What is your camera of choice while traveling?
Jan 14, 2019, 6:20 pm
#1051
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,784
Were you using the special low light modes, where it takes multiple shots and blends them together?
Is that mode available for panoramas too?
Night exposures will often look better than the naked eye because you're accumulating a lot of light, even faint light, over a long period.
I took my first astro photos over Lake Tekapo last night. Took a bunch of 25-second exposures and a lot of stars I couldn't see with the naked eye show up.
Is that mode available for panoramas too?
Night exposures will often look better than the naked eye because you're accumulating a lot of light, even faint light, over a long period.
I took my first astro photos over Lake Tekapo last night. Took a bunch of 25-second exposures and a lot of stars I couldn't see with the naked eye show up.
I know that big camera and some phone could take long exposure, but usually you need to put them on a tripod. The amazing thing with the Pixel 3 is that the software will take out all the shaking of the hand. Those people and cars in the pictures I posted were moving... the car pretty fast. Yet in the picture they are not a blur. My wife has the iPhone XS Max and for night pic, it cannot compare as it does not have a low light mode.
Jan 19, 2019, 11:54 pm
#1052
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: San Francisco/Sydney
Programs: UA 1K/MM, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Something, IHG Gold, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 8,147
(I posted this on another forum, but thought it fitted here as well)
I spent about 4 of the last 6 weeks of the year on the road – 2 weeks in Beijing/Tokyo, and 2 weeks in Europe (Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, UK).
The first trip was a work trip (the Tokyo part anyway), and historically I would have taken my mirrorless on a trip like this – a Nikon 1 S1 with two lenses covering 30-300mm equivalent that fits (in a small shoulder bag) in my carry-on backpack/laptop bag.
The second trip was all holiday, and almost certainly I would normally have taken my DSLR, a Canon 70D with lenses covering 27mm-640mm equivalent. I have a love/hate relationship with this camera – I love the camera itself, and I especially love my 100-400mm lens for it. But it's big, and heavy, and means that I need to check a bag when I travel (as the camera + my other bags are too much to carry-on) which is something I try very hard to avoid doing.
This time, for both trips, I left the Mirrorless and DSLR at home, and just took the RX100M6.
For the first trip, I didn't miss the mirrorless at all. The Sony pretty much covered everything the mirrorless had, with the convenience of size winning out over the few benefits of the Nikon. Reach-wise I was down a little (300mm to 200mm), and as someone that often likes tight crops I did occasionally want to push the zoom a little further, but not enough to bother me. The one thing I did miss was my C-PL filter. The Nikkor lenses have a standard 40.5mm screw-on filter adapter (same for both lenses which is nice), whilst the Sony has no (standard) ability to use filters at all.
For the second trip, I can't say there weren't a few times that I was wanting for the Canon 70D, but they weren't that many... There were times I wanted my 100-400L (specifically the 400mm part). There were times I wanted my 50mm F/1.8. And there were times I wanted both my C-PL and ND filters. However on the other hand, I was happy not having to carry the damn thing around with me all day every day (as opposed to having the Sony on my belt and not even knowing it was there). And every one of my 7 flights I was happy to be carrying my bags on the flight with me. Not to mention when catching trains/etc.
Going thought the photos from both trips I'm very happy with the results. There's a few where it's clear that they would have been better with a polariser, and that's something that I'm going to have to work on finding out the best option for. Some of the low light shots might have been better with the larger sensor on the DSLR, but the combination of a 1" sensor and good high ISO performance got me close enough that I don't really care. There were some where I think the Canon would have done a better job of focusing (in particular some shots involving flames), but it's hard to really know. But otherwise the quality is at least in the ballpark of what I'd expect from the other two cameras for the vast majority of shots.
Going forward I think my Nikon 1 S1 is ready to head to either eBay or someone in my family – I just can't see where I'll use it again. My Canon 70D will still absolutely be used, but for travel I think I'm going to have to have a serious reason in advance to take it (eg, headed on Safari where the 400mm really matters), otherwise I just can't see the benefit being worth the effort.
Now of course, the Nikon 1 S1 is hardly a "current" model, and even the 70D is one (nearing two) generations behind so it's not a perfect like-for-like comparison, but still...
A few other thoughts :
The PlayMobile Connect Android app is OK at best (in the last few days Sony has announced a replacement for this is coming in Spring). As has been reported by many people elsewhere I had a lot of trouble with using if for geolocation information. I basically found that I needed to hit my phones power button (bringing it out of sleep) every time I turned the camera on in order to get it to connect. Plus once a day I had to turn off the connection and turn it back on (in the app). I've tried things like disabling battery saving on the app but nothing seemed to work. For remote shooting (over wifi) it works fairly well, although does occasionally disconnect/reconnect in the middle of shooting. I'd generally take a cable remote over it any day, although being able to change settings via it is nice.
Long Exposure NR is painfully slow. I was using it for fireworks with a 4 second exposure, and it would take probably 10 seconds to "process" the image before it was able to take the next shot. Once I worked this out and turned it off it was nice and quick.
Battery life is good, not great. I took 3 batteries (one original, plus 2 Wasabi Power from Amazon) but never needed more than 2 – however that was with charging everything every night, not taking huge amounts of photos, and almost no video.
And to finish, one from the try-that-with-an-SLR, here's the RX100M6 on an UltraPod II strapped to a relatively flimsy tree overlooking the Edinburgh Hogmanay Torch Parade – https://photos.app.goo.gl/25tUnsDBFzJAd8Tp9
I spent about 4 of the last 6 weeks of the year on the road – 2 weeks in Beijing/Tokyo, and 2 weeks in Europe (Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, UK).
The first trip was a work trip (the Tokyo part anyway), and historically I would have taken my mirrorless on a trip like this – a Nikon 1 S1 with two lenses covering 30-300mm equivalent that fits (in a small shoulder bag) in my carry-on backpack/laptop bag.
The second trip was all holiday, and almost certainly I would normally have taken my DSLR, a Canon 70D with lenses covering 27mm-640mm equivalent. I have a love/hate relationship with this camera – I love the camera itself, and I especially love my 100-400mm lens for it. But it's big, and heavy, and means that I need to check a bag when I travel (as the camera + my other bags are too much to carry-on) which is something I try very hard to avoid doing.
This time, for both trips, I left the Mirrorless and DSLR at home, and just took the RX100M6.
For the first trip, I didn't miss the mirrorless at all. The Sony pretty much covered everything the mirrorless had, with the convenience of size winning out over the few benefits of the Nikon. Reach-wise I was down a little (300mm to 200mm), and as someone that often likes tight crops I did occasionally want to push the zoom a little further, but not enough to bother me. The one thing I did miss was my C-PL filter. The Nikkor lenses have a standard 40.5mm screw-on filter adapter (same for both lenses which is nice), whilst the Sony has no (standard) ability to use filters at all.
For the second trip, I can't say there weren't a few times that I was wanting for the Canon 70D, but they weren't that many... There were times I wanted my 100-400L (specifically the 400mm part). There were times I wanted my 50mm F/1.8. And there were times I wanted both my C-PL and ND filters. However on the other hand, I was happy not having to carry the damn thing around with me all day every day (as opposed to having the Sony on my belt and not even knowing it was there). And every one of my 7 flights I was happy to be carrying my bags on the flight with me. Not to mention when catching trains/etc.
Going thought the photos from both trips I'm very happy with the results. There's a few where it's clear that they would have been better with a polariser, and that's something that I'm going to have to work on finding out the best option for. Some of the low light shots might have been better with the larger sensor on the DSLR, but the combination of a 1" sensor and good high ISO performance got me close enough that I don't really care. There were some where I think the Canon would have done a better job of focusing (in particular some shots involving flames), but it's hard to really know. But otherwise the quality is at least in the ballpark of what I'd expect from the other two cameras for the vast majority of shots.
Going forward I think my Nikon 1 S1 is ready to head to either eBay or someone in my family – I just can't see where I'll use it again. My Canon 70D will still absolutely be used, but for travel I think I'm going to have to have a serious reason in advance to take it (eg, headed on Safari where the 400mm really matters), otherwise I just can't see the benefit being worth the effort.
Now of course, the Nikon 1 S1 is hardly a "current" model, and even the 70D is one (nearing two) generations behind so it's not a perfect like-for-like comparison, but still...
A few other thoughts :
The PlayMobile Connect Android app is OK at best (in the last few days Sony has announced a replacement for this is coming in Spring). As has been reported by many people elsewhere I had a lot of trouble with using if for geolocation information. I basically found that I needed to hit my phones power button (bringing it out of sleep) every time I turned the camera on in order to get it to connect. Plus once a day I had to turn off the connection and turn it back on (in the app). I've tried things like disabling battery saving on the app but nothing seemed to work. For remote shooting (over wifi) it works fairly well, although does occasionally disconnect/reconnect in the middle of shooting. I'd generally take a cable remote over it any day, although being able to change settings via it is nice.
Long Exposure NR is painfully slow. I was using it for fireworks with a 4 second exposure, and it would take probably 10 seconds to "process" the image before it was able to take the next shot. Once I worked this out and turned it off it was nice and quick.
Battery life is good, not great. I took 3 batteries (one original, plus 2 Wasabi Power from Amazon) but never needed more than 2 – however that was with charging everything every night, not taking huge amounts of photos, and almost no video.
And to finish, one from the try-that-with-an-SLR, here's the RX100M6 on an UltraPod II strapped to a relatively flimsy tree overlooking the Edinburgh Hogmanay Torch Parade – https://photos.app.goo.gl/25tUnsDBFzJAd8Tp9
Apr 16, 2019, 2:46 am
#1055
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 5
I like my Linhof Tech V for travel. Setup is quick, the camera is rugged, it stands up to the wind when I'm in Hawai'i, and I can switch between view camera mode and press camera mode at will, and all the pictures will be in the same format with the same lenses, which provides some visual unity for images made with different techniques.
Apr 18, 2019, 11:51 am
#1056
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: 42.1% in PDX , 49.9% in PVG & 8% in the air somewhere
Programs: Marriott Ambassador Elite, UA 1K, AS MVP GLD 75K, DL Pt
Posts: 1,086
Comes down to why and what you are taking pictures of. For most people for what they want and the minimum IQ they need having anything other than a dual camera smartphone is just a burden.
For those that live for the challenge and peepers of course they got to lug their big guns.
I've lugged DSLR and lens and also gone all iPhone, found vacations liberating w/o the bulk and IQ / flexibility. Funny as I've seen a couple who just went empty nester go the opposite way, didn't bother with the high end when the return for that equipment was priceless and now lugging a D810 and 24-70 and 14-24 on hikes to far away places then post on social media where my iPhone can do equally well. What's the difference with Panorama in good light or sunset with an iPhone or the best DSLR DR if you only are going to display it on your social media and or a computer screen. Frankly if you aren't displaying on print at huge sizes or 4K the iPhone / smartphone is pretty good, but of course if the simply challenge is what you are after go for it, LOL
For those that live for the challenge and peepers of course they got to lug their big guns.
I've lugged DSLR and lens and also gone all iPhone, found vacations liberating w/o the bulk and IQ / flexibility. Funny as I've seen a couple who just went empty nester go the opposite way, didn't bother with the high end when the return for that equipment was priceless and now lugging a D810 and 24-70 and 14-24 on hikes to far away places then post on social media where my iPhone can do equally well. What's the difference with Panorama in good light or sunset with an iPhone or the best DSLR DR if you only are going to display it on your social media and or a computer screen. Frankly if you aren't displaying on print at huge sizes or 4K the iPhone / smartphone is pretty good, but of course if the simply challenge is what you are after go for it, LOL
Apr 18, 2019, 11:09 pm
#1058
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Central California
Programs: Former UA Premex, now dirt
Posts: 6,531
What is important is that the photographer is happy with what he/she creates. It doesn't matter which tool is chosen. They all work just fine if we are happy with the results.
Apr 19, 2019, 11:55 am
#1059
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: KSUX
Posts: 906
Still prefer my DSLR, a Nikon D7100, for most things even after recently lugging it around Europe for 3 weeks. In a few situations my iPhone actually gave me better results but overall the D7100 was vastly superior. abmj-jr pointed out something really important too. As long as whatever camera you prefer gives you the results you want for your intended purpose that's all that really matters.
Apr 19, 2019, 12:12 pm
#1061
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 6,423
For me, the most important camera feature is being able to shoot at the focal length I want. When I don't really care about this, then a phone camera is fine.
I've never found a fixed lens camera that lets me go wider than 24 mm (FF equivalent). A larger sensor lets me use lenses get a shallower depth of field than a smaller sensor camera, but I almost never want very shallow depth of field. A larger sensor can allow more light on the sensor and therefore less noise (a cleaner image), but a tripod or IBIS usually lets me shoot with a slow enough shutter speed that noise is not an issue (I tend to shoot stationary subjects - it would be another matter if I shot moving subjects). I don't pixel peep.
Therefore, an Olympus E-M5, with 14-28, 24-80 and, sometimes, 80-300 (FF equivalent) lenses, is my usual non-phone kit. I use a Sony RX-100 III when the Oly kit is too much and the phone is not enough. More resolution would be nice, but that would require carrying more weight than I want to carry.
I've never found a fixed lens camera that lets me go wider than 24 mm (FF equivalent). A larger sensor lets me use lenses get a shallower depth of field than a smaller sensor camera, but I almost never want very shallow depth of field. A larger sensor can allow more light on the sensor and therefore less noise (a cleaner image), but a tripod or IBIS usually lets me shoot with a slow enough shutter speed that noise is not an issue (I tend to shoot stationary subjects - it would be another matter if I shot moving subjects). I don't pixel peep.
Therefore, an Olympus E-M5, with 14-28, 24-80 and, sometimes, 80-300 (FF equivalent) lenses, is my usual non-phone kit. I use a Sony RX-100 III when the Oly kit is too much and the phone is not enough. More resolution would be nice, but that would require carrying more weight than I want to carry.
Apr 25, 2019, 2:40 pm
#1062
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: 42.1% in PDX , 49.9% in PVG & 8% in the air somewhere
Programs: Marriott Ambassador Elite, UA 1K, AS MVP GLD 75K, DL Pt
Posts: 1,086
People obsess over gear and IQ and pixels because they can but often lose the magic of the moment/memory and capture
May 6, 2019, 5:47 pm
#1063
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: I 35 south bound, finally stopped
Programs: LT Plt, 4mm, *A GLD, burned out medical provider, executing our estate plan
Posts: 1,665
we have an arctic/see the polar bears trip in June followed by Africa gorillas/wildebeests. I just got a Pixel 3 xl for phone shots but use my older FZ 1000 for those burst shots at 400 mm on manual or Aperture. Not trying to enter a competition, just want good shots quickly. It is all about the memory. And not too much weight.
May 8, 2019, 12:44 am
#1065
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bay Area
Programs: DL SM, UA MP.
Posts: 12,729
I have the D750 and I got the Z7 in December
I don't think I'd pack both for a trip though I wouldn't mind having both handy.
I have also brought a Mavic 2 Pro drone with me for the first time -- currently on a Puglia and Amalfi Coast trip.
In addition to the higher megapixels stills, I've used the Z7 for some 4K timelapses.
I also like to make panoramas, usually handheld, then stiched in LR. The Z7 will require a lot of storage. Each RAW is going to be 60-70 MBs and then when you stitch these 46 Megapixel shots in LR, you can end up with pano DNG files which are well over 1 GB.
I don't print, though maybe I will try some day -- there is a service which will print panos.
I don't think I'd pack both for a trip though I wouldn't mind having both handy.
I have also brought a Mavic 2 Pro drone with me for the first time -- currently on a Puglia and Amalfi Coast trip.
In addition to the higher megapixels stills, I've used the Z7 for some 4K timelapses.
I also like to make panoramas, usually handheld, then stiched in LR. The Z7 will require a lot of storage. Each RAW is going to be 60-70 MBs and then when you stitch these 46 Megapixel shots in LR, you can end up with pano DNG files which are well over 1 GB.
I don't print, though maybe I will try some day -- there is a service which will print panos.
