Top 5 Digital Camera For Travel

I have been very busy shopping around recently for a new digital camera to replace my ageing 4MP Nikon Coolpix 4100. As technology advancement has come to a stage that digital camera can now challege the phasing out film camera in terms of printout photo quality especially in the mass general consumers niche (read more here for my Top 5 Advantages of Digital Camera).

My target would be something that can be easily carried along with on my vacation travel and be able to take decent photos for my travellogue, versatile enough to be able to compose different angle of shots on scenery and architecture, preferably without taking the bulky tripod on my travel, strong enough battery power to last for at least 1 whole day out with non-stop shooting in a single charge, and of course, with a competitive price tag.

After searching through various reviews online or in magazine, and try it in shops, I have shortlisted 5 latest models (Yes, only the latest models that launched not more than 6 months ago are considered as technology advances too quickly especially in digital camera processing techniques and image sensitivity), before I’m going to make my final choice. They have different pro’s and con’s and are either attractive in style, prices, image quality or versatility. Here are the Top 5 (with brief personal review on their suitabilities for travel, though detail specs could be checked by clicking each one of their model name) :-

1. Panasonic Lumix FX38 compact – Priced at RM1199.00 ($340), this little pocket sized camera is beautiful and stylish. Panasonic Lumix FX38 has a 10MP sensor, 5x optical zoom and 25mm wide angle lens which means it is capable of composing creative photo on travel and very handy to hide it inside my pocket. A typical point-and-shoot camera with full features, scene modes plus the Panasonic’s trademarked Intelligent Auto (IA). I found the most useful feature of this camera is its ability to track movement of your locked and focussed target so I could still shoot clear picture on him/her even he/she moves around the frame or beyond the focus zone. If one likes to take video on travel, this little baby can even record HD video with audio! However, I found the photo to be less vibrant in colour to my liking especially indoor portrait, and the price is quite high for this class of stylish compact;
2. Canon Powershot SX110 IS bridge compact – Priced at RM1099 ($315), Canon Powershot SX110 IS is a more powerful bridge compact in terms of user-control features, 10x optical zoom and larger 3″ LCD screen, and it costs RM100 less than FX38! Vibrant color and sharp image is the trademark of Canon and SX110 IS is no exception. With extra user-control mode of P,A,S and M, telephoto zoom (though not as far as the P80 and FZ28 below) but significantly larger, bulkier, 1MP less than the Lumix, choosing between these 2 is merely depends on personal preference;
3. Nikon Coolpix P80 bridge – Priced at RM1388 ($398), another superb professional-series camera in Nikon Lineup. It’s selling point would have to be the 18x optical ultrazomm and 28mm wide angle lens: a perfect combination for superb flexibility in travel shooting albeit its 50% extra weight over the compacts. As a fan of Nikon camera, I found this P80 has all the typical control buttons and menu layout as other Nikon cameras though P80 has more DSLR-like shooting mode like P,A,S, M. It also features the VR optical stabilisation as others (though different manufacturers call it differently: VR of Nikon; O.I.S. of Panasonic; IS of Canon). Image quality is typical Nikon’s with excellent outdoor performance and neutral towards vibrant color tone. However, it lacks some advanced features such as RAW shooting option, HD video recording, zooming while recording video and focus tracking. The extra money paid is clearly for its 18x zoom lens and its extra weight;
4. Panasonic Lumix FZ28 – Priced at RM1499 ($430), this Panasonic ultrazoom prosumer camera is a step up from the rest of the above in terms of price, weight and thankfully its features. While permanently mounted with a 18x optical zoom and 27mm wide angle Leica lens, it also has the option for lens converter and filter attachable. It is also the only non-DSLR camera reviewed here that able to shoot RAW other than JPEG! This would help those who are really serious about post photo processing. Beside that, FZ28 record HD video with zoom as well! On top of those manually control modes of P,A,S,M and ISO setting and manual focus, this toy can also be a great point-and-shoot camera with its straight forward IA feature that the camera controls everything for you includes exposure, shutter, apperture, ISO and even red-eye reduction, flash brightness and noise reduction, all within the shutter lag time of 0.06 second! However, small sensor size as the rest of the above resulted in more picture noise especially indoor shooting or with higher ISO setting than 800. Furthermore, its bulkiness doesn’t please everyone especially for travel photography, and
5. Canon EOS 1000D DSLR – Priced at RM1999 ($570), Canon EOS 1000D is the only DSLR in my top 5 list. As the price of DSLR drops rapidly, it is now reachable to many of our consumers or casual photo shooters by forking out another few hundred bucks and you can get this latest Canon EOS 1000D with 10MP and CMOS bigger sized sensor. The larger lens and sensor ensure us of a more detailed and refined photo under whatever shooting environment. Its CMOS sensor is claimed to be more effective in controlling picture noise when boosting the sensor to higher ISO which I like most. This latest generation of EOS even features the Live View option that I could compose photo taking through the LCD which most of the DSLRs lack (though focusing with LCD is sluggish). Image quality is unbeatable among these top 5 but I have to compromise on my shoulder pain to carry this bulky and heavy body for the whole day of travel. This is the crusial point of my consideration especially when I’m using it manily on my vacation travel.

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About The Author

Cecil Lee

The author is an avid traveler and photography hobbyist who loves to share with others his travel and photo-taking experience in many popular tourist destinations around Europe, Asia and Australasia. Read the exciting stories with many photos captured on his journeys.