The Best Film Cameras For Travel | My 8 Favorite Travel Cameras | Film Photography in Portugal

August 12, 2024

I can’t help it. I fill my camera bag to the brim every chance I get! I love to have a combination of digital, 35 mm, medium format, and polaroid cameras for every shoot or travel adventure. They each have a different purpose in my mind and have their own advantages. I typically have around 8 cameras with me at any given time and I’ve learned it’s just a part of who I am! I recently went to Portugal for 10 days and it took me forever to decide which cameras to bring along with me. At this point, my camera collection is nearing 100 and is always growing. There are so many cameras I want to try out and review for my YouTube channel!

I wanted to share the 8 cameras I took with me to Portugal and share a few of my favorite features of each one. And of course, I’ll share a few photographs I took during my trip with each camera! I also posted a YouTube video about these cameras if you’d prefer to watch rather than read!

1. CANON G7X MARK II

The Canon G7X Mark II is the only digital camera I brought with me to Portugal. It’s a tiny powershot point-and-shoot camera with a 24-100 mm zoom lens. I was dreading lugging around my giant 5D Mark IV DSLR with my massive 24-70 mm zoom lens, so I decided to take a risk and only bring along this little point-and-shoot for my digital images. While I love my 5D Mark IV, it just doesn’t make sense to carry it around all day when I’m walking 10 miles a day up and down hills in Portugal! I was pretty nervous about leaving my best camera at home, but I had seen images my mom had taken on a trip to Africa with the G7X Mark II and I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. I’d say the G7X pretty much fulfilled my needs throughout the trip and my body was extremely grateful for my decision not to carry around a DSLR. The G7X Mark II does great with landscapes and touristy snapshots. It’s not the greatest for super low-light environments but nonetheless, it surprised me with its capabilities. With an f/1.8 lens it can take some pretty remarkable photos for such a small camera. I’ve always had an affinity for Canon Powershot cameras. My very first digital camera was one of Canon’s Powershot point-and-shoot in the early 2000s. Sadly, it was stolen, but if I still had it today, I’d probably still use it! Canon never ceases to amaze me. You can read my full review of the Canon G7X Mark II here!

WHERE TO BUY THE CANON G7X MARK II:

Amazon

Adorama

eBay (used)

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Sample photos:

2. HOLGA GCFN

You all know I’m obsessed with the Holga. Particularly the Holga GCFN. It’s a toy camera made of plastic and it’s extremely limited with it’s features. But there’s something incredibly magical about the vignetted images, light leaks and multiple exposures. This is the one camera I never leave home without. I’ve racked up quite a collection of these little guys over the years and my goal is to eventually own every single color! They weigh absolutely nothing which is perfect for traveling and they’re surprisingly resilient. I dropped mine in a river in Japan once and it still worked! These cameras take some patience and experimentation, but once you get the hang of it, it’s kind of hard to hate on it. It’s my favorite camera in the world, truly. You can check out my full blog post about the Holga here, or watch my YouTube video here!

WHERE TO BUY THE HOLGA GCFN:

Amazon

eBay

FILM RECOMMENDATIONS:

Lomography 400 120 film

Kodak Portra 160 120 film

Kodak Portra 400 120 film

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3. DIANA F+

I’ve had my Diana F+ for years but I’ve only recently been using it more consistently. It falls into a similar category as the Holga and is basically a plastic toy camera. It’s super cute to look at and there are a ton of different lenses you can experiment with. While I find the Diana F+ to be a bit more difficult and fickle to use than the Holga, I’ve been learning it’s quirks and have been getting better results. I actually like the fisheye lens of the Diana F+ better than the Holga fisheye so I’ve pretty much been using the Diana F+ as my fisheye camera on my trips. Plus, it’s nice to have a backup toy camera in case something happens to my Holga! I recently posted a full review of this camera too, or you can see it in action on my YouTube channel.

