camera

[squeezebox]

Thinking of what camera to bring. I do not plan on bringing a smart phone, flip phone is good enough for me. I will bring paper maps. I will need a camera though. I met a professional outdoor photographer at the garage sale. He suggested a bottom line Go Pro. But a little while ago someone mentioned a couple of cameras with GPS, so it prints on the photo where & when the picture was taken, very nice feature. Go Pro's small size and waterproof is very good also. I know close to nothing about cameras I would appreciate your opinion. Please mention stuff like batteries, chargers, SD cards , etc.

[colorado_rob]

Look at the Canon S100/110/120 series... amazing image quality. Took one (S110) into the grand Canyon on NY's day in lieu of my much heavier DSLR. Also used it exclusively on my AT hike. Nice wide end, very light, battery lasted me 3-4 weeks, I carried two extra batteries (on the AT) rather than a clunky charger.

Lots of great cameras out there, but Ken Rockwell claims the S100 is the world's best pocket camera (the S110 is slightly updated from the S100):

http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/s100.htm

[colorado_rob]

PS: The S120, I think, now has GPS and WIFI.

[Connie]

I suggest you Search "camera GPS"

Here is a list, from Search: http://www.techhive.com/product/collection/7826/best-gps-enabled-cameras.html

I got the Fujifilm Finepix F550EXR listed there.

I looked at dpreview online. I looked at the mfg website. I downloaded a manual. I found an "open box" sold as "used" at eBay. I got a great price at eBay.

If you want to photograph only people minimum 5X optical zoom, if mountains and people minimum minimum 10X optical zoom, if video minimum 720p or 1080p and minimum Class 10 imprinted on the SSD card.

More free software will work with Mpeg4 video. Mov video free video software is not the quality, but Windows has free MovieMaker, again, not great quality but not bad and easy to edit and add titles for YouTube. I can do all that with Mpeg4 free software.

Flip closed prongs on the recharger are very nice for the backpack. Dual USB outlets are handy, if you have USB devices. It is possible to have an external battery recharge the camera in-the-field. Plug in everything in town.

Do not bother with digital zoom: consider only optical zoom.

The flip-style viewing screen on Sanyo Xacti digital cameras are helpful, if using a SticPic on a hiking pole to include yourself in the photo. The older models are also excellent and may be purchased used. I did.

The Gorilla "tripod" may also be used to include yourself in the photo.

If you want video to have no movement while walking or moving around, an image stabilization device is needed. It is an odd shape camera mount you handhold.

Here are examples:
http://www.ephotocraft.com/product.asp?ic=GGSYL1000&utm_medium=Channel&utm_source=GoogleShopping&utm_campaign=GGSYL1000

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/321600427027?lpid=82&chn=ps

[Connie]

I forgot to mention 35mm equivalent lens: 24mm wide angle is very attractive. I like 28mm for photos sitting around with each other. I like "environmental portraits" 90mm-120mm. To give you an idea of distance to subject: I need 200mm for "sports photos" like photographing the action from on the side of the field at a baseball game. I need 350mm for closeups from the sidelines at a football game. For mountains, I want minimum 12X zoom and if the digital camera has image stabilization, I can handhold 15X zoom.

My Fujifilm GPS digital camera has 24mm wide, 15X zoom with image stabilization.

The Manual guides you thru the camera "menu". If you are digital smart, you would not need to read the Manual.

I did read it. To my surprise, I found "burst mode" which handles low-light extremely well. Hold the camera steady. It fires off 3-exposures. It balances the color. The pictures look great. No flash.

It also has a 16:9 mode for a PC or TV wide flatscreen. It also has panorama mode.

It has RAW for fine exhibition print or "poster quality".

It is a lot more camera than I could expect.


note: the GPS is not printed on the photo print. It is imprinted in the data, software will "read".

This means any software will "read" the GPS data for putting your photos on a map, or, on a map with your hike or bike or car trip.

