What cameras are you using for your adventures

FOX160

Thru Hiker
Looking at cameras/lenses and wondering to what you guys are using or recommend.
For a while now I’m wanting an actual camera that has bright lenses and quality sensor also gives me
continuous panoramic shots and not stitched together by frame as my Olympus pen. I am open to all formats including changeable lens body if needed, also not printing over A4 and not interested in a DSLR type camera being of its bulk and not really into sports photography only traveling/People/landscapes/urban/industrial landscapes.
 

Daymoth

Section Hiker
panasonic lumix dmc tz100. Has a great focal range, good sensor, nice display, the menus are super customisable ( although took me several weeks to get used to all the menus and customise it how I like).

And fits in a pocket!

The panoramas are stiched though. I find mobile phones do a better job at that.
 

SteG

Thru Hiker
I just use my phone these days,b shoot a little bit of film but did have a Fuji x100t, which I never replaced when I lost it.
Even though the series has a fixed length of 35 eqv, I found it ideal for most type of photography. I thought the lense was excellent, f2 stop. The series has moved on a lot now and improved a fair bit. bigger sensor ect.
Saying that though I found it quite heavy for backpacking and would probably go for a Ricoh GR which has a great sensor and lense. The Sony rx models are the other good alternative with zoom, smaller sensor
 

Arne L.

Thru Hiker
Sony A6000 + Sigma 16mm f1.4.

Most, if not all, of the pictures I post here are made with that setup.

It’s simple (no zoom gives me less choices), light-ish, and relatively affordable. Also pretty durable, at least IME.

The camera hangs on my shoulder strap with the Peak Design Capture Clip. It’s expensive for what it is, but it works really well. It makes photographing a lot easier and more efficient.

If it rains, I pull the Peak Design Shell over it; a rain jacket for my camera.

If it rains in Scotland I’ll just put it inside my backpack. :rolleyes:
 

Teepee

Thru Hiker
If you don't want to use software to stitch images, your far better sticking with phones. Phones rock for computational photography and are amazing things. Mid range compact cameras really don't compare well anymore.

However, the small sensors on phones lose out badly in dynamic range (the difference between the darkest and lightest areas) for the average landscape pano. Decent third party software also does a better job of making a pano from a phones RAW files than the phones do, and I don't honestly see this changing for a good while yet.

For better images than phones, the next step up is something small, light and portable like a Sony rx100 IMO, then an interchangeable lens camera like a crop sensor mirrorless

I'm personally really looking forward to the new Sony mobiles in the pipeline with different focal length lenses all with RAW and HEIF support. Not only do they look on the right track with cameras, their video and screen performance is top notch.

Me, I generally carry a Nikon mirrorless full frame with 3 lenses and a full size three legged thing that weighs more than most folks baseweight, a SonyRX100 for lighter trips, and a new Samsung phone.
 

Diddi

Thru Hiker
Done away with bulky dslr and use a not so fancy Sony cyber-shot DSC-HX60 with 30 optical zoom.
It has your normal sttings and also M,S,A,P + It's own panorama setting.
Video recordong 1,440 or 1080 video at 25fps.
Wifi
Gps.
But I tend to use my phone more galaxy s20
& my gopro Hero 8 black :bag:.....
 
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OwenM

Thru Hiker
I use a Canon EOS M50, cropped sensor mirrorless and a GoPro hero 8 black. I've a 22mm and a 55-200mm for the canon but the range of lenses for that camera is very limited.

I also have a monster 5d mk IV the body alone weighs nearly a kilo. I'm thinking of trading up to their full frame mirrorless but I guess that's far more than your after.
 

FOX160

Thru Hiker
I just use my phone these days,b shoot a little bit of film but did have a Fuji x100t, which I never replaced when I lost it.
Even though the series has a fixed length of 35 eqv, I found it ideal for most type of photography. I thought the lense was excellent, f2 stop. The series has moved on a lot now and improved a fair bit. bigger sensor ect.
Saying that though I found it quite heavy for backpacking and would probably go for a Ricoh GR which has a great sensor and lense. The Sony rx models are the other good alternative with zoom, smaller sensor

I’ve recently purchased a used Fujifilm X100 just to get a feel for the X series which I am liking due to near all controls are visual and still able to take a photo
without having to learn the menu system to take a photo.

@Arne L. I was looking at a similar set up but with the Fujifilm X Pro 2 (but no panorama feature) but forgotten about the peak design shell being the fuji X-E3
which as near all the guts of the X Pro 2 but cheaper and comes with the panorama feature.

@Teepee I’ve not used any photo software as of yet, however your points in dynamic range is to why I’ve been looking at camera’s with this feature
I’m yet to look at the Sony rx range as I do like the bright small zoom focal range. What Nikon mirrorless are you using?

Thanks everyone for your time and info, any further Info would be helpful.
 

Robin

Moderator
Staff member
Fuji X100 gets good reviews. Having an optical viewfinder is nice. That’s one thing I miss from old style cameras. I’ve got a Sony RX100 I which is probably more sophisticated than my photography warrants but is a nice camera.
 

Teepee

Thru Hiker
@FOX160 a Z6, usually with a 14mm f 2.8 or a 20mm f1.8, a 24-70 f4 and a 70-200 f4. It's with me on most trips. I'm really into photography and don't mind the weight though.

You'll likely find the fuji does quite well. That's a capable camera. I've always liked Fuji and they are really popular currently for good reason.
 

