Camera for holiday, suggestions please

daygo30

daygo30

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Daryl
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I have a D700 with a 35mm 1.8 and 85mm 1.4 primes and in August I have my first family holiday abroad to Spain with my two little ones (8 and 5) and my wife. I have travelled with the D700 when I am on my own and it is fine, but with a holiday with the kids, swimming pools and sand etc it will be hard to juggle the size/weight of the 700 and primes, even if I just took the 35mm plus I would be worried about it getting lost.

I will be looking for a used camera that is lightweight and offers good IQ for approx £300, if that is possible I don't know and will leave it to you lovely lot to tell me and recommend as required. Video would be an added bonus. Zoom is not important as I am used to working with primes.

It is going to hurt leaving the D700 at home as I love it and the images it produces are stunning and capturing their first holiday is important to me.

Here are a few that I am thinking of, please add to the list:

Fuji X100
Sony RX100
Nikon J1

I know it is not small, but I was thinking of a D5100 as they are quite cheap and I could borrow a 35mm 1.8 from a friend. The video could be hand with this option.

The missus is very reluctant me spending £300 on a camera just for holiday but I may just sell it when I return if the cost is an issue. I originally suggested the J1 which is like £100 and she was OK with that but I don't know why but I am not convinced. Good quality images are important to me and I don't mind spending a bit more, if it is going to be worth the extra.

(I did put up a recent post a couple of months ago but it was mainly aimed at the Nikon J1 but still in two minds).

Looking forward to your feedback, any sample images would be great too. Thanks in advance.
 
I'd suggest the RX100ii. I have one for the same purpose as you. Great images, very good video for around the pool etc. Can go auto if you need the kids / wife to use it. The zoom can be useful on holiday too. I've got an x100s but that's not so user friendly for anyone else and the video is hopeless. I take both but the rx100 is the family holiday cam.
 
Thanks for the post Steve, I will have to look into the costs etc, I notice that John Lewis still sell the Mark 1 for £250, is there a big difference between that and the Mark 2?
 
I bought a Canon sx 520 HS for carrying around at work.
I'm more than happy with it, the low light capability is pretty damned good too,
Although that may not interest you if its for holidays.
I paid near £200 for it a few months ago, seems the price has drop a tad too.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00M92TPL2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s02
Scroll down the page and you get a bit of a write up too.
The only thing I've noticed is the Reds / magenta's seem a bit saturated but that's easily tweak-able.

Taken inside a museum no flash


Bombe by Chris, on Flickr


I don't tend to take pictures of kids ( people get upset :D )

but next best thing
about half the zoom capability

View attachment 42136

Full stretch on the zoom its equivalent to something stupid., around the 1200mm mark IIRC

View attachment 42137
 
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Jon, that link is perfect, I feel bad posting a new thread now lol, will follow that with a close eye.

Cobra, thanks for the info, I will do some research on the Canon too.
 
Going to pick up a mk1 rx100 from Curry's tomorrow, very impressed with user reviews so far, will post an update when I have used it for a while. The Sony £30 cash back is a nice little sweetener ;-)
 
I've got a Nikon D3 and D700. I've also got wear in my neck from carrying this stuff around. I went to Norway recently on a cruise and took the plunge to buy something that I carry around easily. I bought a Nikon P7800 and have to say that the images produced are shockingly good, well only in my opinion lol. Easy to carry and no neck pain.
 
Thanks for all of the comments, I ended up getting an X100S, I will update thread after the holiday and let you all know how it performed.
 
So here is the update, just returned from a week in Majorca with the family, the X100s performed really well and glad I purchased it. There were a few occassions where I missed my D700 but I didn't miss the weight/bulk of it that's for sure.

Here are a few pics:

X1002028 by Daryl Ellison, on Flickr

X1002029 by Daryl Ellison, on Flickr

X1002057 by Daryl Ellison, on Flickr

X1002061 by Daryl Ellison, on Flickr

X1002068 by Daryl Ellison, on Flickr

X1002384 by Daryl Ellison, on Flickr

X1002595 by Daryl Ellison, on Flickr

X1002616 by Daryl Ellison, on Flickr
 
the rx-100 mk1 is a fine camera and i think due to size less intrusive on a family holiday, and as you say its the 1st one away with the little ones this is a huge plus I think. just shove in pocket and forget till needed. o and enjoy the holiday:D
 
niko said:
the rx-100 mk1 is a fine camera and i think due to size less intrusive on a family holiday, and as you say its the 1st one away with the little ones this is a huge plus I think. just shove in pocket and forget till needed. o and enjoy the holiday:D
Click to expand...

I did prefer the size of the Sony but only went for the Fuji due to the deal I got and not regretting it at all, the video quality also impressed me.
 
fuji do make some lovely useable cameras, i like the fact that they still update firmware and add new features to there older cameras as well-very good customer support it seems
 
It is my first Fuji and really pleased so far, need to have a think about all of my kit though...
 
My 'main' camera is a D800 (previously owned the D700) and I bought the RX100 M3 precisely to have a lightweight compact that would (almost) always be with me. Very impressed with it so far (don't have it very long) but at times it seems almost too small - I miss the grip of something a bit bigger...

I had it at my son's wedding last week, and I'm very impressed with how it performed - a lot of the shots were taken on one of the auto modes, but it also allowed me to experiment in AP and manual modes. And it fitted in my pocket...

11951911_10205039595982042_3228786536430336659_n.jpg
 
Nice capture, it fitting into your pocket is a huge bonus, sometimes it is nice to travel light and not have to worry too much about your gear
 
daygo30 said:
Nice capture, it fitting into your pocket is a huge bonus, sometimes it is nice to travel light and not have to worry too much about your gear
Click to expand...
you've nailed it with that comment. 99% of the time I am traveling and taking photos not the other way round, as much as i love high end dslr kit it can be a liability to carry
 
It sure can be a pain, it can also put a downer on the day, I remember taking the kids to the zoo with my D700 and 70-200mm, I don't remember half the day, was more worried about my kit and forget the main purpose of the day, taking the kids to the zoo and having fun lol.

I hated the thought of leaving my 700 at home for our first family holiday so had to be sure that what I did take had to be the best quality for its size/weight and looking back at the holiday pics I am really pleased I went with the fuji and only missed my DSLR on a handful of occassions but did not miss the size/weight one little bit.
 
well said, and good on you, striking that balance between recording a moment and missing it because of trying to record it! isn't always easy.
 
Exactly, a tough balance. This is one reason I sold all my big lenses and went to primes on my 700 to simplify what I had, then the Fuji simplifies it even further.

On another thread I was told about the following bag that I may invest in, The BlackRapid SnapR 35, I currently have a Manfrotto Nano which is OK but a bit fiddly, I think the BlackRapid looks ideal.
 
Tbh I find the best bag is find one for edc use and bung the camera in there, in a side pocket or if in the main bit in a simple slip. If I carry a dedicated cam bag I carry to much, unless it's a trip just to take pics. I did try a snapr35 a while back but found just a normal bag to put other everyday stuff in as well far more use
 
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