# taking a dslr on holiday



## markbob917 (Aug 31, 2010)

hi guys
new to dslr ownership and im planning on travelling to the amalfi coast later this year and im wondering about taking my dslr with me. obviously its an expensive piece of kit so dont want to run the risk of it being damaged or stolen etc so wheres best for insurance and also in regards to packing it whats best there? i have a lowepro nova 160, ive read that its best not to check it in (which i wouldnt anyway) but with it being slightly bigger  than a compact hows best to approach having it as carry on?
any help greatly appreciated


----------



## tmitch45 (Jul 29, 2006)

I've taken mine on a number of long-hall and european holidays. I teand to have the camera in a lowpro case and I then keep this with me at all times in a backpack which goes in the hand luggage on the plane. I figure that if I keep it with me at all times it will be safe and always has been so far. As for insurance I'm not sure if its covered under holiday insurance, your home insurance or if its worth taking out any specialist photographic equipment insurance.


----------



## NeilG40 (Jan 1, 2009)

I took my gripped Canon 450D along with a couple of lenses in my Think Tank Retrospective 10 bag when I went to Florida last October and had no trouble fitting under the seat.


----------



## EddieB (May 13, 2006)

*Insurance *

Is it on your household insurance? If it is - might be worth checking with them if it will be covered abroad?

Do you have travel insurance? Check with them to see if it's covered...

Otherwise you can get specific photography insurance. I use E&L which costs me about 4 or 5 quid a month. I have to give them prior notice in writing if I travel abroad and I have 30 days cover abroad a year. There are other providers out there... Google it and you'll have several options 

*Baggage *

When I take mine on a flight/abroad then I keep all my gear in Lowepro shoulder bag - and put that in my rucksack. Might want to be careful with your memory cards and the Xray machines. I've been told that they can screw them over but I've never had any issues yet.

HTH


----------



## Vmlopes (Jan 8, 2012)

I have taken this little lot abroad a number of times, always as hand luggage though.......


What's In The Bag by vmlopes (getting back in the swing), on Flickr


----------



## bretti_kivi (Apr 22, 2008)

.. I tend to carry a complete set of kit with me and right now I have a Lowepro Passport sling that's around 10kg on its own. If I fly, I'll put the insert from that in the carry-on and then everything else gets its cover and life is fine. I've also been known to use a 650AW *full* (with disk, laptop, PSUs, two bodies, multiple lenses, 2 flashes) as carry-on, which doesn't always go down well. I got my bag weighed for the first time ever on the last trip to Frankfurt and they whined. Then I talked about cameras and they stopped whining 
Moral? make it look light and they won't worry about it!
Oh, and uninsured is very silly. Check the small print and get it insured. I have international, worldwide cover, for present value and it's €60 a year or so (will probably go up when I change to the latest kit in the bag). Declared value is around €2.5k at the moment.

Bret


----------



## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

I've taken my stuff in a Lowepro Fastpack 250 as hand luggage a few times, with a laptop slid in the back compartment. It was all covered by the house insurance already.

It does start to become a pain sometimes though with it being heavy and being conscious about it being stolen or damaged, so I bought a Canon G11 for my last holiday.


----------



## markbob917 (Aug 31, 2010)

cheers guys makes me feel better about taking it now. have bneen looking at separate insurance anyway for it but not sure where or rather who to go with any suggestions for that?


----------



## stuart.cameron (Apr 10, 2011)

Your house insurance may cover your camera upto a certain value but I wouldn't risk it and they may or may not cover it abroad. You would have to check with your insurer!

As for taking it on the plane just stick it in your normal camera bag and carry it on as hand language :thumb:


----------



## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

You will need a specific "Personal Possessions" cover on your household insurance for it to be covered away from the home. Some give "unspecified" cover up to a certain value which should cover cameras, but you will need to check the individual item limit is sufficient to cover your camera. With some you have to specify camera equipment anyway. Obviously a claim will be subject to an excess and will affect your household contents NCB. Also check that it covers "worldwide" and not just UK that you may see on some budget policies. Check the score with your own Insurers and make sure it is covered properly.

Travel Insurance usually has very low limits for photographic equipment, usually around the £200 mark or less, so probably won't be sufficient. I won't make things complicated, but if you are covered on both your household and travel insurance, there will be a claim under both (one insurer will claim a portion of the loss back from the other as there was dual insurance in place). So if you are adequately covered under your household insurance, you can in fact exclude baggage cover from your travel policy and get a discount.

There is the option of stand alone camera insurance, but check the wordings very very carefully. Again, if you are already covered under household insurance, there will be a claim on both due to dual insurance.

You can make your own mind up about E&L, but here is a recent thread on the very same company - www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=246308


----------



## EddieB (May 13, 2006)

So if E&L have a poor reputation can anyone else recommend an alternative?


----------



## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

I've not used Towergate for camera insurance, but have for many other classes of business and they have been fine. This may be worth looking into http://www.towergatecamerasure.co.uk/ but as always, check the cover, exclusions, clauses, conditions etc to make sure you are happy.


----------



## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

I have had these guys recommended to me and I may well buy from them tomorrow for the summer when I take my dslr to the Amalfi coast 
http://www.gloverhowe.com/pages/photographic/amateur.php


----------



## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Owch, just seen they have a £150 excess.


----------



## Andy_Wigan (Jan 4, 2008)

I've taken my stuff on Holiday before, and added it all as an extra on the holiday insurance and can't remember it costing that much.

I have a Nikon D5000, various lenses and the usual spare batteries, memory cards etc and took it all as hand luggage in my Kata bag. No problems with size or weight and nothing was affected by the x-ray machines.


----------



## markbob917 (Aug 31, 2010)

Brazo said:


> I have had these guys recommended to me and I may well buy from them tomorrow for the summer when I take my dslr to the Amalfi coast
> http://www.gloverhowe.com/pages/photographic/amateur.php


where are you going brazo? looks like were basing ourselves on the neopolitan riviera at sorrento now - still not that far though. have been looking at excursions already :lol:
thats for the advice guys theres a few there for me to go on. before id seen that other thread id havd a quote off E&L which was only about £40 for the year and thats covering the whole of europe and upto £900 which seemed quite good


----------

