What Camera to Bring?

[ta-rider]

Like allways: To make a good picture you have to learn how to take fotografes and you need an interesding place. Its NOT about the camera. I had photos taken by smartphone published as well as pictures taken by an old, second hand Canon EOS 400 d DSLR US$ 99 ob ebay.

Good thing on DSLR is they are allways ready hanging around your neck and you can shot right away while compact cameras first have to start, the objectiv comes out and it takes a while for them to focus.

To take pictures of animales a good zoom is requied...to not be treated as money on legs better dont have a long, expensive looking zoom on your cam...

http://adventure-travel-experience.d...en_transafrika

[Wanderlost Moto]

Originally Posted by ta-rider

Like allways: To make a good picture you have to learn how to take fotografes and you need an interesding place. Its NOT about the camera. I had photos taken by smartphone published as well as pictures taken by an old, second hand Canon EOS 400 d DSLR US$ 99 ob ebay.

Good thing on DSLR is they are allways ready hanging around your neck and you can shot right away while compact cameras first have to start, the objectiv comes out and it takes a while for them to focus.

To take pictures of animales a good zoom is requied...to not be treated as money on legs better dont have a long, expensive looking zoom on your cam...

Motorcycling around the world - 50.000km across Africa

Very good point and something I’ll have to keep in mind!! I will have my phone with me for quick pics and videos but I’m looking for a camera that I can learn on and has a little room for me to grow into. Ideally something that can be fully automatic as well as fully manual for when i get to a point where I can start experimenting down the line.

Thank you!

[arbr0972]

To touch on OPs question, I am really looking at bringing the Sony a7Rii with me on a multi year trip. Like OP I really want a camera that will do the sights and scenery justice. Ill be packing as a minimalist and riding an XR650L on a multi year/continent trip...
Is it incredibly impractical to bring such a high end camera+ one or two lenses with me?

Im quite sure Ill have the room for it and will be able to protect it from the elements, but it scares me to bring anything that expensive on such a trip. Just wondering what some thoughts on this might be.

[Grant Johnson]

A waterproof "point and shoot" is a must if you want to get great shots, because some of the best are when the bike is half underwater, or it's pouring rain etc. DAMHIK!

To get GREAT shots an SLR or one of the new smaller and lighter mirrorless SLR is an EXCELLENT way to go, and you can start with only one or two lenses and add as you feel the need and budget.

[Wanderlost Moto]

Originally Posted by Grant Johnson

A waterproof "point and shoot" is a must if you want to get great shots, because some of the best are when the bike is half underwater, or it's pouring rain etc. DAMHIK!

To get GREAT shots an SLR or one of the new smaller and lighter mirrorless SLR is an EXCELLENT way to go, and you can start with only one or two lenses and add as you feel the need and budget.

Hahaha, I won't ask Grant but thank you for the helpful tips! I like the idea of something rugged and waterproof for "action" shots. And having a camera that can really and truly capture the sights and scenes I'll be encountering seems like a no brainer. I'll talk to my wallet and see what it thinks before I start purchasing things though. Haha

[mollydog]

Not too much mention of how important "post production" is now with photography. So much can be done with processing; Photo Shop, Light Room and lots of other applications can transform "average" pics to notable.

Most of my pics here have been shot with various Panasonic Lumix "point & shoot" cameras with Zero digital processing. I just can't be bothered. I'm not selling my pics.

If you are a Pro and make a living with your pics ... then have at it. If you just want decent travel documentation ...then less post processing the better as it's very time consuming. As always, YMMV.

I've heard recently both Sony and Leica mirror-less cameras are really good. Both make fairly small cameras ... neither are inexpensive. Don't know how rugged. My Panasonic Lumix cameras have been quite rugged.

I had 4 Canon's .... they ALL BROKE (numerous times). Never again. Traveling by bike is tough on cameras. Some bring two cameras or plan to buy something on the road to replace a broken one. Thing is ... keep shooting!

The Panasonic, Sony and Leica all have above average lenses. But many other brands will do the job too ... and for less ... although Lumix are quite inexpensive. Sony and Leica ... not so much.

I've owned 4 Lumix, one lost, one given to buddy and I still have two. I'm due for an upgrade. Probably go mirror less. I've never been a Sony fan ... too complicated, too many features I will never use, to hard to do BASIC stuff. But maybe they are better now? Dunno? ALL need PhotoShop to be really good.

More and more travelers just shooting everything on a Phone. New iPhone, pretty impressive results and many have everything on a GoPro, which also makes good sense.

I started out with Nikon film cameras, traveled 7 years with 3 lenses. A PITA.

Switched to digital in the 90's. I'm not good at all the post processing work and editing apps, so still try to get a decent shot to start off with, "the old fashion way", good light, shadow and composition.

