EDC camera

[Nathan Wernette]

Hey ian wondering if you bought a camera yet?

Check out this link.

They'll update it when they get a batch of cameras in. This is my summer backpacking camera. I'll buy one they come back into stock.

They are 299.99 when they are available.

http://www.adorama.com/INKCPABR.html?refby=cj_4137899&cj_sid=skim4699X646641Xf5896f87ae060d3452cca8dc0f5ae5c4&cj_aid=10788925

[Roger Caffin]

So now you have a super camera with 14 bits of dynamic range and 10k x 7.5k pixels and all manner of wizz-bangs. At some cost and weight.

Of course, 99% of your photos are diaplayed at 1000×750 pixel resolution on a screen which might have 7 bits of dynamic range …

Granted, the glass on a phone-camera is pretty hopeless – due to both aperture and cost constraints, but I do wonder whether the other extreme is worth the money. Me, I use a Canon G15, which has close to SLR facilities, PLUS whatever skills I have picked up over the decades. I often think the skills are the more important part.

Cheers

[Brendan Swihart]

I'd recommend checking out the GM1 and GM5. Basically both the same but the 5 has an EVF. Micro 4/3 and the bodies are smaller than the RX100 (though not as "pocketable" with a lens on it) so you can swap lenses depending on your needs. Throw the 15/1.7, 25/1.8, etc on there and you have a killer walk around camera with quite a bit better IQ than an RX100 with more control over DOF and tons of flexibility if you want other lenses.

[Ian]

Nathan,

When I clicked on that link, there were several variations of the Nikon coolpix. Which one in particular are you looking at?

Roger,

I spend a lot of time on the road and live in the most beautiful state in the union, with tons of opportunities to see tons of wildlife. Osprey are starting to nest for example. Also, in the 20 years of living here, I've seen fewer than five badgers. I had the perfect shot of one staring at me from her den the other day with nothing in my pocket to capture the shot but my iPhone. The picture sucks. Skill had nothing to do with it. I had but a moment but I didn't have the right tool for the job. I do understand that skill is certainly important but what I've found with wildlife photography, it's important to have gear that's up to the challenge. The RX100i I played around with would have been perfect in this particular scenario.

Brendan,

The GM5 is a fine looking camera, and the GX1 has certainly captured my attention. But I do own an A6000 and what I'm looking for is a truly pocketable camera that will always be with me.

In the interim, I'm just going to start bringing my A6000 and lenses to work with me in a backpack so when an opportunity presents itself, I'm not stuck cussing at my iPhone.

Thanks to all for contributing to the conversation.

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Ian

> fewer than five badgers. I had the perfect shot of one staring at me from her den the
> other day with nothing in my pocket to capture the shot but my iPhone. The picture
> sucks. Skill had nothing to do with it. I had but a moment but I didn't have the
> right tool for the job.
Yeah, I know.

Back when I carried an Olympus OM-2 with extra lenses, I missed hordes of great photos too. The animals wouldn't wait while I got the SLR out of my pack, selected the right lens, and then checked to see whether the target was still there. It usually had long gone.

So these days I carry my G15 in a custom pouch on my shoulder strap, and I can get it out in seconds with one hand – and take the shot with one hand too. The pouch is waterproof even so.

Cheers

[Justin Miller]

Ian,

What lenses do you currently have for your a6000 and which do you bring in the backcountry? I've long used an Olympus Tough P&S on trips but it's showing it's age. I've pondered some of the current high end pocketables (RX100, G7x) but I've a desire for a much wider zoom. Sony has some aggressive discounts running on the a6000 right now along with a few lenses on sale. That is much more settling on the stomach than trying to jump into a Fuji setup.

Any experience with the 10-18mm on your a6000? Since you are trying to find a smaller replacement for your a6000 on the trail, is it solely based upon weight considerations?

[Ian]

To be clear, I plan on taking the A6000 on most backpacking trips with me. What I'm looking for here is an EDC/Every Day Carry camera for the front country, and on backpacking trips where I plan on hiking more than 20 miles per day. The A6000 is certainly compact but it's not pocketable, and even with the 16mm lens, it's not comfortable to carry in my Napoleon pocket of my rain jacket when it's raining.

I want a decent camera to catch a picture of the occasional raptor, badger, bear, turkey, landscape shot, etc I happen to see in my day to day travels. I realize the iPhone is capable of taking some great pictures under ideal conditions but I've missed too many great pictures due to its limitations.

"What lenses do you currently have for your a6000 and which do you bring in the backcountry?"

At this time, the only lens I take with me backpacking is the 16mm sony prime lens. It's by no means perfect but I think it has better image quality than the 16-50mm kit lens. If I had to do it all over again, I'd would just get the body an a wide angle lens to start out with and skip the kit lens altogether.

