DSRL Camera for travel

[Hjalmarg1]

Hi all,

I am planning to have holidays but I don't want to travel heavy with my 5D3 and the FF lenses. I want to buy a light body and I am between the SL1 and the T5i that could be also light for my kids to use. Obviusly I will have to buy one or two lenses compatible with the APS-C sensor but, I am also thinking about a do-it-all ultrazoom and carry my 35mmf2IS for low light situations.
Any experience or suggestion on those bodies and ultrazoom lens?

 

[wickidwombat]

the eos m kit is dirt cheap and the 22mm is an awesome f2
the 18-55 kit lens is very respectable too

 

[verysimplejason]

If you have the budget and would love to retain that excellent IQ, Canon 6D + 24-105L. It's a combo that can almost do it all as I experienced from a recent trip to Krabi, Thailand. I'm using that combo for about 80% of the time. The rest was taken using my G11 with underwater casing since 20% of my shots are taken in deep water or while swimming/having fun in the beach.

 

[Dylan777]

About you add 40mm pancake to your 5D III?

For truely compact get one of these: X100s, A7 series + FE 35mm

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

You can get a smaller body, but good lenses are big and heavy, and somewhat proportional to the camera size. That's where the smaller sensor sized bodies seem to excel, decent images in a small package.

I have a G1 X, its not a tiny point and shoot, but the G1X II is smaller and has a better lens, I'm thinking of getting one as a take along camera for decent images that rival a DSLR with the standard lenses.

The Sony RX100 series seem to be hard to beat for the size, the new MK III will be out in June, but the lens has sacrificed telephoto for wide angle, and has a much smaller sensor than the G1 X, which has a wide zoom range and better overall aperture which combined with the larger sensor which means very good low light performance. If my huge fingers could operate the Sony, I'd be considering it strongly, but the nice large touch screen on the G1 X means I'll go with it, since it works with my large fingers just fine.

 

[drmikeinpdx]

Mt. Spokane makes a good point. Putting a large lens on a small camera defeats the purpose of having a small camera.

I am pretty happy with my T2i and 18-55 kit lens for travel. I sometimes take a longer zoom, but almost never use it.

Here's a casual HDR shot I took in the Columbia River Gorge last month using this combination and a flimsy tripod.

The upload doesn't look as sharp as the original. Here's a crop to show what kind of detail you can expect:

 

[rpiotr01]

I'd just take the 5D plus that 35 f2 and 100 2.8. Outstanding IQ, no need to spend more dough.

For something you can put in a coat pocket the M + 22 f2 is hard to beat.

 

[mustafaakarsu]

I would consider Canon M, so you can still use your Canon lenses in the future, just in case.
Also Fuji has great new sensor.

 

[MTL18]

I don't have the bodies you are interested in but do own the 18-200mm lens. Fine lens, but it does have distortion at the 18mm range so I'd be pairing it with the new 10-18mm if I didn't already have a better lens in the 18mm range. I'd consider bringing the Canon 50mm f/1.8 for nicer portraits and it doesn't add much weight (or even the pancake 40mm).

 

[witty_username]

After lurking for a while, I finally signed up to reply to your post. I own the SL1 and love it. It's incredibly small, light and produces surprisingly great images for being so compact. Jumping on it from a 5D3 it's going to feel a little like a toy in the hand, but the picture IQ is rewarding for such a small package. Especially with some good glass in front of it. I own the 35 F2 IS and it's by far my most used lens on it. FANTASTIC for street photography and general use. The nifty 50 makes a SUPER light and portable package too if an 80mm equivalent focal length works for you.

Just for grins I've thrown the 16-35 F2.8 II L and the 70-200mm f2.8L IS II to see what it could do. Really pleased with the results. The "more reasonable" 16-35 was a little odd feeling on balance, but I got used to it pretty quick. The 70-200 was obviously ridiculous, but it was fun to be absurd and see the results. The little camera performed beautifully with the L's and the weight & size reduction was nice on the hands. Just remember that most(all) crop cameras low light performance isn't anywhere near the same as the 5D3 so don't push the ISO too crazy. Other than that don't feel like you have to throw a "cheep" zoom on there to enjoy the weight + size reduction benefits.

Lastly, like all purchases I'd recommend going to a store and holding both to see how they feel in your hand. I have pretty small hands so the SL1 feels great, but you might prefer the t5i. I felt the t5i just didn't have the huge advantage and novelty the size + weight reduction the SL1 has.

Hope that helps!

 

[Redder]

I own a SL1 it is a very small and capable DSLR.

One thing to pay attention to with this camera is that it lacks AF micro adjustment feature. It is not sharp with my 28mm 2.8 IS. The method I use to check focus accuracy is comparing phase focus with live view focus. On this particular combination SL1 with 28mm 2.8 IS, the files using phase focus will only match with live view focus in sharpness from F4.0 and onward. (Note this 28mm 2.8 IS when paired with my 5D3 needs a +6 AF micro adjustment).

Luckily it has no problem in AF with my 24mm 2.8 IS, which the combination is still very light, focus fast and spot on, even when I use touch screen and live view focus and shot.

