UL Cameras On Trail.

[PottedPlant]

While certainly among the equipment that many people will insist we leave at home, I would not dream of hitting the trail without a camera that would give me photos of a quality I'd be proud to hang on my own wall. Towards these ends, I'd love suggestions from those of you who do bring cameras, beyond an Iphone, and what you use? Low weight and quality of the picture are far and above my biggest concerns, though if somehow there's an option for less than several thousand, that's my hope I've looked into go-pro's for their fantastic size/weight and reasonable price, but I'm open to options that give me better photo quality.


Thanks for the suggestions UL hiking camera goers!

[Franco]

If video is your priority , the GoPro is a good choice.
Not that great as a still camera because it was designed for "action" videos , so very wide fixed lens with no choice over focus, aperture and shutter speed.

[pjdiez]

Sony DCS-RX100 for pro capabilities in a (relatively) small package or iPhone 6+.

[rafe]

Sony DCS-RX100 for pro capabilities in a (relatively) small package or iPhone 6+.

Well, for image quality, yes, that camera is just amazing.

But I can't endorse it any more -- mine is in the shop at the moment. It's sensitive to moisture and began turning itself on by its lonesome. First saw this behavior on a wet hike on the Long Trail this summer. I managed to get it working again but the problem kept coming back after a while. Decided to send it in for repair while it was still under warranty.

If they've fixed that in the successor models (Mk-II and Mk-III) then I stand corrected. Mine was the original (ca. 2013 I think.)

For a high-end point & shoot I'd look at the Canon G7 or G7x.

[Derf]

Check out the Sony A6000.

[donthaveoneyet]

My Lumix is lighter than either of those and happens to be waterproof. Lower MP rating but it takes darn nice pics. The Canon S110 is even lighter and used to be sort of the gold standard for point and shoot cameras for backpackers... at least if my old memory serves me. Never felt like spending the $300-plus to get one, the Lumix was cheaper and, as I said, waterproof. I bought it for kayaking, but use it for hiking as well.

P1000025.jpg

[Dochartaigh]

Been researching this myself for literally the past year (my Canon G9 is ready to be retired). In a small package, nothing much seems to beat the Panasonic LX100 and it's beautiful Leica lens (unless you're looking for like 12x zoom in a compact package or something).

[Tipi Walter]

Been researching this myself for literally the past year (my Canon G9 is ready to be retired). In a small package, nothing much seems to beat the Panasonic LX100 and it's beautiful Leica lens (unless you're looking for like 12x zoom in a compact package or something).

I would in no way consider the LX100 to be an ultralight camera or fall into that category.


Here is the LX100 in action. Huge, as Donny Trump would say.


Here is the Lumix LX 7, my particular camera. Slightly smaller but still very heavy. Great quality cameras THOUGH. Show me a point-and-shoot with such high ratings that weighs 2 oz---

[u.w.]

Tipi Walter,

I checked the specs on the Pan LX7 & according to the info on their web site, it weighs: 296g / or 9.48oz. That's without battery and SD Memory card.
Am I misreading your post where you say, "show me a point-and-shoot with such high ratings that weighs 2oz--" ?

u.w.

[Tipi Walter]

Tipi Walter,

I checked the specs on the Pan LX7 & according to the info on their web site, it weighs: 296g / or 9.48oz. That's without battery and SD Memory card.
Am I misreading your post where you say, "show me a point-and-shoot with such high ratings that weighs 2oz--" ?


u.w.

Not sure of your question. My LX7 is heavy and somewhat bulky although I can store it in my shorts pocket for quick access. Is there a similar camera at 2 ounces? Doubtful. 4 ounces? 9.48 ounces becomes 10 ounces with the batt and then I throw in 5 extra batts for a long winter trip and there's some weight.

[u.w.]

Not sure of your question. My LX7 is heavy and somewhat bulky although I can store it in my shorts pocket for quick access. Is there a similar camera at 2 ounces? Doubtful. 4 ounces? 9.48 ounces becomes 10 ounces with the batt and then I throw in 5 extra batts for a long winter trip and there's some weight.

I wasn't sure if you were saying the LX7 weighed two ounces.
I don't know of any at that weight (2oz) that would compare to your LX7, not even close or by a long shot.

u.w.

[Venchka]

Olympus, Pentax & Panasonic all make very nice, affordable water and shock proof cameras. What good is a camera if it is inside a zip lock bag inside your pack when the rain stops and a rainbow pops out? Hey!

Wayne

[Franco]

For something relatively light and OK quality I would look at the Pana TS6.
Water and shockproof so you don't have to worry about storage , the 28-128mm covers a decent range and the 60 sec min shutter speed lets you take night shots.
Decent movie clips too.
A bit under 8oz

[Minos]

For something relatively light and OK quality I would look at the Pana TS6.
Water and shockproof so you don't have to worry about storage , the 28-128mm covers a decent range and the 60 sec min shutter speed lets you take night shots.
Decent movie clips too.
A bit under 8oz

Gotta be kidding. This sort of thing does not take photo, but rather internet image. You would probably end-up having better pics with your iphone, although with no zoom. These UW compacts are allright UW for lack of other picture taking device, overwater they are not even worth their weight.

[Franco]

Gotta be kidding. This sort of thing does not take photo, but rather internet image. You would probably end-up having better pics with your iphone, although with no zoom. These UW compacts are allright UW for lack of other picture taking device, overwater they are not even worth their weight.