WHERE TO BUY:

Diana F+ 120 camera on Amazon

Diana Mini 35 mm camera with flash on Amazon

Diana F+ Instant Square Deluxe Kit on Amazon

Diana Baby 110 on eBay

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4. POLAROID IMPULSE 600

Polaroid 600 cameras are probably the easiest of the polaroid cameras to use. They are essentially point-and-shoot instant film cameras. I have probably 7 or 8 different polaroid 600 cameras and I’ll try out different ones from time to time, but end up getting pretty much the same results. For this trip, I decided to bring the Polaroid Impulse 600. It’s a vintage camera that actually belonged to my dad back in the day. I particularly love using the round-frame 600 film, which you can find on Polaroid.com! There’s just something so magical about instant photography and that immediate gratification of seeing a film photo form in front of your eyes! It’s like carrying a little darkroom around with you everywhere you go. Except way less messy and time-consuming and without all of the hassle of figuring out film development yourself! I have a full blog post about the Polaroid One-Step, a very similar camera, if you’re interested in reading more about 600 cameras!

WHERE TO BUY THE POLAROID IMPULSE:

Amazon

eBay

KEH Camera

POLAROID 600 FILM:

Square Frame 600 Film on Amazon.com

Square Frame 600 Film on Polaroid.com

Round Frame 600 Film on Amazon.com

Round Frame 600 Film on Polaroid.com

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5. KODAK DUAFLEX 620 CAMERA

This was one of those “mystery cameras” I brought with me to Portugal. I’d never used it before and was taking a bit of a risk bringing it. But I tested the shutter before I left home and everything seemed to be in working condition. The Kodak Duaflex is a 620 film camera from the 1940s & 50s. While they don’t make 620 film anymore, you can buy any 120 film and roll it onto a 620 film spool yourself, or you can buy 620 film from the Film Photography Project or other company that pre-spools 620 film. I’m in love with the photos I got with it and I recently posted a YouTube video from our trip about this camera too! I just wish I’d shot more rolls! I just love super vintage/retro images, especially when they’re produced with a camera that’s so old and somehow still functions! Read more about the Kodak Duaflex here!

WHERE TO BUY THE KODAK DUAFLEX CAMERA:

Amazon

eBay

KEH Camera

FILM I USED:

Kodak TMAX 100 by the Film Photography Project

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6. MINOLTA MAXXUM STSI

The Minolta Maxxum STsi is becoming one of those cameras I can’t leave home without. It has so many functions and features, including a super fun panorama mode. I have an AF 28-85mm 3.5-4.5 zoom lens but you can buy other lenses for it if you prefer a fixed focal length or something else. While it’s not the sharpest camera that I own, it’s sharp enough for me in most situations. But what I really love about it is the fact that it has that panorama mode, a flash, a zoom lens option, autofocus, aperture priority and a multiple exposure function. It has almost everything I’d ever want in a travel camera. It’s becoming harder and harder for me to leave it behind so it might just become as special to me as the Holga one of these days! Watch my YouTube video if you want to know more about it!

WHERE TO BUY THE MINOLTA MAXXUM STSI:

KEH Camera

Amazon

eBay

AF 28-85MM 3.5-4.5 ZOOM LENS:

eBay

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7. NIKON FE2

The Nikon FE2 is the fanciest 35mm camera I own. I still remember the day I bought it! I visited Blue Moon Camera in Portland, Oregon with a Pentax K1000 on my mind. But after discussing my style of shooting with the store associate, they convinced me to go with the Nikon FE2 and I’m so glad I did! I LOVE this camera. The images are stunning, the lens is super sharp, and it has a multiple exposure function. It has the classic retro film camera look to it and feels super sturdy and reliable in your hand. It’s just perfect. I use a 50mm f/1.4 lens and I find it to be the perfect lens for the Nikon FE2. A zoom lens would be a bit too much to handle with this camera because it is a manual focus camera. I considered leaving this one at home, but looking at my images from Portugal, I’m thrilled with the images and need to remember that this camera never deserves to be left at home. It’s just too incredible!

