DocP

For years, my travel kit has been: Nikon N90S, 35-135 Nikkor zoom, 70-300 Vivitar zoom, Nikkor 50mm 1.4, Nikkor 20 mm, flash, batteries, tons of film and filters. 90+% of my photos were taken with the 35-135 and most of the rest at the long end of the 70-300. But, when you need a fast lens or a wider angle, nothing else will do. My strategy was to carry on the camera bag and a similarly sized travel bag containing cosmetics, change of clothing, cross-body small purse, laptop, a few books, etc. In a pinch, I could throw both into a legal carry on sized duffel (under seat - I'm 5'2") and manage a roll aboard.

When I take a trip where sightseeing and photography are the primary agenda, I usually return with a few shots that I have enlarged to 16x20 or even 24x36 to hang on the wall in my office. Recent work related international trips have allowed minimal time to shoot and as I get older, I am not physically able to carry around 20 lbs of photo gear that I'm mostly not using on a day to day basis. I shoot landscapes, buildings, people and occasional wildlife. Usually no birds.

I bought a pocket sized Nikon in 2007. I was very frustrated with the slow autofocus in low light and slow writing to the memory card. The camera got decent shots at a graduation, but I never used it much. I was able to play around with a friend's Canon powershot SX40, but have a feeling the image quality isn't there for large prints. My last few trips, the camera has stayed home.

I am looking for a light weight camera with a fair amount of manual control as an option - I cut my teeth on preset lenses and hand held meters. I don't have any travel planned this year, but there is a local graduation in May. I'd like to get something for that and also have it be my travel camera. I have ditched the laptop and books for an iPad, and wanted to find a camera that would fit in my one "personal item" bag.

Low end DLSR with the best lightweight wide to tele lightweight zoom I can find? Canon G16? Nikon P7800? - the 200mm is tempting. Give up the image quality required for big prints and go with the canon SX60? I have no interest in video, so those capabilities don't factor in the decision.

I do eventually plan to get a Nikon DLSR with multiple lenses, and not use it for travel, so lens compatability if I choose the DSLR route makes sense.

I'd love any advice or recommendations of cameras I haven't considered. Thanks.

Loren Pechtel

My first thought would be decent Nikon DSLR--you can likely use your old glass on it. (Note that a lot of what you had to do with filters in the SLR era can now be done with Photoshop so you might find you don't need all of them.) Note that the less expensive DSLRs will have sensors below standard 35mm size and thus your lenses will be longer than normal. Since almost all my photography is travel I simply have an 18-200 zoom, no other glass. Given the sensor size of my D80 this works as if it were a 28-300.

Peoriaman1

^

I recommend doing exactly this. Comparable to the N90S would be the D7100 which you'd probably find smaller and lighter than the N90S and it has tons of capability both manual and in its various automatic modes. Try out your existing lenses on it but you'll probably want something wider pretty soon. The aforementioned 18-200 will suffice or even the inexpensive 18-55.

Lighter and less-expensive camera bodies include the D3200 and D5200 or whatever version of those series is current now. You might run into some lens incompatibility issues with those depending on how old your current lenses are (some won't autofocus with those bodies) but otherwise will work fine.

Myself, I went from an N90S to a D80 and found them to be pretty similar overall despite fifteen years difference in technology. I've since added a D7000 which improves on a lot of things over the D80 but are both great cameras.

manneca

I'm a Canon person, but would second (third?) the recommendation for a lighter weight DSLR.

You might take a look at the micro 4/3rds, too. I don't know much about them.

Sensor size makes a big difference in lots of ways: ability to enlarge, low light capability.

I have a Canon SL1 with a 40 mm pancake lens that I will throw in a bag if I'm not going to be primarily photographing. It's OK. I used to have a G12 (they have gotten much better) but it just isn't anywhere close to a DSLR.

DocP

Thanks to those who have responded. I realize I am dealing with two issues at once - the transition to digital and lightening the load on trips.

My ideal camera would weigh about a pound, have good enough image quality to make large prints and a zoom to at least 135-150 mm equivalent - preferably more. As with most things in life, it seems that two out of three are possible at any one time.

For family snapshots and photos when traveling for business, my weight limits are not negotiable. Anything much over a pound will be left at the hotel safe or home and I'll have no pictures at all. I still need to figure out the best option for this. I'm looking for something better than a pocket camera, but small and light enough to carry around despite neck and shoulder issues. Candidates seem to be a mirrorless system or the Canon G16 or Nikon P7800 (or the rumored P8000.)

For trips where sightseeing/photography is a priority, it seems nothing less than a DSLR with a wide to tele zoom will get me the quality I need. I would add a fast normal lens, a wide angle, a flash and perhaps a longer zoom to round out my kit for local shooting. Nikon and Canon both make great systems. My legacy glass is probably not worth considering too much. My only AF lens is the 35-135 and when I checked a couple of years ago, I was told it was not fully compatible with the DSLR I was considering. I got it years ago - to compliment my relatively new F3 body, knowing I would be moving to an autofocus SLR at some point. I bought the N90S in 1995, so it has been a while. The rest of the lenses are AI, AIS and even a couple of oddball presets. Fun to have, but it isn't as though I have a significant usable investment in the "F" mount. It does tilt the scale a bit toward Nikon, just because I doubt I would buy a newer version of a lens might I use once a decade.

Not sure which I'll buy first. With nothing on the horizon except the graduation, either could work. I get the sense it is time to buy SOMETHING and begin to tackle the film to digital learning curve.

glennaa11

Frankly current mirrorless systems would provide what you want in a small, lightweight package. I've made large size prints (12x18) that look great even from my Nikon 1 V1.

My Olympus E-M1 is the best camera I have ever owned due to its size, image quality and excellent handling. I don't see ever going back to lugging a DSLR and big lenses around when Micro4/3 does everything I need in a much smaller package.

Lots of people love Fuji's current mirrorless line as well.

I still have my Nikon D600 for soccer but I just sold all of my Nikon DX gear.

ricski64

Loooong Tim Nikon user here ( F3,F4,D700, D800) and I've put my cameras on the shelf. Switched over to a sony 6000 with two zeiss lenses, 10-16, 16-70. Doubt I will ever travel with my nikon's ever again. These mirrorless cameras have won over my heart. Camera body was priced $650 and lenses around $800-900 ea (Canada $$). About the same as one DSLR pro bodies.
Lightweight, large sensor 24 mp, great glass, video, loaded with filter/programs.
Check out YOUTUBE @ " why I left Nikon for a sony 6000" and maybe you will be urged to switched too.

abmj-jr

I can only tell you how I solved those problems. I switched completely to the Olympus OMD system and got rid of all my DSLRs. I regularly sell or gift gallery prints as well as sell stock and am very happy with the combination of lightweight/bulk and image quality. Age and decreasing physical ability have made it difficult to haul all that heavy DSLR gear around.

If I were a sports shooter, I would likely make a different decision but I shoot travel, lifestyle and landscapes so machine gun shooting is not often necessary. For carry-on portability with high image quality, you can't really beat the new mirrorless cameras.

DocP

Sounds like I need to stop by a camera store and handle some mirrorless options. I'm now thinking starting with one of the mirrorless cameras makes the most sense. With some upgraded lenses, one may suit all of my photo needs. If not, I suspect it will serve as a snapshot and business travel camera, and I can later pursue a DSLR. I am not under time pressure, so as long as I have something in place by May, I'll be in good shape for the graduation.

I appreciate everyone's input. I have been taking pictures long enough to know that showing up in a camera store with no idea which category of camera I want to see can be a recipe for getting something they want to unload.

I'll keep everyone posted. If anyone has further thoughts, please let me know. Thanks.

deniah

olympus OMD system for ergonomics, size, weight, and native lens selection

fuji XT1 system for classic external manual controls


both will be able to adopt pretty much any lenses, to use as manual focus. only thing to be aware of is magnification (crop factor) due to sensors being smaller than 35mm-film-size. if you want to maintain field of view (relative to focal length), use sony a7 system.

all will print 24x16 without a hiccup

abmj-jr

It will be a definite change and take some getting used to. I remember thinking the first one I tried felt like a toy after 40+ years of pro-level SLR/DSLR. You get used to it and eventually going back to the bigger, heavier cameras will feel like putting on a ball-and-chain.

Try several if you can. Olympus, Panasonic, Fujifilm and Sony make the higher-level mirrorless. Nikon tries but haven't gotten there yet. Canon isn't even a player but that might change with their next attempt.

Thalassa

From the weight reduction and convenience point of view, you might want to take a look at the Sony RX10. It features a fast lens, useful zoom range, and good image quality in a compact package.

You do lose interchangeable lenses but do get full manual controls and RAW capability which you want to have.

Cheers,
T.

essjay2009

I would seriously suggest looking at one of the EVIL systems (electronic viewfinder, interchangeable lens). I'm a long time Canon user but gave up my 5d2 and moved to the Sony A7R last year. I also carry a Fuji X100S as an even lighter weight option.

The image quality of both these cameras is exceptional. The A7R especially has a staggeringly good sensor. My entire Sony kit is far lighter than my 5D2. The 70-200 is a little large though.