India Trip


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itsybitsyspidy

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Jul 5, 2004
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Hi guys,

I'll be going to india soon and i intend to bring along my D50 with me. Have any one of you got experience in bringing your dslr to a country like india? Where the streets are dusty and weather fluctuates(day 30+ degrees, night 10+ degrees). What are some of the things i should look out for to protect my camera? Any tips as well? I have a camera bag though and i was wondering whether there are any good weather proof covers for my 7 million dollar baby as well. Thanks for helping.

Jack
 

Going to any "backward" country ... you will have to deal with the dust and the dirt ... It's really not an issue unless you change your lens very often, then dust will get into your CCD causing little spots on your photos. Just clean the exterior of the camera and clear the dust every evening when you get back to your hotel ...

The weather should not cause any problems for the functions of the camera ... just make sure your batteries are well charged and can hold its charges well ... Never had any problems with a D70 ... so i suspect the D50 should perform roughly the same way ...

Weather proof covers prob does not do much in terms of insulating your camera against the dropping temperature .... it will help if you are caught in a drizzle or a small "dust storm" during strong winds ... Weather proof covers usually come with the newer AW LowePro bags ...

I think what you should be more careful about in terms of protection of your equipment is against thef and pick-pockets in crowded places. If you are travelling in a group, it may be easy to look out for each other ... otherwise you will definately have to keep an eye out for your own equipment ... ot keep a small lock on yor bag ...

Check out some of the people who have posted pic of India in the Travel section and maybe PM them for more help ....

Hope the above was of some help for your preparation .... Have a good trip


RGDs
 

Thanks for the info Long Thai Bean! Was quite helpful to me. ;)
 

Which part of India are you heading to?

Although India is indeed dusty compared to Singapore, don't worry too much abt it unless you're heading to Jaisalmer, the desert area.

As what L.T.B has mentioned, just try not to change lens too often in the streets. Think abt the subjects you're likely to encounter or shoot and use the corresponding lens which you think you'll use most often.

For me, I just brought along a spare body and fixed it with a tele. Another body fixed with my 24-85. So i just swop around, carrying one body in hand and another in my tamrac velocity.That was really fun !!! :bsmilie: Easy to "change lens"...

The tamrac velocity is a great bag which is really versatile. Can shoulder sling, backsling, front sling.....:thumbsup:

It's impt to keep an eye on your stuff....not kidding.....
 

I'm heading to devlali... quite a desert area i think.... is your 24-85 wide enough? I'm thinking of bringing my 24-85 as well. I doubt i will change lens while i'm there, but i'm really quite concerned about the dust levels, even if i'm not changing lens. Dust might get into the lens while i zoom in and out?

I'll be shooting mostly landscapes, till i get a chance to go to town, then i might shoot street photog, i hope my 24-85 can fit the job. if it can't.... sigh.:dunno:
 

I was in hyderabad last nov and when the customs guys saw my equipment, they took down the particulars of the camera and ask if i will bring it back to singapore on my way back. I think they thought i might do something else with it in india... ;p ;p
 

itsybitsyspidy said:
I'm heading to devlali... quite a desert area i think.... is your 24-85 wide enough? I'm thinking of bringing my 24-85 as well. I doubt i will change lens while i'm there, but i'm really quite concerned about the dust levels, even if i'm not changing lens. Dust might get into the lens while i zoom in and out?

I'll be shooting mostly landscapes, till i get a chance to go to town, then i might shoot street photog, i hope my 24-85 can fit the job. if it can't.... sigh.:dunno:

Are you using a FF body? If yes, then 24 should be wide enough most of the time, unless you're heading to the northern side such as Ladakh in the Indian Himalayas where the landscapes are really magnificent. I'm not exactly familiar with devlali, but if it's a desert area, then you might wanna know that deserts in India are mostly open areas with scrubs here and there. I'm sure 24mm can also give you great landscape pictures when utilized properly.;)

The Tamrac i mentioned is the velocity 7. http://www.tamrac.com/5747.htm

If you're very concerned abt the dust and still want to access your cam easily, you might wanna try this. As for dust getting into your lens during zooming, seriously....cannot really be helped lah....unless you don't take out your cam.:dunno:
 

I will be going to India too somehwere ard March. Destination = Mumbai. Will be going there for 6 weeks & above. Any brothers here have photo shooting experience in Mumbai? Any advise on street photography? This is the first time i go there. Lots of ? in my mind.

