Trip of a lifetime? Bring a spare camera.
Not long ago (in the famously photogenic Andalusian city of Seville) I looked through the viewfinder of my up-until-then trusty Canon, zoomed in on my cute family, pushed the shutter button, and . . . nothing happened.
My husband and I sprang into action.
I headed straight to our hotel‘s front desk to quiz them in broken Spanish about camera repair shops, while Rich began freaking out about unanticipated expenses at less-than-favorable exchange rates.
The nice man at the hotel reception was apologetic. There were no camera repair shops in Seville.
What followed next was this:
- A heated interspousal debate on the drive to Córdoba.
- An immediate cab ride across town to an enormous department store called El Corte Inglés.
- The bewildering purchase (accomplished via pantomime) of an inferior yet expensive camera .
At which point camera #1 started working again—natch. Off and on, but still.
The worst part? We had a perfectly good spare camera at home. Thankfully we were in a big city in Spain, and not Papua New Guinea. I learned something important that day, which I will share with you now: If you’re going on the trip of a lifetime, always bring a spare camera.
Have you ever had a camera fail at exactly the wrong moment? Do tell.
January 15th, 2009 | by Jamie Pearson 7 comments
1. Sharlene on January 16th, 2009
Point taken. I will start bringing our extra camera on big trips in case of such an emergency. I have forgotten my memory card and gone into panic mode before but a replacement card is much cheaper than a new camera
2. Carolina on January 16th, 2009
And then there’s the video camera…I always forget to charge it up.
3. Jessica on January 18th, 2009
You couldn’t get a disposable for the time being??? I know that I wouldn’t be able to buy a THIRD camera… but I could probably afford a disposable, they even make disposable digital cameras…
Good advice… but I say if you are trying to NOT spend money on another camera, you should settle for disposable.
4. Dominique on January 19th, 2009
I had a camera mishap the first day of our long-awaited trip to Spain and France. View screen broken in transit on my point-and-shoot. Fortunately, I had a second camera slightly larger digital camera with me and relied on it the rest of the two week trip. Waited ’til I got home to repair the other camera.
Tim also fell on some slippery rocks while trying to take a photo with my point-and-shoot on another trip. He was all right…the camera was not. Again, I had another (larger) SLR with, so I still had a camera to use for the rest of the weekend.
I wouldn’t dream of traveling without a second camera :)
5. Jen on January 19th, 2009
Oh yes! I threw my camera into a glacial river in Switzerland halfway through a three week trip through Europe. My dad promptly took me to a camera shop and bought me a new camera…luckily it was a decent one and is my backup camera now. I feel your pain!!!
6. Jen on January 22nd, 2009
Cell phone anyone?
Even if you don’t have service, you can save to the phone and download/send later.
7. Kara on August 27th, 2010
True story: On a three-generation trip to Africa (safari), the first night in the tent, *someone* knocked over a wobby table, sending red wine INTO the camera that was being cleaned (and so the lens was off). Ruined a really, really good DSLR. Thankfully, they’d packed a back-up DSLR — at the last minute. Fab photos of wild animals came home.
I was not present; these are my in laws. I don’t think I would have survived the shock/stress of wine IN a camera.
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