6P Camera for vacations?

[syspry]

I know this phone has an awesome camera. But the wife is bugging me to get a DSLR for a big African lodge/safari trip we're planning next year. Sound off your thoughts below, would you trust the 6P camera for this trip or go buy the DSLR? Keep in mind, many shots could be from a moving vehicle.

 

[anthony2558]

Get the DSLR. Shots from a moving vehicle of moving animals. The 6p is great cell phone camera, dare I say the best cell phone camera, and that exactly what it is, a cell phone camera.

 

[syspry]

Get the DSLR. Shots from a moving vehicle of moving animals. The 6p is great cell phone camera, dare I say the best cell phone camera, and that exactly what it is, a cell phone camera.

yeah I'm leaning that way too, cell phone cams have come a long way for great stills of a lot of things but capturing all aspects of an expensive vacation in perfect detail I don't think is one of them. Kinda makes all the fighting on the forums we do about phone cameras feel kinda silly from that perspective doesn't it?

"my phone takes better Instagram photos of my restaurant meal than yours does!!!" lol

 

[PaulQ]

OMG... Get a separate camera! You're going on what I assume is a once in a lifetime adventure, don't trust it to your phone! You can't have extra batteries ready... you are limited to the phone's built in memory... you can't even hold a phone as steady as you might need to when you want to zoom in on that lion on the savanna. Bring several mid-sized memory cards, keep them in a case to protect them, buy at least 2 additional batteries and get a compatible wall charger to use while you are there. Be sure to brush up on the type of electrical outlets they have.

I'm a little passionate on this one. In both Thailand and China, I brought a separate camera and I'm so glad I did. I still used my phone so I could get some pictures to text home, facebook but I used the separate camera for the real photography.

(P.S. Jealous! That's going to be awesome!)

 

[icwhatudidthere]

I've been on safari in South Africa, Lesotho and Zambia. Get the DSLR.

 

[getbretweir]

The camera on the 6p is awesome and all, but hey there DSLR ... I imagine they'll be a lot of movement and the DSLR is superior in those conditions obviously. Sounds fun!

 

[jims52]

No question about it, get the DSLR. The 6P is great for snapshots but your going to want the range, depth of field and dynamic range that a good DSLR offers. And PaulQ is spot on about the extras you need to bring.

 

[hallux]

DSLR. While the camera on the phone takes good pictures, it's used only for those cases where I just couldn't have thought I'd need my REAL camera. If I'm going someplace I even THINK I'll want high-quality poster-size pictures from, my Canon EOS-M (mirrorless interchangeable lens camera) is going with me. If you have to take ONE lens make sure it has a decent range so you can get close shots as well as zoomed. Also, see if you can take a class on how to use the camera and what the different setting will do for you.

I had the opportunity to go to Mexico City for work, with a weekend there, I in no way relied on my phone to take pictures. I was the only one in a group of 5 that had an ACTUAL camera when we went to the Teotihuácan Pyramids, everyone else was using iPhones.

As an example, this was taken with my Canon, you won't get a shot like this with a camera on a phone. I had to resize it, the original was 6 MB, I hope the detail still comes through.

 

[LeoRex]

Get the DSLR.... No question. Just for the ability to use optical zoom ALONE, is worth it. Dude, you are going on a safari! I mean, you don't see dudes at National Geographic snapping shots of the Serengeti using their Nikon Coolpix, do you?

That sort of trip is (usually) a once in a lifetime experience. Use the best tool for the job.

Of course, that isn't to say you won't take pictures with your 6P. I mean, there are tons of situations where the quality advantage of the DSLR is not required or won't gain you much.... but for the money shots...

 

[mookiekillsit]

No cell phone camera can compete w/ a DSLR

/thread

 

[cane prevost1]

Now you are going to have to talk about lenses.

 

[bjrosen]

You absolutely want to get a real camera for a safari trip. I did that trip 30 years ago, Zimbabwe, Botswanna and South Africa, the biggest lens I had was a 135mm, I wished I had a 200mm. The 6ps camera is great for snapshots but if you are going on safari you need a really big zoom lens which requires a DSLR or mirrorless camera that takes multiple lenses. I'd make my choice of cameras based on the available lenses. As I said earlier you want a big zoom lens. You should also have a wide angle and a standard lens.

 

[RHChan84]

If you want good quality photos on vacation, don't rely on any phone at all. Get a DSLR for quality.

With outdoors you can easily use a slower zooms like f5.6. I only know Canon systems so with that said, a 70D is a good DSLR. T6i is good too. Both share a very similar sensor but 70D has wayyyy more options. Between the 70D and 7D2, its up to you. If you have the funds, go for it. It has a faster FPS and way more advance auto focus. Those are good DSLR. For lenses, Canon 70-300USM is decent from about 70mm to 250mm and 250mm to 300mm is soft. I prefer the 70-200F4L IS but its pricey.