WilliamC

Thru Hiker
We've been using Sony RX100s - a mk1 and mk3. I prefer the mark1 as it is lighter and has a slightly longer lens. It doesn't have a viewfinder, though, and it is slower to save shots. We've just picked up a Panasonic TZ100 for the extra zoom range.
About a third of the photos that we post are taken on a smartphone, either Samsung Note FE or S10e, either with or without a Moment wide angle lens or recently a Xiaomi Note 10 Pro.
We used to have a Huawei Mate 20 Pro, which was great except the heavy vignetting on the RAW files drove me crazy so I got rid of it. I now see that lens correction has been added (along with a host of other Huawei models) to Camera RAW* in the latest update so I wish I'd kept it.

*(And, annoyingly, Adobe seem to have leapt from the Samsung S9 range to the S20 range and omitted the S10 range.)
 

Diddi

Thru Hiker
Group question is the weatherproofing/dust really worth the considerable extra cash?
Initially for me it was but then I realised it would be fighting for use over my phone camera and gopro hero 8 black so went for something they didnt have and that was a really good optical zoom.
 

Jamess

Section Hiker
Group question is the weatherproofing/dust really worth the considerable extra cash?

At the risk of stating the obvious, If you store your camera in a waterproof bag and only get it out in the dry you don't need waterproofing. If you are on the trail in wet conditions for several days and want to use your camera you will need waterproofing.
 

Teepee

Thru Hiker
Group question is the weatherproofing/dust really worth the considerable extra cash?

As always, it depends.
Whilst it means I can still use my weatherproofed stuff in the rain and it won't die, I don't as I'm usually on a multidayer and don't want the moisture slowly getting into the kit to grow mould. The weather proofing doesn't stop condensation forming inside the lens elements, although it seems to really help compared to the non-sealed stuff.
Dustproofing? Lots of dust around this year and dirty sensors in sealed units can be hard to clean. I notice a lot more dust build up when I carry the camera on a bike.
 

Daymoth

Section Hiker
Group question is the weatherproofing/dust really worth the considerable extra cash?

For a camera with interchangeable lenses maybe?

I defenetly dont bother with mine since the fact that the lense is integrated makes it pretty dustproof and since its compact I just tuck it inside my rain jacket.
 

Davy

Thru Hiker
I killed my Canon EOS M and probably its lens (EF-M 11-22) on the GR221 due to continuous rain getting into a 'waterproof' case. I almost bought a replacement body as bang for buck and weightwise it was a good set up for landscape photos but the handling was horrible, with no evf and dreadful auto focus, (which has been addressed with later versions) and I have since gone down a more video oriented route.

I also like fast prime lenses, I find the constraints and shallow depth of field options can lead to more creative compositions, I get lazy with zooms and wide angle phone lenses. That said, I've yet to get a decent landscape out of my Panasonic Lumix GX8 with its f1.4 25mm Summilux prime, so would avoid 4/3 options. It shoots great (unstabilised) video though.

If I was starting again I would be balancing weight/bulk against image quality, weather proofness, battery life, versatility (inc. video) and not least cost.

Mrs Davy recently went through the same thought process and ended up with an iPhone 11pro as a sort of Swiss army knife option. Yet to test its RAW capabilities...
 

Heltrekker

Section Hiker
I killed my Canon EOS M and probably its lens (EF-M 11-22) on the GR221 due to continuous rain getting into a 'waterproof' case.

I gave up with "waterproof" cases on the Pennine Way years ago after flooding my Panasonic FZ45. I managed to dry it out eventually, but chucked the case and rolled it the camera an Exped dry bag with the strap hanging out of the top. Kept it totally dry even in Yorkshire's worst and I've never bothered replacing the case.
 
If I was starting again I would be balancing weight/bulk against image quality, weather proofness, battery life, versatility (inc. video) and not least cost.
Mrs Davy recently went through the same thought process and ended up with an iPhone 11pro as a sort of Swiss army knife option. Yet to test its RAW capabilities...
I want one. Sounds a very good solution. For my adventures and use if it's not pocketable and weather/splashproof (plus all the other points the excellent Mrs. Davy makes above) I'm not carrying it out walking. If it was just a bit cheaper and smaller........is that asking too much? Are any of the new Samsung phones I wonder a good (cheaper) buy for the same reasons?
 
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FOX160

Thru Hiker
just an heads up to where I am at. I’ve been looking at the following and possible set ups.
Since picking up a second hand Fujifilm X100 I’ve really been enjoying its simplicity of virtually anyone can pic up the camera and take a pic, without the need
to learn how to use a menu system to take a pic. I’ve also taken on board regarding using the mobiles for Panarama pics/pics and order 2 qty large pics to see
of the image quality. https://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/iphone-11-pro-max.htm I don’t exactly have this phone but mine shares the same processor.

Fujifilm X 100 V update lens/weatherproofing/sensor/electronics. Also the camera has a digital converter 50mm & 70mm jpeg only
but you do lose approx 6 and 12 mega pixels if you use but would be ok if you only blow up 12* 8 prints or you may like the noise/grain if blow up further depending the quality of the print. This gives you an equivalent of 75mm - 105mm in 35mm format on top of the 34mm fixed lens.

Fujifilm X100 F has been heavily reduced, 24 meg pixel sensor and shares near all of the above features, but no weatherproofing and 1080 film only.

Fujifilm E-X3 with the the kit zoom lens or a 23mm & 50mm Fujifilm prime lenses.

Fujifilm X PRO2 together with the E-X3 body together with the 23mm & 50mm Fujifilm prime lenses.

unsure if anyone as any thoughts or knowledge would be great to learn

Thank you for all your info.
 
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