(1) Is it a safe place to take street photo? I went to China last mth, a small town in Guangzhou area, crime rate there is very high. Especially snatch case. Local frens there always advise me not to bring sling bag, valuable stuff etc.. One of my local fren also kena snatch outside her working place during my stay in Guangzhou:sweat:

(2) Are the people there friendly when u take their pic? (i know i must always :D to give them a friendly impression too. hee..)

(3) Any good place to recommend in Mumbai area for photo taking?

(4) Any DO's & DON'Ts? My main concern is safety of myself & my gears.

i did do a search in forum, mostly are precautions for theives & pick pockets. Any advise on snatch case?
Make my gears look cheap & not so outstanding? Gaffer tape to cover the whole lens & camera? replace the original Nikon neck strap which has a Big yellow bright NIKON D70 words? hee...
Thanks... ;)
 

Long Thai Bean said:
Going to any "backward" country ... you will have to deal with the dust and the dirt ... It's really not an issue unless you change your lens very often, then dust will get into your CCD causing little spots on your photos. Just clean the exterior of the camera and clear the dust every evening when you get back to your hotel ...

The weather should not cause any problems for the functions of the camera ... just make sure your batteries are well charged and can hold its charges well ... Never had any problems with a D70 ... so i suspect the D50 should perform roughly the same way ...

Weather proof covers prob does not do much in terms of insulating your camera against the dropping temperature .... it will help if you are caught in a drizzle or a small "dust storm" during strong winds ... Weather proof covers usually come with the newer AW LowePro bags ...

I think what you should be more careful about in terms of protection of your equipment is against thef and pick-pockets in crowded places. If you are travelling in a group, it may be easy to look out for each other ... otherwise you will definately have to keep an eye out for your own equipment ... ot keep a small lock on yor bag ...

Check out some of the people who have posted pic of India in the Travel section and maybe PM them for more help ....

Hope the above was of some help for your preparation .... Have a good trip


RGDs


Please dont use the word "backward" country for India. I am from india, It reallys hurts me like anything. Instead of "backward", use "Developing" word. Sometimes it gives negative impression to the user.
 

I was in India last year. My biggest problem were dust and condensation (in and out of hotels). Mine is D70 so had all the Nikon labels (incl. lens cap) gaffered with black tape. The people in general are friendly and are eager to sell. Street photography of the local Indians can be chargeable, so need to keep lots of loose change.

Try to make friends with the locals. When we were in Kashmir, we exchanged many history lessons with the locals about the L.O.C.

Most important is travel with an open mind. Have fun and looking forward to see the photos.
 

I just returned from Dehli this morning and it is certainly dusty. Even though I didn't get a chance to do any shooting (not even 1 frame :cry: ), I saw incredible potential - it is trully a photojournalists dream location.

From what I saw in my brief time there, India is far from backward. Yes it is a developing country, but if you have never been there you will be amazed - one of the most fascinating places I have ever been to.
 

I was at India 2 weeks ago. I brought a SLR with a wide angle and a DSLR with a telezoom there. Yes, it is dusty. The dust is quite fine so you have to be careful about changing lens.

As for temperature, you only need to worry about sudden changes of temperature like coming out from an aircon car to hot afternoon street. For my case, my car is non-ac so no problem at all.
 

jeffhiew said:
I was in India last year. My biggest problem were dust and condensation (in and out of hotels). Mine is D70 so had all the Nikon labels (incl. lens cap) gaffered with black tape. The people in general are friendly and are eager to sell. Street photography of the local Indians can be chargeable, so need to keep lots of loose change.

Try to make friends with the locals. When we were in Kashmir, we exchanged many history lessons with the locals about the L.O.C.

Most important is travel with an open mind. Have fun and looking forward to see the photos.

who charge? how come need to pay to take street photos?
 

I think i'll be sticking to my 24-85 throughout and i hope it will be good enough for my landscapes and portraits. I doubt i will be changing any lens as i wouldn't want nasty stuff nesting on my ccd. Any advice out there regarding any taboos in india? Like what can / can't be photographed? I'll be in the Northern part of India though, won't be travelling down south. You guys have been great help so far! Thanks!
 

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