Off to Hong Kong in 3 weeks....travelling with DSLR

mofei1

mofei1

mofei1

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14 Jul 2007
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Hey guys, I'm flying out to hong kong in 3 weeks time for 3 weeks and was wondering what would be the best way to transport my camera gear. I have a nikon D3100 with the kit lens and the nikon 35mm f1.8 afs lens.

I have a lowepro passport sling bag which I'll be using to carry all my camera stuff as well as additional items such as passports etc and an ipad. Would I be OK taking this on as hand luggage (assuming it's within the weight allowance)?

Would it also be possible to put the bag under the seat in front of my seat? I don't like the idea of putting it in the over head storage (out of sight) and the possibility of people knocking my camera bag with their oversized cases. The lowepro passport has a padded compartment but I still don't want to chance my camera getting damaged whilst in transit.
 
Raymond Lin said:
I put mine in a Paul Smith messenger bag with no padding :p

Plus I travel with only 1 lens.

However....it depends on the air line baggage allowance and I also have this, and it should fit.

http://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/airport-international-v2-roller-camera-bag.aspx

There are more room above your head than under the seat and most backpack would be within the allowance size.
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I have a 7kg hand luggage allowance so that shouldn't be an issue. Is it worth dismounting the lens from the body when travelling? (fear of it snapping off lol!)

Also what happens at security? Will they want to examine the camera etc?
 
mofei1 said:
I have a 7kg hand luggage allowance so that shouldn't be an issue. Is it worth dismounting the lens from the body when travelling? (fear of it snapping off lol!)

Also what happens at security? Will they want to examine the camera etc?
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Erm, the weight thing....yes there is a limit but I have never seen people weighted for it, long as it looks the right size...my Thinktank must weight about 20kg and I got it on as hand luggage to Scotland this year.

In security, when you check in your hold luggage they ask you if you have any hand luggage, you just show them your back pack at that point.

Then at customs it goes through the X-ray scanning. Don't bother dismounting anything, leave it as it is. After that you get it back and no one will need to check it anyway. At most was when on the way to scotland, because my Thinkthank house all my gear, they looked at it for agesssssssss, I half thought they wanted to go through all of it, which would take ages.

Anyway.....if its just an SLR, they would't look at it for long. I normally have the SLR out of the bag anyway, just put it in the tray with everything else through the scan.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Erm, the weight thing....yes there is a limit but I have never seen people weighted for it, long as it looks the right size...my Thinktank must weight about 20kg and I got it on as hand luggage to Scotland this year.

In security, when you check in your hold luggage they ask you if you have any hand luggage, you just show them your back pack at that point.

Then at customs it goes through the X-ray scanning. Don't bother dismounting anything, leave it as it is. After that you get it back and no one will need to check it anyway. At most was when on the way to scotland, because my Thinkthank house all my gear, they looked at it for agesssssssss, I half thought they wanted to go through all of it, which would take ages.

Anyway.....if its just an SLR, they would't look at it for long. I normally have the SLR out of the bag anyway, just put it in the tray with everything else through the scan.
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Cool, thanks for the info :D Really looking forward to my trip to hong kong. Haven't been there in a while.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Nice, me too !
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TBH I only booked with them because they were the cheapest. I've flown with them a few times before though.

Another quick question, I currently only have an 8gb SD card. Do you reckon that will be enough for 3 weeks? I plan on shooting everyday :D

Would it be cheaper to buy sd cards in HK or buy them here before I leave?
 
SD card are not that much cheaper there, just get some sandisk here.

I take pics everyday but last time I took my Mac with me which I downloaded daily.
 
Raymond Lin said:
SD card are not that much cheaper there, just get some sandisk here.

I take pics everyday but last time I took my Mac with me which I downloaded daily.
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I'll grab some here before I leave. I won't have access to a computer whilst I'm out there and even if I did I would have no way of taking the photo's back with me :D

I'm gonna be staying at choi hung estate with some relatives :o bad times! lol
 
mofei1 said:
I'll grab some here before I leave. I won't have access to a computer whilst I'm out there and even if I did I would have no way of taking the photo's back with me :D

I'm gonna be staying at choi hung estate with some relatives :o bad times! lol
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It'll be fine, HK is tiny.

I've added links above for my trips.

work out how many mb per photo and how many you can get and see.
 
Raymond Lin said:
It'll be fine, HK is tiny.

I've added links above for my trips.

work out how many mb per photo and how many you can get and see.
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Im just looking through your pictures now, They are simply amazing!

Shooting in raw will give me roughly 460 shots on an 8gb. I think picking up another 8gb should be enough....
 
I'm heading out to HK in Nov - second time there but first with a DSLR so going to be a total photography trip. Well, maybe a little shopping too (and try to avoid bringing home a 70-200mm in my case :p )

Raymond - I think you went to Macau as well? Is it worth a trip across purely for pictures (travelling solo so don't really fancy the restaurants/casinos on my lonesome). Also have you been in the New Territories? Is so, anywhere you recommend taking a look? (planning on a quick trip to Sha Tin but not sure if there's anywhere else other than that worth a look).
 
Dunky said:
Raymond - I think you went to Macau as well? Is it worth a trip across purely for pictures (travelling solo so don't really fancy the restaurants/casinos on my lonesome). Also have you been in the New Territories? Is so, anywhere you recommend taking a look? (planning on a quick trip to Sha Tin but not sure if there's anywhere else other than that worth a look).
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I have never been, I think someone else here went.

I have been to the NT, used to live there. It's not much there, but it has hardly any westerners. It is 99% locals and if you want to see where most people live (council high rise), have a look but there is no real reason to go.

I normally stay in the Royal Park Hotel in Sha Tin (for the price, it is really great), its only like 15 min on the train to Kawloon. There is the 10,000 buddah in she tin which might be of interest.
 
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I think it's worth a visit to Macau. I've been twice now.

Second (or third :confused:) time round I stayed overnight and got to see more of the place (though not as much as I could)
They just about finished building up Fisherman's wharf (next to the port) which is a good few hours of strolling around (a number of themed areas)

The Venitian casino (pics below) is worthy of a visit and you really cannot go to Macau without souvenirs :D

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Inside the Ventian

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Hotel Lisboa

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ruins of the Church of St Paul
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BTW these were all taken with point and shoot :( I'm hoping to get better shots with my DSLR if I go again :)
 
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