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#193301 - 01/22/16 02:19 PM Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer?
Bird Offline
newbie

Registered: 01/22/16
Posts: 1
Loc: San Francisco
Which type of camera do you prefer to take when having a trip?

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#193302 - 01/22/16 02:32 PM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: Bird]
aimless Online   content
Moderator

Registered: 02/05/03
Posts: 3292
Loc: Portland, OR
It all depends on how important photography is as a part of one's hiking experience. I very much want decent quality snapshots of my trips, but I don't pursue high quality to the extent of carrying a DSLR camera and my only tripod is a tiny 2 oz. one that I leave home as often as not.

Because I have not (until a month ago) even owned a smartphone or ever taken any kind of cell phone with me on backpacks, due to the poor to non-existent coverage where I hike, my cameras have been compact digital cameras for the past decade or more. My current one is a 7 oz. Fuji FinePix that claims to be water resistant and shock resistant (but I don't care to test out those claims). I've also owned Olympus and Canon compact digitals and they worked just fine for me, too.

Now that I finally own a smartphone, I may experiment with taking it on short backpacks to see if it adds any benefits (such as GPS, MP3, e-reader) that aren't offset by the rapid depletion of the batteries and the overall less rugged construction that could turn it into a hunk of junk if it gets physically abused during a trip.

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#193307 - 01/22/16 04:57 PM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: Bird]
4evrplan Offline
member

Registered: 01/16/13
Posts: 913
Loc: Nacogdoches, TX, USA
Smartphone for me. It's relatively cheap (most people have one anyway), light, and small, but of course you have to baby it a bit and be careful not to run the battery down and the pictures aren't great. It's all a trade-off.

I've tried to get a photographer friend of mine out on the trail for a more photography-centric trip. His equipment would be much better, but so far he hasn't bitten.
_________________________
The journey is more important than the destination.

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#193314 - 01/24/16 08:40 PM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: 4evrplan]
shuddleson Offline
member

Registered: 06/19/14
Posts: 40
Loc: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Nikon P7100 for me. Full controls in a small package

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#193331 - 01/25/16 05:07 PM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: Bird]
Rick_D Offline
member

Registered: 01/06/02
Posts: 2939
Loc: NorCal
Advanced compact (Panasonic LX or Sigma DP) if I'm traveling as light as possible, mirrorless ILC (Olympus OM-D, Panasonic GM) if I'm more serious about collecting pictures. My DSLR days are over.

Cheers,
_________________________
--Rick

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#193454 - 02/03/16 05:12 PM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: Rick_D]
finallyME Offline
member

Registered: 09/24/07
Posts: 2710
Loc: Utah
Cannon powershot. My wife has a DSLR that I am not allowed to bring. Anyways, I don't like using my phone because of batteries. The powershot can take more than a weeks worth of photos and a lot of video on a single charge. I do want a gopro for better video while walking though.
_________________________
I've taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me, send money.

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#193499 - 02/05/16 12:45 PM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: finallyME]
bluefish Offline
member

Registered: 06/05/13
Posts: 680
A Pentax WG-3 with GPS for me. Picture quality is fairly good, but has a few issues with white balance and slow focusing. Pros are great durability, waterproofness, a clock/alarm, GPS location , a compass , and a relative altimeter for navigation.
The picture taking is good enough for my purposes and has captured a few frameable moments.
_________________________
Charlie

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#195559 - 05/29/16 08:56 PM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: Bird]
Tinker.Boyd Offline
newbie

Registered: 05/17/16
Posts: 4
Loc: Texas
We've always carried our Canon Rebel T3i DSLR with a zoom that converts to a macro, but honestly our best scenery and wildlife pictures have been around visitor centers and short hikes around campgrounds etc so I think on our next trip we are leaving it behind and just relying on the cellphone.

Tinker

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#195564 - 05/30/16 09:24 AM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: Tinker.Boyd]
ndsol Offline
member

Registered: 04/16/02
Posts: 678
Loc: Houston, Texas
Though it is heavier (but not as heavy as my other camera gear), for backpacking, I will generally take a Sony DSLT APS-C with a 16-80mm lens and a 1.4x teleconverter. I also consider taking a GorrillaPod and/or TrailPix for a light tripod.

