Going Traveling Soon, advice needed

JakeP

Hello
Mar 28, 2017
4
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England
Hello Canon forum,

As you guys can see from the title I have a big trip coming up. I will be visiting as much of South East Asia as I can in six months and I want to capture ever moment that I possibly can. Apart from the standard throw-away cameras you get from a local store (I know it's a sin) I haven't ever bought or used any other camera, so where do I start?

I have had a read through the forum over the past couple of weeks and there is just so much to choose from I had to make a thread so I can get you guys to point me in the right direction or just tell me what I should do. I am looking to spend around £750 roughly to get the best camera I can for the money. I want to be able to take the most stunning landscape pictures as well as being able to zoom etc, you guys know more about that....
canon-logo-london-uk-october-st-close-up-shot-company-packaging-one-their-products-st-october-83001733.jpg

I appreciate the advice/idea you guys are going to throw my way! this has to be the best place for info!
 
Jul 28, 2015
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If you have little experience of cameras beyond point-and-shoot I think you need something as compact as possible or it risks getting left in your room as an inconvenient deadweight.

This site will help you find the best prices at 'proper' retail price, but you can also find what they call 'grey imports' that are the proper gear but come in through non-approved importers.

My guess would be a 1300D with 18-55 and 55-250. Zooms longer than that come in at a size that takes some getting used to and at a cost that will eat into your budget.
Or you could go slightly upmarket on the body for the 700D.

An alternative is Canon mirrorless but in Asia I would recommend one with a full viewfinder because checking the image on a LCD on the back of the camera can be a frustrating experience in bright tropical sun.

Beyond that you could look at Sony mirrorless or Olympus/Panasonic micro four-thirds.

If this camera is just for the trip and you don't know if you will take up photography as a hobby you could look at second hand. Many of the reputable sites (MPB Photographic, Mifsuds, Wex etc) offer a warranty between 3 months and a year so you will be covered. And once you come back you can sell the gear more or less at what you paid for it.
 
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Feb 21, 2013
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"Stunning landscape" photos generally require some post processing with good software, it's very rare that the best landscape$ shots don't have either digital manipulation of the files or multiple exposures. You might well feel you have time to do this on your trip, you might feel you could do it when you get back? My advice would be get something like a superzoom where you can take wide angle shots and far away or even close up shots. This should cost a lot less than your budget. all the big brands do something like this.Personally I would also get (in addition) something like a small underwater point and shoot camera that #1 you can have fun with #2 have out in any type of weather.
Although you may feel you want photography to be a big part of your trip, unless you are prepared to do the extra PP on your images your budget in a DSLR may not be big enough
 
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Jul 28, 2015
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Drum said:
unless you are prepared to do the extra PP on your images your budget in a DSLR may not be big enough

Sensors are pretty much equal now - and given the experience of the OP, I very much doubt that any purported advantages of Sony vs Nikon vs Canon will be relevant even if noticeable. Unless, of course, you can point out deficiencies of images such as these taken with the 1300D

https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=canon%201300d

The differences come in functionality of the body (weatherproofing, AF, metering accuracy etc).
 
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Oct 16, 2010
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A 700D or 750D kit would be a nice choice.

Alternatively, if you are interested in a mirrorless camera, there are some good deals right now on the Fuji X-T10 and the X-T1 and an 18-55mm lens. They're nice cameras to travel with. The X-T10 is a bit smaller than the X-T1 and has an inbuilt flash. The X-T1 has better weather sealing and is a slightly faster performer, but is a bit bigger. An X-T10 weighs 381g and the X-T1 weighs 440g.

The 18-55 lens is a very well regarded lens and weighs 309g. This might weigh a bit more than the Canon 18-55, but the Fuji lens has a wider aperture (so is better in low light) and has a metal construction. (Not that the Canon 18-55 lens is flimsy, but they just feel cheaper.)
 
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mnclayshooter

I love shooting - clay pigeons and photos!
Oct 28, 2013
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Minnesota, USA
Mikehit said:
My post above presumes you want a camera with interchangeable lenses. If you are not committed to that (and it sounds like you are not) then I would highly recommend a compact like the Canon SX510 or the Panasonic FZ1000 and I have seen pictures from both printed at A3 with impressive results if you get the exposure right.

This +1.

