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Colombia - D700 - Security


david-m

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<p>I am travelling to Colombia for a 2 month trip very soon and although I have never before worried about wandering through cities and places with my D700, I just wondered if anyone had personal experience of carrying a DSLR in Colombia, and the security/ease of photographing places/people.<br>

I have travelled through Argentina, Bolivia before with big cameras (and BTW, Pakistan, Sudan and more) but just don't fancy the aggravation of being robbed in the street.<br>

I was thinking about getting something like a Panasonic GH2 (lighter, less conspicuous, but still has a EVF) but know I will take a drop in image quality (I already use a GF1 sometimes).<br>

(BTW, I always try to place some 'holiday' shots with stock agencies to pay for my trips, so that's another small consideration, but no deal breaker)<br>

Any wise thoughts very welcome please.<br>

David</p>

 

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<p>If you've made it through the aforementioned countries without being mugged, I think you should continue to go for it. I do carry a Lumix P&S with 24-400 zoom range which I use in highly urbanized poverty stricken areas where I want to remain unintrusive. However, I otherwise use a Sony A-350. In 30 years of travel to over 200 countries I have only been mugged once - on the main street of colonial Santiago with 50 people walking within 20 feet of me. The four guys got my cash but made no effort to strip me of my camera bag an its contents.<br>

Their technique was interesting. 30 seconds before the mugging a guy walked up beside me and gave me a hard bump then looked me right in the eye. My hand instinctively reached to cover the pocket that contained my wallet. The guy disappeared into the crowd and while I was still trying to decide what to make of it, four guys jumped me from behind and rather gently laid me down on my back and went directly to the pocket I had protected moments before. Lost $150 but still had my camera!</p>

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<p>David,</p>

<p>I visited Bogota last year and had no troubles using my D300 everywhere. However, among the places I've visited I would rank Bogota and Caracas as the two where I felt least comfortable. be extra careful in the dark, and be aware that, no matter where you are in the city, it seems that you will inevitably travel through a rough neighborhood to get from point A to point B - at least that was my impression.</p>

<p>If you do spend time around Bogota, I rented a car and felt that both Guatavita and the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá were worth the drive. They are difficult to reach without your own car though.</p>

<p>Hope you have a great trip!<br>

Brad</p>

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<p>Hi David,<br>

I'm sort of in the same dilemma as you, planning a trip to Ecuador to do some serious natural history/ethnographic photography and trying to decide between lugging my D700 or taking a GF1/LX5 combo. I know the D700 will return much better images, but the smaller micro setup is going to be much lighter, less intrusive, and more mobile. I'll be giving up some IQ in return for "getting the shot." I'm leaning towards to GF1/LX5 setup which actually gets carried in a vest pockets, no back pack needed.</p>

<p>Gene</p>

 

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