OMO: Am I being mental?

Evening all,
I've got an upcoming trip to Atlanta coming, furthest I've ever been, not been to the states before. Staying in the heart of the city for almost a week for a conference.

I'm finding myself reluctant to take my actual camera.... This is somehow unnerving me. I'm hoping to "make-do" with my iPhone.

The reasoning is such:
The camera is pretty damn good.
The sharing is going to be important (keeping my wife involved)
I'm not expecting to have time to do anything "special" that would require DSLR
I'd not have to lug any of the gear then either.

Am I missing something obvious? Going to regret it massively? Or can the level of touristy shots be done well enough with the phone now? (In your opinion)

Any thoughts, questions and comments appreciated as always.

[Ch00]

I would take the decent camera. I have mine in a decent bag which has a top area for normal stuff and will just about fit as hand luggage.

You never know what is around the corner!!!

Just make sure its named on the house insurance and covered away from home.

Use the phone as a phone and keep in touch with the Mrs!!!

[carelesschucca]

as Choo says take a decent camera, and use both, you'll not regret it!!!

[Bluepete]

Either take your DSLR, buy yourself a decent compact or even hire yourself something.

I wouldn't miss an opportunity like that.

Pete

[Ch00]

Originally Posted by Bluepete

Either take your DSLR, buy yourself a decent compact or even hire yourself something.

I wouldn't miss an opportunity like that.

Pete

Thats a good point, the Mrs has a decent Nikon compact for when the DLSR is too big and heavy.

Hmm, fair comments so far and from the expected rationality I'm somehow not getting from myself

So travelling as light as possible would be 700D, 11-16m lens (or should I go ultra light with just the 18-55 kit lens?) and manfrotto befree travel tripod.

I need some research I guess into what I should shoot.. Had a few trips recently where I did nothing useful or shots didn't work out so perhaps that explains my reluctance.

[BanannaMan]

Take the good camera.
Atlanta is one our better cities, unless you forget and leave it somewhere it's not likely to be stolen.
If you leave it in the secured side of the airport, it's likely to be returned to you if it has your info inside or on a tag. (of course depending on who picks it up)
Atlanta is also a beautiful city (lots of modern buildings) so fairly sure you'll get the chance to take some nice pics if you're staying in the city.

Atlanta aka (Hartfield-Jackson) is my favorite US airport although it's all connected into one giant complex (I do prefer Manchester's seperate terminals) which means you'll need to ride the APM (train) inside the airport to get to your gate.
The place is massive but the bullet trains will get you to where you want to be in just a few seconds.
Well marked with signs and easy to get to where you need to be with plenty of time to spare. Lots of shops and facilites all through the airport as well.
In my opinion, despite it's size, it's the easiest US airport to travel through.

Words of advice:

Those signs inside the airport's train advising you to hold on to the safety railings when the train takes off are not a joke!!!
The first time I rode it, got into a crowded car, standing up, holding one hand on the rail (or pole rather) and talking to the Mrs. on the mobile with the other. When it took off I almost landed in the floor!!! LOL
It's like 0 to 70 mph in 0.5 seconds!!! Hang on!!!

Check the weather there before you go, it's usually quite a bit warmer in Atlanta than you're used to anywhere in the UK.

Get whatever US currency you'll need from your local bank before you leave the UK. The exchange rates at the airport are crazy!!

Make sure your 'chip' card swipes as well. Chip cards are just now coming to the US and lots of local shops and restaurants only take swipe cards.
(yes we are slightly behind the rest of the civilized world)

[johnnyrod]

Make sure you're insured and take the good one, you can leave it in the hotel safe during the day. I'm not sure you'll get a lot of time to use it but if you do you'll regret it. I don't think the US cities are any more dangerous than ours if you are just in the central areas.

If we're going for quick travel advice, here is mine. Get off the plane as fast as you can. The queues at immigration can be long and slow, so get yourself there asap. The border guards are just about as humourless a bunch of people as you'll ever meet so really just answer the questions with as few words as possible. On the way back (not sure about the way there) you have to leave your suitcase unlocked as the TSA (fecking transport security) will happily break it for you to inspect it. Some cases have a lock which allows a TSA master key, I didn't.

Find an outlet store and get yourself some new Levis, they're only about $40 or so. Or you get them in department stores too like Kohls or whoever is in the area. I'm not sure there is much else you may want, apart from decent peanut butter and electronics, my wife's macbook is a US one. Enjoy the trip!

[Kenzie]

If you find taking the dslr a pain, get a good travel compact. I took my D3200 to Aachen and got some great night shots, but it was a bit bulky. I took my HS10 bridge camera to Dusseldorf as the lens had a good all in one reach but the night pictures were crap because of the small sensor. The wife suggested I bought a good compact so I grabbed a Lumix TZ35.

[Ch00]

Originally Posted by Brettus

So travelling as light as possible would be 700D, 11-16m lens (or should I go ultra light with just the 18-55 kit lens?) and manfrotto befree travel tripod.

We could be tripod buddies as i have the same one as you but I would leave it at home for this trip as its still a fair size and weight in the case and you may need tje space for stuff you bought!

I would also just go for the 18 to 55 lens.