camera

There have been numerous discussions about this on the forum. Try a search on dslr or point and shoot and you'll get 83 forum posts. This one is recent and has a lot of discussion about types of small point and shoot cameras that people like:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/packing/how-to-save-weight-when-travelling-forget-the-dslr

Thanks Nancy. I figured there would be something out there. I appreciate the site tip.

I guess it also depends on what you plan to do with your photos (share w/ friends & family, sell them, exhibit in a gallery, etc.). I've always carried a point and shoot camera because 1.) I don't want the weight and bulk of carrying a DSLR 2.) I'm not much a photographer. Instead I tend to focus on capturing unique or specific moments, passing shots, candids, and the like, rather than perfectly composed/lit portrait type photos. Tha having been said, I think a good point-and-shoot will still achieve good photos. I'm particularly partial to Canon point-and-shoots. I've been using the same SD series camera for the past 8 years.

Hi Marie,

I usually take both. I use the big one during the day. I have a wide angle zoom lens on it and my point shoot just doesn't give me that flexibility. But in the evening, I do want more. Although now that I think about it, I might just use the iphone in the evening. I've never worried about safety with it in the UK. There are so many people with cameras that you just blend in.

I am actually just sitting down today and reviewing some photos from my last trip to France, and I'm so glad I took the bigger camera. :) But it really is a matter of personal preference.

Pam

I bring both types of cameras and select the one to use each time I go out based on what I will be doing. I prefer the DSLR because it is so versatile. For example, I have a 50 mm f2.0 lens which I use when visiting a museum that allows photography but without flash or when I go out at night. There is only one lens in my collection that is really heavy and wears me out somewhat when carrying it. Otherwise, many of the amateur lenses made by Nikon are plastic extensive (ie, are light weight).

On the other hand the point and shoot always goes out with me. Rick Steves swears by a P&S that costs in the range of $700 which means that it versatile as heck except the lens goes up to about 3.5x.

I normally take both as well, plus of course my iPhone 4s. If photo quality really matters to you, you get the difference between a DSLR and a point and shoot, and you appreciate that difference. I like having the DSLR, with one good lens for the day, such as the 16-85 zoom. With a good point and shoot, you can feel comfortable leaving the DSLR in the room now and then. I use the Sony RX100 and love it. There are many good ones out there, most notably from Canon and Sony, imo.

We are in the UK now. I am more amateur than pro and I took both kinds of cameras. On our first day in London, I took both cameras and found I only used the little point and shoot. There are so many people it's hard to get anything but a snapshot. Plus, as a tourist, one is busy getting from here to there. The rest of the week I left the DLSR at the apartment. The P&S takes decent high res photos and I'm fine with snapping quickly all the memorable sights. Now, we're in Scotland in the country with a car and I'm mostly using the DLSR with wide range and long. Mostly using the wide as I can always crop the photos down for a close-up. Weight is always an issue more than worries about theft. We felt extremely safe in London.

Whatever type of camera you take, think about batteries!

If your camera has a battery that needs to be recharged, make sure you have a spare battery (or, two or three!), as it is frustrating to lose out on your photography ability because your battery is dead. Make sure your charger has the correct adapter for the UK electric outlets. A car charger is a nifty luxury to have (and, will work in cars here and there), if you'll have a rental car.

For point and shoot, AA batteries are rather pricey in the UK. I took over 2,000 photos on our first, month-long UK trip. I had to keep buying batteries, the cost of which adds up quickly. They are readily available, finding them is no problem. For our second month-long UK trip, I brought (what I thought would be) more than enough. It wasn't and added a bit of weight to my carry-on!

For our next trip, I'll buy a better point and shoot with a battery that recharges AND a couple extra batteries.

Something else to think about is what you want to photograph. On our first trip, I "wasted" a lot of pictures (and, battery power), on images of things like individual flowers (Kew gardens, Eden Project Sissinghurst, others). Flowers that were very pretty but, there were many flowers I could even find at our own US home! I treasure the images of carpets bluebells in the woods and fields of rape, with ruins or villages within the frame. I have some fabulous photos of ivy-covered castle walls and the hodgepodge beauty of a garden with a thatched cottage background. But, multiple images of a single rose or exotic blossom or huge water lily? Nope, didn't need them.

On the second trip, I spent more time relaxing and making memories of images, saving the camera for documenting historical and family shots. We asked people to take our picture(s) with whatever background was at hand (jolly nice way to meet the residents who, quite often, suggested some nifty other, lesser-known, places to see or dine!). Those pictures are wonderful, they remind us of where we were TOGETHER, as a family. My photographs, from that second trip, are much more fun to look at and have a better variety of UK images, as a whole.

Sorry to ramble, just wanted to add another perspective! Whatever you use, have a wonderful trip.

Good thoughts from Leslie above. Like you, Marie, I'm strictly an amateur, and I like my little point-and-shoot Canon ELPH 350 HS because it fits in my pocket and takes decent pictures (by my standards) on automatic setting. Cost about $200. Its battery is rechargeable, requiring a very small light weight recharger (included in price), plus the adapter I'd bring anyway for other devices.

A similar previous camera had a rechargeable battery but also took AAAs. I liked that because I could get several hundred pictures without recharging, then use AAAs (available worldwide) if necessary, without having to bring the charger. But I agree that a camera using only AAAs will force you to buy a lot of them if you use it a lot, and they're not cheap especially in tourist areas.

Back in film days I carried an SLR camera on all my trips, bulky and heavy, but I loved the photos it took so it was worth it to me. When the switch to digital first came, money was an issue for me so I bought a small digital point-n-shoot camera for my next trip. I was so pleased with the photos it took that I ended up never getting a DSLR at all. For the last 7-8 years I have traveled with only a point-n-shoot and the photos I have taken have not disappointed me. Taken at a high resolution they have been enlarged and framed on my wall (up to 11x14) and nobody can tell that they weren't taken with a DSLR. I think a quality point-n-shoot is all I'll probably ever use from now on. Personally I use a Panasonic Lumix which I love. It has so many settings you can do manually that it's almost like a DSLR. It is a bit heavier than some point-n-shoots because of the long zoom lens but still not as bulky or heavy as a DSLR with multiple lenses. Just another opinion for what it's worth.