Advice on camera bag for trip to Europe

[pyre]

Hi, I seek some travel / photography from fellow photographers in europe. This is for a tour in europe which I hope to take next month.

Locations I plan to cover include rome, paris & london.

Gear I intend to carry include: d60 + batt grip, 16-35mm, 75-300mm IS and maybe a 50mm, 550EX, Gitzo G2220 and a digital storage device. plus necessary chargers for batts.

My main concern are the stories I hear about pickpockets and other street urchins that strike at unsuspecting tourists. Any advice on which bag would be appropriate for my gear and allow changing of lenses fairly easily would be appreciated.

I have been eyeing the Lowepro Rover Light or an Orion AW. I am avoiding sling bags as these tend to cut and do not allow me to keep other items like cold weather clothing etc.

Thanks for your advice in advance,
pyre

[damnengine]

I live in the netherlands, near amsterdam and noone ever has even attempted to steal my bag (may be my size but anyway), I also have been in paris and london and there were no problems there either, the only problem with people who tried to steal my bag were in tunesia and bulgary. If you just keep a couple of things in mind, like never loose your bag out of sight and when you sit at a table somewhere put the bag on the table (if there's no option for it you can put it under the table but be sure you put it around your legs) and try to avoid to show what's in your bag around places like stations, I think you'll be allright. Stations are the worst place, especially subway stations. I still have a sling bag but since I'll be in the rainforest in juli, I ordered a tamrac 5259 (I also have to carry a videocamera along), you can expand the tamrac bags with modules.

[nucki]

Hi!

well I think europe is generally save, but it can happen anywhere! just be sure that you have an eye on your equipment. I'am living in one of the saviest cities in the world (vienna, austria) but thats not a guaranty. Are you travelling alone? if not, there should be no problem, if so, than keep your eyes open, especialy in the metro or at places with lots of people.

regards
Peter

[ajax]

I went to London and Paris a few months ago and struggled with how to haul my camera gear. On the plane, I took my G-2 and two bags--one for the camera stuff [camera body, filters, extra batteries, cards, etc] and a smaller one for the charger and power adapters.

What I ended up doing when I arrived, was putting the camera in the smaller camera bag, and jamming it in a HUGE, heavy-duty leather shoulder purse I slung crosswise over my body. I put my wallet and girlie stuff on the bottom, with the camera on top. Then zipped the purse.

I kept it there unless I hauled it out for photos, then put it back. I was REALLY careful to keep it zipped at all times.

As luck would have it, we were on the Paris metro, and my traveling companion had her wallet pickpocketed right out of her zipped bag. He unzipped my bag, but, I'm guessing the pickpocket encountered the camera bag and realized it could not be removed from my bag without my knowledge. [The top of my purse was relatively close to my armpit.] I was sooo relieved!

The purse was large enough to carry a small tripod, also.

[RichardtheSane]

The paris metro can be quite bad for pickpocketing and thieves, london also but not on such a big scale.

That must be quite a purse ajax!

[pyre]

Thanks for all the replies. I had actually gone for my trip in europe and returned safely - with all my equipment :)

The countries I visited were Italy, France and the UK.

I carried my gear in a Lowepro Rover Light (backpack) and most times I slung it in front for safety. The only problem some people may have with this bag is its size ... and some airport check-ins or museums may not like the size as well. I had to put mine in the baggage counter at the Louve.

Only once did I encounter a possible theft encounter and that was in Rome when making my way to the Colosseum. 2 kids approached me; one had a cardboard placard in his hands while the other reached out to hold my hands - begging and trying to pull me aside. Thankfully no incident occured as I did not stop and continued my way to the Colosseum and both kids moved off in the opposite direction.

My advice for other travellers (not only to europe but to anywhere in the world) is to keep your bag in front of you at all times. If you plan to sit down or put your bag down, make sure one of the slings or straps is around your foot or around your chair.

Overall I had a great time shooting in Europe and wished I had more time (and did more research on the places I visited).

[carnagex2000]

Try using a PacSafe when riding the train in europe.
http://www.pac-safe.com/

[stopbath]

One of the worst things to do is to use a brand new bag with a bright and flashy camera logo on it.

Imagine two cases on a park bench, a bulging overnight bag, well worn and ratty, and a bulging Nikon or Canon bag next to it. Which to pick up and run away with?

I'm not advising people to dunk their Lowpro bags in mud, but the less the bag looks like it carries a valued camera, the better. If you accidently leave it on the park bench, it just might be there when you return for it later.

Perhaps remove the bag label, or apply a sticker over the label (not a sticker of your countries flag.)

[msvirick]

stopbath wrote:

Perhaps remove the bag label, or apply a sticker over the label (not a sticker of your countries flag.)

Sometime it is safe to put a Canadian flag, it is the most welcome and accepted sticker. Back packers from US do it, and keep out of trouble.

[stopbath]

By sticking a Canadian flag on your camera bag you are telling a potential thief that you are likely in the country for a only short time (maybe leaving next day!) therefore, you may not even report the bag stolen. Whereas a local person is more likely to report it stolen, and likely have the serial numbers in to the police. This makes fencing the stolen goods more difficult.

Leave the Canadian flag for your back pack, lapel pin, or something.

Almost everyone has left their camera bag laying for a few seconds as they got distracted by something, or go chasing a piece of paper the wind lifts. A few seconds is all it takes. The more the bag looks like it has smelly socks, instead of camera gear the better.

[MrPogo]

I'm guessing from you're from Canada based on other replies, and as someone who lives in England I'm personally more worried about pickpockets and the like there than I am here, or the other places you mentioned. I suppose it just depends how familiar you are with the location, so where you live you feel more comfortable, reguardless of the actual danger levels.