[pct-l] camera for thru-hiking

[Sir Mixalot]

AA batteries are great as long as you're not using alkaline batteries.  If
you use lithium AA or Eneloop AA batteries, you may be quite amazed at how
many pictures you can take.  My brother has a Canon A720is, and I've used it
with Eneloop AA batteries to take over 700 pictures, which barely put a dent
in the battery meter.  I've used Eneloop AA's in my Fujifilm S9000 to take
2053 pictures on the PCT earlier this year, and would have taken more if
that short trip were longer.  Lithium batteries would presumably take more
pictures, as well as the newer 2500 mah Eneloop XX batteries.  As great as
nimh batteries can be, I don't know if they're the right thing for a thru
hike since you'd need a separate charger.  Even the lightest solar chargers
weigh about the same as 4 AA batteries.  I'd rather carry the extra
batteries.  As for a particular camera, I only carry and use the one built
into my Garmin Oregon 550 for longer hikes.  That's mostly so I don't have
to carry as much weight and bulk.  If you decide that you want to use nimh
AA batteries, I think contacting the guy that sells the usb charger below
would be your best bet for a charger that is small and light.

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?229002-FS-Solar-Powered-amp-USB-Chargers-2-panels-added

Oh, and I do geotag photos taken with my camera, but I use the tracks from
my handheld gps to provide the gps data.  I like the idea of geotagging
cameras, but from what I've seen, they get gps lock slowly and are useless
for navigation.

I don't think I'd bother with a ruggedized camera.  I understand the
concern, but I'd rather have a camera with a longer zoom to have any hope of
wildlife taking up more than a few pixels in my pictures.

On Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 12:46 AM, David Money Harris
<David_Harris at hmc.edu>wrote:

> I'm curious to hear what kinds of cameras thru-hikers have been carrying
> and how they performed.  Has anyone tried the geotagging cameras such as
> the Panasonic ZS10 and is this actually useful or is it a gimmick?  What
> are your opinions on AA battery power (e.g. Cannon SX130/a1200) vs. the
> specialized batteries?  For those using AA batteries and a GPS, is it
> better to carry a solar charger or a bag of spares? Will a standard
> camera survive the trip when treated with ordinary care, or do you find
> the waterproof/ruggedized cameras worth the trade-offs?
>
> Thanks!
>
> DMoney
>
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