valuables and camera

[Zuzana23]

Hello. I would like to ask for an advice whether on not to bring a camera and also what to do with valuables. I´ve read some threads about taking valuables also to shower in some waterproof bags. But I am concerned about what to do with a camera if I bring it. During the day I would keep it always with me instead of crossbody bag. But what to do with it during the night or shower? Or rather not bring it?
Thank you in advance for your advice.

 

[Former member 22438]

Some people keep the valuables with them in the shower-like your clean cloths.
Or if you walk alone, find somebody on your way you can trust and keeps an eye on your belongings and you on hers/his for the time being.
Bom caminho

 

[Iriebabel]

Maybe some veterans can offer better advice but here I am again with my 2 centavos. Been on the road for a couple of days flying into BCN then train to Pamplona. I am on my way to SJPDP today. I think it depends on the person on weather to bring a camera. It means more weight but I am willing to deal th that. A personal choice. I have my camera (Cannon 60D w very light 18-55mm lens) / extra battery and valuables ( wallet etc...) in a waist pack . Camera lens work great in low light and was versatile for sightseeing. As far as shower I plan to use the waterproof bag for the waist pack and camera when I go to the shower. I have a light weight combo lock on my pack. . I think its up to you either way but if you bring it plan on dealing with the weight and inconvenience of protection of valuables. I would not bring any expensive jewelry.

 

[Anamiri]

I try to keep valuables to a minimum, no jewelry, a cheap watch, no camera. But my phone, charger, passport, money and medications I keep with me at all times. In a waist belt and cargo shorts pockets most of the time. I use Ziplock plastic bags for wet areas like showers, or if its raining.
I guess its a sign of 'progress' that we take our phones with us everywhere.

 

[peregrino_tom]

Hi Zuzana
Your sense of security will probably change during your caminho. I think most of us start by squirrelling our valuables bag into our sleeping bag for the first few nights. But then when you realise that you are seeing mostly the same people day after day and they are going to the same place as you, and that some of them just leave their £600 iphones charging while they shower or go off somewhere, you tend to relax. And you find you get to know some pilgrims and trust them and start to feel you don't need to clutch everything to your person the whole time as you're all informally looking out for each other. If you have to take a great big SLR camera, then Iriebabel's strategy (above) sounds as good as any I can think of.
BTW the showers are usually in enclosures with doors where you have just enough room to hang up your clothes etc inside and a normal camera case should be fine in there as well, if you decide your camera is coming with you.
I think that over time pilgrims come to sense that the theft of valuables is highly unlikely in pilgrim hostels amongst people that they've largely come to know. And they relax accordingly. The trick is to be aware when that situation changes, for instance when you come back to the big cities. I remember a couple of cases of thieves getting into the main albergue in Leon a few years back and cleaning the place out. So the key is to always assess the situation around you and adjust accordingly - and make friends!
Cheers, tom

 

[martin1ws]

I think if you ask about your camera and you are not absolutely sure that you need it you should leave it at home.

Here is Hank's comment in this thread (video):
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...king-list-ultralight-under-5-kg-10-lbs.53662/

He talks about his camera here (19m 48s):

 

[MethaV]

Hi Zuzana
Your sense of security will probably change during your caminho. I think most of us start by squirrelling our valuables bag into our sleeping bag for the first few nights. But then when you realise that you are seeing mostly the same people day after day and they are going to the same place as you, and that some of them just leave their £600 iphones charging while they shower or go off somewhere, you tend to relax. And you find you get to know some pilgrims and trust them and start to feel you don't need to clutch everything to your person the whole time as you're all informally looking out for each other. If you have to take a great big SLR camera, then Iriebabel's strategy (above) sounds as good as any I can think of.
BTW the showers are usually in enclosures with doors where you have just enough room to hang up your clothes etc inside and a normal camera case should be fine in there as well, if you decide your camera is coming with you.
I think that over time pilgrims come to sense that the theft of valuables is highly unlikely in pilgrim hostels amongst people that they've largely come to know. And they relax accordingly. The trick is to be aware when that situation changes, for instance when you come back to the big cities. I remember a couple of cases of thieves getting into the main albergue in Leon a few years back and cleaning the place out. So the key is to always assess the situation around you and adjust accordingly - and make friends!
Cheers, tom

Hello. I would like to ask for an advice whether on not to bring a camera and also what to do with valuables. I´ve read some threads about taking valuables also to shower in some waterproof bags. But I am concerned about what to do with a camera if I bring it. During the day I would keep it always with me instead of crossbody bag. But what to do with it during the night or shower? Or rather not bring it?
Thank you in advance for your advice.

