Help me choose a camera to hike 2000+ miles

[Vaughn]

Whereas I rode a bicycle for 2000 miles in NZ with a 4x5...exposed 70 sheets of film...Royal Pan (mostly) and Super XX. But it sounds like you worked a lot harder than I did Maris! And certainly covered a much wider range of images than I could have with the 4x5. Sounds like an incredible trip!

And at first I was thinking of the Fuji GX680...we had one donated to the college while I was working there...probably heavier than most 8x10s...

The river after appearing from under Franz Josef Glacier, NZ, 1987. I imagine that the glacier is now a kilometer further up the valley now...at least:

[trekkin]

I once put together a 4x5 kit for backpacking on the Appalachian Trail SOBO in Virginia. I had a very light Nagaoka 4x5 camera, a minimal lens, minimal tripod, Grafmatics, a changing bag, and a light meter. I think this gear weighed about 6 pounds, and fit in the top of my ultralite backpack. So total weight was manageable, in the mid to upper 20's with food, etc.

The problem was that I didn't use it much. I think in a week I shot about 5 sheets. I was hiking with somebody else and miles were a priority. None of the photos came out well, light tended to be marginal (the AT is the long green tunnel)... I sent it home at Waynesboro and hiked without a camera all the way to Damascus, VA. On later AT hikes I carried a Hassy SWC and actually got photos that now hang on the wall.

If you are hiking alone and not on a rigid schedule a light 4x5 kit might work. But otherwise I would go medium format. Just my opinion! Best of luck.

[popdoc]

Trekkin is spot on!


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[popdoc]

Also, if you wanted to be a minimalist with medium format for the combination of “green tunnel”/ near-macro/vistas, consider the Hasselblad SWC.


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[superman9]

Also, if you wanted to be a minimalist with medium format for the combination of “green tunnel”/ near-macro/vistas, consider the Hasselblad SWC.


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I once put together a 4x5 kit for backpacking on the Appalachian Trail SOBO in Virginia. I had a very light Nagaoka 4x5 camera, a minimal lens, minimal tripod, Grafmatics, a changing bag, and a light meter. I think this gear weighed about 6 pounds, and fit in the top of my ultralite backpack. So total weight was manageable, in the mid to upper 20's with food, etc.

The problem was that I didn't use it much. I think in a week I shot about 5 sheets. I was hiking with somebody else and miles were a priority. None of the photos came out well, light tended to be marginal (the AT is the long green tunnel)... I sent it home at Waynesboro and hiked without a camera all the way to Damascus, VA. On later AT hikes I carried a Hassy SWC and actually got photos that now hang on the wall.

If you are hiking alone and not on a rigid schedule a light 4x5 kit might work. But otherwise I would go medium format. Just my opinion! Best of luck.

Trekkin, when did you hike the AT? Is there somewhere you've posted your work from the trail that I could check out?

Two things that make me think it might be feasible: I'll be hiking with my partner, a first time thruhiker; One of my big regrets from my last hike (also PCT) was moving too fast. I think something that slows me down could be a good thing for me but I really haven't decided yet—at this point I'm really just trying to fully flesh out all my options.

I'll definitely check out the SWC—thanks for the help!

[Drew Bedo]

I did a week on the AT during spring break in the early 1970s when in collage. Worked a summer at a resort in the Rockies around then too. Climbed Long's Peak twice that summer. Then life happened and not much since then.

My Collège roommate went off to Oregon and built a different life. Over the years he has through trekked the Pacific Crest trail twice. Now 70, he has had both knees replaced and he is doing it agsin in stages,

My hat is off to all who have done and can still do an extended trail hike.

[Dugan]

4x5 on a 2000 mi. hike will be hard...if it's a challenge you're looking for, why not do wet plate? It's kinda the in thing these days.

[Vaughn]

An interesting way to approach 4x5 and thru-hiking would be a one-photo-a-day scheme. Four holders a week, with one 'extra'. A photo taken at every lunch stop, for example. Most of my backpacking has been solo with little contact with others, so I never thought of portrait work while out there.

How do thru-hikers keep their digital cameras going for a couple weeks without recharging? More batteries, Solar cell recharging of batteries?

[Dan O'Farrell]

You just described the Linhof Master Technika.

++1

[superman9]

How do thru-hikers keep their digital cameras going for a couple weeks without recharging? More batteries, Solar cell recharging of batteries?

Most I know don't use solar cells as they're bulky, less reliable, and kind of a hassle. I carried an anker 20000 then the 10000 then back to the 20000 when the 10000 stopped and I carried a small battery charger that could be plugged into a micro usb. To Canon's credit, batteries honestly lasted weeks, even in the sierra where we hiked in freezing conditions, i never had a battery die on my though I routinely went weeks without charging.