I took a break of about three months. Well… The vacation was only a month but the months preceding it, were absolutely hectic. Please remember that photography is my hobby and not my daily job!

However, I wanted to return with something useful. Those interested in traveling with a camera will appreciate this material. And who doesn’t travel with one these days?

Traveling with your camera

Traveling is always a way to know the world and gather impressions and memories. Some of them will be in the form of photos taken to remember something or to place you and/or your family in a place you liked. In some cases you may want to take pictures just to show others the world through your eyes. Whatever the goal, most travelers will carry a camera anyways.

What is a good travel camera?

A good travel camera is probably difficult to find: in fact most manufacturers tried for years to deign one that matches all the different requirements of travelers without total success. As expected, users have contradictory expectations hard to meet in one product.

Here is what most travelers would like to see in a travel camera:

• Small size and low weight – preferably to fit in a pocket or small pouch
• Versatile lens – from wide angle to long telephoto
• Fast lens with optical stabilization good for outdoor and indoor photos
• Good optical quality of the lens – no distortions or aberrations
• Usable for static photos (e.g. landscapes) and action photos (e.g. sports) as well
• Usable in strong light or in low light without visible noise and artifacts
• Great resolution to allow large prints and easy cropping
• Long battery life (at least for a full day of shooting)
• Affordable and reliable

Too much to ask? Maybe… Small cameras have small sensors that are less sensitive and produce more noise. Flexible lenses introduce distortions and aberrations. Long zooms reduce the maximum aperture and sharpness. High resolution reduces the speed and response time required for action photos. And the list could continue…

Despite of all these (and others not mentioned here), there are cameras that represent a good compromise for most users. In my recent trip to Europe, I tried such a camera with the intention to find out how far we are from the ideal travel camera everyone would be happy to own.

The candidate for the experiment: Canon PowerShot SX260 HS. Follow me on the next post for more details.