Choosing DSLR camera for travelers: Do we really need it?

I’m a hot fan of traveling. As I need a warm sea and friendly people best of all, some exotic countries like Afghanistan are not good for me. Having visited Thailand once I know it’s my piece of cake. So I got interested in traveling to Middle East. Unluckily it happens only twice a year that I have a chance to have a two-week holiday. Luckily I always take some hi-tech cameras with me to have a good memory.
Everything is easy as far as it concerns video. Surfing the Net I chose 3CCD Panasonic GS200 formation Mini DV and have had no problems for years. Come back, transfer the film into the computer, convert it into a DVD and here’s a disk and here’s my family on the Island of Chang. I can watch it myself. Moreover I can show it to my friends go that they get jealous – poor homesitters! If I think of a new video camera I’d rather wait for less expensive HD. It’s too early, because the pieces are high.
As far as it concerns photography, it’s not so easy to choose the best equipment. I started my career of a photographer in red light smelling photo chemicals. At this time label Leica appeared on excellent cameras, not on a lens for cheap Panasonic ones. And only when Kodak was introduced, the process of developing films stopped being private. The privacy returned with the appearance of Hi-tech digital technologies. So did the chance of taking pictures of everything. Now I don’t worry about the thing that someone can see my wife posing naked, or me enjoying a joint on the beach of Sa Collette in Catalonia. Then some time passed, the manufactures introduced their new technologies and when the price battle finished I bought Nikon 8700. And my trips became more picturesque and colorful. Then I had other ‘problems’, for example, to put more preservatives on my camera at Songkran Festival in Pattaya (I have The Thai Tramp blog about this beautiful Kingdom) where the Thai people pour water over everybody, mostly white tourists.
My preparations for this year’s trip, which I had planned to start in Bangkok, became darkened as my son, a teenager, killed my Nikon. I managed to borrow an ultra zoom from Canon from my relatives. But having fun on the tropical islands I realized I need DSLR camera. And even if on the islands of the province Trat I was the only white idiot, carrying two kilos of expensive photo devices, what a delight I’d have at home!
When I came back I connected to the Net and only the news from Bangkok with tanks in the streets could distract me from numerous photo websites. The events in Thailand started a day after we had caught a plane home. On the one hand I breathed with relief, but on the other hand I was sorry. It’s always a great chance for a photographer to film hot news. In the fall 2006 the selection of DSLP cameras impressed greatly! Before the trip I’d intended to buy Canon EOS 350D. Now I’ve decided not to hurry. Moreover, I was lucky to borrow and try the Canon from my friend’s son, a student, who had bought this device for temporary summer work.
First I realized it was not like Nikon at all! I got used to working with Nikon, of course, but that was not the point. I’ve used many cameras. Canon 350D is quite a convenient and friendly device. It is simple with two displays. But the camera’s case squeaks as if it was of cheap plastic, and it doesn’t look good enough. As for the pictures – they are great! But Canon employees should have given a more thorough thought to design its case to suit a hand. Besides Nikon’s eight mega pixel sensor didn’t impress me much. The price is good, but the kit lens requires replacement. Certainly, it costs some extra money. What is more, Canon put on sale EOS 400D with ten mega pixel CMOS sensor and with an integrated cleaning system.
So I stop and have a look around.
There is a great selection of cameras, as I’ve said. We can choose among 3 cameras with 10 mega pixel sensor of $800-1000.
They are: mentioned Canon 400D, my favorite Nikon with a new model D80 which laid down D50 and D70. And there is also a new Japanese miracle – Sony A100 which has many good qualities of Konica Minolta. A K10D device of Pentax is coming. So is its clone Samsung GX-10. For comparison I made a summary table of the most interesting 10-megapixel DSLR camera specifications or look at The summary table of the most interestingt 6-7-8 megapixel DSLR camera specifications. Also there are Sigma and Fujifilm. Olympus devices are somewhere at the back, because the level is high,(for more look through The summary table of Olympus SLR: E330, E500, E410 and E510 specifications) and as Leica is previewing its new products of quite a different price range. I realize – a new race has started! Wait and see!