The title says it all. Like many of you, I get people asking about what camera to get, but they certainly aren't going out to pick up 3-4K of gear to head off to Europe for a couple weeks. Furthermore, they wouldn't know what to do with it if they had it. I'm in one of those situations now. A long time friend has asked said question, so I know ask you. Can she get for $300 to $400 bucks a camera that will beat a decent phone?

I'm guessing not, but I haven't heard back on the specifics of her trip for lighting and water conditions. I also haven't heard how much video she wants to shoot, nor what she intends to do with the pictures. Posting to the internet is one thing, and printing a 20x30 on metal is another.

Thanks guys.

If it’s around water and they want something durable that’s more in the point and shoot but better than a smartphone, the Olympus TG-4 and Rikoh iforgetthename waterproof cameras are pretty solid.

But ymmv on a million things.

The old model Sony RX100 from 2012 has dropped in price and will still beat lowly phones. It is hard to beat a one inch sensor.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Premium-Compact-Digital-28-100mm/dp/B00889ST2G

When people ask me "What camera should I buy for my trip" I used to give detailed breakdowns of the advantages and disadvantages of different models, tell them how getting the benefits of dedicated camera require more than just pushing a button like on their phone and explain how they will almost certainly need to edit the photos to get the end result they are looking for and all that goes along with that. Then when my spiel was finished and they were staring at me glassy eyed I would say "Or you can just use your phone and enjoy your trip."

Anymore I cut out the spiel and just tell them "If you are not willing to spend ten or twenty hours learning how to use any camera you buy save the money and use your phone. It will be much less frustrating, you will have one less thing to lose and you won't hate me for telling you to buy a "bad camera" when your pictures turn out worse than the ones you took with your phone."

If your friend doesn't have any idea at all about the type of camera they are interested in its a very good bet that sticking with their phone is the right answer.

An original Canon 5D with a 50mm 1.8 can be had for 300 bucks total. It's a full frame sensor and paired with the new 50mm plastic fantastic will crank out images that far exceed anything a camera phone can put out. Whether you know how to use it or not is the question.

Are your reading the emails between my friend and I? That's almost exactly what I said. At the end of the day, she's decided to get a new iphone and use the time she would have invested into attempting to learn how to use a real camera toward planning for her trip etc.

ETA: Thanks for all the suggestions. I really appreciate it.

I am firmly in this guys camp

short answer: it depends

long answer: determining the style-type of shooting, predicted subject material, environment, budget, and capability of the shooter... it all goes a long way

new shooters get wrapped up in gear easily, and they don't often ask themselves reflective questions that just make them better shooters

i did west yellowstone today with an old canon 20d and a prime 50 to help show my wife what you can do with $200 in gear

the best thing a new shooter can do is learn. information is the lightest and most important gear you can carry

two folksy pieces of wisdom helped teach me to shoot better:

light is free. it weighs nothing in your bag, but it's your most important tool

the more you know, the less you have to carry