As DSE suggested, keep all electronics out of direct sun and "dust" as possible( rain and moist can be kiss of death)! Using simple alum foil can be used to create a use sun shield, plus carry extra ziplock bags for those sudden showers.

Bring several ziplock bags for everything...including your camera, manual, batteries, accessories, etc.

Bring a multi-socket power strip and some more (than 2) extra cam batteries so you can charge several at a time when you get a chance, and don't forget the adapter/converter for S.America.

Carry this onboard with your carry-on....never put your cam gear in your checked- in baggage. I carry everything my cam needs in my carry-on because if anything is missing I'm are out of luck.

If your cam is small enough to fit in a fanny-pak bring one, thats one of the advantages of a smaller cam, you can bring it everywhere.

I use a monopod and/or lightweight tripod to hold a small cam and walk with it attached if I want a steady shot...better than just hand holding as Spot mentioned, and its useful when you want to just do a steady pan or be in the picture yourself.

I also put all my cam gear in the smallest Pelican type case I can and use a padlock to lock it when I'm not around. I also bring a small cable so I can padlock the locked hard shell case to a bed frame or desk or other large object for extra security. I don't intend to make it easy for someone to rip my gear from a hotel room or any other area where it might be prone to being ripped off.

It can add up to a lot of gear to schlepp around but if you come home with great video it will all be worth it....
Enjoy!

To cut the need for a monopod just get a 1/4"-20 eyebolt from a hardware store. Attach a 6 foot length of nylon cord to it and screw into the camera's tripod socket. When you need stabilization just let the cord out to the ground, step on it, and pull up on the camera. You won't believe how effective a stabilizer it is.

Teaktart is right on: take a fanny pack or small back back and take the camera with you everywhere. Don't leave it unattended in your hotel room or car, ever. A Pelican case chained to the bed is an invitation for one of the hotel workers to rip it off, and it takes only a few seconds with a screw driver to do it.

We packed a PD150 all over China -- never let it out of our sight -- and had the wonderful benefit of having the camera on hand to get some really great footage that we would have missed if it had been back in the hotel. Your camera is considerably small and should be even less of a burden.

The other thing I'd add to everyone's lists above is a good rain bag for your camera.
Squalls come up of a sudden and there's often good shooting to be done during the downpour.

Hope you have a grand experience. I envy you.

Jack

"Teaktart is right on: take a fanny pack or small back back and take the camera with you everywhere. Don't leave it unattended in your hotel room or car, ever. A Pelican case chained to the bed is an invitation for one of the hotel workers to rip it off, and it takes only a few seconds with a screw driver to do it."

I'd add one more thing to this... Back in 1997 I had a Sony TR700 stolen from a locked hotel room in Prague. (anyone remember that nice little Hi8 camcorder?) Luckily, I had my all my tapes stored in a separate location.

I was upset that I lost a $1,200+ camera (can you believe those prices!). But I really would have cried if I had lost the tape of my son's bicycle kick goal at the soccer tournament we were attending - see



...Jerry

About the only thing I'd add to all the excellent advise above is be very conscious of local laws and customs. Our Dept of Foreign Affairs is running TV ads about this.
In some countries you'll get thrown in jail for simply having a government building in the background of a shot. Some places locals can get very excited about having a camera pointed at them, if in any doubt ask, a polite gesture will do, be prepared to pay people for "starring" in your video. I've been in several place where taking stills was OK but video required payment of a "tax" so having a still and video camera can be a good idea.
Also remember in 3rd world countries people can be very desperate, if someone does try to steal your gear from your person give it up, it can be replaced.
When shooting try to have someone else with you to watch out for your safety. It's very easy to loose the big picture when peering through a viewfinder and falls while overseas are no fun at all.

Bob.

If the Sony has a filter thread, consider a UV-filter. It's easier to clean the filter than the front lens.

Another consideration might be a lens cap. Not only does it prevent flare and improve contrast but it also prevents the lens from being touched and smudged inadvertently.

Lou

WOW!
Thanks a lot all... Some Really, really good tips and advise from everyone! Thanks a lot Spot. Very good stuff. I was looking up some of the stuff you mentioned and I googled VC-100 but didn't get any accurate results. I would really like to find a better mic but Sony doesn't give you very many options (2, the blue tooth one is too one dimensional) for this Camcorder. If you could post a link or some one else could advise on where to find this that'd be great.
Some one else said....The idea about 1/4 inch eye bolt and some rope is BRILLIANT
I know that it will be very effective! I would have never thought of that!

I forgot to mention that I already have a monopod (like many of you mentioned) and a lens hood that have both proved valuable. I only wish I could use the lens hood and a UV filter at the same time. I also have a water proof bag and cables and locks for all the gear but thanks for the warnings. Sorry to hear about all your loses. One of those lessons in life you only want to learn once (or really not at all).

The rest of the things mentioned I will look for and purchase (if I can afford). I hate this microphone utter piece of crap. But it is better than the stock and eliminates a good deal of back round noise.

It's funny that one of you mention about filming Gov buildings and all. I was almost arrested 3 times even here in the states while shooting "And So I Ran" (http://www.vimeo.com/channels/realtelevision) here in downtown Las Vegas because there were all Gov Buildings but I didn't know it so I started filming and security ran out and they were not happy to say the least.
Or the time off shooting in front of the Venetian.......Dodging security for 3 days was fun!=) LOL. So I do have some experience of dealing with angry security guards for shooting....Hopefully it won't send me to jail. Plus I have already been robbed at knife point when I was in Bogota last year. So being safe will be my priority.