WHERE TO BUY:

Purchase a Nikon FE2 on Amazon!

Purchase a Nikon FE2 on eBay!

Purchase a Nikon FE2 on KEH Camera!

LENS:

50mm f/1.4 AF Nikkor

35-70mm f/3.3 AF Nikkor (more affordable zoom lens)

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8. MINOLTA HI-MATIC AF2

The Minolta Hi-Matic AF2 was my second “mystery camera” of the trip. And it was really a mystery because it wasn’t even working when I first pulled it out of a box in my house. The shutter was stuck, the battery compartment was corroded and it wasn’t making any sort of sounds at all! But I spent a day cleaning the battery compartment with rubbing alcohol and q-tips, and I messed with the shutter clasp and eventually, by some miracle, I got it working! The shutter was intermittent at first, but the more I warmed it up, the more reliable it became. I was so surprised that I was able to get through two rolls of film on my trip without a hiccup at all. While it’s not the sharpest camera in the land, it has a special sort of grainy, retro film vibe that is unique and fun. It’s a very simple point-and-shoot camera with an f/2.8 lens. I’m excited to try it out again sometime soon because I want to see more from it! And yes, I have a full blog post and YouTube video about this one too!

WHERE TO BUY THE MINOLTA HI-MATIC AF2:

Amazon

KEH Camera

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FINAL THOUGHTS

It’s hard for me to hate on any cameras really, but this combination of digital and film cameras really covered all my bases throughout my trip. Plus, none of them are crazy heavy or bulky. The only camera I missed having was my Polaroid Land Camera. But it’s quite heavy and I only have a few boxes of film left to use with it, sadly. I’m patiently waiting for Polaroid to start producing film for it again, but I’m trying not to get my hopes up in case it doesn’t happen! :( You can still buy old boxes of film for land cameras on eBay but they are so pricey now. It’s such a beautiful camera to use though and the images are irreplaceable. Ugh, maybe one day they’ll have a much-deserved resurgence!

I hope these cameras and photos inspire you in some way to try out a new camera! It’s always intimidating shooting with a new camera for the first time, but it’s also so exciting!

If you found this post helpful or if you’d like to see more of my work, I’d love it if you considered signing up for my Patreon! For as little as $1 a month, you’ll get early access to all of my YouTube videos, plus tons of photos that I don’t post anywhere else. Depending on which tier you choose, you could also receive seasonal prints and/or discounts! I always use all of the proceeds towards cameras, film & processing. Find out more here!

If you have any questions, I’m always happy to help! You can contact me here, or leave a comment below! Thanks so much for stopping by! You can also check out my Amazon storefront for more camera/film recommendations. :) Have a magical day!

<3 Myles Katherine

This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links.

Canon Powershot G7X Mark II Review with Sample Photos | How Does it Compare to a DSLR like the 5D Mark IV?

June 9, 2024

Is the Canon Powershot G7X Mark II as Good as a DSLR?

(This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links.)

I’m always on the hunt for tiny cameras that can take amazing photographs. But when it comes to my DSLR, the Canon 5D Mark IV, it’s hard to imagine that there’s a pocket-sized camera out there good enough to fill its shoes when I’m traveling. But I bring SO many cameras when I’m traveling, that bringing my giant DSLR just to snap a few photos when I’m attempting to capture a sunset or other difficult lighting situation, doesn’t really make sense either. So for my most recent trip to Portugal, I decided to challenge myself. I left my big, heavy DSLR at home and brought the Canon G7X Mark II with me instead. It’s actually technically my mom’s camera that I got for her before she went on a trip to Africa. She wanted something that was small and super easy to use, but that was capable of taking decent photos. She also wanted a camera with a zoom function, because she was going on a safari and wanted to be able to zoom in on the animals. I did tons of research, attempting to find something amazing within her price point (under $700). She’s not a photographer, so I needed to make sure that I got her something with a full auto setting and that didn’t require a lot of energy to use. When she got home, I went through her photos and was pleasantly surprised by how incredibly beautiful the landscape photos turned out! And since I take mostly landscape and wide shots when I’m traveling, I figured it might just fill the void of my 5D Mark IV if I decided to leave it at home on my next trip.