I hear the 20mm lens is better than the 16mm, but at 30mm equivalent (vs 24mm of the 16mm), that's not as wide as I'd like. I've contemplated buying the Zeiss Touit 12mm but it's a)$700 and b) reported to be pretty noisy, I'm hesitant to pull the trigger. I can see past the $700 price tag for a quality wide angle lens but I'm going to start shooting movies so the focus noise is problematic for me.

There is a fish eye and wide angle converter that will work with both the 16mm and 20mm that I'd like to buy someday. Rumor has it that Sony will release a new wide angle lens and an updated wide angle and fish eye converter so I'm anxiously waiting to see what they are all about.

[Ian]

Roger made the following comment on the cell phone challenge which I agree with:

"I can't help commenting that the 'quality' of the photos seems to be more dependent on the guy behind the viewfinder than anything else.

cheers"

and again here

"[…]but I do wonder whether the other extreme is worth the money. Me, I use a Canon G15, which has close to SLR facilities, PLUS whatever skills I have picked up over the decades. I often think the skills are the more important part."

All this is worthy of its own thread.

When it comes to skill vs gear, I don't think this is an either/or conversation. Phones are certainly capable of taking some decent shots, and if you're comfortable working within its limitations, can work as a stand-alone camera.

But when it comes to wildlife, there's little room for error, especially with a pocketable camera. With some of these critters, you have but a moment to take the shot before they are back in their den or bounding off into the brush and out of sight. Time is simply not a luxury here.

I've found that I need a camera that will allow for me to take a picture, and the control are set up in a way where I can make my adjustments to aperture and shutter speed in mere seconds.

This guy for example….

.

Had I taken this picture with my A6000, even if I took this picture in full auto and on my wide angle prime, I would have been able to crop the picture and ended up with something frame-worthy. Unfortunately that's not the case here. I'll play around with it some in post but I'm not expecting much.

[Brendan Swihart]

Curious what the problem is with a mk i RX100 is. For what you describe (truly pocketable, some zoom for wildlife) it seems like the best option by far and can easily be had for under $300 used. If you're willing to consider an s110 or Lumix ZS-25 (which btw the tiny superzooms have pretty poor IQ in my experience) the RX100 seems like the better option and isn't that much more expensive. I had a mki RX100 briefly and didn't love it, so I can understand looking for other options, but it seems like it'd be perfect for what you say you're looking for

RE: photographer not the gear, I love this post by Ming Thein: http://blog.mingthein.com/2014/08/24/can-you-tell-the-difference/

[Ian]

I bought what was advertised as open box/undamaged RX100i from Best Buy for about $300 last winter and owned it for about a week but ended up returning it when I discovered on day one and had repeat problems throughout the week with a dust cover that would not completely open 50% of the time.

Other than the issue with the occasionally not retracting dust cover issue, taking pictures with this camera was an absolute joy. One option absent with this camera that would motivate me to spend a couple bucks more to get the ii is the tilting screen as I use that feature all the time when taking pictures of flowers and whatnot.

Scrolled through Thein's post. Lovely pictures and I didn't even try to guess. The iPhone is certainly capable under the right conditions, but I've been burned by it one too many times on the trail.

[Stuart R]

Interesting and timely thread. I am seriously considering a RX100 Mk1 as my sole backpacking camera now the price new has come down – I am not a serious photographer but like to take reasonably good pictures of places I have been. I would never consider a 'large' camera but the RX100 appears to offer a good step up in picture quality from my current cheap point-and-shoot whilst still being compact and reasonably light. There appear to be very few bad words said against it.

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Ian

Um … what IS that? I have to confess I have not been able to figure it out yet.

Cheers

[Jerry Adams]

"Um … what IS that? I have to confess I have not been able to figure it out yet."

I keep staring at it. Looking at it closer, or farther back….

I can't decide whether it looks more like a mountain, or an elephant : )

[Ian]

That's a badger mean-mugging me from her den.

[ed hyatt]

I bought an RX100 III as a replacement for my Ricoh GX200.

The image quality is super-fine – the handling not a patch on the Ricoh; the Ricoh GR was a very tempting choice but a fixed 28mm lens was an issue….now, had it been a 24mm….?

The RX100 handles 'OK' now I've put a grip on it, the 24mm lens swung it for me over the earlier RX models.

It is expensive.

I point and shoot once I have dialled in what I like with function buttons and so on – sort of 'fit and forget'. Love taking and looking at images from my trips but cannot be bothered any more with changing lenses and so on (been there).

My camera lives on my shoulder strap in an Ortlieb Snap – out, picture, back, in a few seconds. I take around 50-60 pictures on average a day when backpacking.

Works for me.

[Bob Gross]

"That's a badger mean-mugging me from her den."

I couldn't figure out what it was, either, based on the fuzzy photo.

Now that you say it is a badger, I can see it clearly enough.

Badgers have an attitude that is only a half step below that of a wolverine.

–B.G.–

[Nathan Wernette]

Its the one at the top that says. We are sorry this is no longer available.

This one

http://www.adorama.com/INKCPABR.html?discontinued=t

Keep checking the other link, they'll renew the link when they have more available.

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