Best digital cameras for travel | CNN

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Travel + Leisure shares some of the best cameras for travelers on the go. The new Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 offers the most dedicated lenses (11 are available, including one for 3-D) and fun options such as an LCD touch screen that swivels and flips around, allowing for easy-to-shoot self-portraits. $699.

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The Fujifilm Instax Mini is perfect for gatherings. The Polaroid-inspired camera snaps and prints out instant, wallet-size pictures in crisp, vivid colors. From $110.

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The Nikon D5100 is a souped-up, 16.2-mp DSLR. It'll take HD video of everything from extreme sports to evening scenes, and has a convenient swiveling LCD screen and viewfinder. The on-screen guide is great for beginners. $900.

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Part of a growing category of pro-level point-and-shoots, Olympus's stylish XZ-1 model has lightning-fast performance for both stills and video, plus wide-angle capability. $500.

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Whether you bang it, drop it, submerge it, or bury it in the snow, this fun 14-mp compact Pentax Optio WG-1 can handle all travel situations. The GPS version will geo-tag your pictures. From $350.

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With its narrow and rounded brushed-metal body, the Samsung NX100 has a sizable (three-inch) touch screen, as well as compatibility with third-party accessories, including external flashes and microphones. There's no built-in image stabilization, however, so novice shooters should look for lenses with that feature. $550.

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The Canon Powershot SX230 HS is ideal for nights on the town, this compact outperforms more expensive models in low-light situations, thanks to a big sensor and image-stabilization technology. Built-in GPS embeds photos with location information. $350.

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The most user-friendly of the bunch, the Olympus PEN E-PL2 has a built-in flash, as well as handy attachable accessories such as the PENPal, which lets you send images via Bluetooth to your smart phone and then upload them to Facebook. $600.

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With an extra-large sensor for a camera of its size, the Sony Alpha NEX-C3 delivers crystal-clear images both at night and in bright daylight. Not to mention, it weighs in at only eight ounces and is just over an inch wide. $650.

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Small enough to fit into a shirt pocket, yet capable of shooting up to 10 hours of image-stabilized HD video, the Kodak Playfull captures high-quality footage while offering maximum portability. $150.

Travel companion cameras

Story highlights

Even with camera-enabled smartphones, dedicated digital cameras are as important as ever

New interchangeable lens cameras provide the same image quality of DSLRs at half the size

If you prefer something smaller, it's worth upgrading to the latest point-and-shoot camera

Travel + Leisure —

You’re out for drinks at a tango hall in Buenos Aires, with your bulky digital SLR camera back in the hotel room. As the dancers pause in a dramatic embrace, you reach for your smartphone. But it’s too dim, and by the time the built-in camera focuses, the moment has passed.

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Welcome to one of today’s biggest travel photography conundrums. Five-or-more-megapixel smartphones give us a false sense of being covered, photo-wise. But all too often, they fall short, and we’re left with blurry, even discolored vacation photos. The truth is that dedicated digital cameras are just as important as ever.

Fortunately, the digital SLR – with its super-fast shutter speeds, big image sensors, and interchangeable lenses – is no longer the only option for top-notch photos. By ditching the internal reflective mirror that gives the SLR its what-you-see-is-what-you-get viewfinder, a new generation of interchangeable lens cameras provides the same versatility, image quality and performance at about two-thirds of the size and weight. You’ll really appreciate the difference after a day of sightseeing.

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Going on an extended vacation that combines hiking, city tours, midnight walks and wakeboarding? The mirrorless interchangeable lens camera is up to the challenge: Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, for example, has 11 different lenses, among them, wide-angle, telephoto and zoom, that can handle any situation.

If you prefer something smaller, it’s worth upgrading to the latest generation of pocket-ready point-and-shoot cameras, which offer many advantages over camera phones. New features include built-in GPS, which automatically geo-tags images with their location – allowing you to share and map vacation routes later online via services such as Google Panoramio. The Pentax Optio WG-1’s built-in GPS can even tell you which Cayman Islands coral reef you photographed, since it’s waterproof up to 33 feet.

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One advantage you do get with a smartphone is the ability to instantly share your pictures online. But some cameras now offer workarounds: the Kodak Playfull has a special function that lets you tag photos for sharing, then automatically uploads them the next time you connect to your computer. Similarly, an add-on for the Olympus PEN E-PL2 will send your pictures wirelessly to your cell phone via Bluetooth, allowing you to upload on the fly. Check out the gallery above for some of the best travel camera options.

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