Going on summer vacation? You don’t want to miss those photo moments by not being prepared. Pack light but don’t forget to include these camera supplies.

1. Digital Camera – they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Heck why stop there? Take hundreds of pictures on your summer vacation. With a simple camera like a Sony Cybershot W300, you will capture memories you will cherish a lifetime. Now if you can spring for a Canon EOS 5D Mark II . . . even better. Have you seen the price tag on that camera? Sigh!!!!
 
2. Charger with Adaptors – always remember to ask what type of plug you need.

3. Extra Batteries – be prepared for the energizer bunny to lose its energy.  Going on an all day walking tour with just 2-3 hours worth of batteries isn’t enough.

4. Extra Memory Cards – imagine a day trip and you only have 1GB of memory.  You will spend half your time deleting pictures just to save some space for a later photo opportunity.  Memory is cheap now . . . buy a lot of memory.

5. Tripod – you don’t always have an extra pair of hands to take your picture. There is always a time and place that you need to use your timer and capture a photo of you enjoying your summer vacation with friends.

6. Laptop – save pictures from your camera and your friends cameras on your laptop and also upload to a safe cyberspace location for safe keeping. You can free your memory cards and be ready to start taking shots again. Plus you can email photos to your friends and family at home.  
 
7. Card Reader – you and your friends may have different types of memory cards that are not compatible with your laptop card reader.  Having a card reader will make transferring pictures from all cameras onto your laptop easier. 

8. Blank DVD’s or a USB card – everyone on your trip will have a copy to take home of the pictures the other person has taken.

9. Camera Phone – Why bother? If your digital camera dies, your iPhone or other camera phone can be your backup camera.  Also, photos from camera phones can be instantly emailed to friends to let them know how you are spending your day.

10. Friend with a Digital Camera – travel with a generous friend who has the latest and greatest digital camera equipment.  Cutting edge is costly and a moving target.  Enjoy the best for free by mooching someone else’s digital camera.

Preparation is the key to capturing and preserving those perfect summer photos.  With these 10 essentials, you can’t go wrong.