The Best Travel Digital Cameras Comments & Questions (write your own!)

Sure, but I'll need more details first. What is your budget and what are some other important features you are looking for?

The NEX is a great option in the mirrorless category. The Nikon 1 J3 will be more compact for traveling and is also a good option. If you are looking for similar but cheaper, it is not a bad idea to try out the previous models for those like the NEX C3 or F5 or Nikon J1 or J2. Around the same price point for an advanced camera (though not mirorless) is the Sony RX100, which I recently reviewed and found to be very fun to use, high quality and minimal fuss, but no wi-fi.

Try the Nikon 6300 or 6500, they both have image sensors that are good for low light and shoot 3200 ISO and also work well for macro shots.

Any one of these cameras would be great for holidays, but if you are looking at the lower price point, check out the Nikon S6300 or Panasonic ZS20.

Most cameras with location (i.e. GPS) have rechargeable batteries--but they typically hold a charge longer then AAs. If you are willing to give rechargeable batteries a try, check out the Canon Powershot SX260: digitalcamera-hq.com/produc... 

You can't get a good waterproof camera in that price range that also can do zoom and low-light. They are three very different needs. Durable cameras can't zoom, and vice versa, and few non-DSLRs can handle low light very well.

The camera you're looking for really doesn't exist. A good place to start would be something like the Panasonic ZS20 or Canon SX260, but neither has a viewfinder. If you absolutely need a viewfinder you could purchase something like the Nikon P510 (or cheaper L610/310) but they're no longer pocketable. The viewfinders are also electronic rather than optical. He'll need to decide whether portability or a viewfinder are more important.

I'd point you toward our Outdoor camera roundup: digitalcamera-hq.com/round_...  say the Nikon AW100 is the best all-around camera for the price, but the Olympus TG-1 is the best overall.

The Panasonic ZS20 is a good choice as is the Sony HX30v.

The TG-1 is really the way to go with its faster lens, which will be a boon in low light. That would be my choice.

Take a look at Sony's HX10 or HX30. Long zooms and relatively compact with built-in GPS. Low-light quality isn't fantastic, but it's competitive.

I'd point you toward either Sony's HX20v or HX10v, which have 20x and 16x optical zoom, respectively, and differing megapixel counts. Panasonic's ZS20 is also a very good choice.

Check out the Nikon S30, it and the Kodak C135 are the only ones that take AA's.

Unfortunately there really aren't any cameras that go deeper than about 30 feet, certainly not deep enough for diving. If you can stick with the shallower waters, I'd check out the Panasonic T3 or Nikon AW100.

S9100 photo quality is still quite good, it's just that compared to what else is out there, the shots aren't quite as vibrant. Look at the sample photos we've posted in the review and decide if they look good. The SX230's flash is one of the few sore spots on what is otherwise an excellent camera. You'll get used to the flash if it's your only camera.

Those are our two favorite all-in-one travel cameras -- a bunch of other websites agree with us on that one too. Take your pick.

You don't mention whether you're looking for a DSLR, mirrorless camera, or simple point and shoot. For large prints you'll want to stick to mirrorless or DSLRs, but you definitely lose some portability. If sports really are a necessity you'll need to stick with a DSLR. I'd look at the Sony a55. It's relatively small and still shoots 10fps, has 1080p video, and in-body image stabilization. It also shoots panoramas in-camera.

Right, but it's becoming difficult to find compact, AA-powered cameras. We've listed the very few that exist in this roundup. Many extended zoom cameras use them, but those cameras aren't always ideal for traveling because they're too bulky and awkwardly shaped for pockets.

You may not be very happy with the image quality you get from the D10 or any compact cameras. Coming from a DSLR, there's an enormous difference between low-end compacts and even low-end DSLRs. That said, if you're looking for waterproof the Canon D10 or Panasonic TS2 would be great for the beach. Waterproof cases can be very expensive.

