Digital camera, "card" and flying

[Bookwood]

Help !!! :confused2:

I have not flown since before checkpoints, and the invention of the digital camera (think 1986). DH just bought a digital camera and we are flying to Hawaii in 10 days- if the camera gets here how does it need to be handled/packed as well as the "cards" that pictures go on? I haven't used a digital before but figure it's a long flight to read the instructions (if it arrives in time) otherwise it's a quick dash to the store for film friday before we leave LOL.

Thanks for the information- I hate feeling stupid about modern technology.

Bookwood

[FLSharon]

I just carried mine in my carry on bag with my reading material etc. It had to have run thru the xray. That may not have been good, but it was ok.

Now to my second point.... Please, please write a trip report when you return. I haven't been there for 20 yr. We're going sometime this coming yr and I'd love to hear about your trip. By the way, where are you going and where are you staying?

Aloha! Sharon :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[WillCAD]

Don't feel stupid Bookwood. How are you supposed to know this stuff if you don't ask?

X-rays won't harm the digital camera or the memory cards. Just pack them in your carry-on bag and they will be fine going through the x-ray machines.

The metal detectors, on the other hand, might possibly erase the memory cards, so be sure that the memory cards are in your camera bag and not in your pockets as you step through the metal detector.

By the way, you ordered extra cards, right? Most digital cameras come with a pretty small capacity memory card (usually 16mb), which is way too small to fit a whole vacation on. Unless you have a laptop or some other device to download your pictures every so often, you will need additional cards. Most people immediately think to get the biggest card there is; that way you'll be able to take pictures for a whole week without changing cards. But what happens if you lose the card, or something goes wrong with the card or camera? Then you've lost all your pictures! Imagine if you had a roll of film 400 frames long... and the photo place accidentally exposed it. So do what I do, and have at least two smaller cards (128mb are plenty), so that your pictures are split up and you won't lose all of them if something goes wrong.

It would also be a good idea to buy two (count 'em, two), sets of rechargable batteries for your camera. Digital cameras go through batteries pretty quick, especially if you use the flash, so investing a few bucks in rechargables now will save you plenty down the road. One charger is enough; just buy an extra set of batteries without charger (Best Buy, Circuit City, places like that all carry batteries and chargers). Recharge the batteries overnight; if you find that one set lasts you all day, then you don't even need to carry the second set with you, but you should take them to Hawaii with you just in case.

Photographic film, on the other hand, is a different story. I made a whole page on my web site explaining how to safely fly with film:

http://w3.mivlmd.cablespeed.com/~wgarmer/film_tips.html

Aloooooooooohaaaaaaaaaaa!

[Joe]

Great info Will, thanks for sharing your insight with us! It will ease my mind when we head out.

[Bookwood]

Thanks Will- I new you were the guy to ask. I will remember everthing you said (and refer back here several times probably). The camera hasn't arrived yet so I will check on batteries ect when it arrives. WE will have a laptop and are taking computer disks to transfer too. (lucky for us DH will leave from Hawaii on a work trip or we would not have the computer.
Reading your information on "regular" film is want made me think of the digital questions- thanks for keeping us all "up to snuff" on our photography/ film questions.

Bookwood