DSLR or CSC for travel?

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It all boils down to what you are willing to carry. I've just spent 6 days in Prague and carried 2 bodies, 4 lenses and a small tripod :eek: i was happy carrying those cameras and i got some snaps i'm really happy with. I could have taken my X10 and had an easier time of it but i'm not convinced i would have got the same quality shots, especially the low light higher ISO stuff :) Carrying around 5kgs of camera gear was worth it for me and i would do it again if i had to. If it had been a sun holiday i wouldn't have taken all that but seeing as i was already carrying a bag round anyway then what the hell? :D

On the other hand i did find myself often just walking round with the D300 with a 35mm 1.8 attached and didn't really miss out on many shots, and ended up with some lovely quality ones as a result of just using the prime. This leads me to believe that maybe i would have got away with just carrying a body and a single prime lens but i would never trust myself to just take that away with me :lol:


ps, the reason for 2 bodies was i wanted to shoot some film while there so took an F90. I took the tripod because i was keen to shoot some night stuff, which again i'm really glad i took because there was plenty of shots i would never have managed without it, including some portraits of me and my better half :)
 
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I'll bite on these comments...

ukaskew said:
How did a 500mm f4 end up in a discussion about a travel set up?! I wouldn't take a 70-200 2.8 away with me, let alone anything bigger!
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Because some people (myself included) are in the school of thought that if you have the gear, you might as well make the most of it. I have travelled a fair bit this year and not regretted a single sweaty back or set of knackered shoulders at the end of a long day through carrying a heavy backpack.

As I've said it all depends on how you prioritise. If I had children to lug around, I'd probably think differently. But I don't, and the OH loves shooting too.

arad85 said:
Because it's the only area a CSC can't really compete at the moment, therefore you can mention it as superior without fear of contradiction. Personally, I've never even seen a 500mm F4, let alone used one....
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Not only area but I don't want to go too OT!

I'm not saying CSCs don't pack an excellent punch weight for weight, but they aren't high end DSLRs and glass.

As for the 500mm comment I'm slightly shocked you've never seen one! Beg borrow or steal one, use it for all of five seconds and you will probably end up sharing my opinion :lol:
 
cmc1 said:
I have had experience of this and it really doesn't matter that much whether you go CSC or DLSR. You still need a shoulder bag or Backpack to carry your gear and no matter what the weight they all become an annoyance after a while.
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No you don't. One camera, one lens, chuck it over your shoulder and get on with life. No more an inconvenience than a girl carrying her handbag everywhere.
 
ACW said:
Not only area but I don't want to go too OT!
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Pretty much the only area.. the latest micro 4/3rds are getting there with tracking focus which is the only other area...
ACW said:
As for the 500mm comment I'm slightly shocked you've never seen one! Beg borrow or steal one, use it for all of five seconds and you will probably end up sharing my opinion :lol:
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And this is why photography is so personal. I rarely go beyond 100mm equivalent - I have absolutely no need for it in the photos I take.... and I don't shoot moving objects - which is probably why CSCs do for me these days.
 
A budget DSLR is usually cheaper than most CSC cameras.

I often use my Olympus XZ-1 compact rather than my DSLR. It is capable once you learn how to use it.

I have taken the following with it:


Media city 1 with XZ-1 by alf.branch, on Flickr


Partorn beach 02-02-1349 by alf.branch, on Flickr


Looking along Derwent water by alf.branch, on Flickr


Russian dancers 4 by alf.branch, on Flickr


Russian dancers 2 by alf.branch, on Flickr

There are of course other such cameras like the Panasonic Lumix LX7 the Fuji X20 and even Nikon getting there with the Coolpix A the Canon G12 is a lump I fancy an Olympus Stylus 1 though next.
 
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