Film or Digital on Vacation

Recently I went on vacation to visit some family and friends. I wanted to take photos while I was there, and couldn't decide on which camera(s) to take with me. I flew with my two year old daughter across the country without my husband to lend an hand. Flying with a two year old adds extra baggage and no help carrying it, so I have to be choosy about what I decide to bring. I don't like to put my cameras in check-in luggage, because you can't lock your luggage, your bags just get tossed around, and if you have film in your camera, the x-ray machine will kill it. At minimum, for my daughter I had to carry pull-ups and wipes, small toys to entertain her, her car seat, snacks and a drink, her blanket and sleep bear, and a change of clothes.

I wanted to bring more then my small digital point and shoot. I have a nice Nikon CoolPix P3, but I like the control of an SLR. My digital SLR kit and extras can take up a lot of room and the cost of replacement if something happened to them would be a lot. So I decided to take my old film SLR, a Minolta x-700. The cost would be higher with all the film to develop, but that would still be less then replacing a damaged Nikon D200 body or lenses. For the space I could fit an extra lens and flash, so I think it was a wise decision.

After going through the security lines and dragging two backpacks, a car seat, and a two year old thought the airport, I was glad to have taken a camera that, while I love taking photos with it, I wouldn't be heart broken if something happened to it. Funny, but before I became a mom, I flew as light as possible, but I would have packed as many cameras as I could, so I had what I needed when I wanted to get a photo. Priorities really can change.

I did enjoy using film again. It had been almost eight months since I used my 35mm SLR. I'm glad I took it.