A digital camera is a great way to record the memories that people have when they are living their everyday life. However, going on vacation often is different than capturing the everyday life that people are leading. I know when I go on vacation, I tend to want to get a different camera that will help me capture the memories we are making on vacation. To this end, I have started to look at the best digital cameras for vacation photography. I know that when I was narrowing down my list, it was a lot harder than what I imagined, but I did manage to get the list narrowed down and here are what I found as the best five digital cameras for travel.
How I Narrowed The List Down
Narrowing down this list was a lot more of a challenge than what I thought it would be. I mean I found a large number of cameras all claiming to be the best one for you to use and take on vacation. With all of this information coming at me, I have to admit it took me about a week to really wade through all the thick information and find what I feel is the best five on the market now. However, with this work being completed, I started to get the right feel for the digital cameras that are on the market and know which of the cameras are the best ones on the market for now. Without any further ado, I would like to introduce you to the five cameras we have found as the best ones available.
Olympus Evolt E510 Review
When you are looking at the Olympus Evolt E510, you are probably going to look at the price and consider choking yourself. However, you need to realize you pay for quality and this camera is screaming quality. From the name of the brand to the pictures it takes this camera is one which you will enjoy for years to come. Here you will find the pros that we enjoy, but also the cons that we did not like take these into consideration when looking at the cameras that we have listed here.
Overview Of The Pros
I already mentioned that we would talk about the pros of the Olympus camera and that is very true. Here you will find a list of the pros that we enjoyed seeing with the E510.
- 10.1 megapixel camera that captures enough details that your pictures can be blown up to an 18 x 24 inch print.
- Large live view screen, in fact the screen measures 2.5 inches
- Shaking when taking a picture happens, but with this camera it has an image stabilization feature that removes the shaky images.
- Comes with a true grip for your hand.
- Has a customizable FN button, which can allow for better pictures to be taken.
- True Pic III images means the camera will use all of the available pixels to provide the best look possible.
- Size is not overbearing as it measures 5.35 inches by 3.61 inches by 2.2 inches, without any protrusions and the weight of the camera is just over a pound.
- Compatible with the Four Thirds standard lenses, if people want to have additional lens on the camera.
Overview Of The Cons
Unfortunately not everything is going to smell like roses when you buy a new camera. That is very true of this model as well and I thought I would share some of the drawbacks we ran across with this camera.
- Auto electronic flash that pops up, which is not a problem if you are expecting it. However, if you are not expecting it be prepared to be scared.
- Takes a while to get used to all the bells and whistles of the camera. This is not a problem if you have plenty of time before your trip to get used to the camera, but if you buy it right before your trip beware of this drawback.
- Has been known to have a very low exposure setting, which may make your images appear darker than what you would expect them to.
Nikon is a camera brand that has been around for years. Since it has been around so long, you will find the brand has some of the best cameras on the market. However, with the advent of digital cameras, you may start to ask yourself if the Nikon brand kept up with the changes on the market. Well, the answer is yes and we will cover that in the next little section we have on the pros and cons of the Nikon camera.
Overview Of The Pros
I usually try to stick to the name brand cameras, because I do not want a non-name brand crapping out on me in the middle of my trip. To that end, I have decided to present the pros of the D5300 here.
- 24.2 megapixels ability to take pictures, which means you get a very clear, but memory heavy image.
- Built in Wi-Fi to enable instant photo sharing to Facebook, Instagram, or other social media websites.
- Extra large swiveling LCD screen to make it easier for you to see what is going on.
- Built in GPS to make it easier to tag the pictures with their location, so you do not forget where they were taken while on vacation.
- Can take full HD videos for a short time period if so desired.
- Lightweight feature of just over 1 pound is something else you will enjoy. The rest of the dimensions are as follows 4.9 inches x 3 inches x 3.9 inches.
- Change the focus to exactly what you want people to be concentrating on, instead of the background details.
- If you are taking still pics, you will find this camera can take up to five pictures a second to guarantee you capture the action you want to see.
Overview Of The Cons
As with anything, like we have talked about and will talk about in the future you cannot have everything you want at once. That is where the cons factor comes in, with the Nikon you will discover some cons and they will be talked about here.
- Very difficult to operate menu that is very condensed on the screen and can prevent you from taking shots right away.
- Not meant to take the live actions shots you want, even at 5 shots a second it can still miss some details.
- The built in flash that is available lacks a master control function for you to use.
Canon EOS Rebel T5i Review
Quite a few people have heard about the Canon brand, I mean seriously it is what you see in the National Geographic ads and when I read some of the information from National Geographic on the background of the cameras they have been using it has been the Canon brand. So you can see the Canon is a brand that screams a quality product and one which you will really enjoy taking on vacation with you. This way you can catch all of the memories you want when you are on vacation.
Overview Of The Pros
The Canon brand as was mentioned is one that I have seen mentioned in a lot of photography classes. Since this is such a widely popular camera among professionals, it is only fitting that it would have a space here as well.
- Comes with its own telephoto lens, which will help you get better pictures.
- 18 megapixel option to take the pictures with some moderate clarity.
- Has a backpack that will allow you to put in the camera, memory disks, and even different lenses for all of your shots.
- The package we looked at came with a 16GB memory disk that can be used with the camera.
- Easy to use the menu options on the view screen as they come up.
- Very good response to all the different operations you are trying to do with the camera.
