Trip To Australia: Take iBook?

[kiwi-in-uk]

Borrow that other memory card, and buy another (they're cheap).
Find out whether you could access a PC in Australia where you could unload your camera and burn the photos to cds. You might need to take your camera's software CDs just in case (although even Windows detects most cameras these days). Then you don't need to take the iBook.

Have fun in Canberra. The War Memorial is interesting. Tidbinbilla radio telescopes. Hmmm. The road leading out of Canberra?

 

[misterman8]

I am currently in a similar dilemma. I am trying to decide whether or not to take my iBook with me on my data collection for my dissertation. I am leaning towards bringing it so that I can enter data into SPSS, a program not many internet cafes are likely to have.

I think what it really all comes down to is a question only you can answer. Are you going to use it as a computer and not just storage? If it’s just for storage, buy a new memory card and save yourself 2 or 3 kilos. It’ll be weight off your back and your mind.

Have great holiday!

 

[aswitcher]

Dont take it camping but it should be fine for everything else.

In Sydney consider
Blue Mountains - Leura/3 Sisters/Look outs/Walks.
Palm Beach - Pittwater/Ocean - Lighthouse walk.
Ferry to/from Manly.
Circula Key / Opera house surrounds and park.

 

[Chundles]

The Keller Lowenbrau at The Rocks - good beer, good food, waitresses with huge.....tracts of land....

The Australian Hotel at the base of the Bridge at The Rocks - also good beer, even better outlook than the Lowenbrau.

Coogee Bay Hotel - Rough past but a good pub and the beach is pretty good too.

The Paragon - nice pub, free pool.

The Slip Inn - nice pub, try and pick up royalty.

The Lord Nelson - Microbrew pub, very nice beers.

Try and see a footy game at Telstra Stadium or the Sydney Football Stadium.

Lots of shopping to be done, and remember, Sydney has some of the best food in the world. You'd be hard pressed to find anywhere with such an abundance of fresh produce. There's something to be said for our climate. Seafood is superb down here.

Head to either the Southern Highlands or the Blue Mountains to escape what heat will be left by mid-march. Should be starting to cool down by then, warmest you'll see will probably be 28°C maybe 30°C if it's a hot day, 25°C would be normal. Much nicer than the 45°C we've seen this summer.

Autumn is the best time to visit these parts, cooler, clear, very stable weather makes for good touristing. Winter is the best time to see central Australia - it's the dry season and it's far nicer climes to walk around in that then sticky heat of summer.

 

[20rogersc]

Hmmm, thanks for some ideas of places to go, sounds great.

Yeh I am wondering how much I will use my iBook out there, and whether just an extra 512 off of eBay will do the job (along with my 128 and hopefully my brother's 512 ). Tough decision this one. Would be nice to check emails, surf the net (check the latest on MR), etc while in hotels, but I don't know whether I'll get round to doing it. Hmmmm . . .

::20ROGERSC::

 

[aswitcher]

Hmmm, thanks for some ideas of places to go, sounds great.

Yeh I am wondering how much I will use my iBook out there, and whether just an extra 512 off of eBay will do the job (along with my 128 and hopefully my brother's 512 ). Tough decision this one. Would be nice to check emails, surf the net (check the latest on MR), etc while in hotels, but I don't know whether I'll get round to doing it. Hmmmm . . .

::20ROGERSC::

I went to Paris and the UK Christmas before last. My PB allowed me to post to my .Mac account the best images of the day before. I used free WiFi locals and paid for a month long UK subscription. Worked a treat.

 

[20rogersc]

I went to Paris and the UK Christmas before last. My PB allowed me to post to my .Mac account the best images of the day before. I used free WiFi locals and paid for a month long UK subscription. Worked a treat.

Cool. Sorry but what did you get a 'month long UK subscription' to?

::20ROGERSC::

 

[annk]

You'll have to take the iBook out of any case for security, so make sure that it's shut down (you can start it up at the gate while near a socket) and that you have easy access to it.

