I'm leaving the UK to travel in South America...flying to Buenos Aires and out of Santiago...travelling to as many places in between as possible in 6 months...
I really want to take my camera (Nikon D90) for some awesome shots but think it may be too much of a risk...your thoughts?
Reply to this Take it. We travelled for 6 months in South America with 2 cameras (1 SLR, 1 point and press), a netbook pc, a portable hard drive (to back up our photo's on) and 2 ipods. We had no problems at all. Just use common sense as to where you use it and you'll be fine.
Reply to this There is no other answer than Yes.
We had pretty much the same as above and never had a problem.
A few tips would be not to carry an SLR bag. I got a padded and slash proof 25ltr day pack that you could lock to an immovable item. The straps also have wire inside to make it hard to cut off. It means any thief would need to be carrying something to cut them if thy came across it. This gives you a bit of peace of mind when you cant lock them in a safe or locker. Most hostels have lockers/safes anyway.
You'll know when you can take it out to use anyway. You'll get a feel for a place and know what is best.
Reply to this As above, really. Just make sure you back-up your photos regularly as they will be the valuable thing. We met lots of people that had been robbed of their cameras - normally when they put them in the overhead storage on overnight buses (silly!). Too many of them were mortified when they realised they hadn't backed up their photos or at least removed the memory card.
I'm not sure what memory cards that camera takes but mine takes SD cards and I had a neat little belt that had a hidden pocket on it that was perfect for SD cards and so I kept them in there when we were moving between hostels/cities.
As above, you can normally sense when it's best not to pop out an expensive camera or you can ask advise at the hostel/from a local.
Reply to this I"m going to SA in a couple months and asked this same question - but I have the D60. Eveyone advises me to take it. I have a bag that doesn't look like a camera bag and I will keep it in there.
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