Comments on: Help Me Pick My New Hiking Camera

By: Jim Doyle

Jim Doyle — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 18:10:38 +0000

I like some of the earlier recommendations. The LX3 shares a similar feature to the Powershot GX11 – A CCD rather than CMOS sensor. This is what gets you the excellent low-light performance in this compact category. The Canon S95 does the same thing – one of the few cameras left that combines a CCD sensor with a low F lens system. I would think for Winter backpacking where light is always low – these are ideal, perfect cameras.

I think the reqts for backpacking are: light and small enough to attach to your pack or yourself to allow for easy reach. As wide angle as possible for landscapes. image stabilization. Durable enough so the sweat off your fingers doesnt destroy the controls.

Despite the lovely, small CCD cameras ; I was wondering if anyone has taken a Micro Four Thirds camera out for shooting. I’d like to hear anyone using a 17 or 20mm pancake wideangle lens. The real attractor to me is the Olympus 9mm-14mm f4.0 lens for shots far above the treeline!

By: chris Paras

chris Paras — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 02:46:27 +0000

Dear group;
I am also wondering what the ultimate decision was as well and because this original post came out almost a year ago if anyone had any updates on newly released cameras and innovations?

From the original post many of the requirements are now ieven in lower end cameras? Because I am primarily looking for a camera for the outdoors, hiking, skiing, wildlife in the northeast besides the requirements here I am wondering if anyone has any experience with some of the new higher end point & shoots like the Panasonic Lumix z10 with X16 zoom lens or the new Nikon P500 with 36X Zoom Lens?

Right now I am pretty much stuck on getting a Panasonics Lumix camera because of the Leica lens but very open to folks that actually take and use their camera outdoors!

I ran a wedding business for over 30 years and had many wedding photographer friends that used Leica cameras forever. When my kids asked for cameras a few years ago I did some research and went with Nikon point shoot cameras for them. As they became older teenagers and their cameras broke, we went out and purchased Panasonic Lumix with Leica lens. My opinion is that the Leica lens makes a huge difference in picture quality with everything else about the cameras pretty much being equal.

Thx

Chris

By: Zeke

Zeke — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:43:15 +0000

John,

Just curious if you ended up making a decision? I’m a camera novice currently looking for a new camera with backpacking specifically in mind (lightweight, wide angle, decent battery life, etc). Looking forward to three weeks in the Sierras, I’m psyched! Any updates/thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

By: John Soares

John Soares — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 23:15:01 +0000

Noel, thanks for sharing why you switched to a DSLR. I’ll write soon about the decision I made. As it stands, I use both my new small camera and my Sony DSLR.
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By: Noel Hastings

Noel Hastings — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:18:27 +0000

I thought I should check in and mention that I sold my ZS7 and bought a Nikon DSLR. Although the small Lumix produced some superior images in good light (i.e. hiking, landscapes, etc…) it really underperformed in low light situations which is important to me. I also wanted the better control of depth of field that you get with a larger sensor. So, I still recommend the ZS7 for general backpacking photos (wide lens, great zoom, great sensor, small, GPS, etc…) I could not sacrifice the low light (evening, inside the house, fireplace, etc…) shooting I do as well as portrait stuff.

By: Zeeshan

Zeeshan — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:11:27 +0000

cool camera blog, guys i like cameras but don’t know much about it
Zeeshan recently posted ..How to Buy a Best Digital Camera

By: John Soares

John Soares — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:43:45 +0000

Ken, this is good advice. I’m still thinking about all my options. Just used the Sony A100 the other day and it really isn’t that heavy…

By: Ken

Ken — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 04:56:16 +0000

I think you should stay with the Sony A100 and use a wide zoom lens as your primary lens (18mm – 70mm). I’m assuming the A100 has a larger sensor than a point-and-shoot (Canon Powershot G11). The bigger sensor make a huge difference shooting in low-light. I carry a Canon Rebel Xti with a 18mm-50mm lens. I don’t find it too heavy for hiking.
Ken recently posted ..Escondido Falls (Malibu)

By: John Soares

John Soares — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:20:48 +0000

Noel, thanks for all the detailed info about the ZS7. I still haven’t made my decision, so feel free to keep putting more details on this post.

The ZS7 sounds like a very good camera…

By: Noel Hastings

Noel Hastings — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:39:04 +0000

Just FYI: I just received my new upgrade to the ZS1, the Lumix ZS7. Had a few notes to add to my previous post. First, the newer ZS7 is lighter and has slightly better design to control placement, a better LCD and much faster CPU. Although my previous post said it would not take aftermarket batteries, mine works fine with my aftermarket battery. As far as images, I did a quick comparison and both extremes (at 25mm and 300mm) between my ZS1 and my ZS7. Although the pixel density is higher in the ZS7 I did not see the increased noise I was worried about. Actually, the new CPU and hardware not only speed everything up, but the image processing is much better even with that bigger, denser chip! Seemingly improved contrast range, JPG compression and less noise overall with nice resolution. These chips are still not the best in really low light compared to larger chips, but I was happy. With the ZS7 you get a GPS, a lighter body, better anti-shake, faster focus (very fast) and a better images compared to the ZS1.

I am heading out Thursday night to find a decent hike to try it out. Now to find some mountains without slushy snow (I am looking at your book now!!) Let me know if you want any more info on the ZS7 and I will quit hammering your blog with this stuff. -noel
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