Don't know what your budget is but that would be a good start there to help you out.

Back to the 6P, its a good camera but not for Safari especially far away. If you lived nearby and can go anytime you want, then get the 6P.

 

[bjrosen]

You should also bring a tripod and multiple SD cards for the camera. I haven't looked at cameras lately but I'm pretty sure that you can get a DSLR or mirrorless which has WiFI built in so you can upload your pictures to the cloud assuming you can find Internet access. Alternatively you can get a type C to SD card adapter so that you can transfer pictures to the Nexus and upload from there. When I took this trip in the age of film I developed my shots locally so that there wouldn't be a chance that my film would be ruined by an airport X-Ray machine. The modern analog of this is to make sure all of your shots are uploaded to the cloud so that you don't risk losing everything if you lose your SD cards.

BTW in addition to all of the animal pictures you'll also want to take pictures of the sunsets which are spectacular.

 

[dyastrab]

Does the same hold true for a 6P vs a regular point and shoot? I'm going to a resort with indoor and outdoor activity and was wondering if I should risk leaving my old Canon powershot at home.

 

[hallux]

Does the same hold true for a 6P vs a regular point and shoot? I'm going to a resort with indoor and outdoor activity and was wondering if I should risk leaving my old Canon powershot at home.

My feeling is that if I care much at all about how the pictures come out, I'm taking my Canon. If I only think I'll need to snap a few quick shots just to say I actually was someplace I said I was, my phone will do.

I took 3 trips for work last year, one to Mexico City and two to California. Because I had opportunity to do some sightseeing, I took an actual camera (the aforementioned Canon EOS-M) on all 3 trips because I cared about the quality of the pictures I took.

 

[RHChan84]

Does the same hold true for a 6P vs a regular point and shoot? I'm going to a resort with indoor and outdoor activity and was wondering if I should risk leaving my old Canon powershot at home.

I would bring the powershot for zoom features.

 

[bjrosen]

The 6P is better than the old power shot for an ordinary vacation. Safari is different from any other kind of trip. The animals are going to be at a safe distance away which is why you need a really good zoom lens. You don't want to walk up to a lion for obvious reasons and you can't walk up the the gazelles or gnus because they will run. Hippos like to spend their time on river bottoms with just their nose out of the water. You really can't get close to a hippo, a lion is a pussycat in comparison to a hippo. So in all case you want a big zoom and a good pair of binoculars. For any other kind of vacation the 6P is fine. The 360 and panorama modes are great for architecture or landscapes, and the normal video and snapshot modes are fine for taking pictures of the family.

 

[Almeuit]

As others have said.. DSLR. .

 

[zkSharks]

I was in Tanzania last year, and even with an all-inclusive limitation of 19lbs of gear per person, I still chose to bring along 11lbs of Canon gear (body, wide-angle, super-telephoto, tele-converter, double battery grip, extra batteries, chargers, power adapters, a Nexus 7, USB OTG adapter with card reader and SSD). You'll get some fantastic sharp daytime landscape shots with a 6P, but as soon as you need optical zoom flexibility, low-light performance (trust me, this is big for the early-morning and sunset safaris) or really want to capture the unique colors, you'll regret not having a proper DSLR sensor and lens.

A DSLR can run laps around any cell phone in terms of burst performance (capture interval and capture count) with proper cards, and if you're looking at a DSLR for such a trip, you're also looking at shooting in RAW, no doubt. The advanced stabilization modes (see this review) of high-end telephoto lenses are unrivaled by even "kit" lenses, let alone a smartphone -- services like BorrowLenses make it affordable to rent high-end gear for once-in-a-lifetime trips. I rented the Canon 200-400 F4L, but the 100-400 with or without an extender, or any other similar setup, would still be in a completely separate class than any phone.

That said... if you're going to be spending a few days with friends or family in less remote locations, you won't be looking to have that DSLR just out and around for photography, for reasons of security, damage, convenience, and so forth. The 6P will be perfect in that case, and if you're on a carrier which has a 2G/3G arrangement for the country you will be in, you'll appreciate having it that much more when moving through any towns that have service. Bring a USB OTG adapter for your cards, and you can cherry-pick photos to show off on the awesome display while in-country, or even back up to the cloud if circumstances allow; one of our overnight stops while traveling had a satellite linkup with WiFi, so I backed up a couple dozen photos just to be safe. Couldn't have done that without a phone, USB OTG, and card reader, all of which are small in weight and size. Plus its battery life while on airplane mode should be excellent.