camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Has been said before but will repeat it once again. Mirrorless cameras are an excellent traveling option. They are small, fit anywhere, usually small and light lenses and at the end of the day nobody is tired from using them.
Those cameras are very capable when fit with good glass.

epd1947

Here's some inspiration:

https://youtu.be/o-yIYzEySWU

Rongnongno Loc: FL

UHH funny side... Now folks are telling you what to buy...

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

True. Only a mirrorless system can do that, since dSLRs and mirrorless cameras both mount on telescopes, and share the same telephoto lenses via adapters. Of course, there is a class of "long zoom" non-interchangeable lens travel cameras that does pretty well in bright light. But it's all compromise, from where I see it.

My comments were really about the demand for all cameras. MOST people who bought 35mm SLRs and 35mm compact zoom cameras in the 1980s weren't what I'd call photographers. They just wanted "something good to TAKE pictures" (not make them). That's the crowd that goes for smartphones today. They are perfectly willing to keep the "carry-around device count" to just one item that can do any of a couple million different things, via apps, besides take snapshots. It's better than a Rollei 35 built into a Star Trek communicator bolted to a two-way wrist TV...

There will always be a market for fine cameras. But I predict there will be consolidations, mergers, and paring of product lines in the coming years, as the demand for the serious gear lessens.

We're only about 140 years into the convergence of all communications technologies into one massive interconnected, inter-related, pot of possibilities. There will be plenty more inventions, plenty more variations on the same themes, plenty more items that become relatively obsolete, and lots of changes. Enjoy the ride.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

Wouldn't be a problem for me, if I don't want to carry a big camera I carry my Canon G15, all I need is a medium to large pocket , Bob.

MtnMan Loc: ID

A D5300 is half the weight of a D7200. On my last trip like like that I only took one lens on the camera: a 17-50. I had it in a fitting padded camera bag that worked fine.

This was after lugging a telephoto on a couple of similar trips and never using it.

That was OK but I recently went a step further with a Panasonic GM5. Alas they stopped making it but they now have an 850. It's only downside is no viewfinder but you won't have one on a cell phone. The included 12-32 lens matches the 17-50 on an APS-C.

You'll be much happier with the images from a Micro 4/3 sensor and other features over a cell phone camera, such as unlimited image storage by changing cards.



https://www.dpreview.com/news/5769972416/a-comfortable-fit-panasonic-lumix-gx850-overview

Brucej67 Loc: Cary, NC

I agree with your take, but if memory serves me right during the reign of SLR film cameras there were also a host of small one time use cameras (Kodak put out several) as well as Polaroid cameras. SLR cameras were designed for people who were not content to just shoot snapshots. Today I see the phone camera for the same use as people content to shoot snapshots and DSLR's for people who want to go beyond snapshots. I think there are many reasons for the decline in DSLR sales including price (while the economy is still not that great), wider competition and fast pace of technological improvements to name a few.

Woodworm65 Loc: Lombard, IL

That was great, makes me want to take my phone and not my DSLR I have been to Europe several times and did take my DLSR but this time we are using public transportation and not renting a car which makes things more difficult to carry things thanks for the info.

Gspeed Loc: Rhinebeck, NY

I would like to recommend this camera which you can probably find somewhere used. My husband has it and it takes exceptional photos, fits in your pocket. If you search around for reviews, you will see it is above average:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B005MTME3U/ref=sr_1_3_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1482937419&sr=8-3&keywords=canon+s100+powershot&condition=used

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

If you decide to take your DSLR and want to travel light with only 1 lens- take a serious look at the Tamron 16-300.

crissx09 Loc: FL-USA

When traveling I carry my Nikon D5100 with the Nikkor 18-200 1:3.5-5.6 G II and so far I am very happy with the pictures I got. Besides I feel the camera is a "dedicated" tool for photography. You can't do with a phone camera what you can with the real thing. Weight? It is just the camera with extra battery, charger and memory cards. All in a small bag.!!

MtnMan Loc: ID

Still a pretty small sensor compared to a Micro 4/3. Small sensors limit your DOF control and high ISO capability.

Note in the video the guy talked about bringing a small tripod for his IPhone. He never showed it but must have used it to get sharp images in low light. Note he also did not show low light images such as inside buildings.

OP needs to consider what type of images he wants first.

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

I drove to and from California this past year and took all of my camera gear with me (after all, I was in the car). That was three DSLRs with three different lenses mounted on each and my Fuji Finepix. My wife and I took a one day trip to San Francisco and I only took my Fuji FinePix camera with me (I didn't want to be bogged down in gear because we walked a lot). I took some extraordinary photos with that little camera and I enlarged them to 11x14 without any problems at all.

If I were going on the type of trip you're going to take, I would take the one camera and two lenses (a wide angle zoom and a telephoto zoom). I was stationed in Germany in the early 1070s (I was a lot younger then!), but my entire camera kit consisted on my Petri DSLR and two zooms; they more than met my needs and they were light enough to haul around on trains and buses (my only means to transportation back then).

DRG777 Loc: Metro Detroit

Same here. Yes, phone cameras can take good shots, but I have been to all 3 countries, and I would not trust my photographic record of such a trip to a sensor the size of a small fingernail. I also want the wider view angle I get with my DSLR. I would at least take the D7200 and the widest range zoom you have.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I have an iPhone 7 Plus. It has an image stabilizer that works quite well in low light. Smartphone tripods DO help, however. The camera is sensitive enough to capture silhouettes in moonlight, although with a bit of noise.

The best camera you have, is the camera you have with you. That's the appeal of the smartphone. We were out to dinner on Christmas break in New Smyrna Beach, FL, when I took this outside The Garlic restaurant. I had no intentions of photographing anything that night.

This was with my previous phone, the 6s Plus. Yes, the color is a little weird. The scene is lit with neon and fluorescent tubes and incandescent floods and LEDs... and a mercury vapor street lamp. But it's a fun scene of my twins, a cousin, and a friend.

(Download)