# Keeping the camera safe from theft?



## Sonal (Oct 2, 2003)

We've been thoroughly warned about petty thefts and pickpocketing in Barcelona, about people cutting purse straps, camera straps, etc. 

While I'm not too worried about my 8 year old 3MP Olympus P&S (go right ahead and steal it, it'll give me a reason to get a new one) the big question is my fiance's Canon dSLR and lenses. He's not sure if he should bring it or not. On the one hand, I don't blame him for wanting to leave it behind. On the other hand, it would be a shame for him to lose out on all those photo ops. (He does have a small P&S camera he could bring instead, but it's just not the same.)

We leave tomorrow night, so It's a bit late to get camera straps that are cut-proof (can't confirm if they are available locally) but any other tips about keeping the big camera safe?


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

You may try looking at the airport for cut-proof straps.

I'd suggest keeping it out of sight, but a DSLR is pretty hard to hide....

Enjoy the vacation.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Spain's weather should make the point and shoot fine as the light is generally glorious and with the exception of the weird cathedral and the Olympic park up the hill, a decent point shoot should be okay - less stress less weight.

You'll enjoy the life on the Ramplas - lots of photo ops there.
Have fun - great city


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## eMacMan (Nov 27, 2006)

I keep the Kodak in a zippered belt case. Easy access but hard to grab & run. 

Obviously not nearly as easy with a DSLR. So big question becomes how likely are you to want to print bigger than 8x10. This is the point at which the much larger DSLR sensor size becomes a deciding factor.


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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

Sorry I didn't see this sooner, but maybe you're checking in from the road... and I hope the good camera made the trip. Why have a good camera if you're going to leave it at home when it'll really shine?

The risk of theft might be higher in Barcelona than elsewhere, but IMHO the horror stories are overblown. Saw lots of tourists happily wandering around with expensive cameras dangling from their necks, and pros or semi-pros with high-end models on tripods, etc.

I carried mine in a man-purse, and a pretty nice one at that, and had no issues.

On the whole, I'm not convinced the risks are any worse there than in say Paris or Rome, but there's lots of hype about petty theft in Barcelona, so it's easy to be more paranoid there than elsewhere. In retrospect, I thought we were over-cautious, which put a bit of a damper on our time. I would say: be as vigilant as you would anywhere, exercise the same common sense as you would anywhere, but try not to worry too much, because bad things including theft can happen anywhere, and all you can do is try to minimize it. 

Or, to be short and cynical about it: just make a moderate effort not to make yourself a target, and you can be pretty certain that there will usually be a more inviting target nearby.


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