Camera advice - Appalachian Trail

imported
#1

I have a digi camera, small, but heavy and wondering what camers people took on the trail with them.
Where along the trail can you download pics off your camera. Do most internet cafe’s have programs to let you do this? Do most trail towns now have internet access.
I was thinking about bringing the disposable cameras along that you can buy at CVS for like $7. They are light and I can put them in my maildrops and just mail them home when I’m done with them. Also if one gets wet or I lose one I’ve only lost up to 24 pics and not an entire role. They don’t take the best shots but at least I’ll have pictures.
Any advice you be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
~peter

svgklingon

#2

I took the Kodak disposable ones and they worked brilliantly, especially the panoramic for pretty castle shots :slight_smile:
I was thinking of getting some sony dvcam that has digital picture capabilities as well, but you’re looking at $$$ for one of those. I found one for $500 if you’re willing to spend it that only weighs 1lb 13 oz

hippie hiker chic

#3

I started out with a disposable. In good light, they work great. One of the main reasons I ended up with a different camera is a shot I missed in the Smokies where a shaft of sunlight was shining through the fog through these monster trees. Didn’t turn out at all. I ended up with a little Olympus automatic (Stylus Zoom?) that worked well although I don’t know that the picture resolution is what it should be. Recently, I bought a Canon Powershot A200 (digital)which I’ve just started using and like. They both weigh just over 8 oz.

With ultralight backpacking being so popular nowadays (and with good reason in my mind) most folks think light is better on cameras, and I think over 1 lb is too big for me.

Colter

#4

I took a $1600 Rollie 35 made in 1960. Gotta love it. Best spy camera ever. Sent the 5# Nikon FE2 with the 300mm lens home, that was a trifle heavy. Whished I had it though. The wifes free APS Fugi sucked. Lenses is everything kids. Haven’t seen a quality point and poop yet that will whip up on a real glass lens set…photographically speaking. In fact my first box camera had a better pin hole lens that that Fugi. Sorry wife, how was your day?
what ever you take try and see what kind of pic it takes before you get it. Ask around and see who has what and try one out. You only get to do this once unless you’re lucky. Crappy pictures would not be fun.

Bushwhack

#5

Got one of these after the trip and its cool. Got a big gig memory stick. Its a little slowon the flash cycle but has any feature you could want. It even has a good enough light meter to allow taking shots into the sun with out getting off f/stop. Impressive for $600

Bushwhack

#6

First, ask yourself what type of pictures you want to take. If it’s just snapshots, then a disposable works just fine. Some people do use them on the trail. If you want something better, or if you want slides, then a pocket 35mm camera, like Colter and I have, works fine. If you are a serious photographer, then you might want a full size 35mm camera. If you want to upload pictures, then a digital should be your choice. Historically, the problem with digital cameras has been short battery life. Now, that’s improved. Just keep the view screen off.

Now, what are you going to do about film? If you want regular film, then that shouldn’t be a problem. But if you want something special, like slide film, then I suggest buying it ahead and shipping it in maildrops.

Peaks

#7

I ended up with a Canon 85 Zoom (SureShot?). The Oly Stylus is
supposed to be water resistant. Just keep it in a zip lock.
Cameras weighing less than 10-12 ozs. are fine. Some used
the APS Elf weighing 4 ozs. Was it Wedding Singer who had
a Canon digital with all the adjustments? I forget the model
but it looked nice and compact.

My photos are/were NOT supposed to be the best quality, but
are to remind me of where the good shots are so I can go back
someday and take them again with my A-1 equipment, while doing
small sections of the trail.

I’m pleased with the quality of the photos I have so far,
using the point ‘n’ shoot camera.

Try not to bang them around too much. I lost my LCD readout
so I don’t know how many shots I have left, how much battery
remains, etc. But the rest of the camera still works well.

Scamp

Scamp

#8

Big fan of my olympus D-100 which I took on the CT but not on the AT. On the AT I had a 35mm Olympus point and shoot automatic which did pretty well especially considering I threw it off a mountain in the smokies.

advantages of a lightweight digital like the D-100
-relaively cheap, $200 (with the purchase of a supersized memory card)
-super lightweight
-can take up to 1000 pics per memory card
-get instant feedback, so can delete/know when to retake pics on the spot

disadvantages
-eats batteries (but not real big problem if you minimize LCD screen usage etc.)
-the more complicated… (the more things can go wrong, keep in a ziploc bag to keep dry)

You can use the digital card over and over and don’t need to pay for processing fees etc. I would imagine you’d go thru 10+ disposibles on a thru-hike. At ~$8 a pop plus development costs, the digital route is not much more expensive at all.

