Camera ideas

What will you do with your pictures? Post them on Facebook or email them to friends? Or will you edit/process them and then print some? If only Facebook or email, I wouldn't take the larger camera personally. Your point and shoot and phone may be plenty. I do print my photos sometimes pretty large, so I want a better camera than that. Depends on you and what you plan to do with the photos!

Andrew
I usually print my vacation and put them in photo books! Sometimes I print larger prints but usually just a couple, and I will probably post a few

I am leaning towards taking my Nikon, I have always taken it on prior vacations, the only reason I am 2nd quessing is because of all the things I read on theft.

This will be my first time in Italy, I have traveled to other areas where you had to be careful! (Guatemala, Belize) I think maybe I need to stop reading all the scam comments 😉

I've taken my cameras on a dozen trips to Europe. No theft yet. Sure, cameras do get stolen, but it's much less likely to happen if you are extremely careful.

FYI, I always put my name & contact info on a label on my camera batteries (I always travel with spare batteries), so if my camera turns up lost somehow, there is at least some identify info on the inside. I'd also take a picture of the camera with your phone - at least you have a description if something happens to it. But if you are careful, that's really unlikely.

I took my DSLR to Italy for 30 days and never had a problem. If you are a serious enough photographer you take what you think will give you the best photographs. Now, for my next trip I am making a switch because at my age the DSLR was becoming a bit too heavy to carry all day. I am making the switch to mirrorless which is much lighter but still gives me the controls similar to a DSLR and the ability to change lenses. I may lose a little bit in image quality, but not much.

Last year I bought a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 "bridge camera" (25-400mm effective zoom) to travel with in place of my Canon DSLR rig. It was a great choice - certainly a few limitations vs. the DSLR but very adequate; I'll never go on vacation with the DSLR again. The 400mm zoom was unexpectedly useful, and the image quality was overall better than expected, surely much better than an P&S camera. (The Lumix has a 1" sensor - pretty big so low noise.)

There are plenty of small camera bags that will hold a DSLR back and a non-exotic lens that don't look like a camera bag. (And when it comes to theft, cameras somewhat hard to turn into cash and likely less of a target than something the looks or feels like a wallet or pill bottle) I'm married to a photo guy and he wouldn't dream of a trip without the nice Nikon, so I'm biased when it comes to 'bring yours too'.

In out experience, the weight and space aren't about the camera back itself but about lens and accessory selection, so the key can be paring down lenses to 1 or 2 that are versatile for anything you'd take a picture of outdoors.

I also have the Nikon D7100 and have taken it on vacation the past three years to Alaska, Scandinavia, and Sicily. I carry it in my travel purse when out touring during the day. I always keep it with me and never leave it in a hotel room. It is not a light weight camera, but it is worth it to me for my photography. I enjoy taking photos!

I have a Nikon point and shoot that takes great pictures and is small enough to slide into my cargo pants. The comparable model would be a Coolpix A900, I've even blown some of the pictures up to have them framed for my office and they look great. My wife likes the pictures she gets fom her iPhone X and that's all she takes anymore. I used to use a big SLR on trips but I got tired of it hanging around my neck.

I've used a Canon G9X for almost 2 years. It contains a 1 inch sensor but is actually smaller than a pack of cigarettes. It truly hides in my pocket and goes virtually undetectable. It's the most travel friendly of my collection. It helps me keep my carry on weight under 26 lbs while offering better quality than my phone and its results have rivaled those of my larger DSLR. The retro silver is super attractive as well. Of course there have been several instances where I wished I had the flexibility to use a filter to reduce reflections but the compromise works for me.

My husband has stopped carrying his Nikon DSLR on trips. It is too cumbersome. He bought a Sony a6000 which has pretty amazing capabilities, many of which he is still learning to use. He does not carry the extra lens for that when we travel. And on our most recent trip to Slovenia, he ended up using his iPhone more than the camera.

I always take my Nikon DSL. Now on my last RS tour I fell on the cobblestones of Venice with the camera hitting the ground. Pieces fell off. Camera still worked & somehow my husband back tracked so we found the pieces. I have not treated my cameras very well. They have treated me well. I would not leave home without it

Thanks for all your suggestions!!!

I talked to my local camera shop, where I bought my Nikon D7100 and other camera lenses. I plan on renting a couple of there smaller cameras, and shoot some pictures in different situations. After testing some different cameras I will make a decision on what I should use on my trip in September.

You gave me a lot of good advice!!

I bought a Nikon Coolpix A900 last year for the tour that didn’t happen. I chose that one because of the telescoping lens and the ability to do both manual and auto settings and movies. It took good pictures when we went to Hawaii.

Pros: picture clarity, lots of settings for all types of photos, easy to use after figuring how, viewfinder is movable so you can set it at whatever angle will best frame the picture or to see in direct sun or do selfies. Accepts a tripod which some point and shoot cameras do not.

Cons: heavier than I thought it would be, not intuitive to find settings, no old fashioned manual to learn all that the camera can do (manual is probably online if I want to kill a tree printing it.)

Lots of people on the forum use their phones. I wanted a camera for all the available settings without buying a more advanced camera. My research repeatedly led me to the A900. I hauled around a Canon AL-1 with several lenses and lots of film rolls when I went to Ireland in 1992. I don’t want to carry a big camera bag again.