The biggest thing I am worried about....Like many of you warned....is the Humidity! Where I will be landing in Cartegena Colombia is 60-80% humidity and 93 degrees.
I don't know what to do if condensation gets built up in the lens. Any body know what to do if this becomes the case or what to do to prevent it?
I have a four year accident protection warranty plan so in the long run I am not worried about damage but would be devastated if I could not use the camera while I am there.

Thanks again everyone you guys are great.

Take care,

Josh

"I don't know what to do if condensation gets built up in the lens. Any body know what to do if this becomes the case or what to do to prevent it?"

Keep your kit in zip locked (airtight) plastic bags with silica gell. Change the silica regularly, it does not last forever!

At a pinch if you have no silica use dry uncooked rice.

I have a large number of Hydrosorb silica cannisters as these are re-usable, you put them in an electric oven for a couple of hours until the indicator changes color back and you're set to go.

The immediate effects of condensation are obvious, the long term effect is corrosion.

For serious protection look at cases made by Storm or Pelican. You still need a silica inside them as you can very easily end up locking moisture inside the air tight case.

I use the SG-40 from Hydrosorbent Products. You'll likely find them for sale on eBay or larger camera shops.

One tip. If your camera goes into "condensation" lock out mode you have to remove the battery to reset it. Turning the camera off and on does not clear the condition.

You can try warming a camera over a low wattage light bulb to drive out moisture at a pinch. Hold it in your hand, if it's too hot to hold it's too hot for the camera! Give kit time to adjust to the change in temperature before opening cases and bags. Taking the camera from a cold aircond. hotel room into warm tropical air will give you problems very quickly. Doing the reverse is what'll get condensation inside the lens. You have humid air inside, you lower the temperatire below the dew point of the humid air and the water condenses inside the lens. But it takes time for the moist air to get inside the lens. Keeping it mostly inside a sealed bag with dry air really can help prevent this.

Bob.

When you leave home, don't forget your plane ticket. ¦O)

Hey Bob, thanks a million,
once again your advice is very helpful! I was really unaware of how easily that could happen.... It would have really sent me for a loop had I got hit with some pretty heavy humidity.... My brothers and sisters have a SLR Camera that I'm thinking would have had the same problem... thanks for your advise we will all be fine.

Believe it or not I have never bought or used silicon gel. i think it is the same stuff packed with a new pair of shoes or what not, right? Where can I by a bunch of packs, any Ideas? Walmart? Camera Store? or should I go raid the shoe store...LOL?!

Any ideas what Spot was talking about with the VC-100 Mic Connector?

FuTZ: At this point I will be doing good if I remember that there is a plane and don't start swimming to Cartegena! I've been literally working through the night lately. When I do sleep I dream of Vegas!! It's truly getting ridiculous.

Anyways, thank you both for your help,

Josh

"i think it is the same stuff packed with a new pair of shoes or what not, right?"

Most likely yes.
Most big photography suppliers would have bags of it.
Keep in mind once it's absorbed as much water as it can, that's it, no point keeping it in the bag as it's doing nutthin. That's a very common mistake. So the packs that came with your shoes are going to be quite useless. In theory you could bake them at 300degF for a couple of hours, assuming they are silica gell, not all such things are, it may state the contents on the packet. Some small packets do include an indicator. If it's Blue, it has life, if it's red it's dead.

You should be able to buy bags of it, say 20 packs each inside it's own individual sealed bag because once you open the packet it starts working and wearing out.

That's why I've invested in the Hydrosorbent SG-40s, I can reuse them and they have an indicator to tell me they need a "recharge". I replace / recycle all the ones in my kit boxes about once per month.

Bob.

Thank you again Bob.,
I will see if I can pick some up before I go. If not there is always rice!


peace,

josh

...60-80% humidity and 93 degrees.

Where I live the summer humidity ranges from 80% to 95% - no joke :-(
The only time I ever had a humidity warning on my camcorder was when I took it out of an aid-conditioned vehicle and tried shooting right away.
I shut the unit off for about 15 min., let it get acclimatized and I was OK for the rest of the day.
Just make sure you give the gear some time to get used to the outside conditions and you should be OK.

Mike

Okay, well maybe it's not as bad as I am thinking. I also think my estimates on the humidity were well on the low side. It is probably more like 95%. From what I hear Cartegena is one of the most humid cities in the world.

On another note, I would really like to use that HDMI Port to burn in my footage with out having to have AVCHD files. Does anyone know of a way to do this? I wonder if I can take my pc to best buy and have them make it a bidirectional port. If I could do this can I use that camcorder and just play the files with the HDMI port connected and use Vegas to grab it as if it were a tape?
Any help here would be awesome!

Thanks gang,

josh

Call me paranoid but...
I usually lock my Pelican case inside my locked suitcase which I also cable and lock to something metal (if possible) that can't be undone with a screwdriver, out of sight - out of mind. And, take my cam everywhere with me.

I second the suggestion to have a UV filter on your lens if possible. About 5 yrs ago I got to go to Cuba and wasn't there even 2 hours when I had a weird accident with my camera where it fell out of my lap and onto the ground and the lens was busted. I almost cried....(its ok guys, I'm a girl!) Later that night I noticed it was just the UV filter that was broken and not the main lens. I got out my trusty Swiss Army Knife and did a 'lens-ectomy' and dug out the broken glass and the metal filter ring and was thrilled that my Sony Hi-8 was back in action for the rest of the trip! Got some great footage and Bush closed the door to 'educational' trips to Cuba about 6 months later so it was a rare opportunity that could have been lost had I not tried to fix my broken lens.

So....bring that extra filter for 'insurance' for your cam and of course have some kind of swiss army knife like tool in you checked baggage for this kind of emergency. I also used that same knife to file down one of the prongs on my plugs when I needed to charge my batteries in a hotel room that had an odd electrical outlet that was just slightly too tight for my plug. The army knife saved the day again!

eileen