Cameras

[Doctari]

So, what do you use? Are they worth it? Any regrets from those that didn't take pics? etc.

I have at times: taken way too many scenery pics. Not taken enought scenery pics. not taken enough pics of those I meet on the trail. and other mishaps.
I have however ALWAYS carried a camera. My current one is a $6.00 110 film camera I got at Family Dollar. Weighs about 4Oz and has a flash.

[Blue Jay]

I really like the quality of the disposable camera pictures. You have to carry at least a $300 or $400 or digital or film camera to match them. Why risk a first day rain fall disaster?

[Kerosene]

I also have successfully relied on disposable Kodak cameras for my last 4 trips. At 3-4 oz. for 27-36 pictures, they do a great job in good lighting conditions. The rainy day or early morning pictures of the dark shelter don't work very well. Try to get a disposable with 800 ASA film.

If you do go this route, then get your pictures delivered on CD so you can further enhance the color.

[DebW]

I think 35 mm should be divided into SLR (the kind with interchangable lenses) and Point-and-Shoot
(the compact kind without interchangable lenses). There are good quality point-and-shoot cameras,
they are not all "el cheapo". And many film cameras these days use APS film rather than 35 mm.

I"ve gone from a 35 mm SLR camera to a compact camera. It's an old Olympus XA that I bought
used. Not really point-and-shoot because the focus is manual and the apperture setting is manual.
Has a good quality lens and fits in my pocket, so it's always available. But it's semi-automatic
exposure system doesn't always do a good job and I sometimes get refraction off the lens. So I'll
probably be replacing it with either a modern point-and-shoot (though I hate the noisy motorized
film winders in these new things) or a digital.

[Patch29]

I have been looking for the right camera to hike with. I work as a photographer so I am looking for the best quality, but do not want to pay a huge weight penalty. The camera I am currently looking at is the Contax T3. It is fairly light for a professional quality camera 8.2oz from the manufacturer. It has a 35mm f2.8 ziess lens which is where the image quality comes from, the price may hold many back. Very good used models could save some money, most have only light use. I hope to purchase and test one soon.

The now discontinued Yashica T4 (fixed lens) is a great camera if you can find one. It has a lesser quality 35mm f3.5 ziess lens and is weatherproof, still very sharp. They sell for around $160 used. Yashica still makes the T4 zoom which would also be a good camera.

[JimSproul]

110? I have not seen one of those in a while.

On the trail I use an APS camera. The film loads from a cartridge, like a 110, instead of the need to mess with a leader, like 35mm. Also, you can rewind a cart part way through on some camers so you can change mid-roll if you want a different speed. I usally take about 4 times as many 200 speed as I do 800 speed. On rainy days and around the campfire the 800 is nice to have. I am partial to Fuji Film.

I have used several but my current camera is a Nikon Nuvis S (weight with file 8 3/4 oz.). You can find them on-line for about $35 - $50. I has pretty good glass with zoom and flash. Although not as weather resistant as some it closes inside a stainless steel case. I carry it in a backpack strap pouch with the cord anchored to the strap. It is always ready. I can get it out and getgood candid shots, hardly breaking stride. It has a standard tripod mount as does my trekking pole, good for long exposures.

I shoot more pictures at home than on the trail with my 35mm but always get a few shots I want any given day. Just to play it safe I replace the battery after about 5 rolls, but that may be overkill.

[MDSHiker]

I use an inexpensive Kodak APS point-n-shoot camera. It takes good pics. I haven't been happy with the disposable cameras mainly because of the flash/lighting situation. I bought a small camera holder/case at a flea market for a buck and it clips to my hipbelt. I always have a ziplock bag handy in case the weather gets wet. A camera with a timer is nice too...so you can get those self-portraits when no one else is around. When you run into people on the trail, don't forget to ask them to take a shot of you with your camera. What the heck? At road crossings and other touristy areas, people have always been nice about taking my pic and offering snacks and drinks.

[Doctari]

There are so many options out there, camera wise. Back in the day, when I rode an average of 1,000 miles a year on my bicycle, I carried a 110 camera. then they "went out of favor" & the camera makers stopped making them. Granted, the pic quality is somewhat low, but they are "OK" and so very light. So you can imagine my joy at finding a 110 camera in the Family Dollar store, and many of the places that sell film on the AT still have 110 film.
I would love to be able to carry a high end SLR, too expensive & heavy for me, sigh.
My 110 gives as good a pic as a medium priced digital (under $100.00) at only 4 Oz.

A camera I am thinking of carring is a very small poloroid, that prints stickers. I would take the pic, then stick it to a page in my journal. I may carry that in addition to the 110 as it too is faily light.

BTW; with flash, one roll of film, carry strap AND battery, my camera cost $6.00. Granted, it ain't waterproof, but it do dry out with no damage, and since I learned that I now carry it in a "snack size" Zip lock, so no problems.

Doctari.

[RagingHampster]

I use a Sony DSC F-707 five mega-pixel digital camera. I bought it a couple years ago, it's the predecessor of the newer DSC F-717.

Takes some real nice photos, but weighs about a pound and a half with the polarizing filter I have. It has an integrated Carl Zeiss zoom lens that adjusts from 38mm to roughly 190mm after converting the numbers (5x Optical Zoom). I keep the digital zoom off so the pictures are razor sharp.