The OP is after a LW compact camera not a Full Frame DSLR....
Some samples from the TS cameras :
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mutovk...7633413512171/
http://www.dpreview.com/products/pan.../sample-photos
TS5.jpg
here is a video clip :

[Old Hiker]

To all the responders:

Please mention the shutter pause - the noticeable (if any) pause between the time you push the button and the shutter clicks. My first light weight camera was VERY slow. I kept getting blurred pictures.

My next one: Samsung TL105 is VERY fast, plus did decent photos and videos. I wasn't looking for pro-quality, although I didn't see much difference between "pro" and "my" photos. I got it in 2012 and probably need to upgrade, as smallish things are going wrong.

Thanks for any input. Sorry for any thread hijack.

[Heliotrope]

I used a Pentax optio w90 last year which was great for durability and high pixels. However, the lack of view finder limited my ability to compose images because I couldn't see the screen well enough in bright conditions. My hiking partner was getting nicer quality images with his iPhone. And the images I took lacked something when it came to capturing the color of the scene accurately. I am looking into the new iPhone which has a 12 mega pixel camera. Rumors say the next iPhone will have a 24 mega pixel camera of dslr quality. So I may hold out for that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Vegan Packer]

I don't have experience with anything beyond my camera phone, a great but old film camera that weighs about as much as a brick (so old school that the housing is brass), and my GoPro Hero 4, which I bought just before my recent backpacking trip to Washington state. However, here are my findings regarding each of these options.

The size and weight rule out the film camera. Besides, it doesn't take video. These days, there are digitals that do both, but I can't really comment on those options.

The camera phone is okay for shooting where the light is great, but it is terrible in low-light situations. It doesn't have enough memory for shooting any kind of extensive video, and using the camera eats up the battery. My phone weighs more than a GoPro, and since I don't get reception in the back country, I no longer carry it.

The GoPro in a skeleton housing (minimalist, not waterproof, but protects the lens and camera), a battery, a memory card and the base to connect it to a mini tripod weighs 5.8 ounces. Each additional battery weighs .8 ounces, and it provides about an hour's worth of video. As a rule of thumb, I typically allot one battery per day of my backpacking trip, and then I throw in one extra to consider the extra setup footage of the first day and ending footage of the last day, and for a reserve. I take a lot of footage, but I ultimately end out with a lot of great footage, and I don't have to worry about using up memory or running out of battery.

As mentioned above, the GoPro is not the greatest for taking all around still pictures. I do get some great stills with it, but that is usually only in bright light conditions. In lower light, if I don't put it on the tripod, the slightest movement will cause the photos to come out blurry. You can't do macro/extreme close-up shots with it. It is best for shots in the range of three feet or greater away from the subject.

This being said, there is a fix for most of the still shot issues. For example, instead of taking your chances with still photos, the best thing to do is to shoot video. The software allows you to pick out any individual frame of footage that you want, and you can then save that as a still photo. I get really sharp, excellent results by using this method. Using video, I also get very good results in low light conditions.

As another fix, I bought a mini tripod (Goby GorillaPod for GoPro) that only weighs 1.5 ounces, and that takes care of the blur that I was getting with stills. The tripod also doubles as a selfie stick. A third great use for the tripod is to wrap its articulating legs around things like branches, which brings the camera to the right level for shots that would normally call for a full sized tripod. Since I am mostly backpacking solo, I have been able to get some excellent results with the addition of this little powerhouse tripod.

Another plus of the GoPro is that they update the firmware for it, and you can update the camera with a PC. I have no idea how far this will take me, but it is nice to know that this will keep the camera current enough to make it rewarding to use until the next generation of cameras arrives.

There are a million aftermarket devices on the market for the GoPro. This keeps the pricing of things competitive, and there are some brilliant ideas out there, such a tripods, connectors to things like hat brims, harnesses, etc.

In the end, sure, I want to reduce the weight that I carry, but I want to have some great memories of my experiences. Documenting my trips in high definition (the Hero 4 even shoots in 4k) will allow me to re-visit these great memories for the rest of my life. I am pretty happy with my decision to get the GoPro. I imagine that battery life will continue to improve as battery technology improves, and that will bring the weight of this package down even more.

In case you haven't seen it, here is the video from my trip to Washington. I know that it is long, but if you watch the entire video, you will see daylight, lowlight and other conditions, all shot in 1080p.

[rafe]

Modern smartphones do a pretty good job, at least in daylight conditions. However, I've come to appreciate the benefits of a true optical viewfinder. Having an LCD or OLED screen with which to compose your shot is all well and good, except when the sun is shining directly on the screen, and then it's nearly useless.

I really liked my Canon A620 with its tilt/swivel display. Bit it's an antique by now.

[Venchka]

Modern smartphones do a pretty good job, at least in daylight conditions. However, I've come to appreciate the benefits of a true optical viewfinder. Having an LCD or OLED screen with which to compose your shot is all well and good, except when the sun is shining directly on the screen, and then it's nearly useless.

I really liked my Canon A620 with its tilt/swivel display. Bit it's an antique by now.

Precisely why I continue to enjoy using my M5, EF, A-1, 501c & Pentax 6x7. However, if I find a suitable Money Tree and get a harvest from it I do see some sort of small-ish digital camera with a real (even if it is an electronic facsimile) viewfinder. A built in level/artificial horizon will be a big plus.

Wayne