[pct-l] Camera weight

[Diane Soini]

I'm in the camp of people who believe the best camera is the one you 
will use, the one you can deploy on a second's notice and then put away 
without taking off your pack, and that photography and long distance 
hiking don't really mix well. But lots of people do not feel this way.

My picture-taking strategy was the second I said "oh wow" in my head, I 
stopped immediately and took a picture. I did not wait to see if the 
view would be better a little further on. I didn't usually walk around 
looking for a better view or wait around to see if the light would 
change. The thing is, if I didn't take the picture immediately, I never 
got a better view and would lose not just a good picture but a piece of 
the story that I wanted to remember.

Since you do love your SLR so much, I would suggest you consider 
bringing your SLR and also a small point and shoot. It's not going to 
weigh all that much extra. Then see which you prefer to use and send 
home one of them. Or you may decide you like having one for that 
majestic shot and another for telling the story for your blog.

As for backups, I never kept backups. I had extra memory cards. Some 
people just used a lot of memory cards, mailing them home periodically. 
I also had a small dry bag. If I had to cross a creek with a possibility 
that I could slip and get my camera wet, it went into my dry bag.