Looking for a beginners camera to film my travels. What should I buy?

Deploid if you can test out some cameras and make sure it fits your needs that's the ideal. A used t2i or other in that series with lenses can usually be found for a few hundred bucks. I let my nephews use mine and it is good and solid and I don't lose any sleep over something happening to it. Many many people have these so you might be able to find a friend and put it through its paces before you buy. When you get back you can probably sell it for close to what you have in it. You can always get better pics by adding a hello kitty sticker to whatever camera you take, not any better from camera but it'll put you in more interesting situations ��. Good luck and have fun. Lots of other choices but I don't own or have used them.
 
lambert said:
Depends on their needs. Fisher price pixel camera was a toy camera that many filmmakers used successfully.
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The Fischer Price camera was used for a specific effect in the days when doing that effect on a computer was more expensive. Yes, a lot of filmmakers picked them up (myself included) but nobody was using them as a main camera or expecting to get anything other than that pixelated black and white effect. A vacation video shot entirely on one? Yikes.

lambert said:
The sub 100$ cameras are better than many of the cameras that have been used on films that have shown at very prestigious festivals.
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lambert said:
I know one feature film by a director with many oscar nominations could have substituted a sub 100$ camera and no one would notice (that film had many A list actors in the cast).best of luck to you all.
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Sure, the cheap camera of it's time is often used for effect or need in a major movie of its era, but that doesn't mean that it's a practical camera for today. Hi-8 was better than VHS and both have been used in Hollywood movies. Would you want to use either today? No, because the standard today is higher than it was in 1991.
There are $100 solutions, but the results will be no better than what you can get from your phone, so why bother carrying another piece of gear than the one already in your pocket? If you want to look for a camera to use that will get decent results, look for today's equivalent of the Hi-8 or DV camera which as others here have pointed out is the DSLR or Mirrorless camera. In 25 years you can come back and suggest an old DSLR as a throwback solution.
 
Never suggested using a pixelation camera for his travel film only that cheap cameras are not pointless to use (as some had suggested). Sorry for any confusion. Op made it clear he did not want to use a phone and wants a DSLR. I suggested a t2i. The film I was talking about was Waking Life which was shot with a couple of $1500 prosumer cameras (director and producer both operated). And they had the option of using any camera they wanted. The next time they shoot a similar style film virtually every camera could be used because of the nature of the end product. It is interesting that some refuse to consider that low cost options (high quality used or consumer throwaway) can be as effective option as the newer and more expensive options. Sorry for getting away from the ops original question.
 
Someone must have mentioned at least one of these in this thread, but RX100 IV or RX10 II...you will be very happy.
 
Thank you for your suggestions @lambert and the quick history @Andrius Simutis. :D You're right about the smartphones which can take good quality shots. I've heard recently that Iphone6 can shoot in 4k. It's really ideal for travelers, but I'm also considering using a cam after travelling, like when I'm shooting something else like an event. For dual purpose. :D

@lambert I agree with t2i. I will check that out in ebay or amazon.
@NorBro Yes I actually researched about that. Thanks a bunch. :D


 
The iPhone 6s can shoot 4k, but remember that regardless of resolution it's going to have a look that you might not like. Any phone or small sensor camera will tend to have everything from near to far in focus. If this is what you want, cool. But if you're trying to get that portrait of your travel partner with a softer background it's going to be harder to achieve with the small sensor/phone. That's a big part of why the whole DSLR video movement took off... The ability to get a shot that looks like it could be from a "Hollywood movie" for a few hundred bucks. I'm guessing that in your mind's eye your video looks more like a film than a video. If that's the case, you should look at a camera with a larger sensor than the phone.
OTOH, I just spent a month road tripping through Europe and all I brought was a phone and a Canon EOS-M2. I have an entire production setup I could have taken including a C100, but I felt it was more important to enjoy my vacation than to make a movie.
 
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