[GoldenBear]

> I know close to nothing about cameras

Before you can even begin to think about what camera to buy, you have to answer the all-important question: "What type of photos do I intend to take?"

Are you hoping to get close-up of animals in the wild?
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=60594&c=552

Or capture the grandeur of an overlook?
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=58684&c=526

Or take a selfie of milestones reached?
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=56643&c=520

Or record the memorable people you meet on The Trail?
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=55709
(Okay, so you most likely want to FORGET this person -- but you get the idea)


If you only want to do the latter two, then almost any camera will do. Go for ruggedness, long batter life, and small size.

If you want to do the first, you'll need a camera with a lot of OPTICAL zoom, and perhaps some "reduce shaking" feature. Nothing worse than getting the perfect shot of an animal, only to find it ended up as a brown smear against a green background. Believe me, I know about THAT frustration.

If you want to get the second, you'll need some ability to filter out the bright blue light of mountains, preferably BEFORE you get the shot. Yes, any decent photo-editing software will allow you to shift the spectrum, but it'll be better if you do it before you capture the photo.

If you want to do BOTH of these, you'll need a degree of flexibility in how the camera operates. I do NOT recommend a DSLR for back-packing (too heavy, too bulky, too fragile, too expensive), but you don't want a cheap, point & shoot camera, either. You'll have to find some kind of compromise.

One last thing in deciding: if you write a few notes on where you took your photos each night, and photograph signs as you pass them, you probably won't need the GPS location of your shots. A photo is worth taking because it's memorable, not because you know the exact spot where you took it. That moose photo I linked to could have been labelled "Somewhere in New England" and I wouldn't have cared.


No matter what camera you choose, learn to take the shots you're trying to get BEFORE you start your trekking. It takes several tries before you can learn which settings best match the type of photos you want, and on The Trail you'll have 100 issues more pressing than, "Do I want flash or no-flash at this light level?"

[soumodeler]

I use the Olympus TG-3. GPS, WiFi, Waterproof.

The reviews I read on it before buying it said it was one of the better waterproof point and shoots on the market. I think the pics are pretty good for my use. Video is not great, but good enough.

Uses regular SD cards, but a custom rechargeable battery, but lasts for a long time between charges, 300+ pics.

I like it overall. I will be carrying it on my thru.

Some samples I took:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/t31.0-8/1412428_999049206787280_8841228705355859024_o.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/t31.0-8/10683643_999056296786571_5038737272022925140_o.jpg

[Rolls Kanardly]

My son bought me a Sony Cyber-shot, 25mm wide angle, sweep panorama and a touch panel.
It has been a good little camera. No frills other than very good HD pictures, but HD sucks the life out of the battery in a hurry.
The regular pictures are pretty good and the battery life is extended for quite some time.
294562945729458

Rolls

[Connie]

I didn't mention, the GPS on my digital camera turns ON and OFF, conserving the battery (extra batteries are wafer small) and I can choose whether or not the photo is linked to the trail. I am thinking I may or may not want to show the beauty of a very specific location.

For example, I have no photos online of my property. Instead, I have photos of similiar terrain.

[squeezebox]

So what does WiFi on a camera do?

[Connie]

It transfers photos to computer, tablet, or, online to home business computer, press service, or photo print service.

However, I would send our digital photos to a "map app" to track the hike, bike, or road trip.

I would rather use the camera-to-computer USB or mini USB cable.

Old fashioned: I don't want my photo electrons scattered. After all, are they a particle or a wave? ;-)

[gaineskj]

+1 for the canon s100, or whatever the newest version is. I also have a gopro and it's great for specialty/action shots but I would never use it as my sole camera. It's just not versatile enough. I would not want all my photos to have that wide-angle go pro "look".

Neither camera can be used with AA/AAA batteries. The gopro battery can be charged while the camera is plugged in to a power source. The s100 cannot so you'd have to bring a separate charger.