What's your budget? If you're going to use it while riding a motorcycle, you'll need a camera that takes a beating. Recommend the Canon D10 if that's the case. As for the blur, that comes from shutter lag. If you pan with the action and prefocus on your subject, and also use the sports scene setting you should be able to cut down the lag by 80%

Hi there -- unfortunately, SLRs are the only cameras that work like SLRs. They're bulky for two reasons. First, the photo sensor is very large. You need a big photo sensor to get really great pictures, no way around that, and the body has to be bigger to accomodate that. Second, there's a pentaprism mirror inside, which allows for very fast autofocusing, much faster than any non-dSLR. Mirrors are big and bulky, and there also needs to be room for the mirror to move out of the way when you want to take a picture.

So there's really no getting around the fact that if you want shots as good as your sister's classmate, you need an SLR.

The best I can suggest for a small camera around $300 with very good image quality (as far as non-dSLRs goes) would be the Canon S95 (or last year's model, the S90). I believe these are both around $350 though, so it might be outside your budget.

Some solid options in your budget: Canon SD4000, Panasonic ZS5/ZS7, Fuji F80EXR. It's not what you're looking for, but it's about the best you can do with your budget restrictions. Good luck.

Both are very good cameras. There is a Mac compatibility issue with the ZS7, not the ZS5 -- its default movie mode records in a format called AVCHD Lite. The quality is roughly the same as run of the mill Motion JPEG (MPEG) videos, but the advantage is that file sizes are significantly smaller.

Older Macs have trouble with AVCHD formats. If you have iLife '09 (or '11), it seems to work fine, but older versions can't do much with it.

The workaround is really easy though -- just record in Motion JPEG mode. The ZS5 only records in motion JPEG, so it's not an issue, and the ZS7 has an option for motion JPEG. It's still high-def video, and as I mentioned the quality is the same as AVCHD Lite, the files are just bigger. But Macs have no problem with motion JPEG. Hope this helps.

Not really sure what you're asking, but if you're talking about fast action, a dSLR is best, much much faster than any point and shoot camera.

Head over to imaging-resource.com and do a side by side comparison of images. Look at sample images above 400 ISO for noise and sharpness breakdown. That'll help you decide pretty quickly.

The Canon SX20 sounds like a good match for you, especially since you need the AA batteries. It has the 20x zoom, HD video, viewfinder, all that good stuff, and takes very good photos for a camera in its class.

Well, point and shoots take time. I haven't seen one that can shoot more than 2 fps. Burst modes allow for three shots back to back. That's probably your best bet. But if you want a fast shooting camera, a DSLR is your best bet. It has no shutter lag, writes much faster, has faster lens and shutter settings, and continuous shooting options. But you don't want the bulk. Take a look at the Olympus PEN E-PL1 Micro 4/3s camera. It gives you the benefit of DSLR style lenses with the compactness of a point and shoot.

Not sure...it's satellite based, I'd assume that it works in India, can't say for sure though. You might want to email Panasonic support for that question.

Yes it can, through the menu.

Some good choices. Frankly, I'm fine with any of them. But I like the G11 because it's way more compact than the other two.

The extra zoom is impressive, and the picture quality will be better than the FH20 (but not as good as a dSLR). The only issue I have with bigger cameras, like the FZ35, for traveling, is that they can be a bit awkward to carry around all day. But if you don't mind having it hanging from your neck (it's not really that heavy), then you will appreciate the extra zoom. Has a viewfinder, and manual controls as well.

All lenses are optical. If you're talking about zoom, all the specs listed here are optical zoom. Not trying to be rude, I just don't understand the question.

Look at the Panasonic ZS7.

Canon's D10, or the Olympus Stylus Tough (SW) line can take a licking. Waterproof up to 10 feet, shock proof up to 5 ft. That's pretty good. Between 3x-4x for both. Not bad considering.

Try out a "consumer" dSLR to get started. Something like the Nikon D90 or Canon Digital Rebel 550D/T2i. You can get a kit (including the lens) for about $900-$1000. Not quite "pro" cameras, but good enough to get you started.