Help with travel set up

Coach417

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My wife and daughter are going to Rome for 8 days in Dec. I have narrowed down the choices for a travel camera to the following:
1. Olympus Stylus 1-least $, most compact, assuming easy to shoot decent images.
2. Panasonic FZ1000-more $, DSLR sized (for the most part), very good image quality
3. DSLR w/18-250 or equivalent-depending on body and lens, not much more than FZ1000, not much bigger, and assuming better image quality.
Right now I am leaning towards a Pentax K50 with Pentax 18-250 lens, OR spending a little more for a Nikon D5300 and a Tamron 16-300 lens. Some examples of camera cost:
Pentax K50 with 18-135 WR lens $680
Pentax K50 with Pentax 18-270 $950
Nikon D5300 with 18-140 lens $775
Nikon D5300 with 16-300 Tamron lens $1050

Obviously if I get a DSLR and lens, it will give me the opportunity to try to grow my photography IQ. Any constructive advice is appreciated.
 
My wife and daughter are going to Rome for 8 days in Dec. I have narrowed down the choices for a travel camera to the following:
1. Olympus Stylus 1-least $, most compact, assuming easy to shoot decent images.
2. Panasonic FZ1000-more $, DSLR sized (for the most part), very good image quality
3. DSLR w/18-250 or equivalent-depending on body and lens, not much more than FZ1000, not much bigger, and assuming better image quality.
Right now I am leaning towards a Pentax K50 with Pentax 18-250 lens, OR spending a little more for a Nikon D5300 and a Tamron 16-300 lens. Some examples of camera cost:
Pentax K50 with 18-135 WR lens $680
Pentax K50 with Pentax 18-270 $950
Nikon D5300 with 18-140 lens $775
Nikon D5300 with 16-300 Tamron lens $1050

Obviously if I get a DSLR and lens, it will give me the opportunity to try to grow my photography IQ. Any constructive advice is appreciated.

Add in a GOOD travel tripod. Say a 'Thing' or even the J-Pod travel one. Also my recommendation for an excellent travel bag is the Tamrac Pro 12. It will hold all your gear, be carry-on, and tough as nails....also the price is in the ~$150 range, a good buy. DON'T forget a good flash!
 
Thanks for the tips. I do have a tripod and am looking in to a flash once I make a camera decision. Any advice on the camera choices?
 
You're buying a camera for your wife and daughter to use. Did you check with the actual users to see what they want?

IOW: if someone who doesn't want to lug around a DSLR and a couple of extra lenses, how are they going to enjoy the trip? Will one or both of them be glad to learn (assuming they don't already know how) a DSLR and all that entails, are they going to be happy to to take the camera you have purchased? If they are more attuned to a point & shoot, then I would go for that instead of a DSLR.
 
Sorry. My wife is quite adept at using a DSLR. Yes, that would be quite unkind to send them on the trip of a lifetime with a camera that befuddles them. Obviously the P&S cameras would be more simple, but I am assuming the DSLR image quality would be significantly better than even the FZ1000. Enough so to warrant the perceived increase in difficulty. Also, the reason for camera choices and lens choice is to eliminate the need for extra lenses. The P&S cameras are simple and to simplify the DSLR, I will choose what would be that better "travel" lens. Is a 18-135 (140 Nikon) flexible enough or do I need a 18-270 or 16-300??? I don't know. I have read as many reviews as possible, but still looking for real world advice.
 
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When I'm vacation, my gear is evolving from DSLR with 2-3 lenses to super point & shoot. So, this last vacation, I took my latest addition, a Canon G15 in addition to my big gun 5Diii, etc. The 5Diii spent most of its time in the bag, as the G15 was easy to use, pocketable, and produced excellent results.

Any camera will produce great results in daylight. So for me, the key is night shots. Here's a straight-from-the-camera SOOC JPG, I haven't touched at all except to resize it for the forum. Why the G15? I can go full auto, full manual, and everywhere in between with ease.

