Advanced Compact for 4-5 month trip

Soooo, i will be doing a 4-5 month backpacking trip in Asia and i am thinking wether or not i should get a compact camera.

At the moment i use a Canon 60D.
I have a couple of lenses, extra batteries, filters, tripod, bla bla bla, but all that takes a lot of place in my backpack, makes for maybe a couple of extra kilos and it was a nice bit of money.
This won't be a "photography trip". We will be backpacking, moving a lot, doing some hicking,..., and i don't think i would have the "time" to actually get to the places, unpack all the gear, look for the perfect shot, wait for the perfect light and shot a couple of photos. I will surelly regret this decision at times, but i think this is the smart choice...

On the other hand, i also don't want to just take some snapshots with my phone.

So i have been looking into some compact cameras.
Right now i have "seen" a couple which i like and are inside our budget (about 300€ / 340 US$):
- Canon G16
- Canon Powershot S120

The ideal camera would be:
- small / light
- shoot RAW
- have manual controls
- good image quality
- long battery life

added bonus would be:
- decent zoom (i like wide angle)
- GPS
- tough
- not go too much over our budget

i don't really care much about filters, 1000 special shooting modes, or any other of these kinds of shananigans...

So, what ideas do you have about this?
Do you know any of these cameras?
Do you know any other cameras which would be a good choice (no problem if they are from other brands)?

Any advices?
I would love to hear what you think about this, any ideas you might have or even read about similar experiences you had.

Thanks!
I really appreciate your help on this!
=)

Heya,

Hrm, tough one. If I were doing it, I too would want a light weight small setup. It's hard to leave your known and trusted camera at home. But I totally understand how big and bulky a 60D + Lens or two would be, plus accessories, in a pack when you're back-packing and need to keep it lean and mean.

If I had the money, I'd probably want a weather resistant M43's camera like the Panasonic GH4. But it's expensive. It costs more than my dSLR's. Just thinking out loud, if I were doing a once-in-a-lifetime type thing, I'd probably spring for something that can take the weather because it would be horrible to lose images to a cold night or non-stop-rain or something.

If size wasn't an issue, I'd probably just get a Pentax K50 or K5II with a 18-55 WR and take batteries. Again, weather resistance. They're cheap enough, durable, and have that weather resistance while keeping great image quality and a large sensor.

Ideally, something small and cheap though. I would probably be pretty comfortable with an EOS-M. Small, mirrorless APS-C, big sensor for size of camera, with lots of easy to use controls and takes smaller lenses even. I'd probably be quite fine with just the 22mm F2 pancake lens on it. And I'd just take an ultracompact tripod and a heap of batteries and the charger and maybe just charge up all of the batteries now and then when you're near some where and it's available.

The S120 vs G16, I'd favor the G16 of the two.

Very best,

Fujifilm x100..a compact camera with a huge APS-C sensor with an IQ not matched in its catagory ...Fixed high quality Fujinon lens great for street and travel photography.... and if zooming required can always do that with your feet A good second hand one could be had for around $400-500

clipper_from_oz wrote in post #17684694
Fujifilm x100r...a compact camera with a huge APS-C Xtrans sensor with an IQ not matched in its catagory ...Fixed high quality Fujinon lens great for street and travel photography.... and if zooming required can always do that with your feet

For the cost, and application, I would rather have something weather sealed when back packing for 5 months. Don't you think?

Very best,

I would go with this:

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 Digital Camera

Great zoom range and 4K video.

Downside is no weather sealing.

I had my fuji x100 everywhere....and I hike the remotest regions of here in Australia .....Its an all metal casing from memory( I sold mine to upgrade to an xpro1 so cant check) and made in Japan meant it was high precision build.....I never had problems with it...And I shot near/on water( with water spray from oceans etc ) dusty outback of AUstralia where heat gets to 50C plus all the way through to Tasmania's below 0C alpine regions in winter and never had an issue ....But if you want waterproof/weatherproo​f then thats a different story....You are down in small sensor territory and with that comes lower IQ and substandard plastic lens vs good glass. Horses for courses I suppose.

One things for sure is if you want to also shoot JPG instead of RAW fujis JPG algorithms are second to none....Skys are decent blue and greens are decent greens...Colors are outstanding and so they should be with Fujis pedigree in MF Cameras, high end Fujininon lens/ binoculars and lastly their understanding of colors through their film experience...In camera colors are Just like their old velvia films...lush and deep......and thats great for travel shots , Best colors Ive ever seen out of a compact camera .....


Clipper

wow, thanks guy. I am really glad to have some insightfull tips so fast.

The tips you gave make a lot of sense, and most of the cameras you suggest are also amongst the ones i looked into.

The thing is that most of them are over our budget.
Yes, i know i am loosing image quality in every compromise i make.
What about compact cameras (not bridge, not interchangeable lenses,...) under 350€? Anything better than the G16?

thanks!
=)

My wife loves the S110 I gave her. It has a small sensor, and won't give you the image quality of a larger sensor. It is well made, and has similar specs to the S120.
I would prefer the G16, if I wanted more control.
I have seen incredible prices on the SL1. I don't know if this would be too large for you, but might be worth your consideration. If you want image quality, you pay for it is size. What about the SL1 with a 24mm pancake?

I have the G15. The G16 is similar, not changed much from the G15, except I believe it has GPS, and handheld HDR was also advertised as a new feature. You can get great photos from these, but if you want detail in large landscapes or distant wildlife, something with a larger optical zoom ratio would do better.

How about the Canon M3? I have the M1 and it is great for backpacking. The updated M3 is even better. It is small and you get the newest best apsc sensor.

yup M3 is the way to go.. its the main reason i bought mine... and i have owned the M1 and lots of FF... I kept the M3 and my 1Ds and got rid of all of the rest.

enjoy she is a beast!

Sony rx100, any variety. i have the original and its still great, especially if low light images are important to you.

there are a couple in this under 350.00 however as you can see not much really around under this 350 Euro limit.....Only have to go a couple of hundred higher and you have a very nice high quality image compact camera ....


http://travel.national​geographic.com …0-compact-travel-cameras/

some here are in your range

http://www.pocket-lint.com …as-available-to-buy-today

I have a Canon 50D that I have just become tired of taking on international trips and lugging the equipment around, so I decided to purchase the Canon SX50HS and it does shoot in RAW and has an amazing zoom capability, more than you would ever get with a DSLR without spending a slight mint on lenses, it zooms just over 1,000mm I paid $250 for a refurbished one directly from Canon and I've been very happy with it, of course the quality is not going to be as good as the DSLR with my 17-40L lens. But it's good enough that I'll be very happy with the finished products. I also know this camera is capable of taking some excellent photos that if put next to DSLR photos I think people would have a hard time telling which one came from the P&S. I spent several months looking at some people's photos here that have posted their photos with the SX50HS and they were just stunning.

I've tested it out already for the past few months and very happy with the quality of the photos coming from the long zoom shots I've taken. It's small and not heavy at all. It will be coming with me tomorrow for my 2 week trip to Paris and London and will be my go to camera now for all my international trips.

I like the Fujifilm FinePix S1 for a tough weather resistant walk around camera.