The question often gets asked: “For travel, when should I pack a DSLR and when should I just pack the point and shoot camera?”

There is really no quick and simple answer to this question, as your personal preferences are going to really come to bear here, but I’ll try to offer some insight.

The 3 main things I would consider in making this decision:

1. Length of Trip
2. Type of Outing
3. Room to Pack

Length of Trip

If you’re going to be gone for a long period of time (several weeks, for example) and visiting a variety of places, I’d say you need to pack both and a good range of lenses. Why? Because you’re likely planning on being in more than just one place and depending on where you’ll be at any given time, you’ll want to change what you’re carrying.

Type of Outing

This is the major deciding factor in the end. I’ll be honest with you, I will try to take my DSLR everywhere I possibly can, because it will outperform my point and shoot in certain situations. But I am a big time proponent of the idea that you can get freaking amazing photos with a point and shoot with enough practice and confidence. (Can you tell which of the photos in this post are P&S vs DSLR?)

So when you are going to be somewhere iffy (water park, roller coasters) and you don’t want to chance damaging The Big Kahuna, you might want to pack The Dependable Little Brick (nicknames for my Canon 7D and Canon Powershot g9).

Room to Pack

If your packing space is limited (assuming you’re taking a pleasure trip and not a serious photograph assignment) you’re going to be defaulting to your point and shoot, as they are always smaller, and the lenses are attached and limited to what’s in camera. Many of them fit in your pocket, and those that don’t will fit in your purse. But if you have room and you’re going to be seeing gorgeous sights, you owe it to yourself to have that DSLR on you. Invest in a good camera bag that will hold your body and a few lenses at least.