Why would you shut it down? I find the opposite is true - I am sometimes asked to turn it on to prove it's really a computer, and it's sure a lot faster just to open the lid and wake it from sleep!

 

[TsuaSai]

Why would you shut it down? I find the opposite is true - I am sometimes asked to turn it on to prove it's really a computer, and it's sure a lot faster just to open the lid and wake it from sleep!

I have had this happen as well.. I always just sleep my laptop and it makes it much faster for you and everyone around you.

 

[20rogersc]

I have had this happen as well.. I always just sleep my laptop and it makes it much faster for you and everyone around you.

Ah cool, will definately do this, that is if I decide to take it . . .

::20ROGERSC::

(PS. Any more pointers like this will be much appreciated)

 

[Clix Pix]

Regardless of whether or not you take the iBook, definitely get at least one more decent-sized memory card for the camera -- chances are that you'll want to take more photos than you normally do and it's good to be able to quickly swap out cards while in the midst of shooting.

For image downloading/storage, one possibility is to get something like the Epson P-2000, which is a 40 GB external hard drive designed for this purpose. It has a large LCD on the back for easy reviewing of your images. You download into the thing and then you can clear your memory card in the camera and you're good to go.

I would take the iBook, even if you won't be using it during the week that you're camping out. That way you will have it for other times and if an opportunity comes up to check your email or pop into MR, you can do that. If you don't take it along, you might find yourself muttering, "WHY didn't I bring my iBook?"

 

[aswitcher]

Cool. Sorry but what did you get a 'month long UK subscription' to?

::20ROGERSC::

WiFi internet access through starbucks and a garage chain. 40 pounds for the month.

 

[TsuaSai]

Ah cool, will definately do this, that is if I decide to take it . . .

::20ROGERSC::

(PS. Any more pointers like this will be much appreciated)

Not sure if you were planning on it. But carry on is always a good idea. There is no way I would check it. As long as you carry on it should be safe and of course don't let it out of your site in the airport or anywhere else.

Aside from the camping will you be staying in a safe place were you could leave it? or do you have to lug it around everywhere you go?

 

[20rogersc]

Aside from the camping will you be staying in a safe place were you could leave it? or do you have to lug it around everywhere you go?

I can pretty much keep it safe the whole trip. Leave it at my Uncles while camping, and then for a week I'll be at my there. so that's not a problem. And then the other week I'll be in a hotel, so it looks good for that side of things.

::20ROGERSC::

 

[jer2eydevil88]

I say bring it,

I brought my PB on a trip acrross europe for a week and half and ended up taking 1,200 5mp pictures because I had it to copy them all too.

On another note though I have two 1gb SD sticks for the Camera and my daily problem was that I would come pretty close to filling them both with Video Clips and Pictures.

 

[20rogersc]

Right, I've almost decided to leave it at home, but I'm still not 100%
So... If I don't take it, at the moment I've only got a 128MB and a 512MB card for my Nikon Coolpix 5200 (5mp).
How much more do I need?
Thanks

::20ROGERSC::

[+] Any other good places to go will also be welcome

 

[aswitcher]

Right, I've almost decided to leave it at home, but I'm still not 100%
So... If I don't take it, at the moment I've only got a 128MB and a 512MB card for my Nikon Coolpix 5200 (5mp).
How much more do I need?
Thanks

::20ROGERSC::

[+] Any other good places to go will also be welcome

I would consider a gig card - but then I fill a gig card in a day in a museum.

If your average picture size is 2Meg, then you have only about 250 pics for your half a gig card. Thats about 12 shots a day for 3 weeks. Not many really.

 

[Clix Pix]

So... If I don't take it, at the moment I've only got a 128MB and a 512MB card for my Nikon Coolpix (5mp).
How much more do I need?

LOTS! Actually, I don't know if the CP 5200 supports 1 GB cards or not; you might want to check with a camera dealer to make sure. It should, but it's a good idea to make sure. In the likely event that it does, I definitely would purchase at least two 1 GB cards or one 1 GB card and two 512 MB cards. Yes, that sounds like a lot, but when you're in new places, seeing and doing new things, you'll want to record the memories for posterity. With digital it's so easy to shoot as much as you like, since it is different from paying for film and film processing. In the long run it is better to have MORE than you'll need rather than not enough and then be unable to do anything about it.

If you do take the iBook with you then it's not necessary to buy that much more memory, but I would buy at least one more 512 MB card.

Personally, I vote for taking the iBook. You've already said that it'll be safe during the week that you're camping, and when you're staying at the hotel you can stash it in the hotel safe during the times you're not in the room. That's what I did with my PB when I was in SF in January and that worked out really well.

 

[m-dogg]

waitresses with huge.....tracts of land.....

hahahhhahh...nice holy grail reference...

But to the OP, I say take it. A 5 MP camera takes large-sized pictures which will fill up your memory cards fast. One of the great things about digital cameras is that you don't have to worry about paying for film and paying to develop it. But to not have enough storage would be like bringing only 3 or 4 rols of film and being limited by that. I know I love taking a lot of pictures when I go someplace new...

 

[20rogersc]

Thanks for the suggestions.
Ugh I'm now even less deicideed on whether to take it or not now!

::20ROGERSC::

 

[oingoboingo]

Great! Don't whatever you do, listen to the guides when they 'recommend' a quaint little pub down the street to have gourmet pizza in, it's horrible. I had crocodile pizza. Very, very chewy!

So many new beers to try though.

The Australian Hotel? LOL...that's gotta be one of the best pubs in Sydney. Maybe you got unlucky and got a bad pizza...normally they're great. The beer selection is superb too. On the theme of pubs with great beer in The Rocks, also find The Lord Nelson. They brew 6 beers of their own on the premises and they're all tasty!

 

[Clix Pix]

But to not have enough storage would be like bringing only 3 or 4 rols of film and being limited by that. I know I love taking a lot of pictures when I go someplace new...

Exactly. And unlike film, you might not find it so easy to quickly buy an additional memory card over there, not to mention that it is likely to be more expensive than buying it here at home. Best to stock up with what you'll need BEFORE you leave for the trip...

Another thought I just had: be sure to get an extra battery for your camera, too, and don't forget to pack the charger! Nothing worse than having the battery die on you in the middle of getting some shots in a place where you'll not have the opportunity again....

 

[Clix Pix]

Thanks for the suggestions.
Ugh I'm now even less deicideed on whether to take it or not now!

Take it. Then you won't have any regrets.

Can't you hear your iBook whispering that it wants to go with you? How can you bear to leave it deserted and lonely at home while you're out having fun in a whole different country?!

Take it with you.

 

[Chundles]

Exactly. And unlike film, you might not find it so easy to quickly buy an additional memory card over there, not to mention that it is likely to be more expensive than buying it here at home.

Hah!!! We're not some 3rd world country. You can get memory cards everywhere. They're a teency bit more expensive but not by all that much.

 

[Clix Pix]

Hah!!! We're not some 3rd world country. You can get memory cards everywhere. They're a teency bit more expensive but not by all that much.

True, you're not some third world country. Apologies for insulting the fine and most beautiful country of Australia! However, the key word here is "quickly...." It's one thing if at home, one suddenly realizes that, oh, dang, the memory card is almost exhausted and a new one is sorely needed right now. Hop in the car or walk or go by whatever means to the store(s) you know will have it and that's that. When you're in a strange town, city or country, you're not going to know where the shops are that carry what you need and this could be a source of stress if you really want a memory card in a hurry and don't know where to find one or for whatever reason can't get one just then (shops are closed because it's after hours, whatever).

Oh, that's good to know that memory cards aren't all that much more expensive than they are here in the US (don't know prices in the UK). I'm always reading complaints that over in Oz you're paying much more for certain goods and services than we do in this country, so I was making an assumption...