Photo/Travel Blog by Tom Dempsey – What's New

For travellers, I suggest a camera which is compact, lightweight, high-quality and digital (not film). I have researched far and wide, and share my conclusions in my “Table of Best Travel Cameras”. From these I have picked my own equipment to photograph my portfolio shown on photoseek.com.

Image above right: Small digital cameras such as the shirt-pocket-sized Canon SD700 IS can capture great macro shots like this image of a Glacier Lily, in Washington.      The Canon SD700 IS was upgraded to the Canon SD850 IS (and wide angle sibling SD870 IS). For the same size and weight, you can capture even better quality images from the inexpensive Fujifilm FinePix”F series”: F31fd, F50fd, or F100fd.

Best camera reviewers

• Table of Best Travel Cameras = lists what I consider as the best lightweight cameras for travel (with detailed specifications).
• dpreview.com = is my favorite camera review site. Camera features are described in excruciating detail and compared to selected contemporary cameras. For the best summary, read the “Conclusion” on the last page of the Review for each camera, and look for a “Highly Recommended” rating.
• imaging-resource.com = conveniently compares image quality of two cameras side by side, using 100% pixel view of identical images, one of the best ways to distinguish between cameras. All camera features are described.
• steves-digicams.com = lists “best cameras” by type. All camera features are described.
• dcresource.com = compares competing cameras by battery life, camera bulk/volume, and weight. All camera features are described.
• Consumer Reports (CR) magazine gives concise, well organized reviews of consumer digital cameras, from compact to SLR (but online version requires a fee). For example, in the July 2007 printed edition, the camera tables list relative ratings for the most important camera features: “Picture Quality”, battery life, shutter lag, next shot delay, and price. The tables list which cameras support the following often-desireable features: image stabilization; zoom starting at 28mm wide angle; manual controls; and AA size batteries. Your local library may carry this respected independent magazine that accepts no advertising. Regular updates.

Best Camera Sellers

• B&H Photo (link supports Tom’s photography) = offers excellent camera prices and reliable service, with a huge inventory, with no sales tax if you live outside of New York state.

An Overview of Available Camera Styles

Below, I survey most camera types, starting with best image quality at #1 and ending with most compact camera at #5. Despite the ability of bigger cameras (#1 and #2) to make larger sharper prints, most consumers will be satisfied with 12-inch prints from small cameras (#4 or #5). As an active outdoor photographer who wants big print quality for a reasonable price, I use a DSLR style camera with lightweight body, #3.

Image above right by Carol Dempsey, using the shirt-pocket-sized Canon SD700 IS: This demon is at the bottom of a gilded chedi (or stupa), at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew), which is a shining complex of buildings within the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand.