Other lens that I owned and used with SL1 without any AF issues are 15-85 3.5-5.6 IS and the very compact 35 F2.0(non IS).

One other camera that I found very useful on travelling is the small G1X. By setting C1 and C2 in 28mm and 35mm F8.0 with manual pan focus it enable me to switch around the 2 focal lengths and shoot very quick on the street. And the lens is quite sharp.

 

[SPL]

+1 on the SL1!

 

[Dantana]

I don't have the bodies you are interested in but do own the 18-200mm lens. Fine lens, but it does have distortion at the 18mm range so I'd be pairing it with the new 10-18mm if I didn't already have a better lens in the 18mm range. I'd consider bringing the Canon 50mm f/1.8 for nicer portraits and it doesn't add much weight (or even the pancake 40mm).

I guess it's all a matter of opinion, but as much as I wanted to like that lens when I was shooting crop, I was pretty disappointed. Slow focus, lens creep, not as sharp as I had hoped... Since I've moved up to the 6D, I haven't touched my old crop rig or the 18-200. Actually meaning to sell it for whatever the market will bear.

My last trip was with a 6D 24-105 kit, and my 40mm for when I didn't want to carry around the zoom. The pancake is sharp and makes the setup quite small, and the focal length was great walking around Austin.

 

[brad-man]

Hi all,

I am planning to have holidays but I don't want to travel heavy with my 5D3 and the FF lenses. I want to buy a light body and I am between the SL1 and the T5i that could be also light for my kids to use. Obviusly I will have to buy one or two lenses compatible with the APS-C sensor but, I am also thinking about a do-it-all ultrazoom and carry my 35mmf2IS for low light situations.
Any experience or suggestion on those bodies and ultrazoom lens?

I have a T4i coupled with an EF-S 15-85mm for inconspicuous travel (when my M+22 just won't do), and find it to be a very capable combination. It's not quite a "super zoom", but it has fantastic optics, very effective IS, and would go very nicely with your EF 35 IS.

 

[Destin]

Digital Single Reflex Lens?

 

[278204]

I'm in the middle (*sniff* over halfway through) of an 8-month travel stint with the family and I've been perfectly happy lugging the 5D2 + 24-105 around. Before leaving I sold my cheapo tripod (planning on getting a proper on when I return) and 100-400 (suspected/hoped the new model would come out while I was away, flooding the secondhand market). I find that rushing about with 2 small kids doesn't give you many chances to change lenses (or use a tripod). I miss a bit more reach for wildlife.

 

[zim]

All depends on what kind of holiday.

I'm recently back from a short city break to Rome, decided to challange myself and just go with an aps-c and 40mm.... "Rome on a Pancake"

It really was great fun, yeh you have to move your feet a bit but a great street lens so small nobody cares ;D and great for high res stitches/panos

If it's not a safari, keep it simple, have fun

 

[KKCFamilyman]

I am in the same boat. I am bringing my 5d3, 24-70 2.8 II, 35mm 1.4, 600ex, 70-300L (only one day where I will need the reach. May bring the 16-35 also. I am going on a Disney cruise with a large group and then all the WDW parks. I know the 24-70 should cover most of that I still find myself researching the sony alpha a6000 with lenses, SL1 with my lenses, Canon G1x Mark ii, etc. I just think in the end if you don't bring your best for some of the more photogenic places you are going then where do you bring it that's new? Anyone else in this boat? If so what did you do?

 

[Random Orbits]

the eos m kit is dirt cheap and the 22mm is an awesome f2
the 18-55 kit lens is very respectable too

+1. Got the M + 22 f/2 for 300 and later added a white box 18-55 from Hong Kong. System is compact. AF is slow compared to a DSLR but what you gain is minimal size and good IQ at a low price. I primarily use the 22 (and occassionally a 270EX) indoors, and the 18-55 outdoors.

APS-C sensors are at a disdvantage to FF when light levels are low (indoors), so fast lenses are more "needed" for smaller sensor cameras. Unfortunately those types of lenses tend to be larger/heavier, which takes away a bit of the size/price advantage of the smaller sensor cameras.

 

[Random Orbits]

I am in the same boat. I am bringing my 5d3, 24-70 2.8 II, 35mm 1.4, 600ex, 70-300L (only one day where I will need the reach. May bring the 16-35 also. I am going on a Disney cruise with a large group and then all the WDW parks. I know the 24-70 should cover most of that I still find myself researching the sony alpha a6000 with lenses, SL1 with my lenses, Canon G1x Mark ii, etc. I just think in the end if you don't bring your best for some of the more photogenic places you are going then where do you bring it that's new? Anyone else in this boat? If so what did you do?

Yes, I agree. I used a 17-55 f/2.8 IS and a 70-200 f/2.8 IS II when I went. I used the 70-200 for the parades, shows and safari. If I were going now, I'd take the 24-70 II, 35L, 70-300L. I'd use the 24-70 and 70-300 during the day, and the 35 at night (i.e. Downtown Disney), so I wouldn't be taking all the lenses with me all the time, which makes a big difference. The flash I'd really only use on the boat -- I find it too bulky to lug around the park for the few times the scenes are severely backlit and you need fill.