jno

Look at PacSafe bags and sling bags. Designed to foil thieves!

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Make sure you are properly and adequately insured. Carry what you want. If theft is inevitable, let them have what they want. This way you can avoid the "or worse" part.

raypep

Great advice

Julian Loc: Sarasota, FL

photoman43

I agree that foreign travel is often just as safe or safer than at our home locations.

My wife always reminds me that when I am photographing things, I lose sense of what is going on around me. She is so right to point this out. In a location that is "foreign" to you, even if it is near where you live, You need to be doubly aware of what is going on around you and not just to protect your camera equipment but also to keep you safe and sound.

IDguy Loc: Idaho

That may be true in some statistics. But pickpocketing and stealing camera (and phones) is much more prevalent in much of the world compared to the US, so the habits that keep you safe here not so much elsewhere. Pickpocketing and camera theft by small groups (3 plus) seems also more common.

The UK is most like the US in the large cities near tourist destinations. Otherwise might be safer.

Note the cities: https://www.mapquest.com/travel/10-worst-cities-in-the-world-for-pickpocketing/

mundy-F2 Loc: Chicago suburban area

I use a similar approach. The lite jacket or vest hides my camera until needed. I usually use one 35mm f/1.4 lens.
Mundy

Burkley Loc: Park City

I prefer to travel light. I use a Pacsafe bag with the reinforced strap and fabric. I typically use a FF equivalent of a 24-120 mounted as a walk around with a prime 20 mm 1.8. I take a tabletop or gorilla tripod, an extra battery, additional cards, a cleaning pen, along with a few other cleaning supplies and a charger that I keep in my suitcase. Read the Rick Steve’s website section on safety that goes over scams and theft protection, it’s really good. So far my camera and gear has always traveled back home with me. Have fun, travel is a great experience.

mackl01

Don't know about those places but I have been to Germany several times, in the last year and a half, and have had no problems.

msbanks720 Loc: western washington

Hi Bob - i have been to italy three times and the uk twice - all in all, a total of 17 weeks travel. it sounds like this might qualify as a "trip of a lifetime" for you. so here is my advice. take all your gear. take your goto camera, your lenses and anything else you have that you might use. leave it in the boot of the car or in your hotel room. each day, decide what you will shoot and take the lenses you will need. get a photo/fishing vest with pockets so you can pop lenses in and out. on international flights, you can take a lot of stuff - do not check your gear! get a good photo sling pack and use it as your second carry-on.
here is what i take - canon 7d mark II, 200/f2.8 L + 2x converter, 10-18 efs 4.5-5.6, 100mm f2 (yongnuo - and an awesome lens by the way), and on the 7d, an 18-135 is/stm for all around shooting. i pack a light tripod in a checked bag and a monopod as well (i use it as a walking stick in varied terrain). i keep the 10-18 in a pocket and use the 18-135 about 80% of the time. on days when i am thinking wildlife or street shooting from a distance, i stick the 200mm in the back pocket of the vest (it weighs a bit). the point is, if you don't bring it, you will never have the chance to use it.
take your favorite camera - the one you know how to do your best work with. i would say do not buy a new camera and spend half your trip figuring out how to use it. this is your chance to take amazing pictures that you will never have the chance to take again. take your stuff - be careful with it - follow the standard rules - but take all your stuff so you don't ever have to say "if only i had my (fill in the blank)."
in my 12 weeks in italy over many years and my 5 weeks in the uk (wales, scotland and england), i have never had a problem in a hotel or on the street with my gear. keep your lenses in a vest, one hand on the camera strap, and use the monopod as a walking stick - it is an amazing deterrent for would-be thieves. they will not go near someone with a big stick if they don't have to. keep your valuables in your front pants pockets or in button down pockets in your jacket. keep your money in an around the neck money sack or a waist-level inside the pants pouch thing. get rfi shielding for your passport and credit cards. if it is available, use hotel parking for your car - try not to park on the street or in public lots (this goes especially for italy). if you stay in one place for more than a couple of nights (and you should be doing this anyway), move your car each night to a different spot. in italy, especially, be careful about signage and parking - tickets for illegal parking are expensive and a pain in the ass. pay attention to m.p.h. signs - in the Cinque Terre, going over the speed limit will cost you 500 euros (yes, i know this from experience) and you won't find out you got busted until you are back home.
anyway, i have rambled on enough. the bottom line is - take your best stuff and watch over it well. oh - and if you are going to the u.k. between october and april, get one of those rain sleeves for your camera - the thing that it fits into that lets you take pictures in the rain. a fellow hogger suggested that to me before my last trip to the u.k. and it was the best thing i ever bought. when it was throwin down on the Isle of Skye the one day i had to visit Kilt Rock, that sleeve saved my butt and got me spectacular rainbow in the middle of a rainstorm pictures.
have a great trip.

