best digital camera for my travels?
 

I want to get a digital camera that can take stills and video but is also reasonably priced. I was hoping the Travel people who take awesome photos could help me out. Thanks. I'm in college so cheaper the better.

Re: best digital camera for my travels?
 

panasonic lumix might be good for you but bigger than those tiny ones. it has 10 or 12x optical zoom and thats great for so many shots. i wouldnt want a small zoom unless i was just taking pictures of people or far away shots of mountains.

Re: best digital camera for my travels?
 

I don't have advice for any specific models, but don't spend too much money. You want a camera you can take out for a night on the town without worrying too much about losing or breaking it. Obviously ignore this if you're a photography buff.

Re: best digital camera for my travels?
 

Check out the Ricoh Caplio R7. 8 mp, 7x optical zoom, and more importantly, a wide angle lens. You'll appreciate the wide angle lens while everone else is backing up 300 feet to get a major landmark to fit in the viewfinder. It's also compact and under $300. I have the R4, and will never buy a travel camera without a wide angle lens again.

Re: best digital camera for my travels?
 

I have the Casio Exilim. It's quite nice and reasonably priced. Rated high at CNET too.

Re: best digital camera for my travels?
 

I would have to agree that having a nice camera matters less than most people think. Take some time to understand whatever camera you get, and take some time to read about photography before your trip.

For eg: if you want to take a picture of something far away and it's not very light outside, flash will usually only hurt your picture (by illuminating objects other than the subject and also by causing the camera's shutter to open too quickly). You should instead turn the flash off and try your very best to anchor the camera against something (like a rock, a wall, jamming it into your face, etc) to ensure it does not shake while the shutter stays open for longer to adjust for the low light.

There are tons of little tricks like that, and they are a cheap, rewarding way to make your pictures turn out much better than they would by shelling out a hundred extra dollars.

Re: best digital camera for my travels?
 

i plan on just buying a good camera phone so i only have to carry one device

Re: best digital camera for my travels?
 

[ QUOTE ]
i plan on just buying a good camera phone so i only have to carry one device

[/ QUOTE ]

Camera phones SUCK, at least in my experience. And I get given a new phone every 4-5 months.

Re: best digital camera for my travels?
 

well sony makes cybershot phones up to 5 mp and so do nokia. these phones are like $500+ so i doubt they suck

Re: best digital camera for my travels?
 

I spent a good while researching on this site prior to purchasing my Canon (which is like 3 years old now).

But it is a pretty detailed site with reviews and stuff.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/