Author Topic: Compact tour camera whats yours  (Read 10056 times)

Compact tour camera whats yours
« on: 09 March, 2021, 06:32:16 pm »
OLYMPUS XZ-1 Its 10 years old now, lovely little camera only one downside no viewfinder, have an Olympus pen but still prefer the XZ-1. Bought the automatic lens cover for it, no issues with scratches on lens or filters.

Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #1 on: 10 March, 2021, 08:40:59 am »
I've got quite a choice, but my Olympus Trip 35 is the one that goes on most of our longer trips (when they resume).
I'm currently putting a Welta Pent through its paces - a lovely little camera, and I can forgive its need for Rapid cartridges to be preloaded.
Too many angry people - breathe & relax.

Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #2 on: 10 March, 2021, 09:06:44 am »
Am now happy using my phone for hiking and riding pics. 

I used to use a Panasonic gm5 which is amazing but not *that* much better than a phone, especially in good light, and when you start taking second lenses along with batteries, charger etc it's just too much faff and space. 

ppg

Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #3 on: 10 March, 2021, 11:25:36 am »
Am now happy using my phone for hiking and riding pics. 
^ this

I used to have a Panasonic Lumix (TZ-70?) until I compared the results with a friends phone - a Huawei P30 Pro

When replacement phone time came, the camera went on eBay, no regrets on that decision (P30 Pro)

Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #4 on: 10 March, 2021, 11:27:59 am »
The only camera I carry on a tour is my old and trusty Canon Ixus100. Not much bigger than a credit card so it is easy to carry in a rear pocket and it has an optical viewfinder for composing pictures in bright light.
Most people tip-toe through life hoping the make it safely to death.
Home

fuaran

  • rothair gasta
Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #5 on: 10 March, 2021, 11:38:12 am »
Lumix GX800, with the kit lens. Fits nicely in an Alpkit Stem Cell.
Nicer than using a phone, handy to have proper buttons etc, and the tilt screen is good for different angles etc. And much better battery life than my phone, easy to carry a couple of spares if necessary.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #6 on: 10 March, 2021, 11:46:34 am »
Panasonic DMC-FT3 (TS3 in the US).  12m waterproof & 2m shockproof, 12Mp CCD.  Includes superfluous GPS & barometer.

Only thing I don't like about it is that the FT1 had a Gorilla-glass cover on the LCD so I thought this did too, and as a result it's scuffed.  Every so often I renew the protector film and it fills the scratches, for a while.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #7 on: 10 March, 2021, 11:49:45 am »
Am now happy using my phone for hiking and riding pics. 
^ this

I used to have a Panasonic Lumix (TZ-70?) until I compared the results with a friends phone - a Huawei P30 Pro

When replacement phone time came, the camera went on eBay, no regrets on that decision (P30 Pro)

Huawei P20 pro here! the camera is remarkable and I'm sure my Chinese overlords enjoy the pics too.  The P30 must be fantastic.   

I use an iPhone 12 for work and the camera on that is equally good.

(edited - I thought mine was a p30, it's actually a p20!)

Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #8 on: 10 March, 2021, 12:50:07 pm »
The only camera I carry on a tour is my old and trusty Canon Ixus100. Not much bigger than a credit card so it is easy to carry in a rear pocket and it has an optical viewfinder for composing pictures in bright light.

I've got a Canon IXUS 100 IS and it's what I would carry if I wanted a tiny camera to specifically take photos when I'm out otherwise I use my phone. Its biggest advantage over a phone is the zoom lens.

Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #9 on: 10 March, 2021, 12:52:21 pm »
I've carried Panasonic and Canon, Fuji and Sony over the years but now I only carry the one device which serves as navigation if required, a camera and even a communications device for emergencies. 

