The Perfect Travel Camera...

Finding the "perfect" travel camera has been a life-long quest for me. While I love photography and enjoy using my equipment, when it comes to traveling I always stress over what equipment to bring with me.

I usually go on one family road trip a year, mostly driving whenever possible. My two main stress factors are:

1. Should I take my best camera and best lenses? Problems with this are the heavier than average weight plus the risk of getting my equipment either lost or stolen: high replacement cost.

2. Should I take my lighter, less expensive equipment (lighter, less expensive therefore won't suffer as much if it gets lost or stolen)? Problem with this is that the image quality and flexibility of larger aperture lenses is nowhere near that if my nicer equipment.

This past weekend was a first for me. I decided not to stress over the perfect travel camera and took my new D750 with 4 prime lenses in a shoulder bag to Disney. After the first 3 hours of walking around the park under mostly rainy conditions, I started to regret my choice. We walked for 14 hours that day. I took a grand total of 5 pictures. Had I taken one of my waterproof point & shoot cameras I could have taken plenty of pictures! The following day was similar; 11 hours walking, 7 pictures total due to weather. Grand total was 12 pictures and an incredible backache that I am still feeling today!!

So, my question for everyone here is what equipment do you (realistically) prefer taking with you when you travel: your best regardless of price or weight, or your most expendable?

This question was asked in another part of POTN. I'll give the same answer here as I did there:

The best camera to take is the one you'll use the most.

For me, if space is limited, I take a good point and shoot: one that shoots raw with a built-in zoom lens.

snegron wrote in post #18905718
Finding the "perfect" travel camera has been a life-long quest for me. While I love photography and enjoy using my equipment, when it comes to traveling I always stress over what equipment to bring with me.

I usually go on one family road trip a year, mostly driving whenever possible. My two main stress factors are:

1. Should I take my best camera and best lenses? Problems with this are the heavier than average weight plus the risk of getting my equipment either lost or stolen: high replacement cost.

2. Should I take my lighter, less expensive equipment (lighter, less expensive therefore won't suffer as much if it gets lost or stolen)? Problem with this is that the image quality and flexibility of larger aperture lenses is nowhere near that if my nicer equipment.

This past weekend was a first for me. I decided not to stress over the perfect travel camera and took my new D750 with 4 prime lenses in a shoulder bag to Disney. After the first 3 hours of walking around the park under mostly rainy conditions, I started to regret my choice. We walked for 14 hours that day. I took a grand total of 5 pictures. Had I taken one of my waterproof point & shoot cameras I could have taken plenty of pictures! The following day was similar; 11 hours walking, 7 pictures total due to weather. Grand total was 12 pictures and an incredible backache that I am still feeling today!!

So, my question for everyone here is what equipment do you (realistically) prefer taking with you when you travel: your best regardless of price or weight, or your most expendable?

I bring the gear that will help me take the photos I want. Period. I use everything from a pocket point-n-shoot camera to a full frame professional quality DSLR. I've used the full range, even at WDW, though I don't carry everything with me all of the time. I also have insurance on my gear as bad things do happen.

Vacations differ from photo trips. At WDW, I've brought the aforementioned point-n-shoot

https://grahamglover.z​enfolio.com/p102433872​5

to a full frame DSLR, a 5DMkIII and flash, 580EX II. My equipment choices are driven more by accommodating my family rather than turning a family trip into a photo trip. When I'm on a photo trip, I bring exactly what I want/need for my photography.

Hope this helps!

The only time the old 'which camera?' question arises for me is when photography ISN'T the purpose of the trip, i.e. holidays, day trips, etc when I am likely to be more focused on enjoying the event/scenery/activity​.

This is when (a) the weight and bulk of a DSLR might be an issue and (b) I will be trying NOT to spoil the experience for my companion(s) by agonising over every photo opportunity.

I therefore invested in a decent compact, a Lumix LX100, and I can honestly say it's been a great decision. The images have been pretty darn good so far, without very much effort, and it's no trouble to carry around. When I used to take a DSLR on holiday, there were frequently days when I couldn't be arsed carrying it around and so left it in the hotel or car. That's the absolute worst camera to have - the one you leave behind. The Lumix is so easy to carry, and so versatile, that I NEVER leave it behind, even when I'm going to be walking for hours.

I would take the Camera body I want,
and maybe compromise on the glass.

f/1,8 and f/2 primes instead of f/1,2 and f/1,4
f/4 zooms instead of f/2,8 zooms

I am considering the Tamron travel duet : 17-35mm and 35-150mm f/2,8-f/4

I take my Canon M50 on vacations, but take all my lenses and adapters. When with family, I take the small walk-around lens, when I am walking around by myself, I take my 100-400 with adapter for wildlife, and a 12mm for scenery. This way I can have something very small when needed or act like I have my big gear when I have the time and am not on the go.