The G7X Mark II has become a highly sought-after camera over the last few years and is actually kind of difficult to get your hands on these days. If you’ve come across one, consider yourself lucky! They’ve gone up in price too because of the desirability. There’s a newer version of it, the Canon G7X Mark III, which is also quite popular and difficult to get as well. They aren’t extremely different from each other, so either one would be a great option. I think they are so popular because of their combo of photo/video features and the fact that point-and-shoots are quite desired by the younger generations these days. It’s a great camera for TikTokers, YouTubers and vloggers. But it’s so user-friendly that it’s great for photographers and non-photographers alike, at any level.

So, do I regret leaving my 5D Mark IV at home?

It’s kind of complicated. During my trip to Portugal, I loved how easy it was to pull the G7X Mark II out of my purse and snap a photo. It’s just a tiny point-and-shoot, it turns on quickly, it’s digital so I can take as many photos as I want, and it’s inconspicuous. I don’t have to be the “photographer girl” with her giant DSLR and zoom lens walking around on the street. It also has a video feature that we used a few times as well. Not to mention that I did have 8 other cameras with me, so not having the weight of my DSLR was extremely nice! I didn’t really find myself missing my 5D Mark IV, mainly because it was easier to pull the G7X Mark II out of my bag than it typically is to get my 5D Mark IV out. The G7X fulfilled the job of capturing tons of wide city shots, and the f/1.8 lens actually allowed me to get some lovely food and detail shots when I wanted them. Though I will say, it takes a bit of patience to get the G7X to live up to its full potential. Because it does have that f/1.8 lens, if you put the camera on full auto, you probably won’t benefit from the 1.8 lens very often unless you’re in a super low-light situation. If you’re more adventurous, you can set it to the aperture-priority mode to benefit from that background blur that you can get with a wider aperture.

But, the only thing that really matters - were the photos up to par?

I spent last week going through the photos and editing them. I made sure to shoot in RAW so I had as much control over the post-process as possible. The landscape photos are quite beautiful and the camera does surprisingly well in full auto mode. While I do think that having a zoom lens on my DSLR makes it much easier to capture the exact image that I want, I started to get more used to the digital zoom on the G7X as the days went by. It’s definitely a much slower process that using a zoom lens, because you have to sit there and wait for it to zoom in. So it might be easy to miss a shot if you’re doing street photography and trying to capture a specific moment in time.

Where I did notice the lack of quality when compared to the 5D Mark IV is when I zoomed in on the images in Lightroom. The details are much noisier and less sharp. The shadows don’t contain as much information. The portraits aren’t as flattering. Particularly photos that are taken in low light seem to be rather soft. I found myself adding quite a bit of sharpness and noise reduction to make them work. I don’t think they would print well in large-scale, which is another question I was attempting to answer on my trip. I always want the option of being able to print my photos in large-scale for a gallery show. If I magically capture the most beautiful photograph of all time on my trip, I want to know that I captured it in enough detail to frame it and enter it into a fine art exhibition. You could definitely get away with a decent 12x18 print, but anything larger than that might be questionable. The camera does best with bright landscapes and lots of light. You probably could get away with printing those larger, its mainly the low-light images that are more questionable.

In the grand scheme of things though, I was pleasantly surprised by how well it did in low light. I used it inside churches and in wine cellars and it had no trouble at all getting a clear image. I was expecting to have some difficulty getting those sorts of images, but even on the auto setting, the G7X managed it all relatively easily. I always take 2 or 3 images in those sorts of situations, just in case the shutter is a bit too slow and the image is accidentally slightly blurry. But that f/1.8 lens really helps in that regard.

