schneiss Loc: Long Island NY

Planning to travel in retirement. Interested in tips for traveling with friend and family. Upcoming trips: China, Japan, Africa safari. Tips, techniques, equipment. Cost effective is important.

Fred Harwood Loc: Sheffield, Mass.

Fairly big itinerary. Much scenery, much city life, much ado.

No doubt others can help. Perhaps the most subjective thought I can offer is to never be without you camera. So much depends on the moment.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

The gear aspect is a personal thing. For all around, a DSLR or a Mirrorless with lenses in the range of 25 to 300 mm is ideal. For the safari, consider renting a 600 mm for the trip.
One thing I have learned, if you are the only Photographer in the group, and take a while to compose and take a shot, be prepared for the, "what, aren't you done yet," from the rest of the group.

ELNikkor

You might do well to just get something like that amazing Sony RX10iv and enjoy life. You're not going into photo business, just out to see the world. That camera and lens will cover everything without breaking the bank, your back, or your mind trying to figure it out. If you must have a DSLR, a D7200 and Tamron 18-24, or Canon 80D with the same lens will accommodate you nicely. Enjoy your travels, and be sure and post us some of your photography!

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Welcome to UHH and your future travels. Sony, canon, Nikon, Fuji are good brand quality. My suggestion is to go to a local camera shop so you can get the camera choices in your hands and how they "feel" for you.
Have fun!

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

What is your previous photographic and travel experience?

Leicaflex Loc: Cymru

For travel keep it simple, lightweight and practical.
Do not take the (kitchen sink) equipment you don’t really need.
Plenty of batteries and your charger. Travel tripod or a mono pod
For Africa ND filters and a circular polarising filter.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Perhaps you could tell us a little more about yourself and experience to date, also about your travel plans, timing, duration etc.

Have you ever used a camera before? If so what and how would you describe your level of expertise?

Have you traveled internationally? How much? Where? How would you describe your level of international travel experience?

This would be helpful in providing useful advice.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

It really depends on what you are willing to accept as a minimum for image quality. A substantial bridge camera, like the Sony RX10M4 which has a Zeiss 8.8mm to 220mm F2.4-F4, for an equivalent field of view to a 24-600mm lens may be all you need. About the size of a small DSLR, non-interchangeable lens, mirrorless, and the fastest focusing in the industry, it will take some pretty good images. This camera costs $1700.

If you go with a camera that has a larger sensor and interchangeable lenses, I would suggest NOT renting a big lens for safari. They get in the way, and are often frowned upon by tour group leaders, who often get you really close to the wildlife. An Olympus or Pentax Micro 4/3 mirrorless would be the next step up. It has a crop factor of 2, so a 300mm will provide a field of view equivalent to a 600mm lens. It is a well established format with lots of lens offerings with quality that ranges from pretty awful to exceptionally good, with your budget being the principal deciding factor. Quality is better than the Sony's 1" sensor can provide. You will need to figure on $3000-$5000 for a camera and 3 lenses.

Bigger cameras, both mirrorless and DSLR will give you APS-C and full frame options. Fuji, Nikon, Canon, Pentax and others offer some pretty outstanding examples of the best the photo industry has to offer. Your budget will need to increase to accommodate the bigger, heavier, more expensive lenses and cameras.

I would advise against getting "do it all zoom" lenses. They are rarely good across the entire zoom range, are not particularly fast (small maximum aperture), and usually leave a lot to be desired at the long end. Generally speaking, if you stay within the 3x zoom range, you will have a better chance of getting decent image quality.

You can see some of the images I took with the Sony RX10M4 during a recent trip to Ireland. As you can see, it is a pretty versatile little camera, well worth the price.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gene_lugo/albums/72157665487054018
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gene_lugo/albums/72157693140571925
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gene_lugo/albums/72157691434760511
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gene_lugo/albums/72157665486900208
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gene_lugo/albums/72157690214837382

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

My advice is simple. TRAVEL RIGHT, TRAVEL LITE. I only take two camera's with me on trips, both fit into belt loop pouches that attach to my belt. The Sony HX90 V with pop up viewfinder and a 24-720 mm Zeiss T* lens, and my trusty Sony RX100M2 with a 28-100 f1.8 Zeiss T* lens. If I was going to Africa I would take one additional slightly larger point and shoot, (if your going on Safari) my Sony HX400 V with the 24-1200 mm Zeiss T* lens. TRAVEL AS LITE AS POSSIBLE, YOU WILL THANK ME WHEN YOU COME BACK FROM YOUR FIRST TRIP.

