How to choose travel-friendly cameras?

September 16, 2019

One of the essential attributes for active travel enthusiasts is a camera, which, along with taking good pictures, should not compromise comfort and should also be as compact and convenient as possible.

As mentioned above, many people love to take amazing photos while traveling, as they can be the bearer of important stories and adventures. However, many are not aware of which camera they want to buy and at what price .

So, in this article, I want to highlight some of the specifics that we should look for when choosing a camera.

During our travels, we meet a lot of people who spend thousands of dollars on gadgets, albeit completely unwisely.

For most people, there is a perception that the more expensive a camera is, the better photos it takes, but they forget the details that are essential when purchasing a camera that is tailored to us.

There are many good cameras available today, albeit with different specifications and purposes, which, of course, requires appropriate knowledge and education.

For this reason, it's important not to spend money on camera features that you simply won't use. That's why we'll talk below about the details you should consider to get started.

Sensor Size - This may sound confusing at first glance, but sensor size is very important. You may have heard the terms Full Frame or Cropped Sensor.

The so-called full frame, or Full Frame, is a 35 mm sensor, which is identical to the area of the frame of an old film camera. In short, the sensor size is 35 mm x 24 mm.

As for the Cropped Sensor, it is smaller in size. Its most popular size is 1.5. In short, the size of this sensor is 23.5 mm x 15.6 mm.

Why is this important?

If you buy a 20mm lens and put it on a camera with a 1.5x cropped sensor, that lens will have the same field of view as a 30mm lens on a full frame camera. If you really want to shoot wide angle, you should buy a lens for your sensor type.

However, in my opinion, all this is not really important for beginners, it is simply important for you to buy a lens that is exactly compatible with your sensor.

As a tip, we can tell you that a cropped sensor may be more convenient for you as a beginner, and it is also much cheaper. As for the full frame, it is mostly used by professional photographers and its price is accordingly much higher.

Pixels - Nowadays, when buying a camera, people attach the most importance to its pixel count. Let me explain why it's not as important as you think.

A pixel is the number of tiny dots that are created when light hits your camera's sensor. 1 megapixel has one million pixels.

Nowadays, it's hard to find a new camera with less than 12 megapixels.

If you don't plan to sell the photos you take at auction, then this number should be less important to you.

A 12-megapixel camera should be enough for beginner photographers and travelers, as a 12-megapixel image will print in really good quality, up to about 14 x 9 inches or 38 x 23 cm.

And, if you only plan to post photos online, your images will be viewed on social media at a much smaller size than they will actually be printed.

ISO - In short, ISO is the sensitivity level of your camera's sensor. The higher the number, the more sensitive the sensor is, meaning less light is needed to take a photo, and vice versa.

If your camera starts at ISO 100 or lower and goes up to ISO 6400, then this is a really good range. This will allow you to take photos at any time of day - day or night. At night, it is better to use ISO no lower than 800, and during the day, use about 100 to 200.

RAW or JPEG - which format is better?

If a photo is taken in RAW format, your camera simply takes the information from the light that hits your sensor and converts it into a photo without changing any of the information.

This means that the file size will be large, but it will contain much more information.

And if you take a photo in JPEG format, your camera takes this information unchanged from the light that hits your sensor and converts it into a photo.

However, unlike the RAW format, this time unwanted information is reduced, which means that, in direct proportion, the file size will also be much smaller.

What is the difference between them?

The difference is that when you take a photo in JPEG format, your camera processes the image to its maximum capabilities, based on its internal programs. This can change things in the photo like saturation, shadows, and more.

In simple terms, it edits the photo, i.e. removes information that is less necessary, and in the end you get the finished image.

With RAW format, you capture a photo with all the information intact, so you can later edit the photo however you want.

Of course, you can also process a JPEG photo, but not enough to maintain maximum quality. As for the RAW format, information such as color correction, brightness, white balance, and more is preserved.

In conclusion, we can say that if you do not plan to edit your photos, then it is better for you to shoot in JPEG format, and if you want to edit the photo you have taken, then the RAW format is ideal for you.

However, don't forget that you can't upload a photo to social media until you convert it to JPEG format. This is easy to do using Lightroom.

After you've reviewed the information above, it's now time to make the big choice between a classic DSLR and a mirrorless camera.

A DSLR camera uses a mirror to project the view as much as possible. When you take a photo, the mirror flips up and light hits the sensor.

For a long time, the DSLR camera was the best, but soon a competitor appeared on the market in the form of a mirrorless camera.

As for the mirrorless camera, its field of view is electronically projected onto the LCD screen. Since there is no mirror required, these cameras are much smaller and lighter.

In fact, any camera that doesn't have a mirror is referred to as a mirrorless camera, including your smartphones.

Finally, as a recommendation, we can say that for a traveler who is not a professional photographer , a mirrorless camera will be much more comfortable and convenient than a DSLR.

** The blog post is in test mode, we look forward to your feedback.

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