Should you take a camera when traveling, or is a smartphone fine?
Q. I am going to Europe in September and might take a camera on the trip, instead of using my smartphone. Do you think it is worth buying and carrying a camera, and if so what model do you suggest?
— L. D., Brooklyn,
N. Y.
A. I recommend you get a camera. While modern smartphones take great pictures and video, they can’t replace the ergonomics, photographic capability and flexibility of a good camera. A recent adventure of my own drove the point home.
In July I took a crosscountry trip on Amtrak in a sleeper car from Pittsburgh to the Anaheim Regional Transit Center in California. It was a neat experience to go door to door to Disneyland without setting foot in an airport! I took some electronics with me that you will be reading about in the column over the next few months.
On my last day in California I visited the Griffith Observatory and received a personal astronomy lesson from a “Star Trek” TV star who is also a knowledgeable amateur astronomer. It was one of the highlights of the trip as I saw the cloud bands on Jupiter and four of the Jovian moons through his telescope.
Speaking of stars, one of the stars of my trip was the $ 897 Panasonic LUMIX FZ1000 Mk. II superzoom camera. It is the best travel camera I have ever used. The FZ1000 Mk. II has tremendous imaging capabilities, is fun and easy to operate, and the picture and video quality are absolutely stellar. ( There I go again with the star references!) The FZ1000 Mk. II has a large 1- inch, 20.1 megapixel sensor paired with a Leica 16x ( 25- 400mm equivalent) zoom lens. The lens is sharp and the image stabilization is super effective. I was able to capture tacksharp images at the 400mm setting easily in good light, and even sometimes when the light was not so good. Both the viewfinder and touchscreen are crisp and colorful, the panorama mode creates perfect panoramic images, and battery life is excellent. ( Always bring a fully charged spare, just in case.) It records both 1080i and 4K video and the camera is loaded with clever operational touches. For example, to zoom you can use the thumb control, best for video zooming, or the lens ring, which is best for still pictures because of the precise framing and organic feel.
Looking at the pictures and videos from my trip, I realized I could not have gotten 75% of them if I had only my smartphone. I would not have had the zoom range or the ability to frame as precisely or shoot as quickly as I could with the zoom controls, viewfinder and shutter button. They also would not have the incredible sharpness, color and detail captured by the FZ1000 Mk. II. It’s a winner, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. shop. panasonic. com.