What to bring for backpacking across Europe?

[Little Dragon]

I'm hoping to gain some different opinions on this. I'm going backpacking with some buds across Europe and I'd really like to take some memorable photos along the way. However, I'm not sure what to do.

1) Buy new smartphone and use as camera
2) Buy new digital camera (point and shoot or mirrorless)
3) Bring along T4i, possibly buy a better lens?

Reason I would buy a smartphone is because my current Nexus 4's camera is shit. I dropped it the other day and the screen needs replacing so I was thinking instead of shelling out the $100 to fix it, I can put that towards a new smartphone with a good camera. Having a cell phone is also lightweight, great for backpacking.

Buying a new digital camera. I'm talking about those compact ones you can put in your pocket. I have heard good things about these, but not sure if they are worth it at all. I'm thinking I would be better off buying a lens for my T4i (currently have a kit lens) and bringing that along instead. Only thing is that the T4i is big.

Thoughts?

[dirtsniffer]

Depending on your budget I would go with something like the s120 or the rx100. You'll probably get some 4/3 recommendations too. I'm just not familiar with them. I couldn't backpack in Europe with a slr. Talk about a pain.

[Little Dragon]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look into them more. My budget is around $400-$600 so those two recommendations are great.

I'm not familiar with 4/3 cameras at all but have seen them quite a bit. Will do a little more research into them as well.

[msommers]

Backpacking Europe, you want compact, light, good ISO performance and wide.

http://www.thecamerastore.com/4245-S...-RX100-II.aspx

[hrdkore]

+1 for above comments, backpacking with an SLR isn't ideal (heavy and bulky), but if you have a backpack that offers protection, it can be done. Backpacks will take a beating and if you are planning on taking the Eurail, they have baggage storage sections, which you are supposed to use, but please lock your stuff, and definitely take any valuables with you to your seat. Also invest in a anti-theft strap to prevent those snatch and grabs, usually not a problem if you are with other people.

Bring some after bite if you're staying in hostels, you could also invest in a silk liner to mitigate bed bugs bites.

[AccentAE86]

Honestly, when I go traveling, I don't take a camera with me anymore. Just the Nokia Lumia 1020 with camera grip does everything I want it to do. It has full manual controls, and you can shoot in DNG raw so you can edit in lightroom if you wish.

Here is a thread I started with a few pics I took when I first got the phone.

http://forums.beyond.ca/st/374512/i-...020-some-pics/

The phone is getting long in the tooth, being about two years old now. But it still does all your typical smartphone tasks, and the camera is just totally unbeatable. Stuff you just cannot pull off on other phones.

Like this for instance:



Size reduction and web compression wipe the living shit out of the branch details... but...

Mounted on a tripod using the camera grip, fully manual exposure underexposed by 2.7 stops to preserve all highlights and RAW file pushed in lightroom, 4 second shutter speed, ISO 100, manually focused onto the tree branches. You just can't do this with any other phone.

[Kobe]

I know you want to take photos but please be careful, cameras are really easy to steal on trains and I've heard of a lot getting stolen. I wouldn't spend to much money on one and I'd try to keep it reasonably small so you can carry it around in your backpack and don't have to carry it in an extra bag...

[Dumbass17]

When I did Europe via backpack (2003 holy crap) I found a small day pack at MEC with a pocket on the front of the shoulder strap for a camera. I found it to be ridiculously handy for quick snaps and never having to check if I misplaced my camera. Side thought but yeah

[msommers]

I ended up using this in Europe and it was awesome as a day bag because I didn't get super sweaty while walking around. Has a rain cover and the zippers actually snap together

http://www.mec.ca/product/5031-504/d...pack/?q=deuter

Have you looked at some cameras yet?

[sl888]

Another vote for Sony RX100s. I'd say save yourself a little bit of money and go with the original. Very capable point and shoot. The gf is very happy with the one I bought her.

[Little Dragon]

Thanks for all the suggestions and insight. Haven't had the time to go out and look at anything yet. Will try to do it this week sometime.

[adamc]

Canon s120, Fuji x100t, or iphone 6.

[zaider]

My wife and I just came back from 3 months backpacking in South America. My wife and I are both fairly into photography (not crazy talented, but like taking pictures).

We brought an SLR (old Nikon D60), a more compact Point and Shoot (high end Pentax), and both our phones.