Whatever camera you decide to take you will find photo ops at every turn! We had such a wonderful time on this tour and have used the pictures on line, made prints and a digital scrapbook. I also had a grouping of photos on canvas to hang. We used a combination of devices from an iPhone, a point and shoot and a DSL. We have been quite happy with our collection, but find that the least complicated cameras work the best for us since we cover a lot of ground on these tours in a limited time frame. Also l after really studying the capabilities of the iPhone and its manual settings I find myself depending on it more and more. Whatever you decide, have a great time (this is one of our favorite itineraries), and bring home the best souvenirs, photos to relive a wonderful trip!

We went on this tour May 2017 and have convinced neighbors they must do it this year. Wonderful trip that I reflect on every single day. If Andrea or Caterina are your guide you have won the lottery. ENJOY.

We have done six RS trips and South of Italy in 2017 was first tour where only camera I used was my iPhone 6S and was extremely pleased with the 1,000 photos I took. Every tour I select 8-12 favorites and have them blown up to a size of 12 by 12 to 20 by 30 inches at Costco into canvas or metal prints. I was pleased and satisfied with the iPhone enlargements. It was easy and convenient to only use my phone and every photo is identified and traceable to a map. This year I am taking my new iPhone 8+ which has the dual camera.

Have a blast and let me know who your guide is.

Nancy, I would be lost without my Canon 70D. I bring it on every vacation including all 3 Rick Steve's tours (and the 4th starting next week). Do what you feel comfortable with. I have a Powershot but it takes Jpegs and I want to have the capabilities of RAW photos. My husband uses his Samsung cell phone for his pics and I use a combo of these two for my scrapbook.

kathy, RAW is important to me too, but you don't need a DSLR to get it. My Lumix has it. So do some compact point and shoot cameras. My Canon 5D Mark II definitely has some features I miss on the Lumix, but it's more than worth the trade-off for me for a much more compact camera with a huge range of zoom...that also takes really nice pictures.

I really appreciate the advice!

I am going to shoot some photos with my smaller cameras and see what I think. I have some small cameras they do shoot raw, but I must admit i haven’t experimented with them much in manual modes. I tend to grab my Nikon most of the time.

I also am a Nikon owner. For travels these day I take my little Olympus mirrorless (PEN or OMD) with a prime lens. What a joy not to have to worry about camera weight and bulky lens. The 15mm and 20mm primes are fast so shooting low light no problem. A smaller camera/lens will allow you to take photos of local people and not stand out so much as tourist with a big camera. Take a few extra memory cards so you can shoot by location.

I took my DSLR and two lenses on one trip. That was plenty. I used my iphone X on this last trip and the pictures turned out great. I just ordered the zoom and wide angle lens for the iphone and can't wait to try them on the next trip!!

I have the Nikon D5300 which is approximately the same size/ weight as yours, Nancy. Although originally I used a small Nikon A900, I found that: unassembling the lens from the body is no major hassle when checking through security; the photos with the "D" series are always far superior.

NOTE: I also have a D800 but that has no AUTO setting which is why, while on RS Tours, I bring along the D5300. When I am off on my own, I enjoy manually changing the F-stop, ISO, etc. but on a tour, you just cannot ask people to wait while you fiddle with the dials. Also, if you hand somebody an overly complicated camera, they might not be able to take a photo of you against a European backdrop. So, take your D7100 and enjoy!

I leave Friday for France My Way with my wife and son, with some advance time in Paris.
I'm bringing my Pentax Q7 mirrorless camera with two small lenses - incluuding a telephoto. These do not have the same capture capability of my regular DSLR but I'm able to fit these in a small camera bag or even pocket if needed. I will use my Samsung S7 phone to take photos as well. I need to move all photos off my phone now so I can have room for new photos on this trip!
My main concern is taking a battery charger and an extra battery, and figuring out how to use my remote to take photos with ME in them!

I'm bringing my Pentax Q7 mirrorless camera with two small lenses - incluuding a telephoto. These do not have the same capture capability of my regular DSLR but I'm able to fit these in a small camera bag or even pocket if needed. I will use my Samsung S7 phone to take photos as well. I need to move all photos off my phone now so I can have room for new photos on this trip!
My main concern is taking a battery charger and an extra battery, and figuring out how to use my remote to take photos with ME in them!

Yeah, an extra battery would be pretty essential. I have three spares now - because my camera's battery life is pretty poor.

Otherwise, you can get a tripod - even a small "minipod" - and use it for self portraits that aren't hand-held "selfies." In lieu of a remote, you can use the camera's built-in timer. Or just ask people to take your picture with your camera.

See if your phone will take a larger memory card so you can upgrade and have more room.

I am just looking for some feed back that I am not making a big mistake.
I am going on my first RS trip. Actually my first such trip in many years.
I have recently shed my heavy cameras in favor of a Fujifilm mirrorless,
and 4 prime lenses. But I am not steady at all and find it is important for
me to have a tripod when at home shooting. So I plan to bring a small
relatively light weight one along. It slings over my shoulder in it's case.
Does anyone have any advise to help? Thanks