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

I’d bring a medium size zoom and a 35 or 50 prime. Skip the tripod.

lreisner Loc: Union,NJ

First off you should insure your equipment through your homeowners or rental policy. The cost is fairly low depending on the deductible you choose. The risk of theft is not really greater when you travel than when you are home with certain exceptions. I live near New York and take my camera into the city all the time. Just be street smart. Be conscious of your surroundings. When not using your camera, keep it close to your body. In winter I often put it under my coat, it also keeps the battery warmer. I also wear a money belt and a neck pouch, keeping only a little local currency in my wallet and a credit card. Your real worry is pick pockets in most places. Also do not wear any fancy jewelry, so it doesn't get snatched. I also carry my equipment in a plain Jansport day pack, or just carry a spare lens in my pocket and an extra battery. Once again in winter or fall if you are wearing a coat or jacket, extra pockets.

Any used memory cards I carry in my money belt and now I even carry my 2TB Sandisk in my money belt. Armed robbery is rare but they would get my wallet and neck pouch. I have traveled to over 130 countries over the past 55 years, mostly as a solo traveler. I always carried my camera, two three lens, flash and back in the film days, plenty of film, not to mention peripherals. The irony is that over the years I have had two cameras stolen. One was out of a locked desk in an office when I was in college and the second from the trunk of my car in New York City in broad daylight many years ago. Point being, I did not have to go far to experience theft.

All that you can do is protect yourself the best you can and not be paranoid. These days I travel with a Sony RX 100 VII, which is my back up and fits in my pocket and my Sony R IV. and two lens, which is around $6000 worth of equipment. It is all insured with a $500 dollar deductible. I do not want to have anything happen to the equipment but if it does, I have peace of mind. For me photography is fun and if I am going to worry about my equipment all the time, it will not be fun and I also will not have a fun trip. If you have the insurance, you can always buy new equipment in the worse case scenario.

Now if you decide to travel to Venezuela, or to certain parts of Central or South America, then we can talk about real risk. So take your camera and have fun.

mundy-F2 Loc: Chicago suburban area

I agree with you on Central America and South America, you need to have caution when walking around. I have been to most countries in Europe working and did not have a problem taking pictures or with camera thefts. I usually use only one lens which is my 35mm f/1.4. I keep my camera under my coat or vest until I am ready to take a picture. I did have a overcoat stolen from a rental car in southern France.
Mundy

stevefrankel

Unless you're planning to make at 30x40-inch enlargements from your foreign travel photos, you don't need anything larger than a Micro Four-Thirds sensor (Olympus M5 or M10) or a One-Inch sensor (Sony RX100-M7 or RX10-M4) to take phenomenal photos anywhere around the world. I'd advise keeping everything you bring to under seven pounds of gear. When you go shooting, I'd suggest carrying only a single camera body and lens that extends from at least 24mm-300mm; and be sure the gear is weather-proof or fits in a jacket pocket. That and an iPhone 12 or 13 Pro (for hide-away shooting, night photos, and backup) is all you ever need to take. Also, be sure your equipment is covered by insurance that covers full replacement costs.

Except for a handful of places that really require a local private guide, with these provisos your cameras and person will be just as safe as they will be anywhere in the United States. Even more important: For your sake and those that you encounter, be sure you're fully vaxed before you go anywhere! Behaving otherwise is selfish and stupid.

Shutterbugsailer Loc: Staten Island NY (AKA Cincinnati by the Sea)

And the having a camera strap with a Kodak or Vivitar label doesn't hurt. Nothing deters thieves better than cheap