G7XII is a good option as well with a good walk-around zoom range, a good sensor and robust features in a compact. G1XII might also be a good compromise between pure compact and a little more function/quality in your target budget - a little older than the g7xII but good quality, none-the-less.

That gives you a little bit left over to buy a few (maybe 2-3) memory cards - I'm not sure what your trigger-rate is on taking photos, but you can fill a memory card pretty quickly, but conversely, the memory cards available today are huge and will store plenty of shots (at least 1000 without much effort).

The three cameras mikehit listed are great cameras though.
 
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If you have only used throw-away cameras before, then any camera you get is going to be a step up. It sounds like you probably want something with a built-in zoom lens, as opposed to a larger DSLR with changeable lenses. As a general rule, I would stay away from "superzooms," cameras with really long zoom ranges (meaning they go to supertelephoto). The problem is the longer the zoom the lower the lens quality and also it is hard to get sharp photos handheld and really long telephoto lengths (due to shake). Contrary to a previous post I am virtually certain you will not want to carry a tripod.

The Canon G series is a good choice. I don't keep up on the latest models, but I assume from the previous post that the latest is the G7Xii. The Fuji X series that someone mentioned is also a good choice, probably my personal preference of the two.
 
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Jan 22, 2012
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AlanF said:
sanj said:
Canon S120. A small sturdy tripod.

Enjoy the holiday.

He will enjoy it more without a tripod.

He said he wanted lovely landscapes. The tripod is a must for that.
Agreed a big tripod will not be required. A small one for the small camera to enable low ISO (The sensor is small on these cameras)
 
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AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
CR Pro
Aug 16, 2012
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sanj said:
AlanF said:
sanj said:
Canon S120. A small sturdy tripod.

Enjoy the holiday.

He will enjoy it more without a tripod.

He said he wanted lovely landscapes. The tripod is a must for that.
Agreed a big tripod will not be required. A small one for the small camera to enable low ISO (The sensor is small on these cameras)

These small sensors require f/5.6 or faster to avoid diffraction softening. That equates to exposures of 1/800s or faster at ISO 100 on a bright day. You don't need a tripod for that speed with a short focal length lens without IS. And most of these cameras have 4-6 stops of IS. A joy of these modern small cameras is that they free you from the pain of carting around even a small tripod. A tripod might have its uses but it is not a "must".
 
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Jul 28, 2015
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sanj said:
He said he wanted lovely landscapes. The tripod is a must for that.
Agreed a big tripod will not be required. A small one for the small camera to enable low ISO (The sensor is small on these cameras)

In tropical light, a tripod is not a 'must' but it certainly increases the options.
I would say a Gorillapod and/or a bean bag
 
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Jul 28, 2015
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Jake - as you will see, this sort of advice can come with confusing contraditions so hopefully I can strip some of the stuff out of this.

Many people on this site are passionate about image quality and their view can be to get the best possible quality, not for the image that comes straight out of the camera but for what they can do to it afterwards, and a DSLR gives them more options on editing - you can get more detail out of highlights and shadows; you can print larger which also means you can crop the image harder while maintaining high image quality. Also, DSLRs have a quicker response time which means you can capture fleeting moments much easier.
So when someone (even me) posts a suggestion try and gauge why they say what they did - or simply ask them.


So the questions I think you need to ask yourself are:
- what are the images for? if they are for memories then any camera will do the job to kick those grey cells into action. But someone who wants to go on a 'photographic expedition' will want something more demanding
- how important is this trip? If it is probably 'once-in-a-lifetime' sort of trip you may be willing to go a bit further on the gear
- how will you view the images? If you want to show your images on your computer screen, at full screen size (21-inch screen), you may be hard pushed to tell the difference between a compact camera and a DSLR. If you want to share on social media it will be almost impossible to tell the difference and you may as well get a compact camera and make it fun to carry around. A camera is no good if it is left in the hotel room.
- How much do you think you will want to edit the images? Personally, I would play safe and allow a bit of editing (cropping the image, reduce glare in highlights, recover a shot that is under or over exposed)
- From your previous experiences with cameras, what is it you are trying to do better?

As you will see from above, I am not the only one who has mentioned the challenge of going from no camera to DSLR - I have friends who have gone from mobile phone to DSLR and some have taken to it, and others very quickly wished they had bought a compact camera. We can't advise you on that so I suggest you go to Jessops, or any camera shop, and try them for size. Take a memory card, shoot some photos and take the card home to see if the image quality is what you want.

