New and Full of Questions

[usuborder]

Dear Foto Forums!

These forums look just fantastic. You guys are just fantastic. Thank you so much for having me!
I am here to ask questions, but hopefully in time answer some!
I have a question about buying a camera for a 2 month backpacking trip...Is it appropriate to ask it here? If not, which forum?

Thanks and its a pleasure to meet any and all

 

[BrettMikaluk]

Welcome!

In order to answer your question, I gotta ask a few!

How much are you willing to spend?
How light do you want the camera to be?
Do you want interchangeable lenses?

Let's start there and see what we come up with! haha

 

[480sparky]

Welcome to the nuthouse!

I'm old and full of something. Not sure what, but I'm full of it!

 

[usuborder]

Lightness/durability: So I will be backpacking and want something light, more importantly, not crushable. I assume I will have it in my pack sometimes, and worry about crushing it. Also, if I am hiking or what not, I want something that will not hinder my experience. I have a waterproof point and shoot, but would prefer something with better quality and I don't NEED waterproofing.

I am willing to spend <800$. (flexible if something PERFECT comes up)

NOTE: If I sound ignorant or ask something impossible, its because I am ignorant. Feel free to correct me. I rather me an educated photographer than a self proclaimed educated photographer.

Lenses:Interchangeable would be nice, but not a determining factor. I would prefer a "all around" lens over multiple ones. My worry is that interchangeable lenses will make my camera too bulky...UNLESS there are very small/flush interchangeable lenses that give me the quality I am looking for I want Highest quality photos possible with >12MP. If I'm in fjords in Norway, mountain with poor visibility in Sweden, the city of France, or a beach in Greece I want to not regret any of the photos due to lack of quality. Of course I don't expect them to look "professional".

Experience/Skill usage: Minimal. I have a Canon Rebel I have used for years, but I have only slightly tinkered with the ISO, Shutter Speed, and some other settings. By no means am I skilled enough to sought out a camera for those different functions. With that being said, it would be ideal to have a camera that does well in different light conditions.

Nutshell: Durable for Europe Backpacking (active individual) with quality good enough to capture a TRIP OF A LIFETIME Mountains, beaches, city skyline.

Thanks for any advice or help!

 

[usuborder]

Welcome to the nuthouse!

I'm old and full of something. Not sure what, but I'm full of it!

Thats greatness. Pure Greatness.

 

[budget cruncher]

Is it appropriate to ask it here? If not, which forum?

Might be better to use this one:

Photography Equipment & Products

 

[robbins.photo]

Ok, well given what was posted above, assuming you'll be taking pictures in good lighting you might want to look into whats called a bridge camera or sometimes a "super zoom". They are small, lightweight, affordable, and in good light produce some very good quality images.

 

[usuborder]

Ok, well given what was posted above, assuming you'll be taking pictures in good lighting you might want to look into whats called a bridge camera or sometimes a "super zoom". They are small, lightweight, affordable, and in good light produce some very good quality images.

Thank you. I will look at these!

 

[usuborder]

Welcome!

In order to answer your question, I gotta ask a few!

How much are you willing to spend?
How light do you want the camera to be?
Do you want interchangeable lenses?

Let's start there and see what we come up with! haha

Lightness/durability: So I will be backpacking and want something light, more importantly, not crushable. I assume I will have it in my pack sometimes, and worry about crushing it. Also, if I am hiking or what not, I want something that will not hinder my experience. I have a waterproof point and shoot, but would prefer something with better quality and I don't NEED waterproofing.

I am willing to spend <800$. (flexible if something PERFECT comes up)

NOTE: If I sound ignorant or ask something impossible, its because I am ignorant. Feel free to correct me. I rather me an educated photographer than a self proclaimed educated photographer.

Lenses:Interchangeable would be nice, but not a determining factor. I would prefer a "all around" lens over multiple ones. My worry is that interchangeable lenses will make my camera too bulky...UNLESS there are very small/flush interchangeable lenses that give me the quality I am looking for I want Highest quality photos possible with >12MP. If I'm in fjords in Norway, mountain with poor visibility in Sweden, the city of France, or a beach in Greece I want to not regret any of the photos due to lack of quality. Of course I don't expect them to look "professional".

Experience/Skill usage: Minimal. I have a Canon Rebel I have used for years, but I have only slightly tinkered with the ISO, Shutter Speed, and some other settings. By no means am I skilled enough to sought out a camera for those different functions. With that being said, it would be ideal to have a camera that does well in different light conditions.

Nutshell: Durable for Europe Backpacking (active individual) with quality good enough to capture a TRIP OF A LIFETIME Mountains, beaches, city skyline.

Thanks for any advice or help!

 

[robbins.photo]

Ok, well given what was posted above, assuming you'll be taking pictures in good lighting you might want to look into whats called a bridge camera or sometimes a "super zoom". They are small, lightweight, affordable, and in good light produce some very good quality images.

Thank you. I will look at these!

No worries, happy to help. If you don't need brand new top of the line you can get some really good bargains by buying the previous generation of camera rather than the top of the line, new to the market models.

For example, a Nikon coolpix P600 will give you a 60x zoom lens and a 16mp sensor which is pretty impressive for a superzoom, and you can generally get them for between $250-$350 new.