Would you bring a DSLR or Point and Shoot to travel to Europe?

[dapier]

On my recent trip to Italy, I brought my GF1 w 14-45 kit lens. More than sufficient for casual touristy snap shots with better IQ than pns. It is much lighter, and easier to take out or keep as compared to DSLR.. it wont attract unwanted attention as it looks like a pns camera. you can also pass it to tour guide, driver, waiter to take group/couple shots without worrying they dont know how to use it.

One drawback is that it might be a bit slow for internal lowlight shots of churches and buildling. But so far I am happy with the pictures it has produced. Sadly, my D700 has been sitting in the dry cabi since I bought the GF1 in 2010. :cry:

Italy was the first trip I took when I bought the D700. The low light shots in the churches are important, makes a big difference, especially the f/2.8. The ISO could only go to 1600 with D700. D3s is much better, I shot at 12800 and had no or little noise

As the sun sets, using the D700, first you slowly reduce the f to 2.8, then you start to increase the ISO, you could feel the importance of low light sensor working, especially in churches when they switch off the lights

 

[electron]

Don't go with just a P&S you will be disappointed! I travelled a lot with a small canon pns because i wanted 'portability' but when i came back from my holidays, the photos were a pale comparison to what i wanted. I bought a DSLR as a result and it was worth the weight. However, i have now moved on to Micro 4/3 and I'm not looking back! Armed with a little E-PL1 and 20mm f/1.7 i have a super sharp wide open low light wonder. And quite lovely bokeh too for the more 'creative' shots. Want to go wide for lanscape? No need to buy/bring a wide angle just take 3 or 4 pano shots and stitch em up in software! You wont be doing too many of those anyway. I do bring the 40-150mm for the days when i need to zoom. Basically any micro 4/3 will give you the best of both worlds. Like a previous contributor, my Canon 450d has been languishing in the dry cabinet for months now since i got a micro 4/3.

 

[ortega]

yah we shot a lot of everything except ourselves, and never any together shots. Tripod is too heavy

table pod

 

[ortega]

shot with the help of the table pod smuggled in my jacket
(tripods/mono pods are not allowed in Disneyland/Sea)

 

[lyk76]

Personally, i bring along my D90 w grip and a 17-50 F2.8 and 70-300 plus accessories like spare battery, filters, etc. Will try to keep it light as it really strain the shoulder after the whole day of travelling. Enjoy ur holiday rather than lugging loads of gears which you may not even use it.

 

[coolsigg]

Italy was the first trip I took when I bought the D700. The low light shots in the churches are important, makes a big difference, especially the f/2.8. The ISO could only go to 1600 with D700. D3s is much better, I shot at 12800 and had no or little noise

As the sun sets, using the D700, first you slowly reduce the f to 2.8, then you start to increase the ISO, you could feel the importance of low light sensor working, especially in churches when they switch off the lights

Yes, fast lens and high iso required for low light shots.

But D700 cant take video! When the light gets too bad/low, I just shoot video with my GF1! ;p

 

[Gengh]

Of course, I want Photography + Eating + Relax with my wife.. Damn... Sounds I am too greedy here..

Not really, I do all three too when we travel! Just need to manage the wife's expectations correctly. If you know that there're nice places you want to go to to shoot, let her know that you want to spend a bit more time there, and make sure you plan accordingly in your schedule. Or if you are going to be standing out in the cold for 30min taking night shots, see if she can wait for you somewhere comfortable (department store, bookshop, museum, whatever...). Don't forget that ultimately how nice the trip turns out to be will be most dependent on your wife, since it's a holiday and not a dedicated photography trip. When my wife tags along for a photography outing, the reverse is true, we stop whenever I want and she waits while I get my pics.

I'd say bring your DSLR and tripod along for the trip, but whether you carry them around everyday and all the time, that depends on how much punishment your body can take. Eg. I'd take the body and a couple of lenses out, but tripod may stay in the hotel on some or even most days.

 

[Gengh]

shot with the help of the table pod smuggled in my jacket
(tripods/mono pods are not allowed in Disneyland/Sea)

Really?! :what: Come to Orlando, the Disney security here even wishes you all the best for your photos when they check your bags and see that you have a tripod with you. :bsmilie:

 

[bkkoo78]

Thanks all your contributions.

All your advices are clear and valid.

I think I will carry the following for my next oversea trip.

d3100
17-55mm
70-200mm
extra battery
Ipad for my wife
P n S for my wife

I think I will leave the tripod and the rest at home for the next trip.