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#195623 - 06/02/16 09:14 AM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: ndsol]
Ken S Offline
member

Registered: 10/26/12
Posts: 32
Loc: Saint Charles, MO
Usually just my phone.

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#196322 - 08/10/16 09:33 PM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: Bird]
bob1900 Offline
member

Registered: 06/16/15
Posts: 19
I often use my smartphone to take photo. Camera is too expensive for me.

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#196323 - 08/11/16 06:06 AM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: Bird]
Viking Offline
newbie

Registered: 08/11/16
Posts: 2
Loc: Czech republic
Hi all,
new member here out of Prague Czech republic so big wave to you all smile

I lug my 70D with me along with my 24-105L lens. On top of that if I want wide angle I also pack my 11-16mm from Tamaron which is great for astro photography as well. Looking forward to using it this weekend for possible Perseids if the sky is clear. I always have a 50mm lens with me as well just for detailed photographs as its super sharp and 1.8f is a charm to have.

Never leave without my tripod and on top of that I am looking at Lee filter system now. My hikes are from day trips to long week hikes.

smile

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#196406 - 08/23/16 12:09 AM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: Viking]
toddfw2003 Offline
member

Registered: 01/08/16
Posts: 369
Loc: Texas
AEE S71T

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#196427 - 08/24/16 07:30 PM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: Viking]
ndsol Offline
member

Registered: 04/16/02
Posts: 678
Loc: Houston, Texas
Originally Posted By Viking
Hi all,
new member here out of Prague Czech republic so big wave to you all smile

I lug my 70D with me along with my 24-105L lens. On top of that if I want wide angle I also pack my 11-16mm from Tamaron which is great for astro photography as well. Looking forward to using it this weekend for possible Perseids if the sky is clear. I always have a 50mm lens with me as well just for detailed photographs as its super sharp and 1.8f is a charm to have.

Never leave without my tripod and on top of that I am looking at Lee filter system now. My hikes are from day trips to long week hikes.

smile


You carry quite the gear in terms of weight. I would like to carry a full tripod, but those pounds I can very rarely justify on a backpacking trip.

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#196744 - 10/10/16 03:09 PM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: Bird]
Joe's_Outing Offline
newbie

Registered: 09/14/16
Posts: 5
I use Nikon D3100

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#198257 - 05/02/17 03:29 AM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: Bird]
Tina2017 Offline
newbie

Registered: 05/02/17
Posts: 2
Loc: Southern California
I use a Sony RX100 (IV) and GoPro (one trip I brought my Feiyu G4 stabilizer with me). But for the most part it's the compact camera and a GoPro.

When I first started backpacking I brought my DSLR and two lenses. That just got too heavy and I'm not a serious photographer.

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#199485 - 11/12/17 06:34 PM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: Bird]
Adventurejus Offline
member

Registered: 11/11/17
Posts: 15
Loc: NC
Sony A7R with 24-70mm lense w/ tripod usually. Adds about 4-5lbs to my pack but so worth it in my opinion, absolutely love photography!

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#199515 - 11/15/17 12:14 PM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: Adventurejus]
shuddleson Offline
member

Registered: 06/19/14
Posts: 40
Loc: Albuquerque, New Mexico
for years, I packed a Nikon FtN body with usually a 35 mm f2.8 and a 135 f 2.8. Add 6 or 10 rolls of film and it was a load. It just (as pointed out previously) depends on how important photographs are to the trip. For me, it was important and I recently have been digitizing my slides from those trips and am thankful that I carried that load.

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#201689 - 09/12/18 04:44 AM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: Bird]
wildnfree Offline
member

Registered: 09/29/17
Posts: 25
Loc: Phoenix, Az
Compact or mirrorless because they're lightweight. I dont want to take extra weight by bringing a DSLR camera.

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#202224 - 12/06/18 05:38 AM Re: Which type of camera equipment do you guys prefer? [Re: Bird]
Matt Miller Offline
member

Registered: 11/09/18
Posts: 16
Loc: Dallas, GA, United States
My Nikon D3400, it is cheap and does the job well AND a tripod stand (it is a cheap one that i bought online).

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