Michele

Can I get some suggestions about bringing a big camera to London? We have a 35mm full-size camera and I am wondering if it's too weighty to bring to London/Britain for 10 days...I'm not sure if I want to invest in a compact one, but if you have any suggestions for a small camera that takes good pictures, feel free to suggest one. <BR>Thanks!

Monica

Hi Michele, I take my Canon 35mm (with a 28-70 zoom lense) camera when I travel to Europe. It can be tiring to carry all day long, especially if walking all day, but I'd hate to miss a photo opportunity! I recently purchased an Olympus Stylus Epic camera (fixed 35mm with multiple functions - red eye reduction, timer, night flash, fill-in, etc.) to take along and use in the evenings. It weighs only several ounces and fits into a large pocket. It's great! Purchased it at Target for $99. This way I can get rid of the canon camera in the evenings and still be able to take pictures while we enjoy the outdoor cafes or restaurants or any other photography closeby. I'll always take my canon!

tobi

Michele, <BR>We took a small/light camera on a 10 day vacation in Sept, took 8 rolls of pictures. The quality of the pictures were not very good only about 60% turned out. The others were very blured or dark. We went back in Jan for business, took our big 35mm camera,took pictures of the things that did not turn out for us in Sept. These pictures were great! Bright colors and clear. we are going to Europe this year and you can bet we will not jeopardize our pictures to a small/light camera again. <BR>I would suggest that you purchase a small camera that has a return guarantee, take a couple rolls of pictures inside & out, day & night, side by side with your 35mm. Then you decide which one is better. <BR>Hope this helps. Good luck. <BR>Tobi

A Vernon

Michele -- I'd suggested looking into a "harness" that will hold your full-size camera securely and takes some of the strain from your neck. Also keeps it from bouncing from side to side. <BR>

Cyrano

The APS cameras take good pictures and are small and light-weight. I especially like the Canon elph-2 which has a limited zoom lens, weighs less than five ounces, and is the size of a cigarette pack. <BR> <BR>The problem with these cameras is that they use a 24mm negative instead of a 35mm negative, so if you want to enlarge the picture, the quality will deteriorate quickly. If, however, you just want to produce 3x5 or 4x6 prints, they do an excellent job. Personally, I love the pictures produced with my 35mm with a zoom lens, and find it worth the trouble.

dan woodlief

What full-sized camera do you have? Some full-sized cameras are actually very light and small - for example, the Canon Rebel. So that is another option. I would recommend looking at photo.net, which has a section on choosing a camera for travel. Also, there is a huge database of past posts there that you can search or browse. I would take the full-sized camera, personally. You don't have to take it out everyday, if you don't want. However, it is always nice to have a small point and shoot to take out when you don't want to drag along the big guy. I have heard excellent things about the Yashica T-4 (a lot of pros use them, and they are pretty cheap - does have a fixed lens though if you want a zoom). Olympus cameras generally get good reviews too. I tend to always carry my full-sized cameras when I am out during the day, but often at night I will take a small point and shoot - this is more to record the trip than to create works of art. The harness is a good idea. I often place my camera in a over the shoulder bag, and if I want it out of sight, I just stick that in my backpack. That can take up some space though, if you have a big camera.

Julie

Another option is to use the disposable cameras as a backup. The pictures turn out well and there is no worry about the threat of someone stealing your camera. It is nice to take a panaramic one regardless as some photo ops work much better with that photo option.

pam

Second Dan's endorsement of photo.net. I have a 35mm SLR, and took it to Italy last spring--keeping in my day bag/purse when not shooting. (I took a 50mm fixed f/1.8 lens for low-light/no-flash scenes--like inside churches--and left my mid-range zoom at home. Cut down on weight, too.) I bought an Olympus Stylus Epic, like Monica, at Target for $99 and like it very much. If you go that route you must learn to use all the functions. I had compared the Yashica T4 to the Olympus, and decided on the Olympus. The Yashica has a Zeiss lens which is primo, but the camera was about $250. I also solicited opinions from the camera shops I do biz with, and one person told me what he'd found making the same comparison. He had shot w/ both and enlarged to 11x14 and seen no appreciable difference. HIgh praise for the Olympus. Plus it's a bit lighter and considerably smaller. All in all, you have a rather personal decision to make. I'm getting more and more rabid about packing light--I bought a used Minox in the fall.

rand

I use a 'second string' Nikon. ie not their big professional F series, but the series that started with the E. Anybody remember the ads. zee carmera zat goes beup beup? It takes top line Nikon lenses but with a smaller lighter body. With a 28mm wide angle lens it will fit into the pocket in my parka.

Monica

Michele, I chose my Olympus Stylus Epic based on the information I read at Photo.Net, just like Pam did. I really love my Olympus as it's very small, lightweight and takes very good photos. Target has a 90? day return policy, so buy one and try it out!

Pat

How often to you get to go to London? How flexible is a compact camera during the prime light conditions at dawn & dusk? <BR> <BR>I'm going to England for a week in March and I'll be carrying my Canon Elan IIe with me the whole time. I will probably buy a point & shoot for my wife though, otherwise there wouldn't be any pictures of me! <BR> <BR>Have fun!!