The gopro has Wifi which is convenient for viewing/editing photos on my smartphone when I don't have my laptop. Since you will only be taking a flip phone, the wifi feature probably won't be of use to you. Since the s100 is older it does not have Wifi built in (newer models include it), but I get around that with using an SD card with wifi (toshiba flashair, but there are other brands like Eye-fi or Transcend).

I think GPS is one of those features that sounds nice but I've never actually needed it.

Hope this helps!

[squeezebox]

As I said I'm not a camera geek. $400 for a Canon S120 seems like a whole lot of $$ to me. The WiFi & GPS sound really cool, but without a smart phone maybe not very useful. Please suggest something a bit more basic.
Also how do I keep track of where and when pictures were taken without the electronics of WiFi or GPS. I do know how to operate pen and paper.
Thanks!

[squeezebox]

wired vs. wireless makes no difference to me.

[MuddyWaters]

Most cameras have strengths, and weaknesses.
If you want good pictures, you need to be camera geek.

I have a point and shoot that takes good scenery pics. It does not take stic-pic shots, it wont focus after timer expires, it must be focused before timer is set. Sticpic type shots come out fuzzy due to this.

Same camera is not fast enough to take a photo of my little dog. The dog blinks from the flash, every pic shows her with eyes half closed, every one.

How fast a pic is taken and written to card matters for action shots, or sequential action shots. Some cameras are useless for this.

You generally get what you pay for with digital cameras.

[squeezebox]

I have a couple of friends that are camera geeks, maybe I can get some lessons?

[Traveler]

Whatever camera you opt to get, you won't have great results if you don't understand photography. Learning how to frame a shot, understand what depth of field and exposures can do, and perspective in assembling a picture in the view finder, will make the difference between ho-hum photos or really great ones. Anyone can take National Geographic level photos if they understand these things. There are any number of on-line podcasts, You Tube, books, classes at photography shops you can take. The camera is only as good as its user in terms of what it sees and how it sees it.

[Connie]

Look at photos you like: what is happening there? are nearly all photos you like photos of people? do you want everything really sharp? are most scenics?

If you have no computerized device with you, WiFi will send your photos online, where the photos may be stored and/or viewed. Find that out, in advance, otherwise you will see your photos in-camera or when you get home. If that is the case, maybe have extra SSD-type cards made for the camera you have so you can change them out when one fills up with photos: SSD-type cards are storage for the photos.

I paid less than $100 for my full-featured camera. But I looked online, until I found it "used". It tuens out it was "open box" with the strap missing, the battery not guaranteed, and so what! I expected to purchase extra batteries for hiking. I have a little wrist strap from another inexpensive camera. That way, I got an expensive camera.

The other thing: big hands? Bigger camera.

My camera is tiny. My hands are small.

[Connie]

Ask your friends to let you trade-off: "they take a photo, you take a photo" of the same subject.

Their camera.

Discuss results in the camera "play back".

[squeezebox]

So if I buy a camera with GPS do I need a smart phone with GPS?

[Connie]

No.

If the smart phone with GPS takes adequate photos, you may not need a separate camera. I have seen excellent photos and video from smart cameras.

It requires maximum megapixels, plus they are using free or paid "apps" to make better photos and better video.

They also use that steady cam device, I mentioned, and also telephoto lens and telephoto zoom lens attachments on the iPhone, for example.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/HD033ZM/A/olloclip-telephoto-circular-polarizing-lens-for-iphone-5 (http://store.apple.com/us/product/HD033ZM/A/olloclip-telephoto-circular-polarizing-lens-for-iphone-5)

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/review/new-olloclip-2x-telephoto-for-iphone-glass-beats-software

http://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/iphone/best-iphone-camera-lenses-3503197/

[Connie]

I found this very reasonably priced camera.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AWYMXZY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00AWYMXZY&linkCode=as2&tag=blackpress0b-20

It has an excellent feature set. The refurbished price is $50 100% seller positive feedback.

I was looking at these photos made with this camera:

http://blackwoodspress.com/blog/11839/pacific-crest-trail-pictures/

Maybe this one?

The Help file is available in the display.