[pct-l] Camera

[John Abela]

On Sat, Nov 20, 2010 at 8:37 PM, Ethan Smith <esmith11 at my.whitworth.edu>wrote:

> I would love to get some advice about buying a camera for my 2011
> thru-hike. I am looking for one that is light-weight, durable, $150 range,
> takes good (doesn't have to be excellent) pictures, and is easy to use.
> Also, what have you done about memory cards?
> Thanks!
>



Hello Ethan,

Two you might want to look at are:

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7  -- this has a very impressive zoom and even more
impressive a wide-angle feature - and why would you want a wide-angle on a
trip like the PCT!!  It is about $100 over your price range, but it would be
a great hundred dollar investment.

Canon PowerShot SD1400IS -- would be a #2 choice. Does not have the
impressive zoom or wide-angle but it is still an amazing bang for the buck.

Canon PowerShot SD1300IS -- would be the choice if you just really have to
keep the price of the camera under $150. It is pretty much identical to the
SD1400IS minus 2-power zoom.


All three of these cameras are going to be super light, beyond reliable and
priced about right. They all also do video which is great for the short
videos you might want to do. They can all be found on amazon.com


Memory cards:

Memory cards come down to two things:

The amount of photos you need to store
Whether you want to do video.

At the top end of things I would recommend the "SanDisk 16GB Extreme - SDHC
Class 10" (do an amazon search for "SDSDX3-016G-P31"). They are a bit
expensive at 75-80 bucks, but the 16gigs is a nice amount of room for both
video and pictures. I carry two of them on my trips (I do a lot of videos
for youtube.)  Being that they are Class 10 they can handle the high quality
of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7. The higher the class number the faster than
can 'save' photos/video. So, if you want to do a videos you should get at
least a Class 6, but an 8 or 10 are ideal if you want to do the higher
quality video. For photos only, Class 6 is a great way to go and save some
money.


Obviously a lot of options out there, as I am sure you have discovered. The
above are just my suggestions. The three cameras I listed are all going to
give you amazing quality photos, fit within a hip-pouch on your pack have
great battery life, and are reasonably priced for what they are. Memory
cards are a nightmare in and of themselves. All I would say about them is
even if you do not buy the one I recommended above, try to buy a SanDisk.
There are other companies out there making decent memory cards, and cheaper
ones, but the reliability of a card is sooo important on a long trip like
the PCT. It is a once in a life-time chance for most of us. Don't skimp out
and get a lower-quality memory card that's going to store all the photos of
place you'll probably never get back too.

John