Camera

[BigToe]

I currently use a Canon A1000IS which weighs 7.85 oz all in - camera, strap, 2 AA lithium batteries, padded case, Aloksak ziplock bag. Previously I had a Canon Elph which weighed just a little less.

One important decision is rechargeable proprietary battery versus standard disposables. After using the Elph with a rechargeable, the hassle of packing or shipping a spare battery; or charging in town pushed me to the A100IS which can use standard AA disposables. I use lithiums in it - a lithium AA is .54 oz, an alkaline AA is .87 oz (requires 2). The lithiums have a much longer life.

I just picked up a StickPic which attaches to the tip of your hiking pole and weighs .41 oz - absolutely worthwhile if you solo and want interesting photos that include you! Also picked up a Joby GorillaPod Original (1.67 oz) that I haven't used much yet but looks good.

[TravelPro]

I was in Costco last week and saw a name brand camera (forgot the brand) that was guranteed to be waterproof (OK to immerse to X feet), shockproof, dropproof, etc. Had a sturdy looking rubberized case. It looked like a good choice. Had about a 5x zoom and very compact. Around $140-$160. I'd go to costco.com or your local Costco and check it out. A lightweight Gorilla tripod is a great idea (cheap on eBay).

[Jaybird]

So I post this in the UL forum because I know you guys all count grams and I am beginning to.
I am looking for a camera that takes good pictures, holds plenty, batteries last (but don't weigh me down) and the camera is also light weight. what say you? What do you use?
Bonus for cameras that also take video and can be secured to a head strap of some type so I can video while walking.
Am I asking too much?

PP,

if you havent already purchased...ck out TIGERDIRECT.com.
you can find a variety of "point & shoot" cameras...most weigh nothing (sub 5oz).

i use a Nikon CoolPix L4 (7.1mp)

you can get a REFURB camera...for less than $100. these days!
GOOD LUCK!

maybe I'll see u out there taking photos!
May 28-June 12
section hiking DWG-Kent,CT
w/ "Piece O' Work"

[tuswm]

I have the Sony DSC-TX. Takes wonderful pictures, exceptional macro for flowers bugs etc, acceptable video and weighs about 5 oz. I don't carry it in a case it is waterproof, dust proof etc and just carry it in my pocket or the pouch on the hip strap of the backpack.

Uses a LI-Ion battery and can get about 150 to 200 pics per charge. I carry a spare. Don't know the the weight is but can weigh if important. You will need a charger for a thru and it is lightweight but I would have to weight to know exactly.

In my research any camera that uses AA or AAA will be bulkier and weigh more. I would like to find one this small that uses those type batteries. It takes only JPG pictures. I much prefer the native camera format of raw.

The reference is true about the cable to fit the camera. However, using the cable requires you also to use the Sony software. I despise propriety things of this nature and I work around this by simply putting the chip (SD HC but will use others) in a reader and then downloading to my computer (in my case Lightroom). It takes a little exploring to figure out the file scheme on the chip but it is straight forward. I have only used the cable once (it comes with the camera) when I first got the camera and have never used it again.

Although this camera does many things well, it has some simple settings that will take great pics which my wife really likes. We have to schedule its use for my hikes as she uses it for pics of the grand kids.

And finally, it was not cheap. I think I paid about $300 for it thru Amazon but I have seen them on sale.

2 thing about sony camera, I have a 5 in my family. the Sony software is awesome for viewing, organizing, and editing photos and videos.

The sony "chip" comes with a converter smaller and lighter then a stick of gum that makes them work in just about any card reader.

If you want to use the cable with a computer that doesnt have the Sony software it just sees the camera as a mass storage device so you just cut and paste

[ironman y2k]

Get camera that also has an optical viewfinder for 2 reasons.... sometimes hard to see LCD screen in bright light and LCD screen can be turned off extending battery life.

I prefer camera that uses AA or AAA batteries since can be found in all stores. I tried rechargable AA but weight and concern about recharging locations weren't worth the benefit.

A great place to find camera that might be for you is to look on www.dpreview.com They have complete reviews of all cameras for you to compare including the weights of each.

[One Half]

Thanks ironman.

[Sassafras Lass]

So I post this in the UL forum because I know you guys all count grams and I am beginning to.

I am looking for a camera that takes good pictures, holds plenty, batteries last (but don't weigh me down) and the camera is also light weight. what say you? What do you use?

Bonus for cameras that also take video and can be secured to a head strap of some type so I can video while walking.

Am I asking too much?

Video while walking? Unless you're a former band geek/member of the armed forces, no way are you going to be able to perfect a smooth enough stride that will allow for a nice, watchable video.

I picked up the discontinued Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LZ10. Takes alky batteries, works fairly decent in colder weather, has a f/2.8 max aperature . . . w/ batteries it is around 6-7 oz., I believe. Plus manual controls.

[Boots73]

I love my Olympus stylus tough. It is shock and waterproof. I takes an Olympus LI-50B battery so it lasts a lot longer than aa. Its small and lite weight and fits in to a case I hang on my chest strap on my pack. It takes great pics and reasonable vids

[flemdawg1]

I no longer carry a dedicated camera. My cell phone does stills and vids resonably well. And after awhile all those mountains look the same trip after trip (in the photos anyway). I find I really only want to save 4-6 pics of each trip.

[Slo-go'en]

I like cheap "disposable" digital camaras which run on AA's and require a SD card. My current one is a pink Vivitar I got for 30 bucks at wally-world. Weighs 3.6 oz with lithium AA batteries, which last a long time since there is nothing mechanical to power. And nothing mechanical to break. Its so cheap, I don't care if it gets stepped on or falls into a creek and no one in thier right mind would bother to steal it. It might not take the best quality pictures in the world, but does a good enough job.

