How to choose the best travel camera in 2023

We're back!

Travel has officially returned! Hopefully your planned trips will go to the most beautiful locations imaginable and with our little guide you’ll be able to document all of it.

In the following we’ll break down what makes a good travel camera and give you some examples of what we think will be the right camera for you and your budget.

First things first:

When looking for a travel camera you shouldn’t just look at the latest and greatest cameras - if you can afford them, sure go ahead - but you may want to consider a bunch of factors such as size, weight, battery life, weather resitance, the type of camera you’ll use and of course cost.

Weight and size might be the two most important factors in choosing a travel camera. You’ll have to carry your camera around all day, maybe even up a mountain. Closely linked to size is the type of camera that fits your needs and your willingness to carry it around.

The first choice you’ll need to make is wether you want a camera with interchangeable lenses or one with a fixed lens. Both types have advantages but let’s start with fixed lens cameras such as the Sony RX 100VII: They’re usually smaller (There are exceptions such as Nikons P1000 which has an insane zoom range), usually a bit easier to use and beginner friendly and often not as expensive as an interchangeable lens camera with a bunch of lenses. Their image quality is usually quite a bit better than your smartphone can get you.

Interchangeable lens cameras such as the Sony a6100 are often more versatile as they can accomondate a bunch of different lenses for specific circumstances. Their image quality can be (a lot) better - which is heavily dependent on the lenses you mount and they tend to hold their value for longer times - especially the lenses. Speaking of lenses: When you’re buying an interchangeable lens camera you’re not only buying a camera, you’re buying into a system. So we’re not just looking at camera specs, we’re also taking the available lenses into account.

So of course it’s a trade off but there’s another player in the ring: Your smartphone. Smartphones of the last couple of years such as the Google Pixel 7a have amazing cameras (I use the OnePlus 10 Pro myself) and come with a bunch of different lenses. Samsung is the one of the most extreme examples with the Samsung S23 Ultra: From ultrawide to super-telephoto - There’s a lens for every situation. So before buying a travel camera you’ll need to lug around: Consider investing the money into a smartphone with a good camera, especially if your budget is on the low side.

Check out the following articles for your budget to find your perfect travel camera: