travel to Cuba

<p>Hello. My 16 year old will be traveling to Cuba this summer. He wishes to take pictures of street life, buildings, people, beaches, etc. I want him to be low key when taking photos so he does not attract thieves. I do not want him taking a bulky SLR with a telephoto lense. Is there is a high quality point and shoot he can use-that won't reduce the quality of the photos? Or some other camera? The plan is to make 24 x 24 prints. He will be staying with a cuban family at their home. Thank you.</p>

<p>Is there a high quality point and shoot that won't reduce the quality of the photographs? The literal answer to your question is no. Even the p&s with lots of pixels have very small pixels that simply don't weigh the same as those in a dslr when it comes to image quality. In fact there are a lot of dslr's that I wouldn't rely on to make 24" sq prints (assuming you mean inches), from presumably hand-held originals. </p>

<p>But its not all bad news. Cuba isn't one of the destinations you'd think of when it comes to ranking destinations for risk of theft or worse. Certainly in my four visits there I've never felt remotely threatened. But as the country modernises, inevitably some less honest behaviour creeps in, so its necessary to take some care, as you would anywhere. Still within the last couple of yearsI've walked the streets all day with a Canon 5D with the odd white lens and didn't seem to attract too much attention. </p>

 

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<li>Don't walk the streets with a backpack. Much easier to look after your gear with a shoulder bag that you can swing in front of you. And don't put the bag down as you work- keep it over your shoulder with a zip or clip fastened. I'd say the same about any large city with lots of tourists, there's nothing particularly risky about Cuba. </li>

<li>Be careful what and where he eats. Ten years ago it was difficult to find much more than rice & beans with small portions of meat. Today the restaurant business has exploded as the government have had to accept private enterprise as an alternative to poverty and starvation. But not everything available is cooked hygenically. After having one trip badly affected by food poisoning I would not go back without carrying a course or two of Ciprofloxacin and a more general penicillin-based antibiotic such as Amoxicillin. Cuba may have lots of doctors but it doesn't have lots of drugs for them to prescribe. Last time i was in Havana, there were piles of household rubbish in the streets in many parts of the city and it seemed that the money to operate even basic services at the right frequency wasn't there. </li>

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<p>All that aside I like Cuba and its better to go now than in a few years when more buildings will have been restored and there's more new cars and buildings. Back to your question. Your son needs to reduce his horizons on image size or take his slr- assuming for the moment that it will cope with that size- or take his slr. Whatever, he'll enjoy it . </p><div></div>

<p>There is a recently announced camera, should be available by summer, that may fit your needs, the Canon G1X. <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canong1x/"><strong>There is a preview of it here</strong></a> that now includes sample images. It has a a sensor reasonably close in size to the smaller of the two main DSLR formats. It is not tiny, but from the specs it is a little smaller than a Nikon D40 without a lens. I expect dpreview to have a full review of it soon.</p>

<p>Why focus on point-and-shoots while there are a lot of exceptional quality mirrorless cameras that are sometimes smaller than your average P&S? Take a look at http://camerasize.com/compare/#140,167 - the web site compares cameras side-by-side. In the above link I've shown Canon S100 (a small high-quality P&S) and Panasonic GF3 (mirrorless), which has interchangeable lenses and a much bigger sensor - which means higher image quality and more flexibility. Both cameras are the same size. Note that lenses for cameras with bigger sensors tend to be bigger as well.<br /> Bottom line: you want to have a small camera AND you want to print 24x24 - you go with mirrorless (and at least a tabletop tripod for low-light shots).</p>

<p>Regards,<br /> Jean</p>

<p>I don't think it matters much what kind of camera you bring, from a security standpoint.</p>

<p>In Cuba you're very unlikely to get robbed in a confrontation. Leave gear (of any kind) unattended, however, and you can count on it being gone.</p>

<p>I've been to Cuba three times over the years and always pack a dslr and a lumix P&S. When I want to be discreet I use the p&s but most of the time I use the dslr taking the normal precautions that one would in any locale where street crime may be above average. After visiting 225 countries in the past 30 years, I've only been mugged once (in Santiago, Chile); Even then, they took my wallet, lowered me gently to the ground, let me keep my camera bag with a body and three lenses, and then disappeared into the night. I have the philosophy that if you spend the money on a decent camera that you should take it with you to the places where you are likely to encounter some of the best photo opps of your life, even if there is some minimal risk of it being stolen. On the days I carry just the p&s I lock the dslr equipment in a bag and usually cable the bag to an immovable object in the hotel room. The mirrorless systems offer great promise but I think I'll wait until all my mirrored gear is stolen before I invest in a new system! fwiw</p>

<p>Hi there, my first post here :)</p>

<p>I've just come back from a weekend in Havana 10 days ago, and had no problems with security issues. I used my iPhone, Canon S95, and Nikon D7000 (with a big lens and battery grip).</p>

<p>I found it was quite useful to have the 3 at my disposal, especially the iPhone with the Pano app - great for those panoramic shots. And it's pretty safe to go off the beaten track, just be aware of your surroundings. The S95 is great for shooting from the hip, getting those unposed people shots.</p>

<p>Useful tips: milk powder is a very good barter item, very expensive and rationed. Just check whether you're actually allowed to bring it in (foodstuffs). Also, use Euros to convert to the local CUCs, as the USD rate is very unattractive. You'll need CUC 25 when you depart Cuba at the airport.</p>

<p>You'll find some really nice renovations going on, right next to completely wrecked buildings, so the contrast in crazy.</p>

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<p>If there is no budget constraint, there are many small non-DSLR cameras to consider:<br>

-Panasonic LX5<br>

-Olympus E-PL2, E-P3<br>

-Canon G12<br>

-Sony NEX3, 5, 5N and 7<br>

-Nikon 1<br>

-Fuji X10, X100<br>

-Leica X1<br>

...</p>