My wife and I are going on an Alaskan cruise for our 30th anniversary and I don't really want to lug around my DSLR but want to be able to still take some quality pictures of the scenery and wildlife both from the ship and on several excursions. I am looking at one of the pocket sized cameras and have it narrowed down to the Panasonic zs70 or a Canon SX730 or upgrade to the Panasonic zs80 and a Canon equivalent. All the numbers blend after a while. I will be using it mainly to carry hunting with me after the trip but the cruise gives me a great chance to get it without having to explain the need. What do the experts think?

Interestingly, just went through that in the last couple weeks. Heading to Zim with my wife and adult son. My wife will just hunt a camera but doesn't like the weight of my DSLR. The pocket cameras are convenient and small but you lose capability.

I bought her the Panasonic FZ80.
https://shop.panasonic.com/cam...ameras/DC-FZ80K.html

18 MP, real viewfinder, effective 20mm-1200mm zoom (translated to 35mm), and it has plenty of options for control while being easy to use. $300 from Amazon. Much lighter than my DSLR (it is just over a pound), but the size and shape make it easy to handle with a long zoom.

Give Doug at cameraland a call. he'll be able to help ya for sure.

quote:

Originally posted by pacecars:
My wife and I are going on an Alaskan cruise for our 30th anniversary and I don't really want to lug around my DSLR but want to be able to still take some quality pictures of the scenery and wildlife both from the ship and on several excursions. I am looking at one of the pocket sized cameras and have it narrowed down to the Panasonic zs70 or a Canon SX730 or upgrade to the Panasonic zs80 and a Canon equivalent. All the numbers blend after a while. I will be using it mainly to carry hunting with me after the trip but the cruise gives me a great chance to get it without having to explain the need. What do the experts think?

I suggest you look at the Sony HX99.

It is a better camera than all the above you mentioned.

I have used them all, and find the Sony better in quality.

Thanks Saeed, I had not seen that one. Is there any disadvantage or advantage to the micro SD card?

quote:

Originally posted by pacecars:
Thanks Saeed, I had not seen that one. Is there any disadvantage or advantage to the micro SD card?

Non at all.

You get either a USB or an SD card adapter with any microSD you buy, so use with a computer is the same.

Sony, Panasonic And Canon have a sort of revolving superiority battle.

Canon was tops with these small cameras years ago.

Panasonic took over for a few years, and right now Sony is best.

Same goes for video cameras.

Sony is head and shoulders above them both.

My go to camera right now is the Sony RX10.

Bigger, but much better than pocket camera, and most small SLRs.

Nowadays many photos I take with the iPhone X, however when hunting I always have a Leica D-Lux in my pocket. That little thing makes excellent pictures. When visiting national parks I take a Nikon along with Sigma 100-400 lens. I'm happy with my outfit, will never change it.

An SLR is of course best.

But, the hassle of carrying several lenses make that a very specialized job.

If I was going on a photo safari, I will certainly take an SLR.

But, for anything else, especially hunting, I like to put one of the small 30x pocket cameras in my pocket.

In fact, while traveling, I always carry one.

The iPhone takes great photos - close up.

Once there any distance involved, it becomes irrelevant.

Sending WhatsApp photos to friends from our shooting range, I use the iPhone.

Thanks for the help. I am going to get the HX99. Any particular card you prefer for storage?

I use very fast Sandisk micrSDcards for our drones and action cameras, and the same for anything that requires them.

I have deal here where I get them very cheap, as we buy so many memory cards of all sorts.

Last time I bought some there were around 500 cards.

XQD cards, SD cards, microSD and some Cfast cards.

4K videos require a fast card, in addition, you can copy them to your computer much faster too.

My advice would be to hire a great cameraman like Justin Drainer and forget all your own cameras and enjoy the hunt for what it is. Not only do you get an incredible dvd but you will get a package of a coupe of hundred amazing still pics and time lapses etc not to mention sharing the company of a very knowledgable and entertains guy!!!

Especially if the professional cameraman can be had for the same price or close, as the camera you might never use again.

But what about those of us who enjoy photography too?

My cameras on safari cost a lot more than my rifles.

My photos and videos are priceless.

A cameraman cannot be with you all the time, and can miss incredible shots.

The other day I was looking at some clips I took while heliskiing in Canada.

A friend of my wife was with us.

She was sitting opposite me in the helicopter, as we flew over a range of mountains.

I was taking a video of everyone, and she was taking a video with her iphone.

Suddenly she opens the little window, stick her hand that was holding the iphone out.

In an instant, the phone took off, never to be seen again!

The look on her face was absolutely, utterly, priceless!

My laughter could be heard all over British Columbia!

One cannot get this with a cameraman

But we're not talking about a hunt, we're talking about cruising Alaska. The Sony is a good choice. I went with a Panasonic ZS100. Not quite the reach of the Sony, but a larger sensor which I prefer.

That said, I have a camera always with me on a hunt, and I don't consider a phone a camera. It's too easy to carry a P&S and there are so many little things you can snap a quick photo of.

I've never had a cameraman film a hunt. If I do in the future, I doubt I rely solely on him for photos. I enjoy photography.

Jeremy

The cruise will be a brief time and it will be carried on every hunt also. I would love to have a safari filmed and would definitely think about that but I would still want a pocket camera with me. I don’t want to have to tell a videographer “hey can you zoom in on that flower or that bug?”

Saeed, what are the advantages of the fast speed cards? Is it the actual photos or does it have to do with down loading? What storage size do you recommend for the HX99?

If you are going to take 4K videos - which I wholeheartedly recommend - you will need a card capable of at least 90MBs access speed.

I do not use cards of less than 64 GB, and normally carry a few in my backpack.

Also do not forget to get an extra battery, and a may be a power pack.

All these come in very handy, and make sure you never miss a good opportunity.

Thanks again. Went ahead and ordered the HX99 and accessories

Card speed affects the ability to the camera to write the file to the card. It also makes download to the computer faster.

Cameras have a memory component called the buffer. As you take photos, the buffer is where the photograph or video file is temporarily stored. The buffer then writes the file to the card. If you shoot a bunch of photos in sequence quickly, or take 4k video (large data files) the buffer fills faster and eventually the card speed becomes the limiting factor.

For example, using a 30Mb/s SD card, my Oly OMD EM-1 2 can shoot at 60 frames a second with the electronic shutter, but that drops to about 20 once the buffer fills and the card takes over. If I use a 90Mb/s second card, I can get closer to 60 frames per second.

If you don't shoot 4K or don't shoot a lot of sequential images like for sports, birds in flight, or animals running/fighting, card speed isn't as important.

Jeremy

Second what Buzz said. Heliskiing not withstanding, some one as good as Justin doing the filmlng frees you up to concentrate on hunting. You can bring a good point and shoot as an adjunct to a first class video