I Need A Camera :)

[MaryPoppinz]

I have a Canon Rebel XT that I bought right when it came out. I've loved the camera, but I honestly am growing weary of the size and weight. The backpack is heavy on excursions and switching out the lenses slows me (and everyone with me) down. I knew this when I bought the camera and I made a conscious decision to buy an SLR, and I don't regret it, but....

 

We have a really active cruise coming up and I am dreading lugging 15 pounds of camera equipment.

 

I'd love recommendations for a 2nd camera. I'm not going to be published in National Geographic anytime soon. I just want to take good, interesting vacation pictures. Any suggestions?

[Tater1800]

I don't know the weight of the body but I'd bet the problem is the lenses. I would keep the DSLR and get a daylight to dark zoom. I run a 55-200 on my D50 and find it will do most of what I need. These can be had cheap. A really wide range zoom will cost but may solve the problem.

[randy98mtu]

I would think the best option would be just take your DSLR with a single lens. What other gear do you need to take with it? Spend what you would have spent on another camera on a lens with a good range and only take your other lenses when you think you'll need them.

[MaryPoppinz]

Wow. Those answers are totally unexpected. :)

 

The problem is *definitely* the lenses. I was actually thinking that maybe I just need to scale back on what I take, but I just can't quite figure out which lens is THE lens to take.

 

The 2nd camera I've been eyeing is the newish A570 IS, in case anyone has any comments on that. I can see myself taking both on a lot of trips, but this next one, I have to lighten the load somehow.

[pierces]

Take a look at the Canon S5IS or S5IS. Aleo the Sony H9.

 

Lots of camera in a tiny package.

 

Alternatively, the Tamron 18-250mm zoom is a no-change-for-a-day lens that is getting good marks for image quality. It comes in Canon mount.

 

Dave

[megr1125]

I have an OLD Nikon FG that I won't give up til they stop making film....and I have a COolpix point n shoot digital. Anyway, when we went to Ak last year, I got a 50-200 AF lens for the Nikon that will also work on any Nikon digital I get. Best thing I ever got. (The FG is all manual)

 

(at least I think it's 50-200, it's something close to that anyway!) WOrked great, doesn't weigh much and I got it used for $90.

[zackiedawg]

As Dave mentioned, some of the 'superzoom' point and shoot cameras are worth a look, even as a backup camera to a DSLR. They are wonderfully versatile, can take excellent photographs which are printable up to 20"x15" at film quality, are small enough to fit in one hand and extremely light, and usually packed with features including manual controllability. Of course they have compromises - no camera doesn't (as you are discovering with your DSLR, which requires the compromise over portability and convenience).

 

I've been using a Sony DSC-H5 for about a year and a half - it has been a wonderful camera, and very versatile...and I've been able to use it for vacations, artistic pursuit, and even to sell some prints. Feel free to check my gallery, linked in my signature - 99% of it was shot with my H5. As you said - if you're not trying to get printed in National Geographic, you should get very pleasing results with a camera like this, and can still keep your DSLR for those times when you ARE willing to carry the weight and change the lenses.

 

Check out the afformentioned Canon S5 IS, the Sony DSC-H9 (or, if you see any closeout sales on Canon S3 IS or Sony DSC-H5, both models are just as good and only a year-old technology), and the Panasonic FZ50. All are very capable cameras with lots of optical zoom range, great glass, and are compact and lightweight one-piece sealed cameras. The FZ50, H9, and S5 are all megazooms - covering a 35mm equivalent from as low as 28mm all the way to 500mm, and with pretty decent F2.8 - F4.5 max apertures. Moreover, they are all under $500...some can be had for under $400 - meaning you could get the camera, batteries, and a 2-4G memory card all for under $500.

 

If you don't want the excellent super-zoom range, and can get by with less telephoto, something like the Canon A570 you mentioned, the Sony W series, the Fuji F31, or the Panasonic TZ3 are all pocketable compacts with very decent image quality and respectable lenses...and would be a great choice if you want something genuinely small enough to shove in a pocket and forget.

 

Good luck!

[S.C.]

I have a Canon S3 IS and love it.

[Chikita]

This my baby...has been through everything and back.

 

HP Photosmart R827

 

http://www.shopping.hp.com/product/photo_scanner/digital_cameras/1/storefronts/L2079A%2523A2L

[Princess-of-Quite-alot]

The 2nd camera I've been eyeing is the newish A570 IS, in case anyone has any comments on that.

I have the Canon A710IS and LOOOVE it!! It's compact, lightweight, and there's an awesome underwater housing unit which you can buy for it too. The zoom feature is awesome, and I love having the image stablizer feature too...no more fuzzy shots! Check out my pictures in the link at the bottom of my signature.