[bearbag hanger]

I use a digital Canon S100 camera. Film is just way too expensive anymore and I tend to only use about 1 out of every 25 or so pictures I take. The S100 weighs about 8 oz and with a 512 MB card, I can hold 400+ 1600X1400 pixel pictures. I can print out up to 8 X 10 on photo paper and you really can't tell the difference from a 110 or APS camera. As mentioned above, the 35mm cameras tend to be too big to carry on a backpacking trip anyway. Some of the newer digital camera have much higher resolution, but then you get into the problem of storage space and how much your willing to pay for it.

My biggest limitation is showing them to a group like I would with slides. You can have digital pictures made into slides, but it cost is really high, although maybe cheaper that throwing out the 24 slides I don't use for every one I actually use. It can be easily done, but the projectors cost several thousand dollars, but those prices are coming down. I think the lastest I've seen is $1,500, but I think by the time I'm done with my through hike next year, I'll be able to pick up a new one for $500 or less.

[highway]

Canon Elph S400 with battery, card/100+shots, and case & still only weighs slightly more than 9 ounces; works great for me!

[slabfoot]

small light water resistant great pictures, $80 at B&W in new york

bill

[Footslogger]

Used a digital this year on my thru and was very happy I did. Went with a small Panasonic model with rechargeable AA batts. Never had a battery issue. Kept it in a small freezer strength zip lock and moisture was not a problem. Bought several 32Mbyte media cards and sent them home when they were full and then they were returned to me. That way I was never carrying my entire photo collection with me on the trail. I could get around 37 shots per media card so for me it was like using a roll of 35 mm film.

Nice thing is that now I've got them all on disc and can e-mail them at will or print one or more out as necessary to have a paper copy.

I will carry a digital camera with me from now on ...without exception. You can see your shot seconds after you take it. You can take another sot if the first one didn't come out OK.

[Moon Monster]

Olympus Stylus Epic 28mm fixed lens point-n-shoot (35mm film) -- weighs a scant 6.00oz. with film and battery.

Out of 15 rolls of 200 ASA film, it has never under any lighting given me an over or under exposed shot, and the only slightly out of focus pics were self-portraits when I held the thing too close to my face. It is water-resistant and the lens is protected with a durable sliding cap that acts as the power switch. I can pluck it from my pack, open the cap, shoot, close, and restowe one handed. I never keep it covered--it gets very wet in my mesh pack pocket, but has never failed.

Best of all, it was only 50 bucks including shipping, 1 roll of film, and battery as a refurbished unit off an amazon.com vendor.

I'd extrapolate that all Olympus cameras including digital and those with zoom would be as durable, weather resistant, and comparably light.

I wish I'd take more shots of other hikers, especially candid ones like at shelters or hostels. Other people are always photogenic, even when the weather is bad and there are no scenic views, and it's the photos of other people that friends back home will actually pause and look at when flipping through the album.

[The Solemates]

My Cannon Elph 2 takes the funny film and weighs in at about 10 oz.

[Two Speed]

I was using an Olympus Stylus until I realized a disposable was more use to me on the trail. The Olympus lays down a great print, like almost all of the 35mm cameras out there and the one I've got is "splash resistant," whatever that means. The big advantage I've found is that the disposables are lighter and smaller than my Olympus. Being smaller and lighter, I could carry the disposable in my front shirt pocket which meant I took more photos. The fact that if I trash the disposable I really haven't lost anything lets me carry the disposable in a more exposed fashion without worrying about the camera. Less worry, less weight, decent prints is what converted me.

I probably will convert to digital at some point or another. They just keep getting lighter, smaller, cheaper and better. Just haven't hit my price point for the features I want yet.

[Presto]

APS cameras are great for snapshots. However, if you have any intentions on blowing up a photo larger than standard size (4x6) I have heard that the resolution of the APS cameras do a very poor job due to the film size. 35mm can be blown up to very large photos without losing much quality. Wish I had more technical detail to post regarding this subject. Maybe someone else can add to this?

[Jumpstart]

So, what do you use? Are they worth it? Any regrets from those that didn't take pics? etc.

I have at times: taken way too many scenery pics. Not taken enought scenery pics. not taken enough pics of those I meet on the trail. and other mishaps.
I have however ALWAYS carried a camera. My current one is a $6.00 110 film camera I got at Family Dollar. Weighs about 4Oz and has a flash.

We used the Olympus Stylus, and juding by the extremely positive responses I have gotten from my photo gallery, it was a good choice. I am not a professional (nor even amateur) photographer and our pictures came out great. The camera is water-resistant, held us very well to several rainstorms and droppings on rocks, etc...didn't need a battery replacement the entire trip and successfully took 18 rolls of great pics. It's just a little point-and-shoot model, costs about $150 bucks, and weighs only 8 ounces with battery and film (by my scale). I'd highly reccommend it to anyone.

[Lilred]

My Husband bought for me a Samsung Fino 120 35mm camera. It has automatic film loading, advance, and rewinding. It has a zoom lens, timer for self portrait shots and a continuous shooting feature for bears or moose on the run.

http://www.samsungcamerausa.com/Came...ype=zoom&old=0

I've only used it once on my last section hike and haven't gotten my film developed yet. I'll let y'all know how the pictures turn out.

Oh, and the weight ..... 7.2oz.

[Peaks]

Just to state the obvious, part of your decision on which camera to take along depends on how you plan to use your pictures. If you just want snapshots, then a disposable works fine. Compact 35mm cameras are great for those that want to do something more. Myself, I'm still using slides, and have made up a slide show with my better slides.

Full size 35 mm are for the serious photographer who wants to use multiple lenses, different film speeds, etc. (And all the weight)

Digitals are getting better all the time. If I were in the market today, I'd seriously consider one.