There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
In my opinion (which is probably in the minority), backpacking is one area where film photography really shines. You're no longer constrained by battery life, and the thoughtful, deliberate attitude that film photography cultivates goes well with hiking. Film cameras also tend to be much lighter than their digital counterparts, which really helps on the trail.
A piece of kit that you might have to add to this setup is a tripod for dawn and dusk photography, but really light ones can be had these days. That, and a waterproof container for your film (which doesn't weigh much at all).
Finally, zoom lenses are nice but really add to the bulk and weight. More experienced photographers will eventually find a couple of focal lengths they like (28mm and 35mm are classics) and just bring out one or two prime lenses.
Also, it's nice to have the capacity for hundreds or thousands of frames, but I learned photography with film, and I remain convinced that if you really think through and plan your photos, you only need a roll of 36 frames for every day or two.
Of course, if you're going to do astrophotography as well then there's no getting away from bringing a digital camera.
Interestingly though, it sounds like your style of photography is quite suited for film, except for the manual focus aspect. Have you considered trying out a rangefinder like a Leica M6 or similar? That could be the most weight-efficient system for you.
I don't have perfect eyesight myself and find it much easier getting critical focus with a rangefinder than with an SLR. Alternatively, if you shoot at F8 and above, critical focus becomes not very important.