The current one is three years old so "ancient" in tech terms.  It works very well and remains reliable.  I read that the cameras in smartphones are becoming ever more capable.  I like what Sony is doing with their Experia 1 range so perhaps eventually I will ditch Samsung with it's excessive bloatware for Sony.

ppg

Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #10 on: 10 March, 2021, 02:14:43 pm »
Quote
Its biggest advantage over a phone is the zoom lens.

What swung me to the P30 is its Leica 5x optical telephoto.
Compared to the Lumix (also a Leica lens) the phone had the edge up to about 10x (5x optical and 2x digital) the camera really only bettered it after that. Plus the super wide angle which is wider than the cameras and absolutely no contest in low (no) light conditions.

FifeingEejit

  • Not Small
Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #11 on: 10 March, 2021, 08:02:23 pm »
I take a few with me usually fromn the following selection:

Kodak Box Brownie Six20B
Lumix TZ-80 (The zoom is rather handy)
Agfa Isolette III
Lumix DMC-FT30 (Basically a phone camera I don't mind dropping)
Olympus XA
My phone - Honor View 10 (If I absolutely must use it, the camera's decent for snaps but doesn't hold up to scrutiny)
Olympus XA4
Canon Ixus II
Polaroid 3000 (SX-70)


Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #12 on: 10 March, 2021, 10:18:05 pm »
I usually carry a Panasonic GM1, which I think is the smallest M 4/3 body made, usually with only a 13 - 32 lens which is also small and light. If I'm going somewhere particularly scenic, or I'm expecting to spend more time off the bike, I'll carry the larger GX80 and a couple of lenses.
I have an iPhone, which I know is capable of decent photos, just not for me, most probably because I simply don't enjoy using it.

Pingu

  • Put away those fiery biscuits!
  • Mrs Pingu's domestique
    • the Igloo
Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #13 on: 10 March, 2021, 10:38:17 pm »
Canon Powershot S120.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #14 on: 11 March, 2021, 09:27:29 am »
Trouble with travel cameras is that most of them are no good for wildlife.  Most of the interesting birds I see are too far away for my Panny's 5x zoom.  I have occasionally carried a Nikon J1 with a 110mm zoom and an x2.7 whatsit factor, which makes it the equivalent of a 297mm, but even then the herons start getting antsy if you point anything at them from less than 100 metres.  Funny thing is that you can ride past them to within 2 metres and they won't budge, but stare and they're off.

MrsT has a wee Sony with 20 Mp and a 30x zoom. That'll haul them in but the images are a bit too impressionist for my taste.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #15 on: 11 March, 2021, 11:18:57 am »
I carry a camera on tour not to "do" photography, but to record my trip. As such, for the last few years, since going for Pixels, my mobile is not only adequate but better than a separate camera. The phones produce great photos, easily up to the standard of the standalone mini camera I used to carry. Not only that, but you get auto geo tagging which is perfect for tour photos (I used to  have to smash the jpgs together with the gpx to the same effect), plus the bonus of 360 photos, perfect for reminding yourself what it was like to be there. And, as a final bonus, if you get wifi anywhere backup is automatic.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #16 on: 11 March, 2021, 01:08:06 pm »
The cameras in my phones, including the 48Mp effort in my Motorola G8, are rubbish.  And try taking a one-handed knee-level backwards shot with a phone.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #17 on: 11 March, 2021, 10:14:08 pm »
Mebbe you need to choose you phone for its camera?

'taint the pixel count, it's all about the software, and Google/Pixel are pretty much right up there with Apple.

Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #18 on: 12 March, 2021, 07:28:10 am »
Mebbe you need to choose you phone for its camera?

'taint the pixel count, it's all about the software, and Google/Pixel are pretty much right up there with Apple.

Which is why the Sony Experia 1 phone is causing me to think about it.  There is plenty on teh tubes about the spec of the mark iii due in the next few months. 

Granted a phone will never compete with proper camera hardware but there is no better camera than the one that you have with you.  I have lugged a dslr around on tour.  The pics are great but it's a royal PITA because it needs a lot of bag space.  Compacts are often better than the camera in a smartphone but no always.  Depends on your needs really.

Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #19 on: 12 March, 2021, 08:00:35 am »
For “here’s my bike and a view” or “here’s a thing” I use my phone. It’s quicker and easily good enough. Indeed, my “proper” camera is a 2008 model m43 and is lower resolution than my phone.

On a tour I have a handlebar bag that is mostly camera stuff - a body and 2 or 3 lenses, maybe some filters and mini tripod. I find it nice, occasionally, to pause and spend some time taking a place in. And a camera set to manual makes me do that in a way that a phone can’t. It also does longer focal lengths better than my phone. But I like making photos for its own sake and will trade time spent on photography for km.

I’m looking at an upgrade of camera (probably Fuji) but something I can carry easily in a bar bag is absolutely still important.

Tomsk

  • Fueled by cake since 1957
    • tomsk.co.uk
Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #20 on: 12 March, 2021, 08:04:35 am »
Canon Powershot A640. The zoom is a bit 'reluctant' and there's a blank spot of knackered pixels in the bottom right corner of the screen, but it still takes decent photos. Something of a lump, so it lives in the bar bag and means often the phone gets used instead.

Bought secondhand from our long-gone High Street shop. I've had a couple of daintier cameras that haven't stood up to knocking around on tour and sometime I should get a more compact replacement, but my clumsy, dodgy fingers do prefer something a bit chunky with knobs and dials, not tippy-tappy screens. Periodically I have a browse, but there's so much choice online it's bewildering and I give up! When proper shops open again I might take a trip up to Cambridge.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #21 on: 12 March, 2021, 01:14:23 pm »
Mebbe you need to choose you phone for its camera?

'taint the pixel count, it's all about the software, and Google/Pixel are pretty much right up there with Apple.

I didn't buy it for its camera, I bought it mainly for its storage capacity.  As for quality, it takes its 48 Mp and merges them in fours to yield 12 Mp files but its algorithm is terrible and they look like over-sharpened 6 Mp files from 15 years ago. As it happens, I can get DNG files out of it and play around in PS, but with a decent real camera in the HB bag ICBA.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #22 on: 25 March, 2021, 12:58:25 am »
The only camera I carry on a tour is my old and trusty Canon Ixus100. Not much bigger than a credit card so it is easy to carry in a rear pocket and it has an optical viewfinder for composing pictures in bright light.

I've got a Canon IXUS 100 IS and it's what I would carry if I wanted a tiny camera to specifically take photos when I'm out otherwise I use my phone. Its biggest advantage over a phone is the zoom lens.

These posts made me log on to eBay and for under £30 I now own an Ixus 100 IS.  :thumbsup:  8)
What's this bottom line for anyway?

LEE

  • "Shut Up Jens" - Legs.
Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #23 on: 11 September, 2021, 10:28:00 pm »
I carry a Canon S120 in my rear pocket.
It has a wrist strap for security (easy to slip it on when I reach for it on the move).

For our motorhome travels I bought a Canon M50 mirrorless.  It's absolutely brilliant.

Mostly though I use my phone.
Some people say I'm self-obsessed but that's enough about them.

Re: Compact tour camera whats yours
« Reply #24 on: 11 September, 2021, 11:55:28 pm »
The only camera I carry on a tour is my old and trusty Canon Ixus100. Not much bigger than a credit card so it is easy to carry in a rear pocket and it has an optical viewfinder for composing pictures in bright light.

I've got a Canon IXUS 100 IS* and it's what I would carry if I wanted a tiny camera to specifically take photos when I'm out otherwise I use my phone. Its biggest advantage over a phone is the zoom lens.

These posts made me log on to eBay and for under £30 I now own an Ixus 100 IS.  :thumbsup: 8)
I've just bid for one*. If I don't win no worries. I have a Canon Powershot A580 (which is ok for my needs).