Selecting the best digital camera for travel can be confusing without a set of guidelines to help you make the right choice. Below are three important considerations that will steer you in the right direction.
1. Nature of Travel
a) Organized tour -- you can safely carry a larger, more costly camera and camera bag as you will be with a group, offering improved security for your belongings. We'd suggest a quality digital compact camera with at least a 3x optical zoom lens, but preferably a 10x zoom for greater flexibility.
b) Independent traveler, using local transport -- security is a consideration plus you'll likely be traveling as light as possible. Our suggestion is a small, compact digital camera with 3x zoom lens that can safely be kept in a pocket or hand-bag.
c) Back-packing, staying in hostels -- you'll be carrying the bare minimum, and your belongings will be at risk. We'd suggest sticking to a small, inexpensive, compact camera you can keep in a pocket or fanny pack with your valuables. No need for extra features but should have 3x zoom.
2. Type of Trip:
a) Holiday to a beach or resort hotel -- security should not be a concern, so you can carry a larger camera or a camera bag. It's likely most your pictures will be on the beach or at the pool, so a big camera with 10x zoom is not essential. Our suggestion is a compact with 3x or 5x zoom that offers a wide focal length - about 24 or 28mm equivalent - for scenic shots.
b) Emphasis on sightseeing and historical sites -- flexibility is important, so you'll need a good zoom range offering wide angle to telephoto. We suggest a digital camera 10x zoom so you can zoom out to include large buildings and zoom in on finer details. These cameras are also suitable for street and candid photography.
c) Great outdoors -- if hiking is the main aim, then weight is crucial, but less so if going on a wildlife safari. Our suggestion for a walking or hiking trip is a rugged but lightweight compact with a 3x or 5x zoom lens for scenic pictures and informal people shots. For a safari holiday, you'll want to snap the wildlife, so will need a compact superzoom (10x zoom or more).
For more serious wildlife photographers, a digital SLR like a Canon 450D with one or two Canon zoom lenses is the preferred option -- but try to keep your lenses down to two because of space constraints in most game drive vehicles.
3. Your Interests:
a) Historical sites, architecture -- need wide angle capability for exteriors of bigger buildings and for interiors where space is tight. We suggest a digital compact with built-in flash, plus ability to shoot at higher ISO using available light, so image stabilization will be a plus. But the camera should, at a minimum, have a 3x zoom that's as wide as possible on the wide end.
b) People, candids, reportage -- need a powerful telephoto so can shoot unnoticed from a distance. Suggest a digital camera with 10x or12x zoom, or a compact digital SLR with one or two lenses such as a Nikon or Canon wide angle lens.
c) General countryside, landscapes -- here wide angle will be more useful than telephoto, so we recommend a digital compact with 3x to 5x zoom.
The final choice of a digital camera for your travels will be dictated by price and budget. Nevertheless, if you're going on a once-in-a-lifetime trip, then squeeze that budget to the limit and get the best camera you can, as you may never have a similar opportunity.
1. Nature of Travel
a) Organized tour -- you can safely carry a larger, more costly camera and camera bag as you will be with a group, offering improved security for your belongings. We'd suggest a quality digital compact camera with at least a 3x optical zoom lens, but preferably a 10x zoom for greater flexibility.
b) Independent traveler, using local transport -- security is a consideration plus you'll likely be traveling as light as possible. Our suggestion is a small, compact digital camera with 3x zoom lens that can safely be kept in a pocket or hand-bag.
c) Back-packing, staying in hostels -- you'll be carrying the bare minimum, and your belongings will be at risk. We'd suggest sticking to a small, inexpensive, compact camera you can keep in a pocket or fanny pack with your valuables. No need for extra features but should have 3x zoom.
2. Type of Trip:
a) Holiday to a beach or resort hotel -- security should not be a concern, so you can carry a larger camera or a camera bag. It's likely most your pictures will be on the beach or at the pool, so a big camera with 10x zoom is not essential. Our suggestion is a compact with 3x or 5x zoom that offers a wide focal length - about 24 or 28mm equivalent - for scenic shots.
b) Emphasis on sightseeing and historical sites -- flexibility is important, so you'll need a good zoom range offering wide angle to telephoto. We suggest a digital camera 10x zoom so you can zoom out to include large buildings and zoom in on finer details. These cameras are also suitable for street and candid photography.
c) Great outdoors -- if hiking is the main aim, then weight is crucial, but less so if going on a wildlife safari. Our suggestion for a walking or hiking trip is a rugged but lightweight compact with a 3x or 5x zoom lens for scenic pictures and informal people shots. For a safari holiday, you'll want to snap the wildlife, so will need a compact superzoom (10x zoom or more).
For more serious wildlife photographers, a digital SLR like a Canon 450D with one or two Canon zoom lenses is the preferred option -- but try to keep your lenses down to two because of space constraints in most game drive vehicles.
3. Your Interests:
a) Historical sites, architecture -- need wide angle capability for exteriors of bigger buildings and for interiors where space is tight. We suggest a digital compact with built-in flash, plus ability to shoot at higher ISO using available light, so image stabilization will be a plus. But the camera should, at a minimum, have a 3x zoom that's as wide as possible on the wide end.
b) People, candids, reportage -- need a powerful telephoto so can shoot unnoticed from a distance. Suggest a digital camera with 10x or12x zoom, or a compact digital SLR with one or two lenses such as a Nikon or Canon wide angle lens.
c) General countryside, landscapes -- here wide angle will be more useful than telephoto, so we recommend a digital compact with 3x to 5x zoom.
The final choice of a digital camera for your travels will be dictated by price and budget. Nevertheless, if you're going on a once-in-a-lifetime trip, then squeeze that budget to the limit and get the best camera you can, as you may never have a similar opportunity.