What are you toting these days?

Okay, most of you just thought "my phone" so you can go. What cameras do people pack in 2019?

My default for backpacking has been the Panasonic GM5 with the kit 12-32 zoom plus an Oly 40-150 and at least one fast prime for poor light, e.g., the Oly 45/1.8. A stack of batteries, the clip on flash and I have a smallish kit with a camera always stowed at my side in pouch hung from the hipbelt.

No IBIS, tiny EVF and no weathersealing are the camera's downsides. But the body weighs a scant 211 grams, with battery.

I take bigger stuff on day hikes, because that's how I roll.

Cheers,

4 pounds of indestructable 35mm.



or just under 2 pounds of mechanical wonder.



I've more trust in the reliability of my 35mm than the digitals. They've failed me a couple times.

Depending on the hike, I'll go as far as bringing along my Nikon D810 with Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 and the iOptron Skyguider pro on my carbon tripod. That's ten pounds, but I'm only 75kg, so I can afford that

When we went trekking in Nepal, I brought the Nikon with three primes and a little tabletop tripod. Still about 6 pounds, but we had personal porters on that two week trek. (I gave the guy a 100$ tip because I was so grateful..)

And, yeah, that's the moon in the frame. No tripod used, shot while walking at 4 in the morning at around 5'000m above sea level. That's why I love my DSLR with f/1.8 primes... lol


In Laponia (Northern Norway and Sweden), I only brought the Nikon with the 24/1.8 and my 58/1.4 on the longer hikes. The tabletop tripod for some panorama shots:

Shot at around 11pm, during the midnight sun period.



However, I just acquired a new toy, and at a ridiculously low price for that brand, that I'll bring along every time from now on.
Around 1kg including the tripod and an amazing sensor/lens combo to take beautiful snapshots on longer hikes.
smartphone snap edited to taste

If I'm trying to stay light, I bring a Lumix DC-ZS-200. Built in 24-360 lens, 1 inch sensor, takes nice pics.

My 'heavier' camera is a Lumix DMC FZ-300. Built in 25-600 lens. Only a 2/3 sensor, but still takes mighty fine pics for my purposes.

I’m still using a Canon Power Shot A570 that I bought in 2007. Although the “paint” is worn in places and it has been over a lot of trail, it still works great for me. It’s a point and shoot but IIRC I can choose aperture or shutter speed if I want. It also has a zoom lens. Since I almost always keep it in auto mode, I’ve forgotten how to use a lot of the features. So, I carry a crib sheet for it in my map bag. I confess, though, that I do leave it behind on a lot of shorter trips since I always take my phone. The Canon has much less lens distortion than does the phone so it always goes with me if picture quality is important.

I always bring my GoPro Hero 7 when I hike. It's lightweight, durable and it takes decent pictures and videos.

What kind of hiking do you usually do in the Phillipines? I know there are mountains there, but I don't associate the islands with backcountry trekking.

I stupidly lost my perfectly good camera last year, so bought a Canon G9X. So far I have just set it on "automatic". I hope to experiment with settings more this winter.

It has a 1-inch sensor which makes very large files, which, although nice for details and enlargement, can be a pain to deal with when processing in Photoshop. My computer is not beefy enough and it bogs down at times.

I was using a Sony a65 with a 16-80mm lens generally until a couple of years ago for backpacking. Now I have a Sony a7III. The question is which lens(es) to bring.