BootsnAll Travel Community

Hey guys,

Sorry I posted this a few weeks ago on the "gadgets" forum but I didn't get many responses so I thought this would be a better place to ask if you could help? (I know you see a lot of these, please forgive me!)

Heading to Europe for 6 weeks soon and I'd like to upgrade my camera (Canon PowerShot A400). My price limit is about $300-400 or less

I'm not sure if a pocket size camera will have the features I'm looking for, and I don't know if carrying one that doesn't fit in my pocket will be a big pain, as this is my first long stretch of traveling so I'm clueless.

I don't know that much about cameras, I work in television but I'm in post, not behind any lenses So bare with me here... But here are a few things I'm interested in:

I'd like an adjustable shutter speed, and the faster the better, I like to control my exposure time. Manual focus too, because auto focus can drive me crazy sometimes. A decent optical zoom with image stabilizer. Manual aperture control is a plus, I get annoyed trying to take low light pics with my current camera... I don't think I want to get into changeable lenses quite yet, and certainly not for travel.

I don't care too much what type of memory it uses, but for power I think I'd prefer AA battery's (that I can recharge at home) rather than having to find an outlet in the woods I'm assuming most travelers feel the same way? Not sure.

I feel pretty lost with so many options, so I just wanted to ask those who enjoy fooling around with cameras and which ones worked well on your travels? Only advice I've heard thus far is Canon G9 so I'd like to hear some more opinions.

Tips, advice, and recommendations are very welcome. Thank so much for dealing with another "HELP ME!" thread haha.

Dave

I think the Canon G9 would be perfect for what you want. It gets great reviews and is a good alternative to an SLR. I've only checked one out at the store, so I don't have any real world experience with it, but it has all the manual controls you're looking for. The other one you might want to check out is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50. It's substantially larger than the G9, but feels and acts a little more like an SLR. If you go to B&H Photo's website (www.bhphotovideo.com), they have a category for advanced point & shoot digital cameras - check out all the options they have there and then try to get your hands on a few to see how they feel. But if you're feeling overwhelmed by the options, go with the Canon G9, start shooting with it, and don't look back. Hope you find what you're looking for!

I have a Canon G7 and love it. The G9 is even nicer (my room mate has one).

If you go with the G9, don't bother shooting in RAW unless you do a lot of post-processing in something like Photoshop. You'll be able to save more files on your memory card if you step one level down from RAW.

The slight downside of the G9 is the NB-2LH Li battery. A second battery will run you $50.

Great, thanks for the opinions so far. I'm actually heading to the store this afternoon to check out a G9.

See the battery thing is really what worries me. How long does a standard charge last, could you ask your roommate? They always over estimate in the "specs" imo.

Will charging the bat be an issue at all? When I hosted a German couchsurfer, he couldn't charge his over here - he had the plug adapter but the wattage wasn't right. Which is something that never crossed my mind (or his) until he had an issue.

The G7 and G9 both take the same battery and I was able to shoot a few hundred frames over a three day weekend without recharging. In Europe you should have no problems being able to find a place to charge your camera every couple of days. I would spend the $$ and buy a second battery.

My charger says INPUT: 100V-240V. From what I understand (double check this), North American outlets typically put out 100V-127V and European outlets fall into the 200V-240V range. As long as you have the plug adapters, the Canon battery charger does the correct conversion.

The battery was part of my worry as well, but the camera is just so great that I had to deal with lack of battery options. One upside is that this battery charger is much smaller than the one I lugged around asia for a month to recharge my AA batteries.

quote:

My charger says INPUT: 100V-240V. From what I understand (double check this), North American outlets typically put out 100V-127V and European outlets fall into the 200V-240V range. As long as you have the plug adapters, the Canon battery charger does the correct conversion.

You nailed it. It seems most electronics are this way, but you should never plug something just assuming it will work. In my case, on my last trip, the three electronic items I brought all accepted up to 240V, so I didn't take a converter, just the plug adapters.

Well after some thoughtful number crunching it looks like the G9 might be a bit out of my price range... Looks like I'll have to bump down to one of those SD elph's probably.

I took a Canon S2IS on my trip and loved. It has a great zoom with image stabilizer built in. Not quite a pocket size, but no bigger than a G series. I don't know what version they are on now of it at least S5. Usually they are/were a bit cheaper than the Gs. Take a look.

Well personally I think Canon G9 is a good choice for you, you can read the reviews for it. And I happened to know a coupon from a dealsite that bestbuy is offering a 5% - 18% off sale on cameras and they are all free shipped. I think this may useful to you.

Well I have a few concerns about the camera... First the battery's, I'd have to charge it and get a 2nd battery pack. The price, as now I think $400 might push my budget after all.

Third, does it even have a point and shoot option? If on the fly, or I just don't feel like dicking around with it, is it possible to take a point + shoot photo with it?

I'm scared I'd spend too much time behind it trying to take great pictures then actually enjoying it with my own eyes... sounds silly, but it happened to me in Nicaragua

I used to have a Canon A400 but recently bought a Canon Powershot 570A for my last trip to Indonesia. Couldn't complain whatsoever, easy to use and very light. 7mp, 4 optical zoom and a variety of settings to suit different situations and lighting.