With the abundance of film and digital cameras available today, choosing a travel camera for the non-photographer can be a daunting task. Everyone has an opinion, including myself. But before you can make an informed decision, you’ll need to decide how and why you’ll be using the camera.
For example, if you’re hoping that your photos will make it to the cover of a travel magazine or you plan on mounting a fine art exhibition of your work, you can stop reading right here. We won’t be looking at cameras capable of that level of image quality because they don’t meet the basic criteria of a travelers’ camera: compact size, non-interchangeable lens and light weight. You’ll be sacrificing image quality, but everything is compromise for the traveler.
Unfortunately, those criteria do little to narrow the field. So let’s look at other ways to narrow your choices.
The first choice would be between a film and digital compact camera. If your travels will be restricted to long stays in populated areas, then a film camera will serve you well. As long as film and processing and the ability to pay for them are available, you can shoot the analog way and have both hard copy (prints) and soft copy (negatives) that will last indefinitely.
But it’s a digital age, and the lure of being able to take unlimited photos anywhere in the world for free (no film or processing costs) has transitioned most travelers to digital cameras. So this is where we’ll begin, even though the number of choices are still extremely high.
Let’s get back to how you will be using your digital compact camera. If your main reason for buying it is to document your travels, e-mail images to your friends or upload them to a website, and maybe make 8x10-inch or smaller prints while traveling or when you return home, then a digital camera with 4-5 megapixel resolution is all you need. Bigger (more resolution) isn’t better in this instance. You’ll pay more initially for the greater resolution, you’ll end up with more noise in your photos and less dynamic range (the range of values between highlights and shadows) and the storage card in your camera (and the hard drive in your computer) will hold fewer full-resolution images. Unfortunately, it’s getting harder and harder to find new cameras with less than 6 megapixels resolution.
One other practical application that a digital camera holds over the film type is the ability to transmit images immediately. Not just photographs for imbedding in your emails, but for work-travel purposes. Your camera can serve as an impromptu scanner and fax machine. One usually can’t lug such things around, so an alternative is to take a picture of the document you are suppose to scan or fax and then file it away for safe keeping or forward it on to another destination via your computer’s fax function. (File > Print > Fax option.)
Digital cameras with 4-5 megapixel resolution are available with zoom lenses ranging from 3X to 12X zoom lenses. Generally, the more compact the camera, the shorter the zoom range. Other than the relatively compact Panasonic Lumix T-series, cameras with 4X or more zoom lenses look and handle more like single lens reflex cameras than compact digital cameras. And forget about digital zoom. That’s the same as cropping your optical zoom image with the attendant sacrifice in image quality.
More important than zoom range is the range that is covered. Most digital camera zoom lenses begin at the equivalent to a 35-45 mm lens. This is great if you do mostly portraits, close-ups and shooting from a distance. But if you’re interested in shooting landscapes, architecture or more dramatic images, look for a lens with a wideangle equivalent of 28mm or less.
If you’ve used to composing your photos by looking through the lens or through a viewfinder, you’ll have to adjust your habits with a compact digital. They lack both. In their place is an LCD screen on the back of the camera. With an LCD, bigger and brighter IS better. A three-inch screen is the minimum size these days. Brighter is better because composing photos with these screens is difficult at best in sunlight. Cameras from Canon, Nikon and Panasonic generally have big, bright screens.
If your photo tastes run more to night scenes and pub interiors than sunlit beaches, then the low-light capability of the camera will be important. Compact digitals perform poorly to miserably in these situations. If this is where your main interest lies, stick with Canon cameras, which are the best in these conditions. Otherwise, expect to be disappointed. And forget about the built-in flash. In most compact digitals, the usable range is less than two meters, it will definitely look like you used a flash and the flash will deplete your batteries that much more quickly.
Talking about batteries, there are two general classes for these cameras: proprietary batteries and AA batteries. The really compact cameras will generally have a proprietary battery since this allows the manufacturer to design a battery to fit the camera, rather than designing the camera around a battery. But a proprietary battery may require a proprietary charger and attendant adapters, and if the battery refuses to recharge in Nepal, you’d better be packing a spare.
AA batteries on the other hand are available nearly everywhere. While ordinary (Alkaline) AA batteries won’t last as long as Lithium or rechargeable AAs, you’ll likely be able to find them wherever you may be. Rechargeable AA batteries with a capacity of 2400 mAh (milliamp hours) or more are the best, but you’re back to carrying a recharge. One solution is the Energizer DUO charger that is not much larger than two AA batteries and will recharge AA and AAA NiMH (Nickel-Metal Hydride) from the USB port of your laptop. One less charger to carry. As far as battery life, Canon compacts have been very good in my experience, Panasonic not so good, and Nikon, Olympus somewhere in between.
Holding a small, lightweight camera steady can be tricky, and the biggest cause of unsharp photos is camera movement by the photographer. You don’t want to carry a tripod, so look for a camera with image stabilization (IS) in the specifications. Different manufacturers have different implementations of IS, but they all help to minimize camera shake.
Ever wish you were carrying a notepad to copy down a map or travel schedules? Sure, you can take a photo of them, but when you download your camera card, they’re in your computer, not your camera. Several compact cameras have a small amount of built-in memory, independent of the memory card, where you can store this information and always have it available until you delete or write over it.
Looking for a rugged, waterproof, shockproof compact camera that you can take hiking, diving and drop on concrete? Olympus makes several. Enjoy taking close-up photos? Many compact digitals have Macro capability. Want to show the folks back home what you’re eating? Some cameras will have a Food setting just for this purpose. Looking for a camera you can slip into a pocket and take anywhere, the look for an ultra-compact model.
