Which camera for Maldives?

[jonott]

Hi all,

Going to the Maldives for a week next month and not sure which camera to take.

Choice is:
Nikon D7000 SLR with 17-55mm lens - heavier and bulky
Nikon 1 with 10-100mm - lighter and smaller
IPhone 6 - convenience

Any advice welcome

Cheers

[Lucas CAV]

IMHO if you have to ask then just take the phone.

[RobDickinson]

How high up the list is photography? is it a family/beach/pissup trip?

If your only going to snap take the phone.

If you are up for every sunrise take the SLR

Somewhere in between take the 1

[otolith]

Have you got a seaplane transfer with tight weight limits?

[DIW35]

There was a time when I used to lug my SLR on holidays like that. These days I tend to stick to something smaller and lighter. The last few trips to the Maldives I have made do with a fixed lens compact camera and not once did I wish I had taken my dSLR instead.

[K12beano]

I did a trip to Thailand and took just a compact. I found that to be a mistake - but it depends what you have in your mental viewfinder.....Note the sage advice:

RobDickinson said:

How high up the list is photography? is it a family/beach/pissup trip?

If your only going to snap take the phone.

If you are up for every sunrise take the SLR

Somewhere in between take the 1

Room for a tripod too? Night skies, sunrise and sunset....and a panorama or two to stitch later?

[Mabbs9]

Something waterproof. The Maldives are at their best below the surface. Have a great trip.

[Simpo Two]

RobDickinson said:

How high up the list is photography? is it a family/beach/pissup trip?

If your only going to snap take the phone.

If you are up for every sunrise take the SLR

Somewhere in between take the 1

Wot he said. If you're interested in photography and want to be ready to make the best from every situation, take the full arsenal. Generally I take the view that it's better have the gear and not need it, than not to have it and then find out you need it.

I usually take a full gadget bag AND a shirt-pocket compact for snaps.

[otolith]

Mabbs9 said:

Something waterproof. The Maldives are at their best below the surface. Have a great trip.

Snorkel + fins + GoPro + chest strap

[Zod]

Take an SLR and a camera that can go snorkelling/diving. It's always worth having a good camera in the Maldives, but you don't need anything longer than 100mm.

[K12beano]

And for snaps....


Watch out for encroaching Titan Trigger Fish territory - they're known to be particularly snappy....

[otolith]

Some of the little ones are snappy too - I had one about six inches long chase me and nip my toe after I got too close to its nest!

[tescor]

You definitely need some kind of underwater camera to capture the wildlife - it's amazing!!

On my first trip I used a disposable 35mm thing, and then on my honeymoon had a Canon Powershot with underwater casing, but now I have a Olympus Tough TG-2 which is really good. Think the latest version is the TG-4, and they seem to get good reviews...

[Blatter]

Which ever camera (and underwater housing) you decide on, make sure that you take a polarising filter for normal shooting

[Zod]

Blatter said:

Which ever camera (and underwater housing) you decide on, make sure that you take a polarising filter for normal shooting

My shot above benefited from a rotary polarising filter.

[KarlMac]

otolith said:

Mabbs9 said:

Something waterproof. The Maldives are at their best below the surface. Have a great trip.

Snorkel + fins + GoPro + chest strap

Thats what I did too. Great stuff.

If you just want some holiday snaps then phone will be fine. If you want some epic scenery shots then take the slr. You will feel a bit of a berk walking round day to day with the slr though. I set aside one day to go and get all the scenic shots and just had my phone with me the rest of the time (in airplane mode!! )

[Foliage]

Id just buy a really good waterproof case for the iPhone 6 and maybe a mini grabby tripod thing.

[Zod]

Foliage said:

Id just buy a really good waterproof case for the iPhone 6 and maybe a mini grabby tripod thing.

The Lifeproof case is the best and it's good for about a metre underwater. The screen won't take any intereaction underwater, so it is very limited as a camera underwater.

The iPhone is also useless on a tripod, because you have to touch it to activate the shutter.

I take loads of shots with my iPhone and think its camera is great, but it's no replacement for specialist equipment in these circumstances.

[otolith]

Zod said:

The iPhone is also useless on a tripod, because you have to touch it to activate the shutter.

It does, however, have a timer function.

And I can operate mine from my watch, though I appreciate that's a rather expensive option for a remote shutter.

[Foliage]

otolith said:

Zod said:

The iPhone is also useless on a tripod, because you have to touch it to activate the shutter.

It does, however, have a timer function.

And I can operate mine from my watch, though I appreciate that's a rather expensive option for a remote shutter.

http://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-Shutter-Waterproof-Android-cameras/dp/B01427F308