Anybody carry/carring a Digital Camera on a thru-hike of the pct? I’m thinking i’d be able to recharge when i pick up my mail drops at the post offices, and carry a spare battery as a back up.
Just curious if anyone has carried a digital along the pct?
-thanks
sloth
The trail purists will hate this, but I say “hike your own hike” so:
Currently planing on bringing gadgets and a lightweight solar charger;
or Brunton foldable
http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=48072264&parent_category_rn=40004198&vcat=REI_SEARCH
Pluses & minuses to both. Both under 200g, but more with cords etc. Depending upon final pack weight which I want to be under 20 pounds base, also planing on bringing a 57g ipod, and 145g blackberry. Gadgets, chargers and non standard batteries are a serious pain, but for a number of reasons I am going to experiment a bit and try to make it work.
However if your only gadget is a camera, I have found the new camera batteries last much longer than they used to, and would only bring the 65g wall charger (canon sd800), and 1 or even 2 spare 15g batteries. This set up would last for weeks or more, and you could easily find power at post stops, restaurants, etc.
Good luck & hopefully see you out there this summer, Inertia
Inertia
I am debating the same issue. I have a SONY DSC-w100 digital camera. I took this camera on a one month road trip and never charged the battery. I don’t use the viewfinder every picture so that spares alot of batteries. I have a zooming lens that problaby uses alot of energy to turn on and off…so I try to take a couple of pics at a time. My charger weighs 1 oz. ? and takes under an hour to charge. I don’t plan on doing too many mail drops so I don’t want to bounce my charger because I might not bounce box either. I figured an extra battery would cost alot of $ so I’ll deal with what i got and carry the charger. If I feel it is weighing me down I will bounce it ahead with some other items I might acrue(headlamp batteries, sunscreen, deet, cold weather gear, guidebook sections, extra alco stove, [i still have to figure out my bounce items so these items aren’t set in stone]).
Ohioan
I am carrying a digital camera as well. A Cannon that uses AA batteries. To carry a few extra batteries is not a problem. My thing is that I wanted to figure out a plan that would allow me to send my photos home, keep a “back up” copy and allow my family to enjoy them as I move along(with intentions on adding them to my journal in the future). I set up an account with a local pharmacy (Wallgreens). I can download to any computer, e-mail and have delivered to my home all the photos and disk copies I want. I even set up a payment plan out of my own account whereas the family need not spend a dime for anything. Quite the difference compared to my last thru when I spent a fortune on disposables and their development.
Now if I can only figure out the best way to charge my IPOD.
Wilderness Bob
I highly recommend Canon’s “A” series of cameras. They take great pictures and use AA batteries, so you can just pick up a new set of batteries at each stop. No need to bring a charger or a spare proprietary battery.
Grant/Fire Marshal
Here’s my EXPERIENCE with a Rechargeable Camera. I was able to get 2 weeks out my Casio Exilim 7mpg on the PCT. Did i recharge in town, YEP. Did my camera ever fail me, NO. I used it just about everyday, but again I was averaging 27-35 miles days so i was in town within a week at tops. But, everyone here will Preach to you that AA battery camera’s are the Bomb. There Not, I’m carrying an extra strength Lit as bck up on my CDT Yo Yo Attempt. This is just my Experience, but if you want to follow the Crowd then go AA.
Cheers
JJ
Here are a few things that worked for me with rechargeable batteries: 1. Take the batteries out at night and tuck them into the small pocket in my sleeping bag, keep them a little more warm to prolong battery life. Most sleeping bags have a small velcro or zipper pocket up near the head. 2. Find compatible batteries that provide more juice. I learned that the “mAh” number on the battery indicates the power output. (mAh stands for milliamps per hour.) The stock battery that came with my camera was 840mAH, but I found some eBay that were 1500mAh. Needless to say, I bought several of them.
I used a Canon S400, and this plan worked beautifully, even during my longest stretch without resupply (14 days). I even had enough spare battery power near the end to bail out someone who had a similar camera and ran out of battery power. Whatever you do, don’t run out of battery power. The Sierra is just too incredible to leave those photos behind. Good luck!
Lisa