Simple basics as taught to me by Ridley Scott, Vitorrio Storaro, Bill Fraker, Fred Elmes and John Toll, just a few of the GREAT Cameramen I worked with over the years. (movies)

Some digi cams are not great in low light. (like my Lumix cameras) I miss Film in this regard. Latitude. To get this in Digital you'll have to do it in post production processing ... which is quite amazing if you know how.
Main thing is ... have fun with it as you learn. You can only get better!

[Wanderlost Moto]

Originally Posted by mollydog

Not too much mention of how important "post production" is now with photography. So much can be done with processing; Photo Shop, Light Room and lots of other applications can transform "average" pics to notable.

Most of my pics here have been shot with various Panasonic Lumix "point & shoot" cameras with Zero digital processing. I just can't be bothered. I'm not selling my pics.

If you are a Pro and make a living with your pics ... then have at it. If you just want decent travel documentation ...then less post processing the better as it's very time consuming. As always, YMMV.

I've heard recently both Sony and Leica mirror-less cameras are really good. Both make fairly small cameras ... neither are inexpensive. Don't know how rugged. My Panasonic Lumix cameras have been quite rugged.

I had 4 Canon's .... they ALL BROKE (numerous times). Never again. Traveling by bike is tough on cameras. Some bring two cameras or plan to buy something on the road to replace a broken one. Thing is ... keep shooting!

The Panasonic, Sony and Leica all have above average lenses. But many other brands will do the job too ... and for less ... although Lumix are quite inexpensive. Sony and Leica ... not so much.

I've owned 4 Lumix, one lost, one given to buddy and I still have two. I'm due for an upgrade. Probably go mirror less. I've never been a Sony fan ... too complicated, too many features I will never use, to hard to do BASIC stuff. But maybe they are better now? Dunno? ALL need PhotoShop to be really good.

More and more travelers just shooting everything on a Phone. New iPhone, pretty impressive results and many have everything on a GoPro, which also makes good sense.

I started out with Nikon film cameras, traveled 7 years with 3 lenses. A PITA.

Switched to digital in the 90's. I'm not good at all the post processing work and editing apps, so still try to get a decent shot to start off with, "the old fashion way", good light, shadow and composition.

Simple basics as taught to me by Ridley Scott, Vitorrio Storaro, Bill Fraker, Fred Elmes and John Toll, just a few of the GREAT Cameramen I worked with over the years. (movies)

Some digi cams are not great in low light. (like my Lumix cameras) I miss Film in this regard. Latitude. To get this in Digital you'll have to do it in post production processing ... which is quite amazing if you know how.
Main thing is ... have fun with it as you learn. You can only get better!

Thanks (again) for the helpful advice Mollydog.

I am far from dreaming of being a professional photographer but mostly just want to be able to capture my journey with as much clarity as possible, but on top of that I would like to gain some photograph skills through my experiences.

I have a tendency while preparing for this trip to want to make sure I get the best things possible to enhance my trip but have to keep myself in check and understand the “things” don’t make the trip and my trip won’t suffer because I don’t have top of the line (fill in the blank).

That being said I do want a camera that I’ll be able to grow/experiment with past the basics. So I do appreciate your input! I’ll take a look at the lumix series as that sounds like it’s treating you well over the years!

Als want to thank you for such a thorough and thoughtful response. I appreciate how much care and information you’re patient enough to pass along!!

[Samy]

Originally Posted by arbr0972

To touch on OPs question, I am really looking at bringing the Sony a7Rii with me on a multi year trip. Like OP I really want a camera that will do the sights and scenery justice. Ill be packing as a minimalist and riding an XR650L on a multi year/continent trip...
Is it incredibly impractical to bring such a high end camera+ one or two lenses with me?

Im quite sure Ill have the room for it and will be able to protect it from the elements, but it scares me to bring anything that expensive on such a trip. Just wondering what some thoughts on this might be.

You can save your A7RII and lenses with foams and foamy or thick pouches. Most important thing to consider is motorbike vibration especially at the top case. Better to keep your photo gear in the tnk case or rucksack. So no problem.

You can easily find them on ebay..

[Samy]

If you are a serious amateur or really into photography nothing beats the DSLR. You talk about budget so we can forget DSLRs, but a second hand 6000 series Sony mirrorless can fit in with extra batteries. Then you should find a good zoom.

I have a Canon DSLR with 14 lenses

But for long trips mostly I take Sony RX100 II with me and quite happy with the results.

So my two other advices are :

https://www.sony.com/electronics/cyb...as/dsc-rx100m5

https://www.sony.com/pk/electronics/...ras/dsc-rx10m3

https://www.dpreview.com/news/041491...o-capabilities

RX10 III is more towards DSLR with a great zoom range.

If I would going to make a long trip I would definitely buy RX10 if not have a mirrorless ...

[AnTyx]

Originally Posted by Samy

If I would going to make a long trip I would definitely buy RX10 if not have a mirrorless ...

I tested a friend's RX10 on a weekend trip before getting my little a5100... it's a great bridge camera, but it doesn't quite have the flexibility of interchangeable lenses.