I have a Nikon D70 with an external flash. It takes beautiful photos, but I'm having second thoughts about bringing it with me to Europe.

It takes up a lot of room and is heavy to lug around. I've taken it with me on other trips, but I'm going for 5 weeks this time and I think I might get irritated walking around with it everyday.

That being said, I still want to have great photos. Can anyone recommend a digital point and shoot type camera that takes high quality photos?? I've read alot about the Canon sd700 and it seems like it would work, but to be honest the Nikon D70 is the first digital camera I've ever had so I'm a bit spoiled with image quality. I know whatever smaller camera I decide on won't be the same quality as my Nikon pix but I'm hoping to get close.

Anyone have any suggestions? Or should I just take the big camera with me???

Taking the big camera with you depends on what benefits it has for you over compact camera. The image sensors on the SLR camera bodies are bigger than those built into the compact models. A bigger sensor generally results in lower noise at higher ISO settings. I always take an SLR because for this reason and have taken decent handheld shots at iso 1600 at night with an image stabilised lens ( no flash).
I took some snaps before christmas with a canon A540 point and shoot at iso 400, and the noise difference was evident in comparison to my SLR. That said , if you are just walking around taking snapshots and not intending on enlarging your images, then the compact should suffice your situation.
You mentioned Canon Sd700, and the following web page gives good examples of images at different iso levels.
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/ca..._sd700-review/

Hope this helps?

bells on,

I say take it with you. But I would leave the external flash at home. You really won't need it. A lot of places in Europe don't allow flash photography.

I had my D50 with me last October for 3 weeks in Europe and it wasn't a hassle at all. You can see the photos at

www.pbase.com/trsw/europe2006

Tom

Hi

There's heaps of choices of course. In the end I settled for Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1 Digital Camera. Also known as the Traveller's camera. My main consideration was the 10X optically stabilized zoom. Very powerful for such a compact camera. The Leica lens are supposed to be good quality too. Here's some reviews - http://au.shopping.com/xPR-Panasonic_Lumix_DMC_TZ1. And an example of what a good camera can do in the hands of a complete hack - http://s62.photobucket.com/albums/h1.../Greece/Paros/

Take the D70. Leave the flash home, take a fast lens so you can photograph inside buildings without needing flash. I don't know how many lenses you have but I assume you are not planning on wildlife photography so go for a "walkabout" lens 16-45mm or so. You really want the best photos you can get, you know your camera, and with a lightweight lens on it it won't be such a pain. You can always get a harness to help with the weight.

Hi B,

The Canon S2 IS or S3 IS

12X optical, Image Stabilized.

About 20 oz with batteries.

I have a compromise to offer you. slightly over a year ago when we were buying our 1st digital camaera, I did tons of research because I knew that the primary place the camera would get a workout is on vacations. I knew I didn't want to lug around a SLR with its lenses. I also knew that for European vacations I wanted a camera with a wide angle lens for all those landscape shots. I ended up with the Konica Minolta A200, which is more or less a cross between a big DSLR and a small pocket camera. It has a range of 28-200, a superb lens, and image stabilization. For the most part we've been quite satisfied with it. And, it isn't a pain to carry around all day.
While I can't slip it in a pocket, it does fit easily in a purse of waistpack. We just returned from a bicycling and hiking trip in Vietnam, and I carried it day in and day out. Here is a review of the camera

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/mi...e_a200-review/

That said, the one thing we have been unhappy with is the slow speed on interior shots like at a party when we just want a snapshot camera. So, we bought a vey small sized Fuji F30 to complement it.

The Fuji's super-high ISO (up to 3200, sort of) rocks mightily indoors. Only the FinePix F30 has it, though. It's my favorite small point-and-shoot (besides the Leicas, which are a different price category).

The Minolta A200 is an older example of the long-zoom "prosumer" (yes, that is the ugliest word ever created by a marketing department) model, of which there are many other examples. "Older" doesn't mean "worse"; it's a great camera. Newer ones in that category like worldinabag's Panasonic are smaller, though. I have an older, bulkier model like it. Long zoom is great for travel, as you can pull in architectural detail or widen out for scenery shots or street scenes.