However, for everyday social media posts, blog posts and personal memories and prints, the G7X Mark II does perfectly fine. Amazing, actually. My mom, who is not a photographer, took some incredible shots on her trip to Africa that even made me consider putting together a portfolio of images and submitting them to galleries for her! Though I’d probably be cautious of printing them too large. :) The G7X can definitely up your point-and-shoot game if you’re an amateur photographer. It’s better than a cell phone, that’s for sure! And as a professional photographer, I’m definitely noticing things that the average viewer wouldn’t notice. To some, they may see no difference at all when comparing images from the 5D Mark IV and the G7X Mark II. But on a pro level, I don’t think the G7X is quite capable enough to replace the 5D Mark IV. Maybe I’m crazy to have even entertained the idea! It makes sense that a camera that’s 3 times the price would take better photos! But the fact that it’s a point-and-shoot and can take photos this beautiful, is kind of mind-blowing.

Will I take the G7X Mark II on my next trip and leave my 5D Mark IV at home again?

Honestly, maybe! If the 5D Mark IV was my one and only camera that I took with me on trips, then no, I’d forget about the G7X and only take my 5D Mark IV obviously! But I mainly focus on shooting film when traveling so any digital camera I bring is really just a backup. They mainly come in handy in low-light situations; to capture beautiful sunsets, candlelit dinners or spooky alleyways. It was SO nice not having the weight of my DSLR in my backpack though. My body just simply can’t handle that anymore. There were only a few situations that I ran across where I wished I had my DSLR with me. A moonlit evening over the bay. A sunset cocktail with sailboats in the background. But the G7X Mark II worked well enough that at least I didn’t miss the shot. I had to fiddle with the camera in manual mode to get the photos to turn out the way I wanted. But honestly, for the average person, the auto mode probably would work just fine in almost any situation.

I haven’t officially decided what I’ll do for my next trip, but it was incredibly nice not having to lug my 5D Mark IV around. What I really need is a digital/film hybrid camera that shoots medium format and 35mm, has a flash, a multiple exposure function, a zoom lens, a panorama mode, aperture priority, incredible low-light capabilities and a lightweight body - then I’d have my dream camera! If you happen to know of a camera that fits all of these functions, please please please let me know. :) In the meantime, I’ll be filling my camera bag with dozens of random cameras in search of the perfect one to fulfill all of my needs.

I hope this post helps you decide if the Canon G7X Mark II is for you! I find it to be a pretty spectacular camera, especially because it IS just a point-and-shoot! When I think back to my very first Canon Powershot camera I had back in the 2000s, even then, I was surprised by the quality that I was able to get with it. And now, with all of these modern-day functionalities, it’s kind of amazing what they can squeeze into these tiny cameras.

So… while the G7X Mark II won’t be replacing my 5D Mark IV as my everyday workhorse camera that I use at professional gigs, it does have the potential to be a contender for a decent digital travel camera. I’ll have to sleep on it a bit more before I decide what to do for my next trip. But in the meantime, if someone were to ask me if the G7X Mark II was worth the money, I’d say absolutely. It can take quite stunning photographs, even for the average person. It’s extremely easy to use, but still offers those pro-level settings like manual, aperture priority and shutter priority if you want to get more creative. It has full HD video, which makes the camera a good option for social media and vlogging (and some even argue the G7X Mark II is better for video than the G7X Mark III). And the 24-100mm lens offers a lot of versatility for a point-and-shoot camera. The fact that it made my mom’s photos from Africa look almost pro-level was a huge eye-opener for me, and was really the reason that I had the confidence and trust in the G7X Mark II to be a temporary travel replacement for my DSLR.

I’ve included more sample photos below to give you a better idea of the camera’s capabilities, including some of my favorite photos that my mom took on her trip to Africa. If you are interested in seeing photos from the Canon 5D Mark IV for comparison, you can check out my blog post here!