Simple Digital Camera Recomendations

[tortellini_man]

Hi all,

I mostly use film, but I also use digital sometimes for things like wildlife and macro photography. I am thinking of also getting a digital camera for traveling (especially when dealing with foreign airports and stuff).

I usually like some of the images i get from digital, but the process of actually shooting them is not very fun on the cameras I have used so far (mostly nikon dslr and om system mirrorless). The menus are very unintuitive to me, and there are 100x more options and configurations than I need, and the symbols on the buttons are very unhelpful. I also never take any video, so about half of the functionality of the camera is useless to me.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a digital camera for travel photography that is good at shooting still images and has reasonable menus and shooting experience?

 

[Maximilian]

Hi,

That’s a very open question. But spontaneously I’d say any type of Leica, since they have very streamlined menus. Good luck!

 

[Out to Lunch]

Have a look at the recently released Leica D-Lux 8.

 

[Disappointed_Horse]

I am also mostly a film shooter. I have a Nikon DSLR, but I don't particularly enjoy shooting with it and it's much too big and heavy for travel (for me at least; I like to travel light). I have pretty much settled on my iPhone 13 Pro as my compact digital camera. The stock camera app is simple enough and with third party camera apps you can tailor the shooting experience to your preferences and make the operation even more simple (with an app like Shoot RAW) or as advanced as you would like (with apps like Halide or Reeflex or many, many others). I'm a black-and-white guy so my favorites are Argentum and Provoke, and I also like the original (non-subscription) version of Hipstamatic just for fun.

The image quality of the iPhone images may not be to everyone's taste but I've got many 11″ x 11″ square prints on my walls that were taken with iPhones and they look great to me. Maybe not quite as good as the prints from my DSLR at the same size, but close enough that no one without a sharp eye and a lot of knowledge of cameras would ever notice the difference.

I think unless you're willing to carry something with a micro 4/3 sensor or larger and deal with the lousy digital camera UI, which for the most part has not improved or gotten worse as digital cameras have become more advanced and added features over the last 20 years, the iPhone is about as good a camera as you're going to find. I have a trip to Europe scheduled for next month and my iPhone is the only camera I'm planning on bringing. (I also expect I'll be wishing I had one of my film cameras, but I just don't want to deal with the hassle of traveling with film on a family vacation.)

I am also very interested in the Ricoh GR series, but I have never had the chance to try one.

 

[mdarnton]

I've done tests of my phone against normal cameras and the result is not disappointing. Often that's the only camera I have on me and it's not a problem. I view messing around with settings on better cameras as a necessary evil, something I dig into the first day or two of ownership to get everything that I really need personalized, and then from there I rarely look at menus. Just because we have all of those choices, it doesn't mean that we have to use them. My M4s have shutter speed, lens opening, focus, and that's all you really need on any camera.

The one critical button that people don't seem to be able to use well and could use some work on is the round one under the right index finger. Most times that it's pushed it shouldn't have been. The quality of one's photography has very little or nothing to do with the equipment used.

 

[Out to Lunch]

the iPhone is about as good a camera as you're going to find

Even if that were true, it's no fun using one; like painting a la Bob Ross. Cheers, OtL

 

[Disappointed_Horse]

Even if that were true, it's no fun using one; like painting a la Bob Ross. Cheers, OtL

Read the first part of my sentence. I don't think the iPhone is as good as a "proper" digital camera with a M4/3 or larger sensor. I do think recent iPhones deliver images as good or better than dedicated cameras with smaller sensors, up to and probably including 1″ sensors.

As far as being fun, that's subjective. With different apps, you can chose to have as much or as little control as you want (and if you happen to like happy accidents, there is always Hipstamatic and a slew of other "lo-fi" camera apps). The ergonomics of the iPhone may not be as good as a dedicated compact camera, but to me the much larger and brighter screen makes up for it.

 

[Tim Murphy]

Hi all,

I mostly use film, but I also use digital sometimes for things like wildlife and macro photography. I am thinking of also getting a digital camera for traveling (especially when dealing with foreign airports and stuff).

I usually like some of the images i get from digital, but the process of actually shooting them is not very fun on the cameras I have used so far (mostly nikon dslr and om system mirrorless). The menus are very unintuitive to me, and there are 100x more options and configurations than I need, and the symbols on the buttons are very unhelpful. I also never take any video, so about half of the functionality of the camera is useless to me.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a digital camera for travel photography that is good at shooting still images and has reasonable menus and shooting experience?

Dear tortellini man,

You mentioned wildlife and macro shooting. Look at the Panasonic Lumix FZ300. It is weather resistant, shoots raw and Jpeg, has a 24 to 600mm equivalent f2.8 Leica lens and will do all you need to do as an all-in-one camera.