I have been debating this question as well. I would like something smaller than my 7D bodies. But it needs to be simple enough that other family members can use it as well. We have a T3i that has been in this role but it is not really small/light. Considering the M100 vs M50 or the Canon G5x II. The M series would be more "expandable" if I decided to use them with some of my other DSLR lenses

M50 Gulf Shore pics... Worked pretty well. When we were watching the Blue Angels practice, I took the 5D4 though, that was part of the trip where I took out ol' dependable.

https://photos.smugmug​.com …Untitled_Panora​ma1-X3.jpg
https://photos.smugmug​.com …ccf5af/X3/IMG_4​302-X3.jpg
https://photos.smugmug​.com …431b35/X3/IMG_4​313-X3.jpg
https://photos.smugmug​.com …0f9ef0/X3/IMG_4​312-X3.jpg
https://photos.smugmug​.com …d3568f/X3/IMG_4​239-X3.jpg

mathogre wrote in post #18905759
I bring the gear that will help me take the photos I want. Period.

This is so true but I will say having a really good point and shoot is great for those trips that you want good photos but photography is not the main purpose of the trip.

I like point and shoots for the amusement parks. This way if something happens to it on a ride, or it gets wet and destroyed, I am not too terribly upset. So Disney in the future for me (and I have taken big cameras there before) will be a point and shoot or an M series with small lens. Something that can fit into a fanny pack or small side holster.

If I go the M route, I think I would definitely get the 22mm f2 pancake. I have the 24mm EF-S but the adapter plus that lens would sort of defeat the purpose of a pancake

Williamsx wrote in post #18905838
I'd like to recommend the family of Panasonic compacts with Leica lenses. You have to read the reviews and consider your budget and expertise level. Don't be reluctant to buy on the used market.

Having said this, I am just home from six weeks touring. I had with me a recently acquired generously endowed Nikon compact, my go-to Olympus XZ-1, and my iPhone 6s. Pictures from each are generally good enough for my taste and purposes, Instagram and memory albums. The iPhone was advantaged for quick shots, in-unit post processing, and great connectivity. The Nikon was cute, shirt pocket convenient, purple and competent, but the touchscreen is tricky, and too many things are automated. The Olympus XZ-1 is great at night, fits in a pants pocket, has all the controls camera pros like, and feels like a real camera. (I love it.)

If you have a new smartphone, the camera on it will serve you well, daily and on vacation. Practice now so you can take advantage of its features. If you want a camera camera, check out the Panasonic and comparable. Me? I'm selling the Nikon, still loving the Olympus, but using my iPhone more and more. I carry my iPhone all the time; my Oly will go on my next trip, but it's feeling a bit neglected.

Thanks for the recommendation.

I started with the Olympus E-PL3. It was great in good light, but in low light conditions, the results started falling even with PRO lens. Currently considering OM-D series to complement for low light scenarios where flash / LED lights is not applicable. My next consideration is the 17mm f/1,2 PRO or Voigtlander f/0,95

My next consideration is a good low light (Full Frame) body in Canon system because of the lens arsenal.

Call your insurance company and insure your equipment. That way you have less to worry about.

I agree with you 100%! However, every time I take a camera with me on a famy vacation I cling to the hope that I will finally be able to capture that elusive "perfect picture " of my kids, suitable for framing and proudly displaying on my living room wall!

As a typical photography-loving dad, I have taken thousands of pictures of my kids. No matter how hard I try, all my pictures of them look posed. Ironically, the image that came closest to capturing their spontaneity was one of the 5 that I took during this past weekend at Disney. I had my kids hold up their Disney park tickets while I took a picture. As they were holding their tickets I informed them that the tickets they were holding were not one-day passes but annual passes! After that one awesome picture all I did was carry my camera in its bag for 13 more hours.

There is no way I could have captured that image (which only lasted a fraction of a second) with a point & shoot or a cell phone!

snegron wrote in post #18908301
I agree with you 100%! However, every time I take a camera with me on a famy vacation I cling to the hope that I will finally be able to capture that elusive "perfect picture " of my kids, suitable for framing and proudly displaying on my living room wall!

As a typical photography-loving dad, I have taken thousands of pictures of my kids. No matter how hard I try, all my pictures of them look posed. Ironically, the image that came closest to capturing their spontaneity was one of the 5 that I took during this past weekend at Disney. I had my kids hold up their Disney park tickets while I took a picture. As they were holding their tickets I informed them that the tickets they were holding were not one-day passes but annual passes! After that one awesome picture all I did was carry my camera in its bag for 13 more hours.

There is no way I could have captured that image (which only lasted a fraction of a second) with a point & shoot or a cell phone!

Why not? Was it in the dark or were they doing 100mph past the camera? Both perhaps?

Maybe you should post that pic so we can see why a compact camera wouldn't have worked. I'm guessing there must be something remarkable about it, other than the beautiful smiles!