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


bkkoo78

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Oct 13, 2010
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HI all,

Need an advice on bring photography equipments on the vacation trip.

Would you bring a camera body (like D700 + 24 - 70mm plus some lens + a tripod) or just a point and shoot?

I am concern with the weight that I need to carry around.

Traveling with Wife about 1 month.

Can i have inputs from the clubsnappers out here?

Regards,
Michael
 

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Friend,

Bring your DSLR. It's a rare opportunity and you wouldn't want to miss a better quality photo (resolution-wise) because you didn't bring your gear. I travel to Australia 4 times a year to be with family. I carry my DSLR, 2 lenses, flash and batteries every single trip. Never regretted it.
 

I would travel with a super-zoom; it weigh approximately 500grams.
 

Friend,

Bring your DSLR. It's a rare opportunity and you wouldn't want to miss a better quality photo (resolution-wise) because you didn't bring your gear. I travel to Australia 4 times a year to be with family. I carry my DSLR, 2 lenses, flash and batteries every single trip. Never regretted it.

Gone to Japan recently with my wife for 5 days... just 5 days, I get ranting from her from taking out my tripod to take night shots. (newbie here, so I am a bit slow on getting the prefect shot)

And I brought like the following, and it was pretty heavy walking around. (First time bring such gear out for a trip)

- Ipad
- nikon d3100
- nikon 10- 24mm 3.5 - 4.5
- nikon 17 - 55mm 2.8
- nikon 55 - 300mm 4.5 - 5.6
- nikon sb 600
- sirui N-1204 + K-30X

and along the way, I brought things (etc. food) for family back home. (silly things to do)

Thanks Alephlex for the advice... I know what you mean...
 

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bkkoo78 said:
Gone to Japan recently with my wife for 5 days... just 5 days, I get ranting from her from taking out my tripod to take night shots. (newbie here, so I am a bit slow on getting the prefect shot)

And I brought like the following, and it was pretty heavy walking around. (First time bring such gear out for a trip)

- Ipad
- nikon d3100
- nikon 10- 24mm 3.5 - 4.5
- nikon 17 - 55mm 2.8
- nikon 55 - 300mm 4.5 - 5.6
- nikon sb 600
- sirui N-1204 + K-30X

and along the way, I brought things (etc. food) for family back home. (silly things to do)

Thanks Alephlex for the advice... I know what you mean...

Too bad yr wife doesn't share the love of photography w u.

U shld have just brought 17-55 and 55-300 lens and tripod. More than enough liao
 

Bring both. DSLR can be too heavy or clumsy for some occasions.
Sometimes, you just want to take a walk e.g. shopping, eating and have a light compact camera in a pocket or bag. It also helps being discrete without attracting attention to yourself. And also as a backup. ;)
 

You have to answer that question yourself.

What is your purpose of the trip? What are your objectives?

Will you enjoy more with the photography or without? Will your travel companions enjoy it as well? or curse at you everytime you set up your tripod?

BTW, have fun on your trip!
 

If weight is your concern, just get a compact.
Micro4/3 and other APS-C systems like the Nex and Ricoh gives pretty good results, as their sensor is bigger than normal compact camera.
 

my choice, travel light, since travel normally for me is to take the surroundings and yourself in it bring a wide angle lens. a backup device for your photos. u take dslr , wify takes compact :) all good to go ! don't for get to charge batteries and bring a spare too !
 

The problem here is that it is all eye power without testing and evaluating then bringing all the gear to your vacation then finding that it is too heavy.

The best thing is to put all the gear in the bag that you think you'll need for your vacation and carry it for three days right here in Singapore.
 

Hi, I'm now in Prague (free & easy) with my wife. And I only brought a DSLR with 18-250mm lens and a PnS camera. Wife take PnS camera and I take DSLR. Only got a gorilla pod as a tripod. Got a crumpler 7 million dollar bag, and everything is snuggly fit and still have room for sandwiches and a bottle of mineral water. Hope this helps...
 

You have to answer that question yourself.

What is your purpose of the trip? What are your objectives?

Will you enjoy more with the photography or without? Will your travel companions enjoy it as well? or curse at you everytime you set up your tripod?

BTW, have fun on your trip!


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


If weight is your concern, just get a compact.
Micro4/3 and other APS-C systems like the Nex and Ricoh gives pretty good results, as their sensor is bigger than normal compact camera.

Hmmm... Dont think want to get another camera... :(

my choice, travel light, since travel normally for me is to take the surroundings and yourself in it bring a wide angle lens. a backup device for your photos. u take dslr , wify takes compact :) all good to go ! don't for get to charge batteries and bring a spare too !

Sounds like a good idea. I will think about it.

The problem here is that it is all eye power without testing and evaluating then bringing all the gear to your vacation then finding that it is too heavy.

The best thing is to put all the gear in the bag that you think you'll need for your vacation and carry it for three days right here in Singapore.

Errr... :eek: Training? and Testing...

Hi, I'm now in Prague (free & easy) with my wife. And I only brought a DSLR with 18-250mm lens and a PnS camera. Wife take PnS camera and I take DSLR. Only got a gorilla pod as a tripod. Got a crumpler 7 million dollar bag, and everything is snuggly fit and still have room for sandwiches and a bottle of mineral water. Hope this helps...

Wow... Prague is NICE... the only place in europe that prices of things is close to Singapore... AND BEER IS SUPER CHEAP



THANKS ALL of the advices that you all have given, I think I need to think carefully on the gear... Think I will reduce the lens and gear I carry around.
 

For all my recent trips I have only carried one superzoom compact (SX20IS)+ 430EX flash and one good compact (S90). I also carry one mini tripod cum G clamp.

The main drawback is you have to be careful not to let the compact set an ISO >400 or the images will be very noisy.

Superzooms are really fun to use I must say and can give good results too (if you use it carefully).

But when I was younger and had no kid to mind, I would have carried a SLR. Maybe you can get a 18-200 lens for the trip if you wish to carry it... and one fast prime.


5387159033

5387159033
 

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For overseas, there are new and sometimes better photo opportunities.
You may never get those photo opportunities any more so bring your DSLR, but don't over-bring on accessories and lens.

D700 has good ISO performance, so you generally do not need tripod.

If you don't mind the IQ, 28-300 or 24-120 and D700 + SB400 (Optional) is generally good enough.
 

Hi Michael

If you are going with your wife or family, i would advice against bringing most of your gear.
Just bring your DSLR with perhaps a good zoom lens and a prime.
Forget the tripod, you will never use it if you are with family. I have brought it like 5 times and 5 out of 5 times i have not used it, trust me.

I would personally bring a film camera and a point and shoot.
With a film camera, you just take the shot and move on to the next place, no reviewing and deleting of frames you don't want, believe me your wife will appreciate you.
This will balance out your holiday, spend more quality time with your wife and have a few decent photos at the end of the trip.

Cheers :)
 

bring your dslr, you won't regret it! europe is a lovely place to shoot! :)
 

I bought my DSLR only for the purpose of shooting when I travel, I do not shoot when I am in Singapore. My wife will carry half my gear as I carry 2 big bodies and a lot of lens. Sometimes she carries more if my feet are sore as we make trips of more than a month each, walking every day the whole day, sometimes up and down a hill. We take turns to carry the heavier load. We seldom rent a car unless it is a right hand drive. So far, I haven't had a trip without any blisters on the sole of my feet

But if it is countries like Brazil and Panama, I will think twice and many times whether to bring a DSLR

Seriously carrying a DSLR is very heavy but I think it is worth it, apart from the safety issues in certain countries. You can shoot in low light that a PNS cannot do, the zoom is also sharp.

Just before I bought my first DSLR (D700 because I need low light), I was shooting with my handphone camera for the 1 year I was travelling overseas. Most of the photos did not turn out nice. That convinced me to buy the SLR. It captures the memories of the happy moments I had overseas. At first I only used 24-70mm, then I realised I could shoot a lot more with the 70-200mm, like street signs, details of a building, street photos, people etc etc. Now, 70-200mm is my base lens
 

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bring both, just make sure you take lots of photos of your wife as well
a small tripod or table pod for some together shots
 

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:
 

bring both, just make sure you take lots of photos of your wife as well
a small tripod or table pod for some together shots

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