Yes, it is a small sensor camera, and yes, it is a compromise. But I find it to be an excellent camera when all I want to do is carry a camera around my wrist with an Op-Tech strap and be prepared for just about anything.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 🙂

 

[agentlossing]

The Ricoh GR has a simple menu system. Of course, any camera large enough to have a lot of buttons means you don't have to menu dive as often. Olympus menus are tough. I much prefer Panasonic menus in the MFT system.

 

[JeffS7444]

Many cameras have an auto-everything mode, would this suffice? It's often the green dial setting located on the top of the camera.

 

[tortellini_man]

Have a look at the recently released Leica D-Lux 8.

This would be the most expensive camera I own 🫠 but it does look appealing

Dear tortellini man,

You mentioned wildlife and macro shooting. Look at the Panasonic Lumix FZ300. It is weather resistant, shoots raw and Jpeg, has a 24 to 600mm equivalent f2.8 Leica lens and will do all you need to do as an all-in-one camera.

Yes, it is a small sensor camera, and yes, it is a compromise. But I find it to be an excellent camera when all I want to do is carry a camera around my wrist with an Op-Tech strap and be prepared for just about anything.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 🙂

this looks like it might be a little bit bulky for me; I already have an OM E-M1 mkII body for aforementioned wildlife/macro, but am looking for something smaller for traveling as the E-M1 doesnt really fit in a non camera bag or pocket even with a small prime lens

The Ricoh GR has a simple menu system. Of course, any camera large enough to have a lot of buttons means you don't have to menu dive as often. Olympus menus are tough. I much prefer Panasonic menus in the MFT system.

Ricoh GR seems to be frequently mentioned; main drawback seems to be that it is in very high demand these days but it looks promising

Many cameras have an auto-everything mode, would this suffice? It's often the green dial setting located on the top of the camera.

so long as it is small - all of my digital cameras with a mode dial so far have been pretty large

 

[hap]

I don't have one but.....seems like a Sony E mount in the 6000 series. Should be able to purchase pretty inexpensive. good lenses. Small and capable.

 

[Evergreen States]

Most of the time I don't need to go into menus shooting a digital camera. If you're already not doing fancy things or shooting video, what are you going into menus for? What are you doing, tortellini_man?

If you want something that functions similarly to a film camera, you can get one with a shutter speed dial like a Fuji X or Nikon Zf. Most Fuji X lenses even come with aperture rings!

 

[JohnGellings]

Unfortunately, the cameras that will appeal to you are going to be expensive. My "travel" camera is the GRIIIx. However, travel photography is not important to me. If it was, I'd use whatever was best for my project.

I´ve also used a version of the RX100 or two. The Ricoh, in either 28mm or 40mm, is a lot better (experience and IQ wise) if you aren't a zoomer. Yeah, they are hard to find right now... because all compact cameras that are really good are hard to find. People have rediscovered these in recent years.

However, if the New Leica M43 camera appeals to you, you can always go for the earlier version. It basically is the same camera with a worse VF and is just a little bit uglier. It'll be cheaper by far. The Panasonic version, the LX100 II, even more so.

That said, you are an M43 user. Surely there is a small body and lens combo you can add for pretty cheap.

 

[boojum]

the iPhone is about as good a camera as you're going to find.

Widen your search.

 

[Pioneer]

I am not much for digital though I do use them occasionally. Unfortunately my favorites come and go, sometimes pretty quickly. Right now and for about the last year, my favorite has been the Pentax Q7, primarily because of the size. It is an absolute dream to pack around airports and on the road.

If I keep the lens aperture at f4 or lower and the ISO at 400 or lower I avoid the diffraction limits and get some pretty amazing images that clean up very, very nicely. I rarely ever print larger than 16x20. However if you are a bokeh fanatic then this probably isn't the kit for you. Not that it is bad, just not a whole lot of it.

 

[Pioneer]

Widen your search.

I agree. Digital is not something I normally choose, and I know that I'm an old fart, but there is soooo much more to the digital landscape than a phone.

 

[boojum]

Digital camera (menu) complexity. OK, this is like saying cars are too complicated. Some are, some are not. I have a Sony A7 which has a rats nest menu system. Or I can just set it to full auto and blaze away. So even the complex ones have simple options. As this is RFF there are a lot of RF shooters here. They are usually simple. I have some. I set it to aperture priority, select f-stop, focus, press shutter button. One step more complex than a simple point and shoot. Yeah, you can always get pretty good pics with an iPhone. And if you are satisfied with "pretty good" stick with the iPhone. But I think if you shoot a real camera alongside an iPhone you will see the difference. I have seen way too many iPhone shots with great colors, for postcards. I see some shot around my town by tourists. They will wow the folks back home, for sure. But they are usually not an accurate picture of what was before them. As always, YMMV.

 

[JohnGellings]

Widen your search.

That's not fair...he said a lot more than that and you attributed the quote to the wrong person.

 

[JohnGellings]

I don't have one but.....seems like a Sony E mount in the 6000 series. Should be able to purchase pretty inexpensive. good lenses. Small and capable.

They are menu heavy though... Sony cameras are the exact opposite of what he is asking for.