Bob Brown

I have lugged 35 mm single lens reflex cameras and telephoto lenses all over -- to the top of 14,000 foot peaks in the Rockies, to the Sperry Glacier, and other remote places. The poor thing has been smashed into rocks while clambering around where a more sensible person would not have been swinging a camera, etc. Finally, last summer, I got tired of lugging all the gear, and got a little Olympus at about one fourth the weight. <BR>It is not quite the camera that my Minolta is when it comes to sharpness, but it is lighter and smaller. Look for a little SLR, or a good point-and-shoot, with a zoom lens so that you have versatility. If you want great slides (not prints), you have to take along the right equipment. But there are compromises; you just have to find what is right for you. In Paris I was content to use the little one so that I did not go about burdened with the weight of the equipment, but when it came to the Jungfrau and environs, the whole bag made the trip.

Bob

You cannot beat the Canon Elph for ease of use and great pictures. I have used it on numerous trips. Most of the people on our cruise in April were also carrying the Elph. Stay away from the cheap disposables. Poor pictures. If you want a camera that takes no space and gives great shots....Canon Elph with zoom lens.

greg

Michele, <BR>As you have stated it boils down to performance/weight trade off. <BR> <BR>Like Bob Brown, I started with 35mm SLR with all sorts of lense and a large flash. <BR> <BR>Then that got too much to carry around, so for our trip to UK, I took a Pentax 35mm SLR with 35mm-70mm lense. But that is still 2.3 lbs! Even though it takes wonderful pictures and very very good at exposure control, I wanted something that does not give me a neck pain carrying it around. <BR> <BR>No wanting to give up depth and exposure control of SLR, I took Canon EOS IX Lite APS camera next time. While it does not have as good lense as the Pentax, with proper choice of film and developping lab (COSTCO 1hr, for APS, the film and where it gets developped are very important.) I got close to what I got out of Pentax 35mm SLR at only half the weight. I can now carry the camera on my neck all day. I also brought a Canon Elpa APS for times I just want to carry camera in my pocket (not wanting to attract attention of quick hands.) Since both APS cameras have mid roll change capability, I can continue shooting using the same roll between two cameras.

elvira

This is another subjective, well, subject (aren't they all on this forum). One of the original Loons brought her gigundo, screw-on lenses, same-weight-as-an-anvil 35mm on the first 3 trips....lugged that sucker all over France, London and Ireland. Her photos were stupendous (she made copies for us) while mine where just ok, which was fine with me (I am photographically challenge, and admit it) since I look at my photos as reminders of my trips, not works of art. <BR>After lugging the anvil for three years, she finally bought a Minolta 35mm and leaves the Richard Avedon at home. Pictures aren't as stupendous, but she saves chiropractor fees. <BR>

Mark

At last! A posting on the Europe Forum to which I can intelligently(?!) contribute! Michele, I'm no "expert, but I've been doing amateur still photography for about 30 years. (I've used SLRs rangefinders, twin-lens reflexes, and point-and-shoot cameras, and I've owned and/or used Nikon, Canon, Hassleblad, Fuji, Olympus, Mamiya, Pentax, and Yashica cameras.) I'm making my first trip to Europe this May and I faced the same question of whether to bring the Nikon (quality and versatility, but all that weight!) or a smaller, lighter point-and-shoot 35mm camera (little weight, but lower quality and less versatility). I've decided to pack light, bite the bullet, compromise, and spend some more money. I'm looking into an Olympus point-and-shoot camera that weights only about 9 ounces, has auto-focus, built-in flash (with several flash modes), is "weather resistant" so you don't have to be afraid of using it in bad weather, and has a 38mm to 140mm zoom lens. Other than panoramic shots, that lens should cover almost all of your tourist photo needs. It's the Olypus model Zoom 140, or something like that. The down side is the discounted price of $250-260US. However, a few years ago I bought my wife a relatively inexpensive Olympus point-and-shoot autofocus camera. When properly used, it takes amazingly good pictures! I compared it to photos I took with my Nikon SLR, and I was hard pressed to tell the difference. Some keys are 1)holding the camera still (or using a tripod, or bracing yourself against some solid object), 2)focusing properly(this matters even with auto focus cameras), 3)framing the picture "properly" (ex. get closer, unless it's a panorama, etc.), and 4)paying attention to the light, and perhaps more important, the shadows. These things will help you get better photos with even a disposable camera. Hope this helps.

Topper

To the top for Micki

Frank

Here's another vote for the Canon Elph family (mine is actually the 490z, which has more zoom capability). We just returned from Italy and shot about seven rolls. The quality has been very good. Granted, it's APS format, but we don't plan to enlarge the photos but rather put them in a book to document our trip. I admit, there's some separation anxiety in leaving the trusty Minolta SLR behind, but I tucked this little camera into my pocket and took it places I never would have bothered to take the larger 35mm, which would have dangled prominently from my neck and made me look like -- horrors! -- a tourist. I've had the Canon about 3 years now and have been very pleased.

Jo-Ann

One more vote for the Canon ELPH family.I have the LT 260 and I really like the way it takes pictures. I also have the Canon Rebel ,but wanted something really small I could put in my pocket for my trip to Switzerland.The 260 has a lot of features for a really great price.I ordered through the mail and paid $134.without shipping.