[pct-l] DSLR Camera

[Tom Holz]

My advice is to take the DLSR you want to take.  You can always mail it 
home if you find yourself not using it, or swap it for a smaller point 
and shoot at some point.  I carried about 30 ounces of camera gear on my 
2010 thruhike, and brought back several thousand pictures that I'm 
really thrilled with.

In any case, carry more memory cards than you think you will need, and 
mail them to someone to backup, or bounce a small laptop to do it 
yourself in town, because clearing out photos every day to make room for 
more is a big chore after a full hiking day.  I'd also recommend keeping 
your camera as handy as possible.  I used a really dorky hip-pouch so 
that I could pull out my camera on very short notice.  It was packed 
away for a couple river fords, and I definitely missed some great 
opportunities there..

Anyhow, you can do *really* well with a nice point and shoot these days, 
but if your heart is set on carrying a heavier setup, go for it.  Here's 
what I did on my 2010 thruhike:

The bulk of my camera weight was a micro four-thirds Panasonic DMC-GF1 
with the f/1.7 20mm kit prime (equivalent to 40mm on a 35mm camera). 
The camera, lens, batteries, and charger together were around 17-18 
ounces.  The larger micro four-thirds sensor combined with the fast lens 
meant that I was able to take clear candid photos around camp where a 
point and shoot would have shot blurry.  Some of my absolute favorite 
pictures from the hike came off this camera.

I also carried a second point and shoot camera for macro, wideangle, and 
telephoto (Panasonic DMC-ZR1, swapped halfway for a Canon S90).  The 
second camera weighed less than a second lens for the GF1.  I used the 
point and shoot mainly for landscapes, macro, and daytime situations 
where there was enough light for the smaller P&S sensor.

Good luck,
Bigfoot

PS - Here's the kind of pictures I was taking on the PCT:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomholz/sets/72157623833837731/



On 3/31/2012 5:22 PM, treerings at gmail.com wrote:
> Does anyone have experience carrying a heavy (16 oz) DSLR camera on the
> PCT? The quality of photos is so much better than a point-and-shoot that
> I've made up my mind I'm going to try it. Any advice, tips, etc would be
> greatly appreciated. Thanks! -Treerings
>