Traveling is now more than something you do on holiday. There are so many new things to try, great places to visit, and memories to bring home from every trip. Even better, you can turn traveling into a hobby that pays, especially with the demand for travel articles and photos on the rise.

One of the crucial tools you need to take better travel pictures is a good camera. If you’re thinking about getting a new camera this year, here are some of the things you need to know about choosing a camera for travel.

Go Mirrorless

DSLRs were popular, but mirrorless cameras are now as good if not better than the best DSLRs on the market. Instead of picking up a new Canon or Nikon DSLR, you can get great travel photos using a Fuji, Sony, Panasonic, or Olympus mirrorless cameras.

Mirrorless cameras give you some invaluable advantages. For starters, they are light and compact enough for everyday use. You can throw one into your backpack and not notice any difference in weight at all.

Mirrorless cameras also have interchangeable lenses. You can use your old Canon or Nikon lenses with an adapter, and you now have a wide range of native lenses to choose from as well. Oh, and did I mention that mirrorless cameras are nearly as affordable as compact cameras or superzooms?

Know Your Photo Style

The kind of photos you want to take will determine the kind of camera and lens combination you need to bring. If you love landscape photos, getting a mirrorless camera with a bigger sensor and then pairing it with a wide-angle lens is the way to go. The bigger sensor lets you capture more details.

For street photography, you want something compact and light, along with a 35mm lens for the best field of view. Sure, you can use other lenses for the job, but a 35mm gives you that classic street photography look.

The aperture of the lens matters too. If you want your food photos to have a shallow depth of field and creamy bokeh, you want to get a lens with a f/1.8 aperture or bigger. Sigma makes some of the best wide aperture lenses (and a digital camera to go along with them) so go check out Sigma Rumors for reviews.

Overcome the Challenges

A mirrorless camera – well, any type of camera – is not without its pros and cons. To be able to capture great travel photos, you also need to consider the challenges you’ll be faced with along the way. For example, you want to pick up extra batteries for your Sony camera if you’ll be spending a lot of time on the road since Sony mirrorless cameras don’t have the biggest batteries.

Choosing the right camera to get this year is a matter of finding one that suits your shooting style best. There are some incredible options on the market, from the classic Sigma DP2, the compact Sony A6500 to the video-centric Panasonic GH5, so you’ll have no trouble finding one that matches your needs perfectly.