Which camera?

I think it depends what you plan on taking photos of. My hubby took a smaller Canon 7 pixels digital one for the pictureque stuff like castles, fountains, statues, etc. He even took our picture from the nosebleeds seats when we went to see the Real Madrid futbol game. They came out great.

The best part of the smaller camera is he could wear it on his neck or toss in our day pack.

So think about WHAT you want to take pictures of, and then consider which camera.

I'm really hoping the small one will be fine, I would just hate to get there and be wishing I'd brought the big one the whole time.

I'm going to Bath & pumproom, Warwick castle, York Minster Cathedral, Jorvik Viking Center and London where we'll see the Big Things there is to see, but probably won't tour them all. And then over to Norway for a day and a half.

If it was just Norway, I'd definitely take the big one.

Maybe I'll be such an efficient packer that I'll be able to fit the SLR in my carry on and my little on in my purse! LOL!

IMO this will depend on not only what you want to take photos of, but also how comfortable you'll be packing around the SLR? I'm assuming both of your Cameras are digital?

On my last trip to England, I found that the smaller P&S was seriously lacking in 2 areas - zoom range and wide angle capability. Consequently on my trip last year, I took BOTH my dSLR (with 3 lenses & Flash) and P&S Camera.

I used the dSLR primarily during the day when I was touring around, and when going out at night I took the P&S as it's much easier to carry and less conspicuous (although I did get some great night shots with the dSLR also).

It was definitely more trouble having a larger Camera, but I certainly don't regret it as I got some shots that simply would NOT have been possible with a P&S. On my return trip to England this fall, I will be travelling with the same kit. It's not too hard to carry the Camera and perhaps one Lens in a small Daypack.

Happy travels

This too is really a personal question. I have the best SLR but didn't want to do the carrying on this trip. Every trip is different, but when I'm hoping on and off trains and public transportation I don't like the bigger camera. Of course my P & S has a 10x zoom so it isn't the tiny pocket type either. It did fit in my purse next to the water bottle and I didn't feel like I missed anything. I think the people with the smaller cameras seem more spontaneous than the "serious shooters", so I accept some of my pictures won't be to the quality that they could be but time trip was easier.

I have a feeling I'm really going to want BOTH cameras with me - I just need to figure out how. Perhaps my husband won't have as much stuff in his carry on and I can let him take it over. He'll have a day pack and we'll be spending half the time in a rental car.

Thanks, all!

I have wondered about this question as well---whether or not to take the SLR and the smaller digital cam. My SLR isn't digital though, so I'm not going to bother. It's too much trouble with the film and all. If you do decide to take both, you might want to consider buying a camera backpack that can fit both cameras, camera accessories, and other regular traveling items as well. I have a great Lowepro backpack that I normally bring with me on trips as my carry-on and it's great because it has a big padded section for camera equipment and other pockets for odds and ends. I got my backpack a few yeras ago in NYC but you can check the website at www.lowepro.com. Have a great trip!

Last summer we took the digital SLR camera to the UK plus a smaller point and shoot. While we love the speed of the SLR, along with the zoom lens, it was kind of a pain to drag it out, change lenses, etc. We carried everything in a small backpack made for SLR cameras. It was a Tamrac Adventure 7 Photo Backpack, which was perfect for our SLR camera body, plus 2 lenses, batteries, and the point and shoot. All of this fit on the bottom of the bag, and the top bag held my daily incidentals (map, travel guide, etc). I bought mine from Amazon. It is small, but there are others that are larger and hold more lenses, but for us, two lenses were fine. It looked like a backpack, not a camera bag, and we felt very safe carrying it.

Next month, we'll be in Rome and are leaving the SLR behind and opting to buy a small point and shoot with a 4x zoom. Since most of our photos are of staionary items (in museums, landscapes, statues, etc), the speed of the SLR is not as important.

Ran out of room...

In the end, we decided the zoom was really what was important to us, so we think the 4x optical zoom on the small camera will be more than sufficient.

But if you do want to bring both, I would advise just to pack 1 or 2 lenses with the SLR. The Tamrac backpack worked out great for us in the UK because we never had to check any bags at any of the museums. (It was also very compact and comfortable.) In Rome we will likely need to check bags at museums. That was one of the considerations for us in leaving the large camera at home for this trip.

During our trip this past July, it was great to have a small, quick to shoot, digital camera. On previous trips, I have taken our large SLR camera (not digital). It had always been so cumbersome, and often times I would forego taking a picture because it was a hassle to take it out of the camera case that was in the backpack. This trip, my husband brought his new cell phone camera (Nokia N95). Between the two of us, we were able to capture everything. I think the only time I really missed my SLR was for those pictures you take at night--my cheaper digital camera pictures were blurred. However, my husband's newer cell phone nighttime pictures came out really good.

Maybe you could fit the SLR in your carry-on and put your small one in your purse. That way you would have both to choose from depending on what you are doing on a particular day.

Leave the one you aren't using in your room safe or at the reservation desk until you return to your hotel.

I agree it depends on what you are planning on taking photos of, but it would be nice to have the choice on a day to day basis.

I used a Canon S3IS when we were in Italy in April this year. I left my SLR (which I love) at home because I have a 35-200 mm lens which makes it extremely heavy around the neck and cumbersome (I was afraid of dropping it in the heat of the moment). I took over 600 pictures in 2 weeks and only managed to whittle it down to 300. The optical zoom and advanced features gave me a whole lot of flexibility. I even had a mini-tripod but was to rushed to use it (I'm really going to have to be more patient because some of my shots came out fuzzy because of the long exposure).

One tip though: I brought 3 sets of rechargeable batteries which was perfect. However, once in Montalcino, I left my camera bag in the car at the bottom of the hill (the first and last time I'll do that) and ran out of battery power on top. Luckily I had a small P&S in my bag/backpack and did not miss out on any good shots.

Have a nice trip.

Maureen

Okay, it's decided then.

If there's room in my carry on (or my husband's), I'll take my dSLR. I'll carry my small dig. point and shoot in my purse. I just keep one decent (18-200) lens on my SLR, so I don't need to worry about changing lenses - & everything I need fits into a just-the-perfect-sized camera bag.

Thanks!

I think a rule of thumb for non-essentials on your trip should be: "Can I afford to lose this on the road?"
Because it happens. And especially cameras because they are so prone to theives. With the state of digital cameras being what it is, why not choose the convenience of your smaller (less expensive) camera?
Part of your decision should definitely be based on comfort - if you're used to carrying the SLR around all day - part of it should be practicality. But I say, it's too much gear for you. Bring one or the other, and the one I'd recommend is the compact.