[LDog]

I like great cameras. With a lens that goes from real wide to a short tele, the ability to capture in RAW format, and the biggest sensor I can find. Trying to find all that while keeping weight down is my challenge.

I really like the Olympus micro four thirds format Pen series, with their interchangeable lenses, but they weigh ~13 ozs not counting chargers. The soon-to-be-released Oly Pen E-PM1 is only 7.6 ozs, but I'm expecting it to be right spendy. The Panasonic four thirds format cameras are smaller, but even heavier than the Olys.

Going down in sensor size into the realm of "Enthusiast Compacts," The Oly ZX-1 is my current fav, tho it still weighs 9.7 ozs. It has a 1/1.63" sensor, captures in RAW, and has an exceptionally fast, for the class, f1.8-2.5 Zuiko lens. Pretty sure I can charge it from my Trent ACD66 external battery.

Canon's S95 is only 6.8 ozs, it's smaller in every dimension to the ZX-1, has a 1/1.7" sensor, captures in RAW format, and may just be the best deal in price, weight and image quality.

And, as mentioned earlier in this thread, I like the Canon 300 ELPH for it's wide lens, and tiny size and weight. But it doesn't capture in RAW format, so it's off my personal radar. For 95% of folks who never want to futz with post=processing imagery, it'd be a worthy trail camera.

[frisbeefreek]

http://dpreview.com is the goto website for camera information. It has a search engine where you can filter most of the cameras on the market by any criteria imaginable. It includes excellent reviews, sample photos, information on batteries & weights, etc.

For the record, I use a Canon A590. At 8oz (inc batteries), it's not lightweight, but it has 2 features I wanted -- It takes 2xAA batteries and it has an optical viewfinder.

I just played with the Canon SX230 HS. 14x optical, 8oz, and has a gps built in to log your location. Pretty slick.

[Franco]

The starting point should be to know what to want/expect (quality wise) and what is the primary purpose of using the camera.
Good quality to one is rubbish to another, so look at pics and movies available on the Net to get a bit of an idea of the end result.
The "best" camera (still or video), if left at home because of damage concerns or weight , is not the best camera for you.
Some points to keep in mind.
Many compact still cameras can take 200-300 pics with one battery charge. A spare LiIon batt (rechargeable) is usually around 1 oz or so.
A shortened cord charger, as mentioned above, is around 4 oz .
So if the camera you like takes proprietary batteries (most likely because there are not that many AA type cameras now) for a little extra weight and some pack space (a few cubic inches) you are set to go.
The type of card, cable or software supplied is almost irrelevant because a card reader is very cheap and software is available free from Microsoft/Apple as well as many other sources.
BTW, most Sonys now use SD cards as well as the Sony Memory Stick.
Filming whilst walking is rarely a good idea , not so much when you film but when you play it back...
As I stated many times before, a waterproof camera may offer a bit more peace of mind than having to baby one that is not.
Of course if you aim for pro type stills, well you need a DSLR of some sort. However you would in this case need to devote time and energy to this purpose.
Here is an example of a waterproof still camera shooting some movie clips :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKcAh...ature=youtu.be
(Panasonic FT3 filming the TGO Challenge, a walk across Scotland)
Franco

[Jagglax]

A camera attached to your head? On my last hike i lost my camera the week before the hike and in panic i stopped at rei on the way. i picked up a Gopro HD 960. I LOVE this camera. it comes with a head strap to wear it like a headlamp. it takes AMAZING video. not too expensive, only $170. thats good for a HD camera. its photos are ok, not great. its waterproof up to 180ft. the battery lasts for a long time. the only complaint i have with this camera it it has a slight fish-eye effect on the pics. its barely noticable on the video. some people dont like its lack of a screen, but if you have a smartphone you can get a eye-fi card. this will instantly send the pics and videos to your phone so you can make sure that you got the right shot. THIS IS A GREAT CAMERA. also after doing some research im am considering gettin the contour GPS camera.

[Last Chance]

For hiking light and serious photography ChillyWilly has it pegged. The Canon S95 has the largest sensor available in a point and shoot and at 6.8 ounces it captures RAW images and performs well in low light situations. Unfortunately weather and water proof cameras don't offer these features.

[Franco]

There are several cameras that have a 1/1.7" or even the slightly larger 1/1.6" sensor .
You could start your search here :
http://www.dpreview.com/products/search/cameras
(see post 32)
Click on the "show advanced search" then click on the features you are after, for example sensor size (premium compact 1/1.7" and larger) .
At the moment there are 16 cameras listed in that "category" (compact with a "large" sensor)
Note that you can narrow down the choice by also selecting dozens of other parameters such as zoom size,weatherproofing,weight ....
you can also do a side by side spec comparison here :
http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/cameras
as well as also compare image quality here :
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1109/11...diosamples.asp
click on the "click here to view firmware..." link and then add your camera to the comparison window and play with the ISO setting there too.
Franco

[LDog]

When you narrow the field to those that will capture raw files, the pickings get slim

--
Chilly
laughingdawg.blogspot.com

[Franco]

My guess is that over 95% of happy snappers don't really know what a RAW file is, let alone use it.
As a matter of fact many if not most keen amateur photographers don't use that either.
My guess is based on having worked for a very busy specialist photo shop since well before digital and till about 3 years ago.

Franco

[LDog]

Oops, posted in wrong thread

[Fog Horn]

Any chance those posting on this thread can show a sample photo taken with their camera? I've been spoiled with my DSLR, but want a much lighter choice for the AT.