Camera for wife's trip to Nepal

James Blonde

James Blonde

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Strange ask maybe... My wife is off on a 2 week guided trip to Nepal and I'd like to get her a half decent but fairly compact camera. Oh, and easy to use - she's not tech savvy or photography savvy in any way, but would like something that would allow her to grow at least a bit if she decides she wants to.

She isn't interested in taking my D810 or D7100 as they're too big and too complicated, and actually I sense a DSLR of any kind would be the same. Would have loved it to have had some degree of compatibility with my Nikon gear, but honestly can't see how without it being either too big or too complicated for her. Also, would be a bit iffy about her having something potentially better than mines!

Having not touched a 4/3 or CSC type, I don't know if they're just the same relative complexity (for a beginner) of a DSLR in a smaller form factor? Or if some are more beginner friendly?

And as for compacts - I guess the main benefit here over her phone is a zoom lens, but any stand out cameras?

Budget... Hmm... Up to £400? There is flexibility in the upper end of that budget if there is something really stand out but equally if there is something for £200 that'll do the job, I'll take it!

I'd maybe also be more interested if there was something that might be better than a current top end smart phone for vlogging...
 
Hate to say it but maybe put the cash towards upgrading the phone to an iPhone 11 or Samsung Note 10+ ? Probably more than adequate, less to carry, easy to use and kills two birds with one stone ?
 
Sony RX100? Compact with an APS-C sensor. Mine was under £400 from the big river.
 
Get her a few extra batteries
 
imattersuk said:
Hate to say it but maybe put the cash towards upgrading the phone to an iPhone 11 or Samsung Note 10+ ? Probably more than adequate, less to carry, easy to use and kills two birds with one stone ?
Click to expand...

I'd maybe have considered a phone upgrade, but she hates mobile phones. Only reason she's got one is cos work gave her one (just "upgraded" to an iPhone SE) - she's never used the one I gave her a couple of years back.

I'll have a look at the RX100 and see what it offers...
 
James Blonde said:
I'd maybe have considered a phone upgrade, but she hates mobile phones. Only reason she's got one is cos work gave her one (just "upgraded" to an iPhone SE) - she's never used the one I gave her a couple of years back.

I'll have a look at the RX100 and see what it offers...
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If you get a chance, go and have a play with one. I went to Jessops and tried one and liked. I was lucky that Amazon had the M3 on offer and with an additional £100 cashback it cost me £279. You will have to buy additional batteries, but third party ones are okay.
 
Panasonic LX100 second hand (check no dust on sensor first). Great to learn, choose aspect ratio of photo on a switch. Fast aperture of f1.7 on the wide hand. Larger sensor that RX100 mean a bit more bokeh. Very good little camera.

PS:
RX100 has a 1" sensor not an APS-C crop sensor
Lumix LX100 has a 4/3 MFT sensor but only use a part of it but still a lot more that 1"
APS-C is much bigger sensor
 
Another recommendation for a 1" sensor compact.

I have a Panasonic TZ100 which has something like a 24-250mm zoom. Something like that is small but will give better image quality than a phone and is still recognisably a camera with a VF (evf.)
 
M4/3 like DSLRs can be complex, but also like DSLRs do have full auto mode, ie point and shoot. Something like an Olympus EM10 with 14-42mm pancake lens would be small and light, and should give better IQ than a phone. In terms of compact cameras, any of the 1" type (Sony RX100's, Canon G7x or Panasonic TZ100) should also give noticeably better IQ than a phone, but are still small and compact.
 
I've been to Nepal - an amazing and beautiful country.

Can I just check, is she going hiking in the Himalayas, white water rafting, towns, looking for Tigers \ Rhinos or a some of these? This will effect you choice of camera you want in terms of focal range, and possibly durability.
 
James Blonde said:
Strange ask maybe... My wife is off on a 2 week guided trip to Nepal and I'd like to get her a half decent but fairly compact camera. Oh, and easy to use - she's not tech savvy or photography savvy in any way, but would like something that would allow her to grow at least a bit if she decides she wants to.

She isn't interested in taking my D810 or D7100 as they're too big and too complicated, and actually I sense a DSLR of any kind would be the same. Would have loved it to have had some degree of compatibility with my Nikon gear, but honestly can't see how without it being either too big or too complicated for her. Also, would be a bit iffy about her having something potentially better than mines!

Having not touched a 4/3 or CSC type, I don't know if they're just the same relative complexity (for a beginner) of a DSLR in a smaller form factor? Or if some are more beginner friendly?

And as for compacts - I guess the main benefit here over her phone is a zoom lens, but any stand out cameras?

Budget... Hmm... Up to £400? There is flexibility in the upper end of that budget if there is something really stand out but equally if there is something for £200 that'll do the job, I'll take it!

I'd maybe also be more interested if there was something that might be better than a current top end smart phone for vlogging...
Click to expand...
What does she take photos with currently? My impression from ‘hates mobile phones’ is that she doesn’t take photos at all so I don’t see how she is going to start now unless she has expressed an interest, which you don’t say.
 
akr said:
I've been to Nepal - an amazing and beautiful country.

Can I just check, is she going hiking in the Himalayas, white water rafting, towns, looking for Tigers \ Rhinos or a some of these? This will effect you choice of camera you want in terms of focal range, and possibly durability.
Click to expand...

It's a guided trip - not hiking (or a lot of hiking) so I suspect she's not having to carry a pack for any length of time.

sphexx said:
What does she take photos with currently? My impression from ‘hates mobile phones’ is that she doesn’t take photos at all so I don’t see how she is going to start now unless she has expressed an interest, which you don’t say.
Click to expand...

She uses her work phone (on the basis that she has to have it, she might as well use the features) but if she didn't have a work phone, she wouldn't have one at all I suspect. She has asked for advice on a camera, and has used my ancient TZ10 in the past, but it's well dead now. So she will use it, I'm sure of that!

I'll have a look at those other options. If the tz100 is an evolution of the TZ10, it might be the better option for her. Someone else had mentioned the Olympus with the pancake lens - I personally like the idea of that, as it might offer a bit more growth potential, but might just be too complicated, too much, and she may not be interested in adding lenses later. Will check her views on that...
 
My wife bought a Sony X100 [quite a recent one] but and she says "it's fabulous" and, having seen some of the images, I am pondering getting one myself. :)
 
I have a Canon Powershot which takes brilliant photos. Something like that may suit your wife - small enough to pop in your bag, robust, and if it goes missing or gets damaged it is not too big a deal. And it comes in red!! Point and shoot, no stress, and with an excellent zoom. My friend borrowed it to go to Mexico as she didn't want to take her DSLR and took some fantastic photos. Hasn't gotten much use in the last few years since I got my DSLR which is a shame.
 
I've been toying with the idea of getting a waterproof camera ... for "street" in the rain!

James Blonde said:
Oh, and easy to use - she's not tech savvy or photography savvy in any way,
Click to expand...

Ms d00d's the same.

So what I'd do is take her to a nice shop like Selfridges (not my backstreet cameraman) and show her the options: RX100, TZ100, etc., then I'd show her the colourful waterproof models: Oli Tough etc. ... take it from there. If she's only interested in point & shoot, then so be it, and she may want a red, green or yellow camera from the waterproof dept.

.... and I'd have something for "street" in the rain! :cool::p
 
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