 

[hawaii25]

Hello everyone...it was immensely interesting reading the contributions to this thread...I have a canon 60D and am travelling to Europe soon with my friends, all girls trip...I have a 24-105 lens and a 30mm prime, intending to bring a tripod...u think its enough?

 

[drakon09]

If I'm bringing the DSLR, it's just one lens and that's that.

You can't shoot every damn thing anyway.

 

[Clarity]

Im going to Europe next week for 23 days, and Im bringing my DSLR ^^

 

[coolsigg]

Hello everyone...it was immensely interesting reading the contributions to this thread...I have a canon 60D and am travelling to Europe soon with my friends, all girls trip...I have a 24-105 lens and a 30mm prime, intending to bring a tripod...u think its enough?

I think u can leave the 30mm behind. 24-105 should be good enough, if it is too dark in churches or museum, just up the iso or shoot video! ;p

I ever brought a zoom lens and 2 prime lenses for my trip. I think I used the zoom 95% of the time cos too lazy or no time to change lens. From then onwards, its just a one lens setup whenever I travel. then u learn to make use of what you have on hand to shoot. like drakon said, u cant shoot every thing anyway so just enjoy the trip and not be too greedy.

 

[coolsigg]

Thanks all your contributions.

All your advices are clear and valid.

I think I will carry the following for my next oversea trip.

d3100
17-55mm
70-200mm
extra battery
Ipad for my wife
P n S for my wife

I think I will leave the tripod and the rest at home for the next trip.

17-55 & 70-200! :bigeyes:

i think you will have very strong arms and back after your one month trip! good luck! :sweat:

 

[wywysimba]

Thanks all your contributions.

All your advices are clear and valid.

I think I will carry the following for my next oversea trip.

d3100
17-55mm
70-200mm
extra battery
Ipad for my wife
P n S for my wife

I think I will leave the tripod and the rest at home for the next trip.

In a recent trip to Germany, I brought only D40 with the following:
- 18-55 kit lens (used 70% of the time)
- 35mm f1.8 (for low light and shallower DOF)

and a good old Canon TX1 for my wife to take stills and videos. She took some nice telephoto shots of Neuschwanstein castle with it.

Personally, I won't be bother with the 70-200mm for a trip to Europe. A wide-angle lens is probably more useful than a tele. Just bring a compact cam with long optical zoom if you need that extra reach.

In my next trip, will probably just bring along Oly E-P1 and leave both the D90 & D40 at home...

Be sure to bring a tripod, albeit a small/portable one.

Lastly, enjoy your trip!

 

[33sierra]

I was caught between which equipment to bring too for my europe trip 2 years back with my wife.

Ultimately,between the 17-55 + 70-200 combi and 18-200, i brought with me my DSLR, my wife's 18-200mm, and a gorilla pod + laptop. My wife had with her a super compact.

We decided that we will carry only 1 DSLR and it has been this way since everytime we went for travels

 

[ovaltinemilo]

Bring compact might feel emo with the pic quality...Always bring dslrs no matter how inconvenient coz end of the days, the photos would be worthwhile...just make sure you don't bring your whole collection of lens there:bsmilie:

 

[yes6911933]

thank you for your advice...its my 1st time bringing the DSLR for travel shoots...just crossing my fingers that the shots turn out well.....

 

[alesmana]

its depend on your shooting styles and various non technical factors

ultimately, for your personal travel (not assignment), its a balance between preserving memories and ability to be in the moment... especially so if you travel with your family or special someone

putting aside the quality of your travel photos, i think it is still a waste if you spend $5k-10k for the travel and could not enjoy the travel in the first place... not to mention making your travel companion feel the same.

my travel gears tend to be lesser and lesser for each of my trip

first time: 450D + 18-55 + 55-250 + 50 + 430ex ii + ... (batteries and such)
slowly: 450D + 18-55 + 50 + 430ex ii + ...
then: 450D + 18-55 + 430ex ii + ...
more: 450D + 24-70 + 430exii + ...
more: 450D + 24-70 (gotten lazy)
lastly: 5Dii + 24-70 (around 1 in 5 trip + 430exii) + ...

i found out 95% of the time, my last configuration is more than suffice. I would love to have some light tripod in my arsenal (carbon would be a nice addition ) but that need to wait for my next career jump

of course for longer trips, its a good justification to bring more gears and accessories
i think for your one month trip, a tripod and extra addition of a netbook + external hd are highly recommended

of course there is always point and shoot like leica m9 for your wife

disclaimer: the remark on leica is just hyperbole of course there are other good point and shoot like lumix and canon g series

 

[pchmj]

of course there is always point and shoot like leica m9 for your wife

:bigeyes: