Trip of a lifetime, what camera?!

Hi!

Im a student and have never really been away from home much, and this is my first post here!. I am in the process currently of arranging a trip to europe to include, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, (maybe sevilla), Rome, Florence, Athens, Naples, Pisa, Sicily, Berlin, Amsterdam, and then back home to the UK.

I have never been away on my own, so doing all of this solo, via the train system is going to be quite interesting!

Anyhoo, i digress, I intend on making this a trip to remember and intend on taking as many pictures as i can - mostly outdoor scenery, buildings, the odd indoor gallery pics (if im allowed!), and i was wondering what sort of camera should i consider?

So i decided itd be a wise idea to post here, sounds like the right sort of place!


I have roughly £250-300 to spend, but really dont want to go over - any money not spent on camera could probably pay for an extra nights sleep in one of the many fine hostels at any one of the destinations im going to!


Any ideas?!



Thanks in advance!

Hi 5...I don't know how pounds translates to US$ but I think it is somewhere around 2:1 so I'm guessing $500-$600. If that's the case, I'd look at the Sony or Kodak point and shoots for versatility. If you want to go with a DSLR, the Nikon D50 or the Pentax *ist DL are good easy to use cameras and come with good lenses for novices.
Read Photo John's final report on PMA. I think he describes the various new cameras very well. I really liked the idea of the Kodak V550 (I think that was it). It has a dual sensor. One allows for zoom and the other for wide angle. Which would give you both worlds and not require any extra lenses. You can link to his report from the main page at http://www.photographyreview.com .

Sounds like a fun trip. We hope to see many shots from you when you return. Good luck and safe journey and welcome to PR.
Ken

Yeah, thanks for the reply!

I personally love Sony, from back in the day of the minidisc! However, the one thing you can be sure of with sony is propreitary memories and consumables, and that for me, makes them a certain no-go area!


Ive heard of canon IXUS cameras, and i think the 750 is nice, but it felt like a toy, if you know what i mean - ive been known to be quite clumsy, and so need something a little sturdier!

ill take a good look at everything now, as i leave in first week of may, need everything sorted before!

There are some logistic questions for you to consider as well.

Digital or film?

For digital, how much of your budget are you going to allocate to batteries and Flash memory? Many of the recent digital compact or point and shoots have fairly accurate evaluations as to how many photos per battery (recharge) and of course per memory unit.

Since you are going to be traveling by rail alot, you may want to shoot from the train windows so that may not be the time to recharge a camera, so a second battery (if a proprietary type) may also need to be budgeted.

Are you going to carry all of your images (film or digital) with you or upload them via an Internet Cafe or send them home?

How big a camera are you willing to deal with? (Very small thin pocketable, belt pouch/pack sized, and so on).

You will probably want to consider a case or pouch for everything as well.

Consider a camera that uses easily available batteries. Power fluctuations have been known to blow out batteries while recharging. Italy, as an example, is known to have less than stellar mains in some areas and poof! there goes an expensive Lithium Ion pack and maybe even the camera while on the overnight charger.

As to specifics, I like the Canon A-series (the ones that use AA batteries), a used Canon Powershot s-50 or S-60 might be in your budget as well. These are proven tough travelers.
There are reports on some of the Kodak's not being very durable under some circumstances. Olympus makes the Stylus series which have a pretty good track record regarding moisture resistance and are very 'pocketable'. I'm mentioning some slightly older tech here as it's proven and standardized to some degree.

Hope some of this helps and if you run across a camera that grabs your fancy feel free to ask more questions.

Welcome to Photography Review and we'll all look forward to pics. You could even upload during your travels (hint hint).

Best wishes!

Are you taking a laptop with? If not I'd recommend buying one of those auto storing hard drives as well as a camera even if it means a smaller camera. I used to have a small 3 mp Canon P&S that was good to carry easily in a pocket on my motorcycle with a couple of spare cards and a spare battery and not have to deal with a camera bag.
I was able to take a few hundred shots during the day if I wanted and then downloaded the pics and recharged the batteries in the motel/campgrpund at night. Buy memory rather than use lower resolutions in order to be able to take more pics.
Most importantly...have fun.

Wow!! thanks for the swift reply, ill try to answer all of these as it may help in your expert judgement!


Right,

I intend on getting a DIGITAL camera, so I can choose which ones I want to print, and also so i have a permanent digital copy of all these memories!

Ideally, I would like a camera with a rechargable battery involved.

I dont want to spend hideous amounts on flash memory (hence the no SONY attitude i have!) - (2x1gb?) SD, CF would be perfect, xD is still quite expensive comparatively.

I suppose a second battery is something i should consider, i dont really know how long one will last, and i will try to charge in the hostel or hotel that i might be staying in.

I am going to be carrying my shots with me and do not plan on seeking out an internet cafe so i can upload. However, if i should see one, then I do intend on uploading the pics and clearing the cards.

I have seen the canon IXUS 750, and this might sound odd, but it felt like a toy - i have quite small hands, but it didnt feel like i was holding a product worth its price that wouldnt die even if it had some bumps! However, i dont like the SLR things (id love one, but waaaaaaaay out of my league!)

Ill try to get hold of a surge cube to put in between the euro-gb converter to counteract fluctuant power.

and dont these things come WITH a pouch of some sort?


So far, ive had a look at the KODAK 570 - seems like a really nice camera and the wide angle lens i think would be useful - however it seems quite silly to have such a good camera without good zoom, is there something similar at similar price thatll do something like that?!

my family members have sony p72s, and a fuji finepix 6mbpixel one, i think theyre quite good, but really havent a clue as to whats a good brand, and how much i should pay.

also, is it better for me to pay slightly more and get it from a shop, or should i get it from the internet instead?!


thanks for all your help!