EDIT: These are hand held, for the night shot I was resting on a railing.
 

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Is a 18-135 (140 Nikon) flexible enough or do I need a 18-270 or 16-300??? I don't know. I have read as many reviews as possible, but still looking for real world advice.

I don't have experience with those lenses, but I will tell you this; you probably won't use a long lens as much as you will want a fast lens.

I would take a medium zoom and something 1.8 for night/low light shots. Probably my 50mm.

With a modern DSLR, just take any long shot as you can, and crop it down later.
 
Eight days is little enough to see even small parts of Italy let alone concentrate on getting good pictures at the right time of day.
Take the simplest, lightest rig that will take the pictures without interrupting the trip.
There are wonderful pictures of everything you will want to see; take memory shots for yourself and forget the rest.
 
Sorry. My wife is quite adept at using a DSLR. Yes, that would be quite unkind to send them on the trip of a lifetime with a camera that befuddles them. Obviously the P&S cameras would be more simple, but I am assuming the DSLR image quality would be significantly better than even the FZ1000. Enough so to warrant the perceived increase in difficulty. Also, the reason for camera choices and lens choice is to eliminate the need for extra lenses. The P&S cameras are simple and to simplify the DSLR, I will choose what would be that better "travel" lens. Is a 18-135 (140 Nikon) flexible enough or do I need a 18-270 or 16-300??? I don't know. I have read as many reviews as possible, but still looking for real world advice.
As to real-world advice, to what degree will you be using the photos?

If you're putting them in a photo album/book, sharing them online, or printing them on an 8x10, a good P&S will have good enough image quality for these purposes.

Will they be walking and taking shots? Will they WANT to set up a tripod and (for lack of a better word) WASTE time on a 'trip of a lifetime' trying to get the right shot?

As much as I love my DSLR, when my wife and I go on vacations that we know we'll probably never take again, I take my P&S and enjoy the time with my wife. I'd much rather have memories of spending time with her than of memories trying to get that perfect shot.
 
[/QUOTE]As to real-world advice, to what degree will you be using the photos?

If you're putting them in a photo album/book, sharing them online, or printing them on an 8x10, a good P&S will have good enough image quality for these purposes.

Will they be walking and taking shots? Will they WANT to set up a tripod and (for lack of a better word) WASTE time on a 'trip of a lifetime' trying to get the right shot?

As much as I love my DSLR, when my wife and I go on vacations that we know we'll probably never take again, I take my P&S and enjoy the time with my wife. I'd much rather have memories of spending time with her than of memories trying to get that perfect shot.[/QUOTE]


Thank you for the perspective. You guys are correct. just because she "can" take a DSLR, doesn't mean she should. This is a high school band trip and the itinerary is tight. There won't be much time for shot set up. It would be more run and gun. Thanks again.
 
Thank you for the perspective. You guys are correct. just because she "can" take a DSLR, doesn't mean she should. This is a high school band trip and the itinerary is tight. There won't be much time for shot set up. It would be more run and gun. Thanks again.
Glad we could help.

If you want to grow your photography skills and have a P&S at the same time (i.e., budget constraints not allowing both a P&S and a DSLR), try a higher end P&S that can capture RAW and allow you to shoot in manual/semi-manual mode. That way, you can learn about exposure, shutter speed, and ISO, while still being able to just put the camera in auto and snap away. Plus, they are small enough to fit in a pocket or purse.

I have a Canon S95, and it works well enough for my purposes when on vacation. Plus, it's easy enough to use that when I hand it to someone and ask them to take a picture of us, they know that all they have to do is press the button.
 
Thank you for the perspective. You guys are correct. just because she "can" take a DSLR, doesn't mean she should. This is a high school band trip and the itinerary is tight. There won't be much time for shot set up. It would be more run and gun. Thanks again.

There you go! If you're going to buy a new camera anyway, get a pocket-size P&S that is adjustable.
 

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