If you're only taking one lens, the DSLR is too bulky for what you get. Yes, it takes very nice pictures. But with one lens you're leaving a large part of the advantage at home. An SLR, film or digital, isn't a camera, it's a system.

So you should decide what kind of traveler you want to be: are you going to be on the prowl for great shots all day long? Take the DSLR. Are you just looking to document your trip? buy an F30 if you think low-light shots is going to be more important, or something like the Panasonic (or its numerous competitors) if zoom sounds more like you.

Check out www.dpreview.com, www.steves-digicams.com, and the site navgator mentioned too. But the bottom line is, ANY of these cameras takes great pictures without much intervention except for pointing them at the right stuff.

bells on--

Forgot to mention something last night when I posted. I have the mid-sized prosumer KM A200, and we just bought the much smaller, pocket size Fuji F30. We took both of them to Vietnam last month. Fuji was nice because it was tiny, and it did better in extremely low light situations where there was movement like of people in an interior shot. But, I find it very hard to compose a picture with it because it has to be just held out in front to use the screen for composition, and this is much more difficult to get just the right shot than looking through the viewfinder as I do with the A200. I also felt hampered by the rocker button that controls the zoom. There are a certain number of preset positions rather than the infinite adjustment I can get with the KM A200's twist barrel control zoom.

While definitely larger then the Fuji, but not nearly as large as a DSLR set-up, the KM A200 is better if you want to really try to compose a shot. And, I found the 28mm end to be more useful than the 35mm on the Fuji. As far as the long zoom, I have found that if I need to get closer than I can with the camera's zoom range, I can always magnify and then crop when I get home to get just the shot I originally wanted. Whereas, if your lens is not wide enough to start with, there is no way to ever get that shot when everything won't fit in the frame. All in all, while the small Fuji is a nice camera and takes nice shots, my husband and I both agree that the A200 (or its style) is the superior camera as a travel camera. And, we always get lots of compliments on the pictures we take with it. If you just want to have a camera along to take quick snapshots, then go for something like the pocket size Fuji.

Thought these comments might be helpful to you making your decision. Think about the camera you currently have and make comparisons before you make a decision.

I agree with julies that wideangle is much more important than telephoto when traveling; and one can always crop if desired.

If one wants a small travel camera, the Canon SD800IS is probably worth the extra over the 700IS, as it has the wider zoom (equivalent of 28mm).

One more thing I forgot to add. I don't know what types of places you will be staying in on your trip. But, you might want to consider whether or not you wil feel safe leaving the camera in the room while you are out for dinner, for example. If you don't feel secure leaving it, you will be dragging that big DSLR with you everytime you go out the door.

I second ira's suggestion of the Canon S3 IS. I've had good luck with it and was always an SLR advocate. I have blown up pictures (8x12) which have done well in competitions )local stuff, nothing national). I also like it because of being able to look through a view finder rather than having to hold the camera away from me to look at the screen on the rear.

On my last trip I had a Nikon Coolpix S4 (10x zoom) and got some great pictures. It fit in my pocket and only took 2 AA batteries as opposed to the Canon's 4. However, not having a viewfinder was a major drawback to me.

But both of them are small enough so that I am much more likely to carry them around with me most of the time. Isn't it the way that one always sees a fantastic picture when the camera is back in the room or at home?!

Good luck!

Either take your good camera or buy a new camera NOW so you have time to practice with it. Like shoes (!) a big trip is no time to break in something brand new imo.

By all means, take the D70. It has a built-on flash that will be adequate. But you will be very unhappy with the pix you bring back with a point-and-shoot, if you are already spoiled with the D70.

I suggest taking 1 lens - the 24-85mm zoom is a great choice. I've found that the camera is not the heavy part, but a big lens can really weigh a ton.

Get a small camera bag to carry it in and you'll be good to go. And you might want to put a polarizer or u/v filter on the lens. It will help protect the lens in case the camera gets dropped.

