I would be going with a team from my church to India for 15 days to Darjeeling, Asansol and Kolkata in Nov. My job is to record the team's progress and the places we went on video. My goal is to make a video documentary out of the footages that I took. I would be using Panasonic Ag-DVX102BEN camera. So these are my questions.

1. As I just found out that Darjeeling might snow during our trip there, will my camera able to handle the tempreture there? Would it freeze & locked up? What I need to bring or do?

2. I am expecting India would be a country full of free flying road dust. Would the dust enters to my video cam lens? If yes how can I prevent from happening/remove the dust?

3. Where can I get a protective carrying case/bag for my camera? Preferbly strong but light enough for me to hand carry into the plane.

4. Is it adviceable for me to bring a tripod along? I have a manfroto tripod but I think it is too heavy for me to bring along just in case we need to hike for hours to go into a village.

5. Any other experience shooting video in other country and don't mind to share so that I avoid as many pitfalls as I could would be greatly appreciated.

I guess dust is a very common problem but always bring lens cleaner around and a blower as well.

Check the weather conditions in Dajeerling, what is the usual temperatures during winter? If I am not wrong, camcorders are tested (I did testing back when I was designing camcorders in JVC and we kept the camcorders in temperatures -10degrees) in cold conditions. You can find the exact details in the camcorder manual.

For bags, you can check brands like Lowepro for video camera bags where you can get the all weather proof bags for the video camera.

A tripod would be useful but depending on the weight of the camera, you can bring a lighter one.

I believe the camera will be able to handle the temperature, but as with all mechanical devices, watch out for drain in battery life when you face cold temperatures.

I think you don't have to worry too much about dust. Just bring around one of those microfibre cloths or something.

You can forgo your tripod if it really is that big a burden, but if not, then get those backpacks that allows you to strap your tripod to. It would be much lighter than carrying by hand. Furthermore, bringing around a solid tripod can double up as a good weapon while travelling.

1. No problem on the temperatures but need to be cautious on condensation. Bring along a plastic bag to protect the videocam and always keep your batteries warm inside your jacket. Never leave them exposed to cold temperatures as they will drain quickly.

2. Bring a blower and anti-static cloth. Keep it in a good bag when not in used.

3. Lowepro AW series would be a good bet for good bags. (http://www.lowepro.com/)

4. It's best to bring a tripod along. Get a cheap light one if your current one is too heavy. You wouldn't want to do a Blair Witch Project video, right?

5. Bring loads of batteries and DV tapes. Also a fast charger would be handy. Check the electrical sockets for India and get the necessary adapter.

Good luck!!

Thanks everybody for your input. I would love to have a LowerPro AW series bag but a quick price check with the KL distributor the bag price itself already more expensive than my entire trip! It is more than RM1.5k! Arrrgghhh!! Any cheaper alternative that you guys know of? I was thinking of putting my cam in a RM300 laptop bag but I don't think it is padded enough.

maybe you can try to check out cheaper bags from bintang maju or those places where they are selling the DVX. They might have it. I bought my one from singapore.. SGD 50. can say it's quite good for that purpose.. it's not a branded one but it's got sufficient padding. Better to get your camera's measurement ready.. Cause previously I checked out lowepro's range... there isn't one that could fit the DVX102. Wonder if I missed out the lowepro AW. ?

Thanks. Guess I will have to go to the shop and bring along my cam to test it. Thanks for all your input guys!

Oh yeah... make sure u bring a lot of change of clothes.. as wen dey start dancing.. u need to change clothes from one scene to another...