Buying a new camera for holiday

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#988880 17-Feb-2014 14:00

The RX100 has an F1.8 lens at 28mm. That means you get just over a stop more light (around 2.2X more) than the first camera you posted about.

rokki

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#988889 17-Feb-2014 14:06

Hi all thanks for the responses we go to Aussie early March and hop on a cruise ship for a while stopping at various islands in the pacific then back to Sydney for an extended stay then home. So i would say outdoor , indoor and scenery.

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#988966 17-Feb-2014 15:22

rokki: Hi all thanks for the responses we go to Aussie early March and hop on a cruise ship for a while stopping at various islands in the pacific then back to Sydney for an extended stay then home. So i would say outdoor , indoor and scenery.

Scenery tends to be wideangle stuff, which typically you don't use a huge zoom lens for.

The zoom range is one aspect of a camera, and the marketing people love it. Typically, the picture is not very good at the long end, (essentially blurry) and you need to stabilise the camera to use it effectively at such long zoom lengths, which tends to lead to it being blurry also.

I'd ask (as others above have mentioned):

Do you care about the quality of your pictures?
Do you envisage going anywhere that you won't be able to get fairly close to the subject in question. (This is essentially the only time you need a zoom lens).
Do you expect to get it wet? -either rain or around waterfalls etc?
Or if you're heading to the islands, would you like to take it underwater at all?
Do you think you'll want to put a filter on it? Polarising filters can remove the reflections on water, which allows you to see underneath and into the water more, in some circumstances.
How long will you be away from a charging option? This affects battery choice/2nd battery requirement. Some cameras allow you to use AA batteries, which most shops worldwide stock, even in the most random of locations.
What do you want to do with your finished photos? - Put them on Facebook, print standard sized prints, print A0 Wall Posters?

Personally I'd suggest something smaller if you're on holiday. It's nice to go to places without a full sized camera hanging around your neck.
Even 'Bridge' cameras which have a sing fixed long zoom inside tend to be similar in size to a full DSLR.
The compacts can give excellent picture quality and for a holiday would be a lot easier to get around with.

A cruise sounds very cool by the way!

rayonline

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#988975 17-Feb-2014 15:39

people with scenery holiday snaps does not need so wide. ... unless it's photography hobby esp in landscape

Hoofhaarted

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#988993 17-Feb-2014 15:49

If your going on a cruise ship, there will probably be 2 days from Sydney to the Islands where you will be looking for things to do on board. One of the "classes" they run is normally how to use your camera. It will probably be run by one of the tours photographers who are there for all ship board events, as well as when you disemabark at each port.

It won't be as informative as most of the people replying in this post, but you might pick up some tips, esp if you can speak to the photographer 1:1. They will also be telling you the best settings etc for the types of shots you will taking on an island holiday.

surfisup1000

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#988997 17-Feb-2014 15:52

I have the Sony RX100, which you can now buy for under $700.

You should look into this camera as it is amazing!! Very much recommended as it has a large sensor , heck knows how they managed to pack in such a large sensor into such a compact design.

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#989024 17-Feb-2014 16:34

rayonline: people with scenery holiday snaps does not need so wide. ... unless it's photography hobby esp in landscape

My ideal holiday camera would have a 16 - 75mm equilivent lens. I couldn't care less about 100mm+ zooms, but wide is really handy. You can often walk closer to things, but it's common to not be able to go back any further. I used to take my D700 and 16-35 lens, but I can't be bothered any more.

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#989066 17-Feb-2014 17:48

Thats the problem with larger cameras - they get too large and you end up not taking it with you. Which is the reason I have ended up with using the iPhone so much. Its always with me, not very large and take ok-ish photos.

I was wondering if I should get myself the RX100, but from the tests of it vs the Canon S120 I might either keep my S100 or get the S120 at some stage

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/52315288

Ease of use and being able to know that the camera is set up the way you want is important to me, so this review (link over) really makes me think I might not like the Sony. Besides, personally I am too used to the Canon Powershot range to switch unless something is a lot better.

I have also looked at the mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras, but I have to admit they would also be left at home because they are too big.

As it is the Canon 7D is more or less kept at home for product photography and taken out on special photographing trips - but never comes along on holidays anymore. Too much to carry around.

So get a small camera that is easy to take with you, but that gives you as good a picture quality as possible. One that can photograph is RAW (lets you do a lot of adjusting to get the picture perfect after you have taken it), and that allows you to change batteries, and that can be set up manually AND automatically and that will keep your settings between taking pictures - and I am sure you will be super happy with the results.

