Good digital camera to capture Alaska's beauty

Is this possible without breaking the bank? I'm hoping to get a smallish camera with good optical zoom within $500, preferably without proprietary batteries, and maybe even splash-proof for those rainy days. I know our GoPro and cell phones won't cut it for close up pictures of flora & fauna.

This will be our first trip out on a cruise-tour (via HAL).

Nevermind, I just searched the forum for camera info and found some threads I should read about this!!!

I have been reading & researching "point & shoot" digital cameras that is pocket size. Not an easy choice.

Hope you will come back & post what you chose & why [emoji6]

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Did you look at Canon SX 720 (40X)?

Did you look at Canon SX 720 (40X)?

That Canon was what I was going to suggest. Nice pocket size camera.

I have a Nikon CoolPix L830 that isn't reliably clear in auto mode. And I'm no pro with manual settings. It has 34x optical zoom and is 16MP. I stopped using it due to randomly blurry pictures, more than I experienced with other cameras. I get more clear pictures with my 12MP iphone though no zoom.

The Canon XS720 looks great in reviews and is smaller! I'm going to give that one serious thought. Thanks!!!

I bought the Canon 720 a few months ago for this very purpose. (We’re going in August.). Am very pleased with its performance!

I bought a Nikon D3200 specifically for our first cruise to Alaska. Less than $500. I only use it when we go on vacation but it takes stunning photos. I’m not a photography expert, but the photos that this camera takes me look like one.

I usually create photo albums for every cruise we take. When friends come over, they always ask to see them. They always comment how amazing the photos are.

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I bought the Canon SX270 HS in May for my Alaska trip in July. I enjoyed it. I guess the only real drawback is that it seems to go through batteries fairly quickly. Some days I was on my third battery at the end of the day. It wasn't easy finding extra batteries to buy. I did find them at Nebraska Furniture Mart. I took about 2500 pictures over 2 weeks.

I also enjoyed my previous Canon point and shoot but the 720 has more zoom, etc.

My advice is to buy a camera early enough that you can have some time to practice with it in different situations.

Enjoy Alaska!

Patti

I imagine most good cameras drain batteries in the process of taking great photos, so I'll definitely pack extras. And that's one reason why I want to get one that takes common size rather than proprietary batteries.

Question from a novice: on a camera like the Nikon D3200 or D3400 where the optical zoom isn't spelled out like 40x etc., how do I figure out the zoom power? Things are expressed in mm range so I don't know how to compare D3400 vs SX720 for example.

I bought the Canon SX270 HS in May for my Alaska trip in July. I enjoyed it. I guess the only real drawback is that it seems to go through batteries fairly quickly. Some days I was on my third battery at the end of the day. It wasn't easy finding extra batteries to buy. I did find them at Nebraska Furniture Mart. I took about 2500 pictures over 2 weeks.

 

I also enjoyed my previous Canon point and shoot but the 720 has more zoom, etc.

 

My advice is to buy a camera early enough that you can have some time to practice with it in different situations.

 

Enjoy Alaska!

 

Patti

Did you try Amazon. I found 3 suppliers in 5 minutes on Amazon. .

DON

Glad you found the photo board. Lots of knowledgeable people on that board with respect to cameras.

Keith

I imagine most good cameras drain batteries in the process of taking great photos' date=' so I'll definitely pack extras. And that's one reason why I want to get one that takes common size rather than proprietary batteries.

Question from a novice: on a camera like the Nikon D3200 or D3400 where the optical zoom isn't spelled out like 40x etc., how do I figure out the zoom power? Things are expressed in mm range so I don't know how to compare D3400 vs SX720 for example.[/quote']

 

Since cameras like the Nikon D3200 & D3400 have changeable lenses they don't typically quote an "X" number in the magnification - because of the fact one can use many different zoom lenses. Cameras like the SX720 have a non-changeable, fixed range lens so it's easy to give the 40X zoom magnification number. If you want to figure out what the "X" number is on a changeable zoom lens divide the large number by the small in the millimeters quoted. A lens that is listed as 18-200mm would have a magnification of 11.1X. That doesn't sound like much magnification but it's actually quite a bit. A 70-300mm zoom would only have 4.3X magnification. Going back to the SX720, it's millimeter range is 4.3-172mm zoom or 40X. That would be equal to a 24-960mm lens on a film SLR - if you want to understand the difference in the two different zoom ranges on that SX720 look up "crop sensor" for digital cameras.

 

Question from a novice: on a camera like the Nikon D3200 or D3400 where the optical zoom isn't spelled out like 40x etc.' date=' how do I figure out the zoom power? Things are expressed in mm range so I don't know how to compare D3400 vs SX720 for example.[/quote']

 

 

 

The Nikon D3200 comes standard with an 18-55mm lens. You can always purchase other lenses if you feel like you need more. However, I learned that the lens that this camera comes with was more than adequate for the type of photography that I wanted to take on our trip to Alaska. The zoom was good enough to provide great detail when we went to places like Glacier Bay. There were only a handful of times when a stronger zoom would’ve been nice to have (like when spotting wildlife that was far away), but overall I was very satisfied with what this camera delivered for the price.

 

 

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SuperCrewBear, thanks so much for explaining the zoom/lens! I'm going to keep an eye out on the recommended cameras here (thank you all for suggesting some great ones!) as I think about what size I want to carry around. Plan to purchase by spring break, so I have plenty of practice time with it!

