File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
Hey /p/, I'm heading to Europe over the summer partly to see some places that I've been itching to see, and partly to take some photos if I could, and I was wondering what camera you would suggest me bringing. My dilemma is pretty much as follows, as I see it:

Pros of a DSLR:
MUCH better image quality
Greater control of the image and shot
Cons of a DSLR:
MUCH more expensive than a P&S
More likely to get robbed
Capable of doing things beyond my abilities, thus being a bit of a waste of money

Pros of a P&S:
Cheap
Easy in simple situations
Discrete
Cons of a P&S:
Lower quality shots
Very little manual control over the settings, even on full manual settings.

I'm sure that I'm missing some important factors, but these are what I can think of at the moment. What do you think, /p/? Would a trip like this merit going and getting a DSLR( probably used, but I'd try my best not to get a low-quality camera) to ensure greater control over my shots, or is the risk of it getting robbed and me being a complete idiot with the thing so great that I shouldn't bother getting it?

Pic sort of related... I took it with my sister's old SLR camera. I guess I could hypothetically try and find some second hand lenses for this thing, but it's so old that I don't know much about it except what's printed on the body.

Also sorry that I didn't resize it or shrink the file size...
EXIF data available. Clickhereto show/hide.
Camera-Specific Properties:Equipment MakeNoritsu KokiCamera ModelQSSImage-Specific Properties:Image OrientationTop, Left-HandHorizontal Resolution72 dpiVertical Resolution72 dpiColor Space InformationsRGBImage Width3087Image Height2048
>> Anonymous
im a noob when it comes to cameras, but i know europe quite well, whereabouts are you going?
>> Anonymous
>>178858
These are the pro and cons of p&s and SLRs in general.

If you travel with anything expensive, be careful with it. If you think you are the careless type, go with the p&s. Research on the area will do you good too, crime rates and/or popularity of sights. If you're just taking vacation shots, go with the p&s. Unless you set aside time to actually take pictures, architecture/street/candids, I wouldn't bother with the SLR anyway. It would probably take up precious space in your luggage.
>> Anonymous
>>178911
At the moment I'm looking at traveling through some cities in Italy( Rome, Venice, Lucca, Chianti, maybe Florence), then Paris and London, and if there's any way that I can manage it, Barcelona and Madrid. I'll try not to "bother" with Spain if I can't go to both locations because then I'll have a more valid excuse to take another trip sometime in the future. I've already been to Rome, Venice, Florence, Paris, and London, but if you know of any other picturesque locations, then that would be great.

>>178918
Yeah, I was trying to consider the pros and cons relative my trip in particular, but I guess they all come into play with this situation. Maybe I should just go with a point and shoot, but then again I could eliminate many of the cons of a DSLR if I can find one second hand. That way it won't cost very much( relatively speaking) and if it gets stolen, I won't be out upwards of several hundred dollars.

The places that I've seen and have been to are literally on my list again because I lost my old camera and I felt obligated to do some of these places justice. I took a couple( read a ton) of shots with my crappy cell phone camera in Rome and stitched it together to make the image linked, if it's any indication of whether or not I have any sense of this.

http://orz.4chan.org/hr/src/1210385521816.jpg

Sorry, it's over 8 MB large and about 10,000 pixels wide...
>> Anonymous
This is why it sucks that there are precisely two digital rangefinders, one of them mediocre and expensive and the other great but more expensive than a full grand tour of Europe.

Some options for the OP:

Olympus E-420 with 25/2.8 pancake, some cheap old manual focus wide with an adapter for landscapes and architecture (just set it to the hyperfocal or scale focus if you have to), and maybe a medium telephoto or a tele zoom. Small, good except for the small finder and everything that goes along with that.

Canon G9 or Powershot A-whatever.
Panasonic DMC-LX2
Anything Ricoh
Sigma DP-1

But to address a few particular things:

>Greater control of the image and shot

All the point and shoots I mentioned above offer the same manual controls as a DSLR. IIRC, they all spotmeter, too, which is more than can be said with some entry-level DSLRs. Full manual is full manual.

>More likely to get robbed

This is Europe, not Somalia. It's possible, but no more possible if you use some common sense than you're likely to have it stolen living in and using it in a good sized American city.
>> Anonymous
>>179229
Also, travel and/or photographic insurance. If you have more than a few hundred dollars worth of equipment it should be insured even if you never travel with it. Stuff breaks.
>> Anonymous
>>179229
On the second point, you're absolutely right. I traveled to Europe as well, OP, and my laptop, wallet, etc... never got stolen over the course of a month there because I wasn't conspicuous and I didn't flaunt my things. My dad went for a short business trip to Brussels and got robbed within 20 minutes of arriving at the train station. Why? He looked like a businessman: Rich, carrying valuable documents and equipment, and unable to chase down a couple of punks who took his stuff and ran.

I mean, it was all true, but it would help if you didn't look rich or like you were carrying an expensive computer with you or something( ala my dad).

I'm not saying that you'll flaunt your things, but expect it to get stolen if you do. You could take a DSLR with a few lenses and not get a second look if you don't hold it in your hand and stroke it like you're that character from Lord of the Rings.

As for a camera, I agree again with that previous guy. A Powershot A series would do you well. It has many of the manual functions that you'll be looking for in the body and price range of a point and shoot.