- Has a decent quality zoom that has a lot of users raving about it.
- IOS button makes it easy to change sensitivity quickly, without having to be concerned about the images being missed.
Overview Of The Cons
As much as it pains me to stay this, the Rebel does have some drawbacks to it. These drawbacks, are somewhat limited, but they do exist and that can make up your mind for you on which camera you buy.
- Does not allow for the coordination of live view and movie view at the same time.
- Battery life is important when you are on vacation, but this camera has a very short battery life which means you may have to buy a spare battery.
- Underexposure on the pictures when they are set to automatic setting.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 Review
Well, I always knew of Panasonic because they have some great televisions, but I never thought about them having cameras before. However, I found this little gem and thought I would share it here. I would like for you to keep an open mind as you read about this camera, even if you are like me and think Panasonic only made televisions.
Overview Of The Pros
Enjoying a camera on vacation is a good thing. However, you need to make sure you have your camera ready to take pictures all the time and that means getting a good brand of camera. Here you will find the pros of the Lumix FZ200.
- 1080p HD recording capability for the video function.
- 3 inch articulated screen that makes it easy to see what you are taking pictures of.
- 24x optical zoom is available with the lens this model has.
- Takes up to 12 frames per second to guarantee you catch all the action you want.
- Full manual controls if you feel the pictures are a little bit off balance.
- Wonderful at taking the zoom pictures of nature or sports events without losing any of the image quality.
- Superior image quality is something else which is enjoyed immensely with this camera.
- Can even take black and white photos, if you want to capture an older look.
Overview Of The Cons
I know that I have been singing a lot of praises on the Panasonic so far, but it does have some drawbacks. These may not be an immediate factor to consider, but it can be something you need to think about as it can make up your mind for you.
- For the image quality, if the still images start to have motion, it can start to become blurred and this makes it hard to get the great image you want to have.
- Camera cannot be used in dry dusty areas or extremely humid areas.
- Flash is not very user friendly for this model of a camera and often has to be turned on manually.
Sony SLT-A58K Review
Sony is a brand of camera that I have heard about. In fact, when I was a kid my parents had a Sony camcorder, yes that is showing my age now. However, I found they still make cameras, but this time it is considered the digital cameras and these are still top quality, but a little bit more affordable on the price range when compared to some of the other brands that we have talked about here.
Overview Of The Pros
Sony will always have a soft spot in my heart. Sony was the first ever digital camera I owned, but my parents also have been long Sony fans. With that in mind, I had to come up with something that was not biased. Here are the pros that I have found with the SLT-A58K
- Ability to take pictures up to 20.1 megapixels is a nice feature and a decent amount of megapixels.
- True-finder will help optimize the pictures for eye level framing.
- Has a lock on auto focus feature that makes it easier to keep up with figures.
- Can take up to five pictures per second for continuous shooting.
- High ISO sensitivity helps guarantee you are able to take pictures in all types of situations.
- Steady shot image stabilization which helps ensure a shaky camera hand does not ruin the pictures that are being taken.
- Records HD video at the 1080/30p format and saves it as an MP4 shot.
- Fairly easy to learn format when compared to some of the other cameras.
Overview Of The Cons
Even though I am a huge fan of the Sony products, I do have to be objective here. So I am going to share with you some of the cons that I found with this model of Sony cameras and this way you, the reader, can see that I am being impartial and not showing favoritism to one camera or the other.
- Very difficult to make out the information on the display screen on a bright sunny day, which is true of my older Sony camera I have as well. So this is a major downer because I always like to see the instant results of the pictures.
- Cannot be used with a wireless remote control, which means you have to find someone else to take the pictures for you with your camera.
- Not so good with the low light performance as you would expect the camera to really do great here, it is in fact horrible at taking pictures with the low lights.
Features To Choose Between
Okay, I know that we have already talked about a lot of points with each of these cameras and the drawbacks of each of these cameras. However, now it comes down to the nitty gritty. It is time for you to determine which of all these features you want to be looking for in the camera. I know for me, I tend to look at the quality of the pictures it takes before I look at anything else with a camera. To evaluate this, I often read all the reviews that I can find, like the ones here, but pay careful attention to the pictures they have posted. Then I try to figure out if the pictures were taken by those cameras or if they were taken by a different camera and is being used as being taken by the one camera I am looking at.
The other major consideration I have to make is the zoom feature of the cameras. While this may not be a major consideration for people, you need to realize you cannot get right up on everything all the time. Since this is the case, I often have to get a camera that has a decent zoom on it to make sure that I am getting the right picture. So I also have to think about the quality of the zoom that I am getting for the camera I am buying. However, like I was saying you may be forced to make a decision between one or the other of these features on different cameras.
My best advice is to look at the camera you are getting and make a choice based on what type of photography you plan on doing on your trip. If your trip involves going to a lot of art museums where you can be about five feet from the picture, then you may find the picture quality to be the main concern. However, sometimes you will end up wanting to take pictures of the beautiful natural scenes around you. When that is the case, then the zoom may start to become a feature for you to look at so you can zoom in close to the animals that you are seeing flying around, running on the ground, or even the beauty of a mountain peak in the distance. Either way, the choice is going to be hard, but you will find that a little bit of sacrifice in one segment can be very rewarding in another segment of your camera selection.
Video Review Of The Olympus Evolt E510
Additional Reviews Of Digital Cameras For Vacations