Sweeper

#9

My luddite vote goes to the Canon ELPH, specifically, the cheap (@$75), bottom-of-the-line model with no zoom. Simple, something like 4 oz incl battery (about the size of a pack of smokes), and it even has a little clock so you need not carry a watch. It takes passable Advantix pics, better than disposables, the battery lasts for years (well, maybe a year), and it is more durable than one would think.

And, since it is sold hanging from a peg and wrapped in plastic like a cheapo walkman, rather than behind glass like a wedding ring, your heart won’t break when it tumbles from your cold, distracted hands onto a hard, unforgiving rock.

Papillon

#10

I picked up a Fuji Zoomdate 100mm zoomlens for about 70$ before i left; and I was extremely satisfied with its performance. It got dropped; wet (not submerged), dirty, and it worked great at took some phenomenal shots. Plus, i highly recommend using the date feature. Before I started using it; I have shots I can’t remember where they are from. At least with the date on the picture; I can narrow it down to the day. Another method would be carrying a scrap of paper in with your camera and your pen in with your camera; then u can jot down the picture # and what it is of. That also worked pretty well.

Big Boy

#11

My primary camera on my fall 2002 hike from Katahdin to the Conn/NY state line was a Pentax IQZoom 105SW point-and-shoot. It wasn’t cheap (over $200) but had a 28-105mm zoom lens (in other words, the zoom opened up to a real wide angle lens for nature shots). It was a film camera, not digital, by choice. I didn’t want to worry about batteries, and since I use Photoworks (at www.photoworks.com) to develop my film, I end up with digital images as well as prints anyway. The camera was also light (8 ounces loaded with film but not including the case – much lighter than my digital) and took excellent photos for the most part, although I managed to get a finger in front of the lens on a lot of shots I took portrait instead of landscape.

I also used a good-quality Kodak disposable camera through the Hundred Mile Wilderness and got mostly acceptable shots (although the color cast was a bit weird on some), and carried my 35mm Pentax ZX-5N over the Presidential Range. The images produced by the disposable were definitely better the more light there was.

Check out my photos at http://users.rcn.com/rickbb.

Snowbird

#12

On our thru hike we used an Olympus Stylus Epic Zoom camera. We were very happy with its lightweight design and the picture quality was good overall. Make sure that you take your film to a good developer if you go the 35 mm route. Half of our pictures came out dark and we were going to blame the camera but when I had reprints done of the same pictures at a different developer they came out beautiful. Sometimes the resolution of the Olympus left a bit to be desired, which is probably a result of the small lense aperature. Also, we found that in really cold weather during the early part of our hike, the battery drained quickly, so always carry a spare. Overall, though I would recommend this camera though for anyone looking for a light-weight zoom style camera.

Many trail towns do have internet access, but there were just as many, if not more, that didn’t so I’m not sure how easy it would be to download digital photos.

Budder Ball

#13

My trusty Cannon waterproof camera finally broke and I had to replace it. Decided to go digital and found the Panasonic DMC LC20. Around $200 and super light and uses the SD Media cards. Bought top rated AA NiMH rechargable batteries and getting 300 shots before a recharge. I can live with that and do the recharging when I overnight in a town or hostel

Footslogger

#14

Is it relatively easy to find places to upload pics from digital cameras? How hard is it to find a place for battery recharging - other than hostels

Miguelito

#15

I used disposables, bur missed afew good shots because of lighting, like the moose on the trail near ethan pond. Now i use A OlympusD520. Every Library has Internet access as well as some hostels. However I dont know policy on downloading photos. Last year People were sending home the cards from cameras and then getting them back empty later on. This will my strategy on the long trail. Carry 2 128mb cards and rotate them with 2 in my bounce box.

Chef

#16

I used a Digital Camera when hiking in 99. I had 4 cards I used. but this was back when the largest card was 32MBs.

I send my cards home to have them copied and upload. And mailed back to me. It worked well with more then 2 cards. I always had an extra and could take as many pictures as I wanted.
The PO did lose one of my cards. Thankfully it was on its way back to me, and empty. It would have been sad to have lost 150 pictures, a month of the trail.
Something to think about. If you decide to mail them.

ZipDrive

#17

I have a 128mb card for my C700. Like a zillion, or 200 something picks at std resolution 14x22" which shrink down to a nice 5x8 with Photoshop. And digitals are cool if you have a preview window so you can delete the shot if its bad. Not quite the same as good slide film and an SLR but it works for trips.

Bushwack