This is a preview of a member exclusive premium article.
Learn more

Digital cameras, while sporting amazing technology, aren't what they ought to be. Backpackers aren't especially well served by the current crop of digicams because nobody has taken the time to address our needs. In an increasingly vast and segmented market, outdoor enthusiasts warrant a camera designed with us in mind. Why hasn't anybody done it yet? Rick Dreher thinks it's because all of the world's camera designers have been RIF'd and replaced by cell phone designers.

ARTICLE OUTLINE

  • Introduction
  • A Backpacker's Digicam Checklist
    • Some Evaluation Points for Backpacking Cameras
    • Form
    • Controls and User Interface
    • Shooting Modes
    • Manual Control, Customizability
    • Lenses
    • Zoom-Zoom-Buzz-Buzz
    • Chips Ahoy
    • Viewscreens and Viewfinders
    • Sunlight Surprise
    • Screen Resolution
    • Batteries
    • Water, Dust and Shock
    • Hoods, Converter Lenses and Filters
    • Memory and Storage
    • Time Bandits
    • RAW, TIFF, JPEG
    • Obsolescence
  • The Digi-Rick-O-Matic
    • Tell me what camera to buy!
  • Voting With my Wallet
  • Conclusions
  • Glossary

# WORDS: 8060
# PHOTOS: 21
# SIDEBARS: 3
# TABLES: 2

--- End of free preview ---
Member Exclusive

A Premium or Unlimited Membership* is required to view the rest of this article.

MembershipLogin

* A Basic Membership is required to view Member Q&A events