Traveling to Rome soon, and was wondering how concerned I should be or special consideration to a cut proof strap/secure bag against theft. I'll have 8 g's in equipment at times... so it's no small deal for me. My daughter was pick pocketed within 15 minutes after arriving in Rome earlier this year in a group of fellow students all around her. Apparently that is a common occurrence from what the school she is attending told us and other stories from various people i have told the story to. However, none of them have the kit I do...

Never has this passed my mind before, no matter where I have been in the States- from NYC to San Francisco and many places in between. Kinda got me freaked out- would prefer to keep my stuff and photos rather then depend on insurance.

I know about the bags specifically designed to thwart this sort of thing with cables and cut resistant straps, over the shoulder etc.... but are my concerns overblown? Does anybody have any insight, experience, real life suggestions?

I've been using Picasa since it came out. I also have Elements in case I want to do something sexy. So when I read on this Forum that Picasa was going away, at least Google's support, I decided to go with Google Photos. I have somewhere around 45,000 images. I have been uploading my photos for a week now and I have a couple of observations. I have had several times when Google said it couldn't upload one or more pictures, I hit the "try again" feature and somehow it worked. About once a day it stops and in order to start it again I have to restart the PC. My question is has anyone else experienced these issues? Thanks in advance.

I just found out that I will be headed to South Carolina for a very short trip. One afternoon, evening, and morning in Charleston, then off to Kiawah Resort for 3 days and two nights. I'm completely unfamiliar with the area and am struggling with what gear to bring as I don't know what I'll see. I have a Nikon d7100 with Nikon lenses that include 18-200 mm DX kit lens, 24-70mm 2.8, 70-200 mm 2.8, 50 mm 1.4, and 105 mm 2.8 macro to choose from. I will fly with my gear in a carry on and stow it under the seat, so I know I need to winnow down the list to keep it light. I hope you awesome Hogs can recommend what you would bring based on your knowledge of the area. And please throw in any "must see/must do" recommendations! (FYI, I don't golf ... pity.) My thanks in advance!

Regards,

Jennifer

well yes its true I really did buy the D810 today.
It wasn't, hey I think I'll buy a camera. Ive been looking and looking and reading and holding and touching and reading everything here on UHH for a year.
Today was the day I pulled the trigger.

as for education, yea I've been there done that, and am currently in an advanced class. I haven't learned much so far I know most of whats being taught.

Now as for the camera. The old camera was a d5200.
Good camera , I like it, but even with good glass
it does not give me the tack sharp images that I see from the 810. Yes it was on a tripod, yes VR was turned off, yes the mirror was up, yes the glass was clean, yes I used a wired remote.... so its too late now its ordered, but I do have a 14 days to return it for a full refund, just in case I want a d5

I know this has been discussed a lot but I'd appreciate any up-to-date opinions. I'm going to Peru and Ecuador in April. One of the highlights will be Machu Picchu. (I recently got good advice from a number of you about photography on the whole trip.)

Here's the rub--I just found out that at Machu Picchu they have a restriction on the type of camera (lens) you can bring--nothing over 200mm. I googled it and some seem to get away with a longer lens and others had to check their lens at the office. I really don't want to chance that. I'm planning on taking my Nikon D7100 with a Tamron 16-300 lens. Nothing more as we'll be very active on this trip and weight will be a factor. I want the reach of the 300 as I like to take pictures of distant things although I do like landscapes for perspective and often the OOOH factor.

So, I'm starting to look at zooms that end w/200mm. I realize money is a big factor in how much image quality you get but I'm not sure I want to put that into a zoom lens that is slightly less than what I have now as I don't expect to find the 200 mm limit in other places. Any thoughts on whether there is a good spot in 200mm zooms between bottom of the barrel and super? Also, any thoughts on maybe another lens I haven't considered for these few days shooting? Thanks as always.

For the past several years I have been in the fortunate position to afford a nice camera and six expensive lenses. Since my wife and I are "senior citizens", who enjoy traveling around our area taking pictures, I felt we were easy targets for "hit and run" thief's. I decided to call my home owners insurance company and find out about insuring my equipment. I was amazed to find that if I listed each piece of equipment along with it's serial number and price and if I had a receipt for the item, I would be insured for the total value of the item, if it were stolen. I would like to know if this is unusual. I am use to being reimbursed for only a percentage of the value of the claim on other items I have made in the past. Do you "Hogs" insure your equipment? I would like to hear about your experiences.

Whatever you decide be sure NOT to rent the 11-24. When that lens was introduced I was not sure why Canon built it with the criteria used. I had no interest in it's capabilities. Then last Sept. the Canon folks handed one to me in Yellowstone, and they had lots of trouble getting it back. My lens dream sheet has one listing and the 11-24 is it. The lens has so much potential the user can go nuts up close! I started shooting wide and close and quickly got lost diving into "boiling mud" or highlighting the details of crusted bison-dip. It is a large lens, but I was using it with a large body. I had never worked below 15mm and the 11-14 was fun, lots of fun. We were at the Grand Prismatic Spring and saw one other shooter using one. He also was very cautious of keeping himself out of his shot. The lens has a front element that will accept no polarizor, that is a rear drop-in. It takes some getting use to, but once you accomplish that the results are spectacular! I shot straight into setting sun with little flare, if any. If I could find a new home for my 15mm Zeiss I would own the Canon, it is that good, in my opinion. As far as price, the indicators say that prices of high-end gear will stay level until after Rio. Once Rio is over there will be a glut of financed gear on the market looking for new homes. Prices will drop, but how far is anyone's guess. I admire your comparison of these two lenses as they are great pieces of optics. Price-wise though they are kind of different. Whichever you go with, or both if you so chose I hope you enjoy. They are great lenses both. Good luck.