SuperCrewBear' date=' thanks so much for explaining the zoom/lens! I'm going to keep an eye out on the recommended cameras here (thank you all for suggesting some great ones!) as I think about what size I want to carry around. Plan to purchase by spring break, so I have plenty of practice time with it![/quote']

 

I forgot to mention my thoughts on the battery situation. Anymore, most all cameras will have a non-standard size battery. You won't find many (any??) of the better cameras that will use regular AA or AAA size batteries. It's not that difficult to find extra batteries though. I typically go to Amazon or Ebay to get extras. You can usually find a bundle of multiple batteries with a charger too. Having an extra charger is not a bad idea at all! Trust me! Ha Ha (I've forgotten a charger at a hotel and am sunk until I can get another charger...) Good luck!

I forgot to mention my thoughts on the battery situation. Anymore, most all cameras will have a non-standard size battery. You won't find many (any??) of the better cameras that will use regular AA or AAA size batteries. It's not that difficult to find extra batteries though. I typically go to Amazon or Ebay to get extras. You can usually find a bundle of multiple batteries with a charger too. Having an extra charger is not a bad idea at all! Trust me! Ha Ha (I've forgotten a charger at a hotel and am sunk until I can get another charger...) Good luck!

Many cameras have 2 ways of charging the batteries.

One way is to remove the batteries from the camera and use an external charger. This lets you keep several batteries charged. I never travel w/o 5 or 6 batteries for each camera that I take.

Most cameras also come w a charging cable that terminates in a USB plug. This lets you plug the camera directly into any USB port. This way, if you forget the charger but remember the cable, you can keep your battery charged.

DON

I did find them at Nebraska Furniture Mart.

Love NFM!

Many cameras have 2 ways of charging the batteries.

 

One way is to remove the batteries from the camera and use an external charger. This lets you keep several batteries charged. I never travel w/o 5 or 6 batteries for each camera that I take.

 

Most cameras also come w a charging cable that terminates in a USB plug. This lets you plug the camera directly into any USB port. This way, if you forget the charger but remember the cable, you can keep your battery charged.

 

DON

THANKS! That had never crossed my mind! COOL! I'll have to give it a try with my cameras. I do have one camera that I only have one charger for but several batteries. I absolutely believe in having multiple batteries - they are especially handy when you're doing a tour where you don't have much access to electricity. I bought a new Ford truck last year and it has two 110v power outlets that are perfect for keeping batteries charged while on the road. Thanks again for the charging hint. :D

I'd also add that megapixels don't really matter - 10mp is enough to make a decently large print, but if your image isn't clear, you're not going to want the large print anyway. 16mp vs. 12mp is a moot debate in my opinion.

I am a Pentax DSLR fan. Lots of good old lens options.

Many cameras have 2 ways of charging the batteries.

 

One way is to remove the batteries from the camera and use an external charger. This lets you keep several batteries charged. I never travel w/o 5 or 6 batteries for each camera that I take.

 

Most cameras also come w a charging cable that terminates in a USB plug. This lets you plug the camera directly into any USB port. This way, if you forget the charger but remember the cable, you can keep your battery charged.

 

DON

You can bring external batteries to charge from as long as the camera has a USB port. Anker makes good ones. I like the 10000 mAh ones which are pretty compact and hold enough charge to keep devices going.

A decent quality USB cord is important too. Some of the cheap or old ones don't allow for quick charging.

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I am a Sony Alpha fan. I have the Alpha 5000, 6000 and full frame Alpha 7 II. I will probably be bringing the 5000 and 6000 with me to Alaska in September. I would like to bring the full frame, but I think I travelling lighter is the better way. I would recommend the Alpha 6000 kit for anybody that has about $800 to spend.

An older camera, but the Panasonic FZ300 is something to consider.

It’s a weatherproof bridge camera with a 24x zoom (equivalent to a 25-600 mm lens) but shoots at a constant f2.8 across the entire range.

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I am a Sony Alpha fan. I have the Alpha 5000, 6000 and full frame Alpha 7 II. I will probably be bringing the 5000 and 6000 with me to Alaska in September. I would like to bring the full frame, but I think I travelling lighter is the better way. I would recommend the Alpha 6000 kit for anybody that has about $800 to spend.

Why do you think travelling lighter is better in Alaska? Are you hiking or something?

The a6000 kit is only about $650 right now.

I like cruising because my hotel room travels with me. So, I find it easier to bring more gear around because I can leave it in my room yet not be that far from it.

I've only borrowed the a6000 with kit lens. It's not bad. SUPER light with just the kit lens so I know what you mean by wanting to travel light. It's just that my full frame DSLR (Nikon D750) absolutely destroys the a6000 with kit lens in picture quality and all around abilities (like shooting in low light situations such as indoors or a gloomy day). If you've got all 3, I would imagine you'd bring the a6000 and the a7II instead of the a5000 and a6000. The a5000 and a6000 are basically duplicates. You could bring the a6000 when you want to be as light as possible, but the a7II when you need absolute picture quality such as if you're shooting a glacier or maybe wildlife or something.

Once you throw a decent lens on the a6000, is it even that much lighter than the a7II? You've owned it for a while so you can say better. I've only played with both at the same time at camera stores and once you've got a decent lens on there, I found the a6000 lost most of it's weight/size advantage. And the kit lens is pretty crappy once you've used the good stuff.

For newbies, like the OP, I think the a6000 with kit lens is a great option. Especially if trying to stick with the $500 budget. OP, ignore the stuff about the a7II and full frame and stuff. Those are like $2,000 cameras and $2,000 lenses so they better be much better in picture quality than a $500 camera.