Then buy your camera well ahead of time and try it out. Get used to it and what it can do - this will really help in the long run.
And buy a polarising filter. Landscape shots in that part of the world will benefit tremendously, and it is arguably the only effect that cannot be replicated in editing programs.

This gear buying is a bit of a quagmire but whatever you buy, enjoy your trip.
 
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Feb 21, 2013
115
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Mikehit said:
Drum said:
unless you are prepared to do the extra PP on your images your budget in a DSLR may not be big enough

Sensors are pretty much equal now - and given the experience of the OP, I very much doubt that any purported advantages of Sony vs Nikon vs Canon will be relevant even if noticeable. Unless, of course, you can point out deficiencies of images such as these taken with the 1300D

https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=canon%201300d

I never mentioned ANY camera brand over another, I said with ALL camera brands some PP is needed to get STUNNING LANDSCAPES, and not just cropping and basic exposure control. I have seen stunning landscapes taken with an 1100D nevermind a 1300D, but they were post processed.
To the OP, if you do go and buy a new Canon DSLR I hope you get into photography learn your camera's manual controls, If you do you enter a world of endless possibilities to make images and art. When buying your camera avoid the twin lens kit that has a 75-300iii lens, it is an awful lens that has very poor image quality. a much improved twin lens kit contains a 55-250, and if it has the designation STM after this, even better. Some people really like the Canon kit that has the 18-135 STM lens, but I have never used it. Lenses are the key with DSLR's- the better the lens the more chance you have of making great images (along with composition and an understanding of how the light affects your image)
 
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Jul 28, 2015
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Hillsilly said:
Sensors might be equal. But some cameras seem better at producing great JPEGS straight out of camera than others. The G7X is said to be really good (same with the older G1Xii). Same with Olympus micro 4/3 cameras and Fuji X cameras.

True, but that's how the profiles are programmed and you can tweak them or create your own profiles to suit what you prefer.
I have spoken to two pros who say that they prefer the out-of-camera jpegs from Olympus but prefer the Panasonic when handling raw files, and I get much the same feeling.
 
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Jan 22, 2012
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AlanF said:
sanj said:
AlanF said:
sanj said:
Canon S120. A small sturdy tripod.

Enjoy the holiday.

He will enjoy it more without a tripod.

He said he wanted lovely landscapes. The tripod is a must for that.
Agreed a big tripod will not be required. A small one for the small camera to enable low ISO (The sensor is small on these cameras)

These small sensors require f/5.6 or faster to avoid diffraction softening. That equates to exposures of 1/800s or faster at ISO 100 on a bright day. You don't need a tripod for that speed with a short focal length lens without IS. And most of these cameras have 4-6 stops of IS. A joy of these modern small cameras is that they free you from the pain of carting around even a small tripod. A tripod might have its uses but it is not a "must".

My bad Alan. I visualise landscapes photos only early morning or evening. Personality issues.
 
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Jul 21, 2010
31,088
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sanj said:
AlanF said:
sanj said:
AlanF said:
sanj said:
Canon S120. A small sturdy tripod.

Enjoy the holiday.

He will enjoy it more without a tripod.

He said he wanted lovely landscapes. The tripod is a must for that.
Agreed a big tripod will not be required. A small one for the small camera to enable low ISO (The sensor is small on these cameras)

These small sensors require f/5.6 or faster to avoid diffraction softening. That equates to exposures of 1/800s or faster at ISO 100 on a bright day. You don't need a tripod for that speed with a short focal length lens without IS. And most of these cameras have 4-6 stops of IS. A joy of these modern small cameras is that they free you from the pain of carting around even a small tripod. A tripod might have its uses but it is not a "must".

My bad Alan. I visualise landscapes photos only early morning or evening. Personality issues.

I'm with sanj on this one...I've heard the expression about those who go out in the midday sun, and it doesn't include photographers. ;) Particularly, 'stunning landscapes' and 'bright days' aren't generally a good match, IMO.

But a Gorillapod would do the trick for a small camera. This one was with a Gorillapod SLR Zoom attached to the railing of one of the Golden Jubilee Bridges over the Thames.


EOS M2, EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM @ 20mm, 2.5 s, f/7.1, ISO 400
 
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