheers,

R.
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We are in agreement on that score. I am on holidays to get away from everything at home and want to enjoy where I am. When I was working I had a policy to leave work at the workplace and absolutely never think about it on a trip much less connect to it by laptop.

Bob
 
Sounds like the difference between traveling and business trip is smaller than I was aware off ... :D

Gadge said:
Why is it that so many seem to have the urge for bringing along their note-(net-)book when traveling ?
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Spoke like a man that is yet to discover the joy of it.

Get a decent speaker first and you can play TV or Films. Take along your entire music collection. Backup all your photos via the built in SD card reader that you made sure it would have. Or double backup via the build in DVDRW. Connect to work for email. Use a word processor, book flights, print out booking forms and boarding cards. Surf the web and even answer dumb questions on forums ;-)

I rest my case.

Buy one of these .....they are amazing

http://www.amazon.co.uk/XMI-X-mini-...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1282136803&sr=8-1
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On my latest trip, in flight, a young guy two seats on my right was playing a race car game on his iPad. A lady to the left is reading on her Kindle.

Me, I was reading "The Twilight of Atheism" on paper... I felt old :)
 
Even though the primary purpose of my current three month trip was not photography, I brought three digital cameras (an SLR, a compact, and a point & shoot) and an assortment of lenses with me. I did not, however, bring a laptop with me because I knew I had enough memory cards to last for longer than three months; plus, my laptop was broken.

I had planned on using the computers at the local libraries when I needed word processing and Internet access but the library computers were in such high demand that there was always a long waiting list for them. I ended up going to Fry’s Electronics and purchasing a laptop.
 
Nikon Bob said:
I travel with a DSLR now and do not take a laptop with me. A DSLR and two small zooms, charger and spare battery all fit into a Domke F6 with room to spare. You can be as paranoid about digital as you like and back everything up but you can loose film also by either misplacing a roll or having the processor or yourself screw up the developing. Nothing was ever 100% safe.

Bob
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Bob,
I think it's the amount of control I personally have over the two different mediums (speaking in terms of backups, etc..)
I know that with digital, I can make endless copies of the files & I think that's my issue. With film there is no such thing... it's easier for me to personally accept the adage "whatever happens, happens" (though I've been careful storing used film when traveling).
 
photogdave said:
...I ditched the idea and went with film.
Boy was I happy! The amount of film I brought didn't take up an extraordinary amount of space in my bag, the folks at the airports had no problems hand checking it, and while most other travelers were stressing out about charging batteries and spending anxious hours trying to back up their images, I was enjoying a cocktail at the bar after simply rewinding my last roll and loading the next!
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... nice.... simplicity!

photogdave said:
Best of all I came home with slides, beautiful slides!
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A little off topic, but I see you're in Vancouver. Any cheap places for processing in town?
 
jky said:
A little off topic, but I see you're in Vancouver. Any cheap places for processing in town?
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I usually go to Custom Color downtown. It's $5.50 per roll for develop only of neg film, and I think about $10 for slide film. I tend to buy their slide film with processing included.
 
Roger Hicks said:
S
All those things are poor substitutes for reality, and get in the way of actually being anywhere. Frances once heard a certan kind of tourist described as being like raisins in a pie -- the pie gets passed around, but the raisins are always in the same place relative to the pie. Why not stay home if you are taking half your home with you?
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What's the alternative? Meeting real people in foreign places? Uh. Sounds weird. ;)
 
Roger Hicks said:
Why not stay home if you are taking half your home with you?

I sometimes carry a laptop for other reasons, but not solely for backup. Card death is a risk I'll take, just ike losing films or processing screw=ups.

Cheers,

R.
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...no way I'm stayin' home - not with all there is to see, smell, touch, etc... :)
 
I travel with Digital! I want my laptop anyway and my family enjoys the "slide show" in the evenings after the days adventure. My photography is a big part of my vacation enjoyment and I usually haul along much more equipment than I need. I do get frustrated with the batteries and chargers but it is worth it.
Pete
 
jky said:
Bob,
I think it's the amount of control I personally have over the two different mediums (speaking in terms of backups, etc..)
I know that with digital, I can make endless copies of the files & I think that's my issue. With film there is no such thing... it's easier for me to personally accept the adage "whatever happens, happens" (though I've been careful storing used film when traveling).
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I don't understand, my only point was with either medium there is plenty of scope for a serious incident. With either one you only have limited control over such things. I just don't want to drag excess baggage around in the form of a laptop. I feel neither more or less secure with digital or film but it is just easier traveling with digital for me.

Bob
 
Nikon D3 with dual card slots. That`s the back up.

Film is like painting, there is no back up until you get home and make prints and they are not first generation.

I carry a laptop to be able to access RF forum.
 
shadowfox said:
On my latest trip, in flight, a young guy two seats on my right was playing a race car game on his iPad. A lady to the left is reading on her Kindle.

Me, I was reading "The Twilight of Atheism" on paper... I felt old :)
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I've done tons of travelling with 'conventional' novels and with an ereader alone, and I have to say that as much as I love the feel and smell of the paper, having dozens (or thousands) of books with you in something far thinner than a paperback is immensely convenient.
 
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