Hello. I would like to ask for an advice whether on not to bring a camera and also what to do with valuables. I´ve read some threads about taking valuables also to shower in some waterproof bags. But I am concerned about what to do with a camera if I bring it. During the day I would keep it always with me instead of crossbody bag. But what to do with it during the night or shower? Or rather not bring it?
Thank you in advance for your advice.

I walked in 2011, 2014 and 2017 and never had the feeling of risking anything. Lots of people - like me - charge the mobile phone and/or camera during night time or when in shower. I never heard of anybody loosing any valuables where I stayed, but of course we have to be sensitive.

 

[RJM]

Valuables such as money, electronics, credit cards and passports get stolen more often on the Camino than people realize.
Carry the minimum of valuables and never leave them unattended. Even items like expensive sunglasses and caps get stolen. The Camino is not utopia or a bubble, and thieves targeting pilgrims has been in existence as long as the Camino has.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I carry nothing on the Camino I cannot afford to lose.
If I'm staying in an albergue, I carry my cash, cards, and phone into the shower with me in a ziplock bag.
If I use bag transport, I carry all valuables in a daypack on my body.

 

[AlwynWellington]

Do as the early pilgrims did - don't shower.

Problem solved.

Water conserved.

 

[Deleted member 56069]

Do as the early pilgrims did - don't shower.

Problem solved.

Water conserved.

How to have a true 'middle ages' Camino experience!

Just hope at the pilgrim service at the cathedral in Santiago that they swing the Botafumeiro to keep the sweaty pilgrim smell down to a minimum...

 

[JillGat]

I don't know about cameras, but all I know is that I saw people with fancy cameras with added lenses, etc., and - when I showed them the fotos I took with my phone, they often asked if I would send my pics to them. I put together a print book of photos from my walk that are stunning, if I do say so myself.

 

[november_moon]

I am in the "bring fewer valuables" camp - it is very freeing not to have to keep track of stuff. Wallet, passport, phone - those were my valuables and they easily fit in a small cross-body bag, so was easy to keep them with me. My husband kept his in his pants pocket. Easy.

Regarding whether or not to bring the camera - my husband pondered that question for a long time - he is an avid photographer. Ultimately, he opted to leave the camera at home and just use the camera on his phone. His reasons were twofold - to lighten the load, and also to have a different type of experience. The experience as a photographer and as a non-photographer are very different.

 

[Deleted member 56069]

I am in the "bring fewer valuables" camp - it is very freeing not to have to keep track of stuff. Wallet, passport, phone - those were my valuables and they easily fit in a small cross-body bag, so was easy to keep them with me. My husband kept his in his pants pocket. Easy.

Regarding whether or not to bring the camera - my husband pondered that question for a long time - he is an avid photographer. Ultimately, he opted to leave the camera at home and just use the camera on his phone. His reasons were twofold - to lighten the load, and also to have a different type of experience. The experience as a photographer and as a non-photographer are very different.

I had the same camera delema but ultimately did take a small compact Canon on all my Camino's. Camera phones are getting better, but are still limited compared to a high end compact.
I don't carry a phone myself as my wife takes hers. One is enough between us.
Recently got a Canon G9X Mark 2. About the foot print of a credit card in size, but with a larger 1 inch sensor as compared to phones or other compacts Have not tried out on a Camino yet, but on a recent trip to California was very impressed with the picture quality. Almost as good as my full size Canon DLSR .
Will be using it on the Primitivo this September.

 

[Mugatu]

Let preface this first by saying, on my last CF, all I used was my iPhone 8 Plus and got good image results.

With that said, I wanted the focus to be on the experience rather than capturing the moment; however, this summer, I do plan to bring a Lumix GX85 with 2 lenses and possibly a gimbal; but my motives are a bit different this time around.

Like previous members have already mentioned, don't bring anything you aren't prepared to part with unexpectedly. I myself brought my valuables into the shower stuffed in a dry bag, and at night had it with me inside my silk liner; I plan to do the same thing this summer.

Let me just say, at no point did I ever feel at risk of theft; this is just good, logical, practice when staying in any sort of dormitory environment.

 

[Rob the Slob]

One tip I heard from a professional photographer was to stick pieces of white masking tape on the corners of your camera. The idea is that it gives the impression of being broken, and no one will steal a camera that's broken and can't be sold.