Travel camera recommendations

T

Tim Sewell

Well-known member
Hi guys. I don't shoot for a living, fancying myself an artist, and my main camera is an OG C100, kitted out with a Ninja 2 and some other bits. I also have an Olympus EM1 mkii with a couple of lenses. Hopefully some time soon I'll be going away on holiday and the thing is this - I don't want to lug my C100 etc plus lenses around and I don't enjoy shooting video with the Oly due to the form factor. So what I've decided I'd like is a camcorder/palmcorder type unit to take with me. Ideally it would fill the following criteria:

1) Under GBP1000 used.
2) Good HD, preferably 4:2:2 (I don't care about 4K)
3) Decent EVF and AF
4) At least 10x optical zoom
5) Preferably internal NDs

I've been looking at used XF100s and they go some way towards fulfilling those needs, but I've been hearing that they are rather poor in low light.

Given that most here have far more experience of these things than I do - does anyone have any suggestions as to what I could look for please?
 
The Canons would probably be the best fit if AF is important, but make sure to double-check their output. Some are only 8-bit 4:2:2 internal and 10-bit 4:2:2 external.

With that said, I always say that I'm not sure you will truly see a difference between 8-bit/10-bit on smaller chip lower-quality, fixed-lens prosumer cameras like these.

I owned the G60 for a bit and loved it for what it was. Great AF and IS. 8-bit internal.

Sony has some internal 10-bit 4:2:2 options (for around the same price) like the PXW-Z90V, but AF will be limited.
 
So I spent a month thinking about palmcoder/habdycams recently.

I got to the canon XF400 I think. My main driver towards canon was AF and the 25.5 lens (better than 29 or even 32 on some other corders)

Anyway I concluded that handycams were so horrid that I got a nikon Z6!
Im a nikon man but many canons or sonys fit the bill.

How do handycams fail?

24equiv FOV - I see this as a 'proper wide' one needed when filming in cars or crowds.. most handycam dont have this.
here a 24-120 is avaialble for the nikon

a screen that you can see in the sun while doing 'gut cam' (camera at waist level) - most handycams have shiney screens same with the nikon
nikon 0 handycam 0

can you bring the camera to eye level in big sun and see through the rear EVF?
many handycams have a tiny EVF, the nikon less so 0-1

AF IS and a telephoto
handycams have great telephotos, the IS and AF is matched by a stills cam. 120mm is enough to isolate your subject.

ND and XLR
Here its a big win for a handycam but a 4 stop on/off your zoom lens can be fairly painless as is a rode vid mic.

Slip on a 50 1.8
While matching a handycam with a stills cam usually means a 18-200 24-120 or some other cheapo zoom on the stills cam, with a stills cam on can add a 50 to your kit for a bit of bokeh stuff. A fixed lens handycam does not offer this option.

Do I think the nikon Z6 (and 24-120) is a good handycam? No. Its a bad one. But all handycams seem bad too and the z6 gives other options.. like on holiday one can take stills too.

It would be nice to see a 1in chip handycam with a 24-xx FOV (equiv) lens and some proper buttons and a big enough evf to keep the sun out. It would be nice to see but it doesnt exist - sure the XF705 is a decent camera.. but it is not going in your pocket. ANd its not cheap.

Nikon now have a 24-200 lens, which is 'perfect' for the job of enough reach for one lens all day.

4k - I think you do need 4k.. well of course you dont but what you do need is a datarate in the 100mbs mark to create OK hd. Sure HD cams like the F35 had proper data rates in HD but modern camcorders do not.

the nikon can also do some other jobs like in my studio with a atomos recorder.
 
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Seeing as you are a canon owner I would suggest some form of mirrorless canon and a 18-200 lens.

Its odd to hold.. but so is a camcorder.
 
Thanks guys - as I mentioned, I already have a mirrorless camera, but I just don't like that form factor for video. A particular benefit of a small camcorder/palmcorder unit would be that, given I often have a child or a dog attached to one of my hands, the ability to shoot one-handed! And while I don't *need* 4:2:2, I do love to grade, so it would be handy.
 
Hey I dont like the form factor for video :) I dont like the form factor for video of handycams either.

Id just comment that I dont know the EM1 but I do know the GH4.. its controls are so totally backwards that there is a major difference between using that and the nikon Z6. I reckon a small canon is pretty well laid out too. The Gh4 is horrid.

So while your EM (Oly?) might be usueless a Canon with an 18-200 may be OK (not good OK)

Not convinced?

Well as I said in my hunt for a camcorder I got to..

Canon
25.5 lens
1in chip
Modern Af

They have about 50 models :)

There are many options that hit these basic specs. I think the older 400 is in your budget (used).. the other versions with SDi less so. And the ones with no XLRbox are cheaper.

https://www.canon.co.uk/video-cameras/xf-405-and-xf-400/

cheper with no XLR box

https://www.canon.co.uk/video-cameras/legria-gx10/specifications/
 
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I think you wanna go with the C100, get the AF upgrade if you don't have it, and buy a Tamrom superzoom like the 16-300. Or get the canon 18-135 with pz-e1 attachment.

You're not gonna get good low light with a smaller sensor camera. You're not gonna get something nice for $1k. What I'm hearing is you dont want to bring a lot of lenses. That's what a superzoom is for. Leave the ninja home.

You can palm-hold the c100. Ditch the top handle and it's a pretty small camera with monitor and EVF still
 
For what its worth. When I travel, for fun and not for work, I travel with my trusty Sony RX100 IV. Fits in my pocket, produces wonderful photos and its "home movie" mode has on occasion been the "Stock shot" that has found its way into a couple of Corporate clients videos. Frankly, there will be many suggestions for many excellent cameras and lenses. But for my travel memories and the odd, discreet video in Cathedrals and other places that don't want cameras, the RX100 has been excellent and easy. This is my second RX100, I began with the original.
Best of luck and look forward to seeing what you choose.
B
 
Depends which ones...the mid to higher end Canon stills cameras that shoot video (which is how many people use them today) would never be damaged from one random trip unless you maybe dropped it into an ocean.

They are built to get through almost anything.
 
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