Travelling With A Digital Camera

I guess most of our digital camera’s are for traveling. Whether we take pictures at school events or on a vacation we need our digital cameras to work when we are ready for them.

The type of battery our digital camera takes is very important. There are two types of batteries that the new digital cameras use: the AA battery and rechargeable battery. I find the digital camera that use the AA batteries is far better. You can always keep spares and back up batteries with you in your camera bag or in your purse or shirt pocket, where they are always available. When the rechargeable battery digital camera loses power you have to stop to recharge it. This can be inconvenient and sometimes hard to do with the uncertain power sources in some foreign countries.

So when you get your new camera always replace the batteries that came with thedigital camera with a heavy duty alkaline AA. They will last longer. Be sure to take the AA batteries out of the digital camera if it is not being used for an extended period of time because AA batteries may leak. The LCD camera screen uses power, too. So use it sparingly. This will extend the life of your batteries.

If you are traveling or taking picture of a one time event, don’t put all your pictures on one memory card. If for some unexplained reason your pictures won’t download, you have not lost all your once-in-a-lifetime pictures. Flash memory technology can be imperfect. You should clear your media card after you download it each time. Reusing the media card without formatting as your digital camera’s user manual instructs can lead to corrupt files. It can be expensive and time consuming to retrieve those lost pictures. So you might want to use several memory cards; 4 or 5 is not too many for a long vacation.

You may be worried about taking your camera on airplane travel. Most sources say the x-ray machines won’t damage your memory card. But if you are still concerned, you can archive your photos to a compact disc before you return on the airplane. This will give you an added level of confidence that your photos will be safe when you return home. Most of all don’t forget to pack your digital camera in your carry on bag. Don’t check anything that is essential to your cameras use; the AA batteries, memory cards and the user’s manual. Yes, the user’s manual. You may find it handy if you suddenly get an unexplained error code or you may want to try a new feature of your camera.

Take care of your memory card. Store it in a waterproof location. You can store the memory card in your camera case, a memory card wallet or even a plastic case. Rain, high humidity or contact with water can damage your memory card files.

Have fun with your digital camera. Just be sure to pack extras: extra batteries, extra memory cards and your user’s manual. You will be ready to take wonderful pictures.