Jeffcs Loc: Myrtle Beach South Carolina

First off the camera/lenses need to feel right in your hands so it’s going to take a trip to a high quality brick and mortar store
I’m a FF Nikon shooter that said I’ve gone to Olympus Mu-43 system for traveling
Positive = high quality image, small, light, less expensive than FF
Negatives = low light high iso not so good
That said I only vacation with my Olympus
I grab Olympus for family stuff and with grand kids
In essence I prefer the Olympus for nearly everything except for work

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Welcome to our forum!

As for traveling with friend and family, just make sure that doesn't include the girlfriend and the wife.

There are two types of traveling: traveling for photography and traveling for sightseeing. Family members don't usually like to stand around while you set up a tripod, change lenses, experiment with filters, etc. Travel light photographically and keep everyone happy.

mcarchia Loc: Windham, NH

I have a Canon T4i and a Tamron 18-270 lens and have done lots of traveling and find this to be a great walk around lens. Pics come out great and i make albums of all my trips.
Just my suggestion.

11bravo

I've highly enjoyed my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000. Yes, it's a point and shoot bridge camera, but I prefer a lighter load than my former multi-lens Canon film camera (back in the day). Has a reasonable reach (up to 400mm), reasonable f-stop for low light, and a whole lot of adjustments you can make. Besides a swivel LCD, also has an electronic viewfinder. Allows you to take quick shots, and movies (up to 4K), without having to switch lenses. Shoots RAW.

Take a whole bunch of extra batteries (I buy Panasonic name brand batteries, with a couple of off-brand for emergencies). I also use a Green Extreme Dual Smart Charger with LCD Screen Base, allowing two batteries to be charged at the same time. You buy "sleds" for various battery models that slip into the charger, so it can charge various batteries (e.g., I have 2 sleds for my Panasonic batteries, and 2 sleds for Nikon batteries). I also take the Panasonic battery charger that came with the camera as a backup.

These days, get some quality memory cards. I use 64gb Samsung Pro+, along with some Samsung 32gb Pro+ (these might be out of production now). Get full size memory cards, not micro cards with adapters (full size are faster). Get several of whatever; you'll be surprised how fast they fill up with digital, and you won't always be able to offload the cards every night.

As a backup camera (highly recommend a backup camera) I use a Nikon P7800 (now discontinued), another point and shoot, but again, takes RAW. But take a backup camera; accidents do happen. I also carry an Olympus TG-4, tough little point and shoot that fits in your pocket, for the harsh conditions (and it too takes RAW - see a trend?) For post processing, RAW is the way to go.

I also use a Hoya HD3 UV filter (for front glass protection - I'm paranoid), and a HD3 polarizer filter. The HD3's are expensive, but very resistant to fingerprint smudges.

I've used Lowepro cases forever; I trust them completely. I use an Apex-140AW; the bag's rain shield has come in handy. Camera fits in sideways, not down, so easy to grab.

My partner uses a newer Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300. Again, point and shoot bridge, with a longer lens (up to 600mm) than the FZ1000. Constant f2.8 lens.

All of these cameras have a scene mode (Nikon calls it "museum", Panasonic calls it "hand held night shot") that takes a number of shots automatically (as in burst mode), and picks the sharpest one. Very convenient for low light museum shots, or night shots; saves carrying a tripod.

Practice, practice, practice with whatever camera you get beforehand. Learn the camera. Take a soft copy of the manual with you. Take a notebook computer, with an external hard drive. Copy your photos from the digital card to the computer (with an internal hard drive, not the SSD), and make another copy on the external hard drive, before reformating the memory card. I keep 2 separate copies of photos (digital card, then internal hard drive and external hard drive).

I travel extensively in retirement; just got back from China (great country). These cameras have not failed me yet. Convenient to use, relatively compact, and easily allow prints up to 10x12. I understand cost effective, but when you pro-rate your equipment over years, plus the cost of time and travel, the initial cost will be easier to bear, and these cameras are not that expensive, especially since you are not buying multiple lenses.