[pct-l] PCT photography

[Chris Mills <cmills00@uclink4.berkeley.edu>]

Hello everyone,

I need some advice.  I am a fairly avid amateur photographer, and currently
own a Canon A2E.  It is a great camera, and has accompanied me on many a
backpacking adventure, but I think it may be just too heavy and bulky for
my thru-hike next year.  I need some suggestions if anyone has them on a
good camera for the thru-hike.

I have a bad feeling that my ideal camera doesn't exist, but I listed the
features I'm looking for below.  If you know of any camera that meets at
least most of my wants, I'd appreciate it if you would let me know.

Features:
1.  Manual ISO setting (so it will take bulk loaded film) that will go down
to at least 	40.  (This one is absolutely necessary)
2.  Small size and weight.
3.  Good Optics
4.  A slow shutter speed (slower than 1/2 sec.) at the low end, to blur
water if I want to, and capture low light situations.
5.  Relatively weather resistant.
6.  Exposure compensation or manual exposure setting (or override).

I have become quite enamored with the Olympus Stylus Epic, but I don't
think it has features 1,4, or 6.  I have also given some consideration to
the old single lens (non-interchangeable) rangefinders made in the 60's and
70's, but these are almost all metal and just as heavy as my A2E.  They
also have to be re-calibrated to take non-mercuric batteries.  I could live
with a point and shoot if it is really small and light, but I don't know of
anyone that has feature 1, 4, or 6.  Although I would not be happy with it,
I would live without 4 or 6, but any point and shoot has to have 1.  There
is no way I could afford to shoot as much as I do if I were not using bulk
loaded film.  Any ideas??  Thanks!
--Chris Mills
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