Help me choose a camera to hike 2000+ miles

[Vaughn]

Makes sense -- I have a little Sony RX100 that seems to eat batteries -- but it is so small that the batteries are also very small. I spent a month camping in southern Chile and my son with a full-size Canon digital had better battery luck than I did. Fortunately I had my 5x7 as a back-up...

[Greg Y]

Vaughn Beautiful diptych! That's definitely worth bringing a 5"x7" for.

[Vaughn]

Thanks...too bad you don't have any nice mountains by you...

[Drew Wiley]

I figured that if a place was really hard to get to, and I might not ever get to go there again, one more reason to take large format and do it right while I still can. And for the first 20 years of that, it was a relatively heavy Sinar system. After I turned 50, I acquired the option of a lighter Ebony folder for long treks , yet at the same time was increasingly reliant on 8x10 for day use. Now that I'm over 70, med format comes into play quite a bit, but is still supplemental to LF work and not a replacement.

[Mark Sampson]

As a long-time 4x5 location shooter, my idea would be to look into a 120-size technical camera, a la the Horseman VH-R or a 2x3 Linhof Technika. If those turned out to be too heavy, I'd get two Rolleiflexes- a standard type and a Tele-Rollei. I know those are rare and spendy but I would want a lens with a bit of 'reach'. If that was too much, I'd take just the 'normal' Rollei. Rugged, compact, simple, lovely lens quality.
Best of luck- it will be a great adventure in any case!

[abruzzi]

Makes sense -- I have a little Sony RX100 that seems to eat batteries -- but it is so small that the batteries are also very small. I spent a month camping in southern Chile and my son with a full-size Canon digital had better battery luck than I did. Fortunately I had my 5x7 as a back-up...

Any mirror less digital is likely to consume batteries at a high rate. DSLRs are much more economical on batteries because most of the time they’re just waiting. My Pentax K3ii can get 7-800 shots on a freshly charged battery as long as the built in flash or live mode aren’t used.

[angusparker]

I have both versions of the GF670 - Wide and Normal...wonderful cameras for hiking, great "access logistics," in terms of readiness and minimal interruption of other workflow (like walking). Great viewfinder (clear, sharp - very close to that on my Leica M-6) allows for quick and decisive arrival at compositions, and the extremely smooth shutter release translates well to slow(ish) speed hand-holdability. Also nice to pair with a lightweight tripod (Feisol tall traveler in my case). Decent metering although I sometimes bring along my Pentax digital spot meter.

Regarding the "normal" (folding) version...some might point out (with partial correctness) that the bellows and strut mechanisms might be vulnerable when the camera is unfolded, and I might add to this that a repeated, days on end hiking experience...possibly accompanied by an equally days on end wet weather event - might add up to some type of mechanical failure and/or fatal ingress of moisture. Thing is, this camera is compact enough when folded to be placed quickly into a small, padded dry-pack, or simply slid beneath an outer water-resistant shell layer of clothing...whereas such quickly accessed protection might be untenable, logistics-wise, with a bulkier camera.

The wide version (GF-670W) is inherently better protected as it lacks a bellows mechanism, and is likely better sealed than an interchangeable lens camera. I've done multi-day hikes in NH's White Mountains with just this camera by itself, and find the combo of the 55mm focal length with the 6x7 format to be extremely versatile.

I have both. 90% of my shots on the GF670 versus 10% on GF670W. Nice to have both though. The W is quite a bit rarer and more expensive that the regular one. It has a killer lens and is quite robust. Some padding is a good idea, the only weakness of both cameras is the viewfinder which can get out of alignment if you are violent! The bellows are fine on the regular camera but I wouldn’t want them out in the rain a lot. Also there are actually four versions of this camera the Fuji ones and the Voitlander ones. The Voitlander ones are more expensive and in black. I like their looks more!


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[Greg Y]

Thanks...too bad you don't have any nice mountains by you...

Yes Vaughn it's a real hardship....

[Two23]

I figured that if a place was really hard to get to, and I might not ever get to go there again, one more reason to take large format and do it right while I still can. And for the first 20 years of that, it was a relatively heavy Sinar system. After I turned 50, I acquired the option of a lighter Ebony folder for long treks , yet at the same time was increasingly reliant on 8x10 for day use. Now that I'm over 70, med format comes into play quite a bit, but is still supplemental to LF work and not a replacement.

What MF are you using, and lens selection?


Kent in SD

[goamules]

I don't know about yall, but when I hike I often carry two cameras, one digital, one film. I took a Leica up into the Tetons, and my Fuji XE-1. Got lots of good shots from both, and they didn't weigh me down.