[pct-l] Camera

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, Mark,

My pack camera is a 5.8 ounce Cannon SureShot which uses a rechargeable
0.84 ounce battery.  It is several years old, and I’m not up-to-date on the
current specifications of the various competitive manufacturers and models
so today I would start over and examine all the offerings and types.

When choosing a camera I was similarly conflicted between ones that use AA
or AAA batteries and those that use rechargeables.  I really prefer using
AAA batteries because that is what my GPS uses so I would have commonality,
but at the time the overall size and weight of the rechargeable cameras was
significantly less.

My decision was guided by my resupply strategy:  I received a box about
once per week which – in addition to food – included at least one fully
charged camera battery, and at least one empty 1-gig SD memory chip.  I
always had one battery in the camera, plus I always carried one additional
battery.  Overall, I cycled among at least four batteries:  Two with me,
one coming in the next resupply box, and one that I mailed home from the
trail with a SD chip and my paper journal notes.

Early, until I had a good feel for how many photos I would take, I also
carried the 2.1 ounce charger, but I eventually sent it home.  Two
batteries were sufficient for me and, since I didn’t stay long in the
resupply town, finding a place to recharge was a nuisance.

I purposefully use the relatively-small 1-gig chips because I didn’t want
to be tempted to commit too many photos to a larger chip and risk the loss.
In a resupply segment I never had to install the back-up chip.

I had to develop a special plan for the spare battery:  When a battery is
fresh it will operate the camera at the low, early-morning temperatures,
but in the second half of a cold section the battery in the camera wouldn’t
work until it warmed up.  If I wanted to take photos first thing in the
morning – a common occurrence – I had to install the spare battery which I
had kept in the sleeping bag with me overnight.  The other battery I tried
to carry in a warm place on my body, yet still have it be easily accessible.
With my athletic shorts and tee-shirt that wasn’t easy to do.  One hiker
carried her spare battery in one of the two pockets of her torso mini-pack,
i.e. her bra, which kept it both warm and handy.

I carry the camera in a little zippered waist packet, the belt of which has
been modified to allow the pack to be in front.  I kept the spare battery
in a 2” square Ziploc.

Almost always I keep the camera flash disabled to save battery power.

Enjoy your planning,

Steel-Eye

-Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/


On Wed, May 1, 2013 at 6:13 AM, mark utzman <blackbelthiker at gmail.com>wrote:

> Good morning,
>     What is a good trail camera? I am looking for one that uses AA or AAA
> batteries. I am also considering one that uses a rechargeable lithium
> battery. A spare battery costs about $15. I am not a photographer, but I do
> want one with good optics and a good zoom feature. Any advice would be
> appreciated. Thanks,  Mark
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