We found that we only took the SLR out on hikes or when we were specifically going somewhere cool where we wanted pictures (Machu Picchu, Torres del Paine, etc) and that when you're wandering around cities, its too obtrusive, so we made do with the P&S and the phones. Even though the D60 was old, the colours and white balance were much better than the P&S, so we tried taking it when we could, but that wasn't often. Most often, it sat inside our room.

If you're looking for a smaller camera, I'd highly recommend the Sony A6000. Its much smaller than a full SLR and takes really great pictures, great autofocus, and low-light performance as well.

+1 for not carrying around an extra bag for your camera. If nothing else, grab one of those neoprene inserts, if you're worried about a camera getting damaged, and store it in your day-pack.

I found that even with the camera on our phones being pretty good (Galaxy S4), the difference in quality and adjustment settings, not to mention ability to zoom (optically), meant that it was worth it for me to have the other cameras.

We came back with more than 5000 pictures from our trip... still sorting through them.

[nykz]

Bumping an old thread, I plan on going to Europe next year for 3 weeks, just wanted to see what the Beyond photographers would recommend for a nice point & shoot (and/or mirrorless)? Something easy and quick to use and not too bulky... Something that I can just grab and go without adjusting too many settings would be ideal.

It's a little early but I figured I'd get a list of recommended cameras and keep an eye on them for possible sales the next few months.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

[taemo]

if you have the money
RX100 series (III or IV)
Panasonic LX100

if on a budget, personally i would go Canon S120 or an Olympus TG-4 (waterproof and shockproof too)

but personally, when we backpacked Europe earlier this month, my most used camera was my Iphone 6+
most pictures on this album were taken with it
https://www.flickr.com/photos/itaemo...57658080957206

it's my #1 camera when shooting now and pull out my digital camera for the serious high-res shots
wouldn't mind getting a TG-4 for snorkeling though

[OTown]

I went for 1 month long backpacking trips 2 years in a row and brought along a canon powershot s95...

I think theyve updated the model to either S120 or S200... just do some research on both.

By far the absolute best point and shoot. Fully capable with a large enough sensor, full and easy customization, and a wide range of settings including aperature, shutter, filters, pretty much everything you need in the palm of your hands. Fits in your pant pocket as well.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by OTown
By far the absolute best point and shoot.

It's decent for a cheap P&S...I would not go as far to say the S120 is anywhere near the best. It's 2 years old, still using a super tiny 1/1.7" 12MP sensor, and a really slow lens (f5.7 on the long end). The S120 is the highest end model but is now discontinued (some places still have them for ~$400 which is nuts). The S200 is the cheaper version of the S120. It looks like they are positioning it down-market going forward, likely because large sensor P&S' are becoming much more common.

Originally posted by nykz
Bumping an old thread, I plan on going to Europe next year for 3 weeks, just wanted to see what the Beyond photographers would recommend for a nice point & shoot (and/or mirrorless)? Something easy and quick to use and not too bulky... Something that I can just grab and go without adjusting too many settings would be ideal.

It's a little early but I figured I'd get a list of recommended cameras and keep an eye on them for possible sales the next few months.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

The Sony RX 100 III is what I would be looking at if I were you. No need to worry about bulkiness or changing lenses, but can produce images closer to a DSLR than a cheap P&S. Assuming this Europe trip isn't a regular thing for you, you probably want a decent camera with you rather than a cell phone, but that is entirely up to you and what you hope to get out of the images.

The RX 100 IV is out now, but not only is it $1,200, but almost all of the improvements are speed related (4K, video frame rates, max shutter speed, etc.) so if you don't need those things, just go with the III for $370 less.

These cameras are wildly popular so don't count on too many sales, but there is no harm in seeing what Black Friday and Boxing Day bring.

[nykz]

Thanks for the pointers! I'll keep an eye out for the ones mentioned. I'm hoping Black Friday will have some deals, I'll have my iPhone 6 with me but I figured an actual camera would produce better quality images.

[msommers]

For inside churches, museums, etc you need something that can handle higher ISOs. iPhone is awesome everywhere else but I can't imagine their ISO performance can compare.

Earl's pics from Europe confirm you can get some great stuff outta that camera though, very impressive.

[adamc]

nm.