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There’s an art to choosing a travel camera. You want to capture the best possible photos and videos of your trip – but you don’t want to feel weighed down by your camera equipment. When you’re shopping around for a small camera for travel, look for these features:
- Size and weight – A bigger camera isn’t necessarily a better camera. Choose a small, lightweight model that’s easy to travel with.
- Manual mode – Travel can be unpredictable, which is why you want to be able to adjust your settings to suit different scenes.
- Zoom range – If you’re planning on snapping close-ups of people or animals, bring a camera with a larger zoom range.
- Interchangeable lenses – With most high-end travel cameras, you can switch out the lenses as needed.
- WiFi connectivity – This allows you to easily transfer content to your smartphone, computer or tablet.
- High quality video – For videos that are worth showing off, opt for a camera with Full HD or Ultra HD capabilities.
- Durability – Pick a sturdy weatherproof and dustproof camera that can hold up against the elements.
The team at Ted’s Cameras have rounded up the best travel cameras to take on a trip around Australia.
Best Travel Camera To Buy
Adventure Camera
Australia is a country of contrasts. You might be exploring the outback one day, and the Daintree or Great Barrier Reef the next, so you want to pack a camera that can withstand any situation. Enter: Adventure cameras. They’re durable and built to last, and most are shockproof, crushproof, freezeproof and dustproof. Adventure cameras are also lightweight and compact, so you can easily carry them anywhere you go.
If you’re planning on working your way up (or down) our rugged coastlines, look for an adventure camera that’s waterproof, too. That way, you’ll be able to dive in and capture the scenes that many photographers miss.
Ted’s Top Pick: Olympus Tough TG-5. ‘Tough’ is correct! This camera is waterproof to 15 metres and shockproof to 2 metres, and its Field Sensor System records important data, such as your coordinates. The anti-fog F2.0 Olympus lens let in tons of light, which is helpful if you’re shooting in challenging conditions (like underwater). Switch to video, and you’ll end up with crisp Ultra HD 4K footage.
Pocket Camera
If you’re looking for a lightweight camera that takes phenomenal photos, consider a pocket camera. Portable and compact, most models will easily fit into your pocket or backpack so there’s no need to worry about excess baggage fees!
Thanks to their size, pocket or point-and-shoot cameras are perfect for trips that involve a lot of walking. Plus, the only accessories you need are memory cards and extra batteries. They’re also more discreet than their bigger counterparts, so they’ll help you to blend in to the local communities you’re exploring. Pocket cameras are easy to use, and most have optical zoom – which is why their image quality is better than that of smartphones.
Ted’s Top Pick: Sony RX100 Mark VI. This lightweight camera is the first compact with 8x optical zoom lens. It has a huge 1-inch sensor, which will allow you to snap epic photos, even in low-light conditions. The touch-sensitive, tilting LCD makes it easy to compose photos, while the built-in stabilisation steadies the camera.
Mirrorless Camera
Mirrorless cameras rival the quality and usability of DSLRs, in a more portable package. When you’re travelling, the scene before you can change in a split-second. With mirrorless cameras, what you see is what you get. They have LCD screens or electronic viewfinders, so the image you see – from the colours to the exposure – is exactly how your photo will turn out. These cameras have phase and contrast detection sensors and use both to refine their autofocus.
They have interchangeable lenses, too. To photograph Australia’s beautiful landscapes in all their glory, experiment with wide-angle lens. If you want to narrow your focus and capture the smallest details, change to a macro lens. We suggest using mirrorless cameras in manual mode so that you can adjust the settings.
Ted’s Top Pick: Canon EOS M50. This camera stands out for its compact build and easy-to-use interface. A favourite among travel vloggers, it’s also the first mirrorless camera from Canon to feature 4K video. It has a microphone port and a hot shoe for attaching a flash, and the sensor works well in all kinds of light. With the Camera Connect app, you can send photos directly to your smartphone or tablet and share them on social media.
Digital SLR
DSLRs are the kings of landscape photos, why is why they’re the perfect travel companion on a trip Down Under. DSLRs are an investment – but if you’re a professional photographer or keen amateur, they’re worth every cent. They have exceptional image quality and a longer battery life, so you can shoot without interruptions and push the bounds of your creativity. They’re compatible with a huge range of compatible lenses from Canon to Nikon and beyond, while mirrorless cameras are restricted to the lenses from one camera maker. DSLRs are best for manual shooting.
If you’re comfortable with controlling the ISO, aperture and shutter speed, you’ll be rewarded with beautiful photos. The high-end cameras are weather-sealed, which means they can withstand wind, rain and snow. To make the most of your DSLR, we recommend bringing a tripod and wide-angle lens, as well as neutral density filters (ND) to balance out the bright Australian sunlight.
Ted’s Top Pick: Nikon D5600. As a traveller, you’ll love that this camera can take over 970 shots before needing a charge. Battery life aside, the DSLR has a high-resolution sensor and broad ISO range to deliver excellent stills and Full HD videos in any light. You can swipe, zoom and focus your photos with your fingertips (just like you do on your smartphone), and get creative with 10 special effects.
Shooting With Your Smartphone
Travelling with a smartphone has its benefits. They’re convenient and constantly connected, and the larger screens make it easy to compose and play back your photos and videos. There are also hundreds of apps that help you to tweak the colours and exposure (like Cloud Splash FX), add filters (Instagram), or slow down the motion (SloPro).
While the camera quality is only getting better, smartphones can’t compete with dedicated cameras – especially when it comes to moving subjects and low lighting. If you want to avoid lugging around a camera, unlock the potential of your smartphone camera with a high-quality lens kit. Extra lens will enhance your image quality, and help you to overcome the limitations of your smartphone camera, like the optical zoom. Look for a wide-angle lens to boost your street, food and landscape snaps, and a macro lens to add layers of detail and texture to your photos.
Ted’s Top Pick: Blackeye G4 Combo Clip-On Lens Kit. This kit is made up of two pocket-sized lenses. The Wide G4 offers a 160°-degree view of your scene, and the Macro G4 has an incredible 15x zoom. The lenses clip on to any smartphone, tablet or laptop, and the double-coated glass prevents glare and reflections from ruining your photos.
Author: Matthew Grahame’s passion for photography began in high school, which led to him undertaking a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art Photography at RMIT. While studying, Matthew started working for Ted’s Camera Stores as a salesperson, eventually making his way to the company’s digital marketing department. Today he is Ted’s E-commerce content writer where he is able to combine his love for all things photography with his other passion – writing.
Camera Images belong to and were provided by the author.
Nice post
Have you looked at the Sony HX90V? I’m leaning that way but it’s really difficult to get a clear sense of how the cameras line up – often it’s like apples and oranges.