[gorjac]

My husand suggests Canon G7 now or the Canon G9 which will be available to buy mid October. We just bought the G7 and have started to practice with it before our cruise on the Costa Victoria October 8th.

Hope this helps

[welove2cruise232]

I just bought a Fuji FinePix S700 -- it has 7+ MP and 10X optical zoom. Seems pretty easy to use. Of course I've got a lot of practicing to do before our next cruise...

[pierces]

I'll expand on my earlier recommendation a bit.

 

I take a lot of pictures on a trip. It's the main reason I travel, actually. When I go on an excursion, I have a good Idea what sort of pictures I'm going after. If I am taking a historical city tour and expect to do a lot of indoor, low-light shooting, I'll pack the DSLR with a fast wide zoom attached. For walkabout in a town, the wide zoom is good for 95% of what you'd run into. If it's whale-watching or some wildlife thing, I attach the telephoto. In any case, I always carry my 24hr camera, which is currently a Canon SD800IS. When I have the tele attached and something incidental comes up where I need a wider view, I just use the Canon. That model has a 28mm equivalent wide end and produces excellent images. If I feel like I'll need more range, I'll take two lenses or add my trusty A2 digicam which has a 28-200mm equivalent lens and it's 8MP images rival a DSLR in most lighting conditions. It's small and light compared to a DSLR and makes an excellent back-up. Sometimes, I'll just take it or even just the little Canon pocket cam. It really depends on my mood, the destination or even the weather! Bottom line is; while I pack a lot of stuff along, I seldom carry a lot while on shore. I pick what to carry based on expectations for the day and carry as little as possible.

 

As I mentioned above, the recent release of Tamron's (and now Sony's) 18-250mm super-zoom, has me considering getting one for walkabout photography. They have amazing image quality for a zoom with that range and are quite light and compact.

 

I keep posting these because I have found them to be so very true:

 

The best camera for every situation is sometimes two (or three) cameras.

 

The very best camera is the one you'll use.

 

The picture you take will always be better than the one you didn't.

 

Whatever you decide, have a great trip.

 

Happy shooting!

 

Dave

[Princess-of-Quite-alot]

The picture you take will always be better than the one you didn't.

Love that quote! Excellent!!:)

[brandinzac]

what everyone suggests here is right on. i carry 2 cameras (or more) when cruising. one to carry around all the time in a pocket, so you never miss a shot, and one to take "good" pictures. i use a canon A530 for my pocket camera, and have an underwater housing from canon for snorkeling, rain, beach, etc. and then for my "good" camera (not as good as some i know) is a canon S3IS. one thing to point out if you decided to go with something like the S3 is that you can get a lens adapter to add filters, lenses, etc. i have a 58mm adapter on mine and us a wide angle lens, as well as various 58mm filters. the nice thing is if you have this stuff for your camera already you can use it on the S3 and lighten the load. i have taken some beautiful pictures with this camera. whatever you pick enjoy it and take lots of pictures!!

[bakechef]

I purchased the S3 IS recently and just coming back from my recent cruise I have to give it a BIG thumbs up. It is as easy to use as a point and shoot, when in auto, but has a feature set that includes almost anything I will need.

 

The 12x optical zoom was amazing, the video mode is of amazing quality for a digi cam (stereo sound too). It is also very good on batteries, I use rechargeable AA's.

 

This was taken at full 12x zoom through a cage (although I got a good focus so the cage almost disappears, if you look at his face near his whiskers, you will see a liitle green tint in the white, that was the green cage) There was no post editing on this photo.

 

MAC

[bakechef]

Here is one where you can see the cage a little better.

 

 

MAC

[MaryPoppinz]

I have the Canon A710IS and LOOOVE it!! It's compact, lightweight, and there's an awesome underwater housing unit which you can buy for it too. The zoom feature is awesome, and I love having the image stablizer feature too...no more fuzzy shots! Check out my pictures in the link at the bottom of my signature.

 

The underwater housing another reason I am looking at a second camera. :)

 

Thanks for your input everyone! I had lost my way back here. :)

[Tater1800]

I posted above and suggested a wide range zoom. Someone else mentioned having mulitple cameras. Terri and I use this approach. I use the Nikon D50 and she uses my old Nikon CP8700. This works well. We take the 8700 when we need a small camera.

[S.C.]

The underwater housing another reason I am looking at a second camera. :)

 

Thanks for your input everyone! I had lost my way back here. :)

 

Did you decide on which one?