Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020

Right camera for my travel needs

Interest forums / Travel Tech

Hi

I've decided I want a new camera before I go away in a month, and to be honest feel a bit bewildered by all the choice out there. Any recommendations would be much appreciated.

I want a compact, not an SLR. I'll be doing a lot of hiking on this specific trip (and walk lots on any holiday), so want something small and lightweight that I can carry round on a wrist-strap and put in my pocket.

I'm going to the national parks of Utah, so want a camera that will be good at picking up the colours and hues of the deserts, canyons, rock formations, etc, along with (I'm hoping) some spectacular sunrises and sunsets. Although I'll want to get a few years' use out of it, so it needs to be versatile enough that it will be suitable for city sightseeing on future trips.

My current camera takes xD memory, and I have 2.5GB worth - so something that takes that type of memory (do new cameras still take it? Most seem to be SD) would be a bonus, although I guess memory isn't that expensive so it's not essential.

I wouldn't want to spend more than about £150 (€180, $300) - if something could meet my needs for less then all the better...

Thanks

KM

Not many cameras use xD anymore. You can buy 32 Gig chips of SD for $30 ...

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Good shout by *1 - joegoozey, regarding the xD card.

I bought this a few months ago (selling it soon).
A superb little camera for the price - with a bucket load of bits....

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1541

http://ugc.olympusamerica.com/7031/228730/reviews.htm

The first link is the company's promotion - the second link is reviews.
The best price here (brand new) in The UK is about £125.
There are cameras around, still retailing at twice it's price - that don't even come close.
Nice looking bitta kit - too.
It's now about 8 months old - so will be discontinued soon, to make way for a newer model.
I've had some utterly outstanding results with it.
Check it out locally before you buy - though.
It might not be for you.
Good luck with everything.

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Thanks both

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I took a Samsung ES78 which was amazing. Took a few of their 8GB SD cards as well. It was well within your budget even with the SD cards. I'm guessing it has been replaced with a newer similar model now but if its anything like the one I took go for it, you may be able to get a slightly better optical zoom (Mine was only x5) for a bit more cash.

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