I agree with the Canon S3 IS recommendation. I'd been spoiled with a full-size SLR, but I wanted something more portable for travel without having to sacrifice zoom and image quality. I did lots of research and settled on the S3 IS. I took it to Paris in Nov and never once regretted it - great image quality, terrific 12x zoom and extremely easy to carry. It's a nice cross between the SLR and point-and-shoot.

I have the Canon Elph-digital pocket size. Mine is SD300. I think the newer ones are SD500 and SD600. It takes great photos and fits in your pocket. I charge up the battery at night-it pops out of the camera into a small unit that plugs in an electrical outlet. I took 700 pictures from a two-week Europe trip and about 500 pictures from Australia and New Zealand. I took pictures at night and in a submarine.

In pre digital days (1979)I toured Eu for 3 mths with a Nikon + 28-108 pushpull zoom attached....just like travelling with a brick swinging from your neck.
For this our 1st trip back there I had narrowed it down to a Canon S3 or SD700 or Fuji F30....all 3 have great image quality but the Fuji is astounding in low light with or without flash and is small and unobtrusive. I have a cover made from wetsuit material which I got off Aussie Ebay and it still easily slips into your pocket.
Only thing with these mini P&S cameras, always use the wrist strap...if you drop them with the lens extended they are history.

I've got the D70 too and have been dragging it around for a number of trips now. We'll, actually traded up recently to a d200, but they're about the same size.

Everyone is different, but I don't think I'd ever be "really" satisfied with the results of a self contained camera after being used to an SLR. Some of them take ok pictures though as I've looked through photo galleries and prints. Not wow, but ok-ish. Certainly good captures of memories. Of course, a fiar percentage of my SLR shots are complete garbage too, but at a noticeably lesser percentage than with a point & shoot.

I actually take the SLR and a small Konica Minolta X50 if we'll have place in the room (room safe?) to lock up the big camera rig. Best of both worlds. Little camera for walking around, doing snapshots if I want. Big camera (even a light tripod sometimes) for going out on photo expeditions in the early mornings or evenings. Maybe places I'd spotted when I only had the point and shoot earlier.

Agree that a wide lens is one I use a lot for street, architecture and landscape. I just take two lenses now, 17-35mm and 70-300mm. Never been troubled by the gap between them. I just move closer if I need to.

One advantage, I think, to the D70 is the battery life compared to most any P&S I've seen. I've shot 600+ shots on one charge with the D70. Never seen anything close to that with the small cameras, but I guess some may do as well. But you could take extra batteries for the weight difference, so that's kind of a wash.

OK. so I know just enough about good photography to be dangerous. But I'm married to a guy who has made a living for 20 years as a full-time photojournalist. Right now, the company photogs are carrying Nikon D2HSes for day-to-day work.

I consulted him and here's his take on it all:

"If he (or she) cares enough about great photos to have invested in the D70 in the first place, a point-and-shoot probably won't satisfy him (her).

"They have their place [in his wife's Christmas stocking, apparently - I love mine], but the D70 is going to give you way better image quality, and they're really not that heavy [remember, he's comparing it to the monster kit he carries around all day, every day].

"A lot of it depends on what you want to do with the images. If you're just going to print 4x5s for the scrapbook, a point-and-shoot works great. But if you want to enlarge and print, the extra quality in the initial D70 image is worth the extra weight.

"They already have the D70 - they should just take it. Leave the external flash at home and take a mid-range zoom." [He says a 17mm-55mm would be ideal, but at $1,400, that's probably overkill.]

Enough of the hubby. Personally, I'd recommend a two-camera system: your D70 <i>and</i> and a point-and-shoot for those days you just don't want the big camera.

Maybe you can swing a deal with a friend to borrow a little camera, or share one with a traveling companion (bring your own memory cards).

DH and I do this by default, obviously, but it works well.

BTW, his &quot;vacation camera&quot; is a Lumix DC1 - a digital Leica clone with Leica glass that is a great shooter's camera, but not huge. Before digital, he traveled with a Leica M6 for the exact same reasons.

Hope you have a great trip (5 weeks! Color me jealous!)

Kind of OT, but the Canon SD800IS is on-sale at dell.com this weekend. $339 + tax, but free shipping. A little cheaper than most reputable merchants, depending on sales tax in your state.