When we first started travelling we had a small simple point and shoot. It was light, easy to carry and did the job. But the more we travelled, the more we fell in love with photography. Photos weren’t just a way to capture memories anymore, but taking the photos became something we loved to do. And then we started doing travel videos too. Felt like time to upgrade. But what’s the best camera for travel photography?
Mirrorless or DSLR?
I think it’s easy to think you need a DSLR if you want to take photography a bit more seriously. But mirrorless cameras have come so far, that it’s all we need.
Mirrorless has some great perks too. Lighter. More compact. In my opinion, easier to travel with.
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II
We decided on the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II camera with a 12-40mm pro lens. Here are some of the features we love about it:
- It has a viewfinder which we love using to take photos.
- It has the ability to plug in an external mic for better Audio quality with videos.
- It has a screen which can be flipped to the side and turned 360 degrees. Perfect for taking selfies or high/low shots with an awkward angle.
- It’s weather/splash resistant.
- It has Wifi which connects to an app on your phone to easily get photos off your camera and put them on social media.
- We love the photo and video quality.
- Can use a range of different lenses (micro-four third lenses)
- As lot’s of different lenses are suitable, it means you can get a replacement more easily when travelling if you have an issue.
- It’s smaller and lighter then a DSLR.
Is This The Best Camera For Travel Photography?
We absolutely love the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II, and it’s definitely a great camera for travel photography. But there are so many amazing mirrorless cameras out at the moment, that I think it just depends on what features and price you are looking for. We were also looking at cameras in the Sony range and Fuji range before deciding on this one.
We travel a lot in retirement and have the M5 1. We use the olympus 17mm f1.8 and 14-42mmEZ as our light travel kit. We have the Olympus TG5 as our backup camera we also have the olympus fisheye lens for the TG5. That combination has worked well for us. The image quality is good enough for travel and the size and weight won’t break our backs. The 17mm f1.8 lens is the favorite lens and stays on the M5 most of the time. The TG5 with the fisheye lens produces some amazing photos and with the f2 setting can work inside historic buildings. Highly recommend Olympus equipment for travel.
Hi Jim, nice to hear you’re doing a lot of travel in your retirement :) We were considering getting the 17mm lens so good to hear you like it! Where to on the next trip?
Wow… so it turns out this is the same camera we have (the one that is having issues that i I just commented about on your blog about the broken lens in Turkey!
:)