1. Professional Medium & Large Format cameras:  capture the best quality images; but are very expensive and heavy, with slower workflow.
   • Advantages: At poster size (larger than 24 inches, or 61 centimeters), the prints can be noticeably sharper than from the smaller camera types (#2-5 below). “Medium format” digital cameras capture at least twice the light area as digital “full-frame sensor” SLR cameras (#2).
   • Disadvantages: The massive equipment, including a heavy tripod, is difficult to carry on the trail away from a car. Medium/large format film costs dearly to develop and scan. And you will only notice a quality difference versus DSLR style cameras (#2-3 below) when examining the print closer than its longer dimension. You can also skip the film and mount an digital back on your medium or large format camera for quicker workflow, but at great expense. These highly specialized cameras cannot capture movies or record sound.
2. Full-frame sensor DSLR cameras:  capture excellent quality images with fast workflow; but are very expensive and bulky.
   • “SLR” style cameras have a moveable mirror letting the viewfinder see through the lens. The following are excellent Digital SLR (DSLR) cameras:
     • Nikon D3 (FX format)
     • Canon EOS 5D, or pricier Canon EOS 1D.
     • In place of a digital sensor, older SLR cameras used 35mm film, which I no longer recommend for travel.
   • Advantages: DSLR work flow and feedback are much quicker than for film cameras. Full frame sensors measure about 36 x 24 mm), and gather light in twice the area of APS-C size sensors (below).
   • Disadvantages: This very expensive camera with lens will easily exceed 64 ounces (or 1.8 kilograms) — a heavy commitment to quality. The full frame sensor requires much bigger, heavier & more expensive lenses, versus smaller APS-C cameras (#3 below). DSLR cameras do not capture movies or record sound.
3. APS-C size sensor DSLR cameras:   take great quality images using lighter weight bodies and faster workflow.
   • As of April 2008, the best value, lightweight DSLR cameras are:
     • Nikon D60 (or earlier Nikon D40X), and
     • Canon EOS 450D / Rebel XSi (or earlier 400D/XTi).
   • Advantages: These DSLR systems are a great value for travel, backpacking and general use. They can make great poster sized prints that impress most people (see “maximum print size discussion“). A DSLR with an APS-C sized sensor (about 22 x 15 mm) costs less, and supports lighter-weight lenses “designed for digital”, with image stabilization (such as Nikon/Nikkor DX lenses with VR vibration reduction; Canon EF-S lenses with IS image stabilization; or Sigma DC lenses with OS Optical Stabilization).
     • Image stabilization has greatly reduced my tripod use, and jump-started my creativity. My Nikon D40X DSLR system (38 ounces including good 18-200 mm VR lens) captures better quality images than my former Nikon N70 camera system shooting excellent 35-mm Fujichrome Velvia 50 film.
   • Disadvantages: DSLR cameras do not capture movies or record sound. Most consumers consider the above DSLR style cameras as too large and expensive (despite their gain in focus speed and low light performance), and prefer smaller cameras, below. 
4. Non-SLR style cameras:  take very good images, from bodies cheaper and smaller than DSLR cameras; but usually focus slower, and perform worse in low light.
   • The best non-SLR: 
     • Fujifilm FinePix S100FS camera (new 2/2008) is much cheaper than a DSLR and offers an “all-in-one solution” weighing 34 ounces, with 28-400mm equivalent 14x zoom, with lens-shift image stabilization (improving handheld shooting in 1.3 stops dimmer light); 1 cm focus Super Macro; flip down 2.5 inch LCD; RAW mode; and excellent 2/3-inch Super CCD HR sensor. You can correct its bad chromatic aberrations using third-party software on the RAW files. Otherwise the camera offers impressively sharp images, surprisingly similar up to ISO 800 compared with the Nikon D60 or Canon Rebel XSi DSLR.
   • Advantages: Non-SLR cameras offer a compact, all-in-one photography solution. They can make respectable 18 inch or smaller prints, can capture movies and nice macro shots, and display a live view on the LCD.
   • The “best” 18x superzoom camera: 
     • In compact cameras, an “18x optical zoom” can hurt image quality throughout the zoom versus cameras having smaller zoom ranges such as 12x or 6x.
     • That being said, the Panasonic FZ18 (28-504 mm lens with IS [Image Stabilization]; 15 ounces) is the best 18x superzoom compact camera as of March 2008. The Panasonic FZ18 beats the competing Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd (27-486 mm IS lens; 18 ounces), which in turn beats the Olympus SP-560UZ. Unfortunately, all of these 18x zoom cameras sacrifice quality throughout the zoom range, versus a 6x to 12x zoom camera…
     • Instead of an 18x zoom, consider the 13-ounce Panasonic FZ8, which offers a great value 12x IS zoom lens. The Panasonic FZ8 is not only physically smaller and cheaper than the 18x superzoom cameras, but captures better image quality. Simply crop images to somewhat extend the telephoto range.
     • Also consider the 13-ounce Canon Powershot G9, which has a shorter zoom of 6x with IS, and costs more, but captures significantly better image quality than the Panasonic FZ8, mostly due to a larger sensor. Small cameras generally must trade off image quality to pack a bigger zoom into a given small box. The 13-ounce Canon Powershot G9 wins the quality sweet spot, versus any 6x (or greater) zoom IS camera of up to 18 ounces.
5. Small cameras from 7 to 13 ounces, fitting into your pocket or purse:  take surprisingly good quality still images, movies and macro.
   • If you can afford the best 13-ounce camera, get the Canon Powershot G9, which can fit in a large pocket; has a 6x zoom with IS, 35-210mm equivalent; RAW mode; good 1/1.7″ CCD sensor. 
     • Or, to save some money, consider the similar quality 13-ounce Canon A650 IS (which adds a handy flip-out LCD; has the same 1/1.7″ sensor & 6x zoom to capture the same JPG quality; but lacks RAW mode).
   • For best absolute image quality in a subcompact size, try the inexpensive 7-ounce Fujifilm FinePix F series: the FinePix F100fd (new 1/2008) has a stabilized 5x zoom 28-140mm “equivalent”; 5 centimeter macro; great 1/1.6-inch Super CCD HR sensor; new wide dynamic range; and image quality rivalling the larger Canon G9.
     • Or consider the earlier Fujifilm FinePix F50fd (with 35-105mm “equivalent” zoom and 1/1.6″ sensor; with image stabilization; equals image quality of Canon G9), or the equally good F31fd earlier version (without stabilization), which rivals the image quality of the larger Canon G7 at a much lower price.
   • For another good price value at 7-ounces, consider the Canon Powershot A720 IS, or earlier A710 IS.
   • For a slimmer camera, also in the 7-ounce class (with slightly lower quality images), consider the Canon Powershot SD850 IS (35-140mm “equivalent” zoom). Or if you want a wider angle zoom, with a 28-105mm “equivalent”, try the sibling camera Canon Powershot SD870 IS (review) or the earlier SD800 IS. 
   • In summary, the best tiny cameras (from 7 to 13 ounces) are in the Fujifilm FinePix F series; or in the Canon Powershot series with Image Stabilization (IS). Also consider any camera reviewed as “Highly Recommended” on www.dpreview.com.