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timmmay

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#989068 17-Feb-2014 17:52

I use my S4 camera a lot as well, it's surprisingly ok in good light. RX100 is miles ahead in low light and general image quality.

rayonline

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#989082 17-Feb-2014 18:16

As an amateur I take my camera overseas due to my hobby, it's more a photography trip than a vacation but that might change in the future with more commitments. I've never taken a F2.8 zoom though always a variable aperture one and my tele is a 80-200 F4.5-5.6 that Galen Rowell have used. 250g or whatever plastic mount things not that great but ok for his pro work at F8. At least I don't need it for action or low light on the go ... I just carry my 1.0Kg tripod with me. Mainly shootin earlier and later in the day. I do quite enjoy shooting with a little 50mm prime lens thou as it is so small and I do away with the neck strap also. I think a 35mm on full frame or a 24mm on crop sensor dSLR is quite nice as a general purpose lens like how the disposable cameras were. If I needed something wider at a lookout point or such I can bring out a 20mm prime. Anything wider than 20mm gets larger very quickly. Maybe a 100mm but that's a last lens. Doesn't bother me if it was a manual focus lens, they are quality but still cheap, take my time with my hobby .... With color slides. Just got into b/w film for some months, quite enjoy it really, getting that classic look, self processing so cheaper than the lab processing ... don't come back with thousands of images from a trip when I just use a handful of them ... While with digital they care abotu IQ and more IQ and similar so with the newer films, I'm preferring the older style film with less IQ I guess - the classic look. The manual focus film bodies are a lot more smaller too ... without that bulky hand grip and the larger prism. Don't need to carry the charger. With my present 18-35 F3.5-4.5 it is a 77mm thread size and the scallop lens hood yeah ..... But certainly nicer digital cameras do cost big bucks both smaller and larger versions.

I think that we can analyse all the cameras out there ... and then every 3yrs. I think if is just a general holiday camera for some snaps some old cameras are still pretty decent speaking with dSLRs I know that larger sensor point and shoots are more a recent thing. Even more serious work can still be had with a 5yr old camera.

rokki

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#989121 17-Feb-2014 18:57

Hi all picture quality is paramount and then secondly video quality. The end product will viewed on a MacBook Pro retina and Apple TV to a full hd tv.

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rokki

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#989123 17-Feb-2014 18:58

Can you fit a zoom lens to a RX100 mk1 and mk2 ?

JimmyH

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#989152 17-Feb-2014 19:31

As others have stated, for what you say you are planning to do, you probably need wide-angle more than zoom.

Personally, I use have four cameras in my arsenal:

- The one on my phone (galaxy S3) for quick, fairly crummy, snapshots when I'm caught short without a real camera. I nearly always have my phone on me.

- A very old Canon Ixus. 5MP, mediocre quality, and only 38mm wide angle. Now only (very) infrequently used in situations where I want to take a camera, but don't want to hazard my phone or a camera I care about - e.g., on a small boat.

- A small Canon point & shoot (HS 220). While it's a couple of years old now, it has a decent wide angle (24mm equiv), OK zoom range (up to 125mm equiv), image stabilisation and decent low light performance. Eminently portable/pocketable and gets a couple of hundred shots on the batteries I have. OK for most situations, and the camera I take most often when I plan to take a camera. Not worth so much money that I have to guard it

- A good SLR, with a couple of lenses and a high-power external flash etc. Best quality of all. But you have to plan to take it, it's bulky, and can be a PITA to lug.

Personally, although I used to be a fan ($2,300 Canon G3 the week it came out etc), I'm getting sceptical on the value proposition for the high-ish end point and shoot models. Not enough extra quality to justify the large premium over the cheaper point and shoots. Not enough quality, if I'm spending in the circa $800-1,000 range, to justify not paying a little more and getting an SLR.

So, after that monologue, my advice for what it's worth: for what you want to do spend about $500 on a good point and shoot, or spend about $1,500 on an SLR. Not much point in going for much in the middle of these options. Decision hinges on how much you are prepared to spend, and how much you prize quality/flexibility over portability.

Edit: Grammar.

timmmay

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#989200 17-Feb-2014 20:37

Jimmy, sensor size is the reason to get high end P&S cameras. Bigger sensor = more light = better images. Expensive cameras with small sensors are a waste of money.

The RX100 was called the best compact camera in the world by many people when it came out. The II probably wins that title now.

kiwigander

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#989224 17-Feb-2014 21:20

OP, have you considered going for a DSLR rather than a point-and-shoot?

On a cruise, a small SLR shouldn't be any more trouble to carry than a top-end compact.

The reason I mention it is that Photo & Video Int'l have a Pentax K500 two-lens kit (18-55 mm medium-wide angle to short-telephoto and 50-200 mm short to long telephoto) on for $875. You can power it with AA batteries so even with a couple of SD cards it should sneak in within your budget.

If you have a play with it before departure and read the basics of the manual you should be OK with a DSLR - it'll have one or more I-don-t-want-to-think-just-snap-the-picture settings, and on a cruise you may even find time to learn about some of the more interesting functions.

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