Going to Jamaica and taking cameras but not laptop??

We booked a week in Jamaica (Negril) and in the past I have always taken my laptop but this time thinking just the ipad and buying a few cf cards.

2 reasons mostly, 1 is my mac needs a new battery and even when new it lasts about 3 to 4 hours and the ipad over 10 , so on the plane I have some movies.
2 is that the laptop is bigger and takes up more room than the ipad and I can still get my email ect with the ipad I just cant backup my pics,

I do have a flashtrac that I may take in case I feel I really need to backup stuff...


any of you been to Jamaica , any places I must go??

I am packing light just my 5D 7D 17-55 70-200 50mm and 10-20

I will be having the same dilemna in March when I plan on going to Cuba. I have a Macbook Air which I will be taking with me.

As for packing light, try to decide between 1 body and 2/3 lens

I did Peru without any type of computer. Take your iPad and get the camera connection kit so you can review the 7d Picts and delete the ones you don't like.

I did 2 weeks in the Philippines this year (as well as 16 days around the Southern US two years ago, and 2 weeks in Cali/Oregon the year before that) with just the cameras and a handful of flash memory...I see no reason to bring a laptop on a vacation...

Kafn8td wrote in post #13442925
I did Peru without any type of computer. Take your iPad and get the camera connection kit so you can review the 7d Picts and delete the ones you don't like.

I'm always afraid that the more flashy stuff I take the more stuff can get stolen...as it is, the only thing I take that's "flashy" is my camera...and it's always with me, so I'm never worried about getting stuff stolen. As for deleting the ones you don't like...take an extra couple of memory cards (if you can afford a bunch of Apple stuff, Canon DSLRs, trips around the world, a couple of 16GB/32GB cards won't kill you)...slap them in your pocket and shoot away...delete when you get home.

No need for a laptop for only a week.

So you guys totally trust your CF cards? Anywhere I go where the pictures are important, I transfer them to a notebook, then make copies on an external hard drive, then transfer what copies I can to as many USB thumb drives as I have. I would say anyone not at least taking a notebook and an external hd are living on the edge, or the images don't matter.

We're just back from Peru and Machu Picchu. I took my 60D, 15-85mm IS, and one 430EX. Left another flash and 70-300mm IS telephoto at home. I used everything with me regularly, and there were no shots I missed by leaving some equipment at home. We also took one iPad, which we used for finding good restaurants and restaurant reviews and locations near our hotel in Lima. We didn't use the iPad photographically, however.

samueli wrote in post #14042945
So you guys totally trust your CF cards?

Yes.

samueli wrote in post #14042945
Anywhere I go

Where do you go?

Kafn8td wrote in post #13442925
I did Peru without any type of computer. Take your iPad and get the camera connection kit so you can review the 7d Picts and delete the ones you don't like.

I don't have the camera connection kit for my iPad yet but am looking at one. With Photostream enabled do the images you import from your DSLR go to iCloud? I can see how that would be helpful as long as your don't take over 1000 shots.

the ipad3 will be amazing for vacations. you'll be able to view 18MP images on there with 2048x1536 res.

I always take my laptop.

The nice thing about an iPad, though, is that it doesn't have to be removed from your carry-on bag...

I stopped traveling with a laptop, we've got 3 Macbook Airs here we got for travel and I leave them at home. I take my 64gb IPad these days.

Being able to copy all photos to external harddrive and even being able to burn them onto DVD as backup is too important to me.

I lived and worked in Jamaica for a year. I actually used to walk around Spanish Town etc. at night with a 5D2 in 2009 or thereabouts. There are '2 Jamaicas': the one you will see in Negril, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and other places designed for tourists; and the real Jamaica. I don't know which one you'd prefer to see. Just know that the Jamaica tourists don't often see can be a really dangerous place with pockets of gang warfare going on.

That being said, I never had even the slightest problem with crime there. Just be wary and ask the locals where NOT to go, as crime hotspots shift to new areas sometimes. If you're adventurous you can take mini bus rides through the interior of Jamaica: just hold onto your 'gizzard' because the driving will terrify you. Have a good trip and leave the laptop home.