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
That is, the 5 Most Important Features for a Backpacking Camera are quite different than those for a general use camera in mainstream reviews. Here are the major differences.
5 Most Important Features for a Backpacking Camera – Summary
- Light and compact with ruggedness and environmental sealing a plus
- Sharp, wide angle zoom lens that is also light. These can be very difficult to find!
- Takes sharp, high quality photos HANDHELD
- Fast and easy to use in manual or semi-manual mode (many light/compact cameras are not!)
- Bright viewfinder with all essential information displayed on one screen
And at the end I list What Cameras I take Backpacking that meet these criteria.Surprised you don’t see any point and shoot cameras in here?
If photography is a serious objective of your trip, their near “pro-level” performance justifies their cost/weight vs. carrying just your smartphone. I am covering very light mirrorless, interchangeable-lens cameras in this post. And I will cover smartphone cameras, accessories, and techniques in a future post.
Top 5 Most Important Features for a Backpacking Camera – Detail 1) Light and compact with ruggedness and environmental sealing a plus
2) It has a sharp*, lightweight wide angle zoom lens
The Olympus ED 9-18mm f4.0-5.6 lens is a great example of a light, sharp zoom lens well suited to backpacking. This lens is exceptionally wide-angle (18-36mm equivalent) for dramatic perspectives and sweeping landscapes. Compact and only 5 ounces, it is a marvel optical engineering.
3) It takes sharp, high quality photos handheld Especially in situations encountered backpacking like the dim light of dawn and dusk. Contributors are:
4) It is is fast and easy to use in manual or semi-manual mode By the nature of backpacking we are moving—we have places to go and other things to do besides fiddling with a camera. That is, we need to quickly take our best photo and move on. To do this:
- You should be able to adjust all critical functions without taking your eye away from the viewfinder.
- Fast easily accessed controls are key. Ideally at least two knobs on the top of the camera do the bulk of the work. And a number of customizable function buttons do the rest. You use all of these to quickly modify your major camera settings: exposure, aperture, shutter speed, ISO setting, activate manual focus, manage DRO (digital range optimization), timed shutter release, etc. All in a matter of seconds, not minutes.
- Small dials on the camera back, critical items buried in nested menus, etc. all slow down picture taking.
- A touchscreen, while not essential, has its advantages, particularly when focusing and making adjustments when shooting from a tripod.
5) Bright viewfinder with all essential information displayed on one screen A Good viewfinder allows for faster photo taking, better photos, and fewer re-takes. That is, the better you see your image and the more information you have before you take your photo, the better the photo.- Cameras without viewfinders are close to non-starters. Rear screen displays are almost impossible to see in bright daylight. And even if visible, the image is usually far too small to see essential details well enough to assess the quality of the picture before taking it.
- In the viewfinder, you should be able see all your critical settings (including histogram). This enables you to quickly assess your photo and make the necessary adjustments before you take it.
- A good viewfinder also helps with manual focus.
What is Sharp? Sharp as I use it is the “perceptual megapixels” of the final image. This is a combination of both lens and camera—not simply the native resolution of the camera sensor! As an example, for most 24 MP, APS-C (crop sensor cameras like the Sony a6300 and a6500, Nikon D7200 or Canon EOS 80D) the perceptual megapixel resolution final image maxes out at around 17 MP or around 70% of the native 24 MP sensor resolution, even with the best and most expensive prime lenses.Almost all of the loss of the camera sensor’s 24 megapixels is due to the lens. Compared to primes, most zoom lenses do worse, with image resolutions well below 50% of the camera’s sensor. Some going as low as 25% or only 6 MP of your camera’s 24 MP sensor. So it’s important to consider the camera lens combination with a major focus on the lens image quality. One could even argue to select your lens first, and get a camera body that works it.Bottom line: a great camera with a mediocre lens will give you mediocre results.
For more reading see DxOMark on Perceptual Megapixels (https://goo.gl/LM6nHK), and take a look at a sample table of the Perceptual Megapixels for Nikon DX lenses on various camera bodies (https://goo.gl/LM6nHK).
What Backpacking Cameras I Use Most of the Time On most of my backpacking trips and on international travel, I carry:
- My iPhone 6 plus, and
- A light mirrorless a mirrorless camera, like a Sony a6000/a6500 or Olympus EM-10 Mark II
- Optional: when I need an environmentally sealed camera/lens system (dust and rain) I carry something like the Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mark II with 12-40 f/2.8 PRO lens.
Lenses for Sony Cameras - a6000 or a6500- Sigma 30mm f/1.4 Contemporary lens sharp as it gets!
- Sony SEL35F18 35mm f/1.8 sharp, fast, stabilized
- Sigma 19mm f2.8 DN low cost, light
- Sigma 30mm f2.8 DN sharp, low cost, light
- kit Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-F5.6 decent, low $, light
Lenses for Olympus Camera - EM-10 Mark II or EM-5 Mark II- Olympus 9-18mm f4.0-5.6 super wide, 5 oz!
- Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO very sharp, environmentally sealed
- Sigma 30mm f/1.4 prime. tack sharp, fast
- kit Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 IIR decent, low $, light
For astro/star photographers The lens for this is probably the Rokinon 12mm F2.0 NCS CS Ultra Wide Angle Fixed Lens available in Sony-E and u4/3 mount. Excellent value, fast and reasonably sharp. Manual focus though, not that it is a big deal when doing astro work, just set it to infinity and go.How I Carry my Backpacking Camera – or how to get more photos For me, its all about the speed and ease of taking a photo. Since I changed to using the Peak Designs CapturePRO (https://goo.gl/AQ4tD3) mounting system on the shoulder strap of my pack, I get 2 to 3 x more photos per trip. More than I ever got with a point and shoot camera in my pocket!Note in the video how quickly easily I put my pack on with the camera already attached to my shoulder strap. No camera spinning around and twisting up the shoulder strap.
The Fastest Way to Ruin a Backpacking Photo
Camera Shake can quickly blur a 24 megapixel image down to essentially zero megapixels! Lightweight backpackers are particularly vulnerable to camera shake since they take most of their photos handheld. Factors that combat camera shake all involve increasing shutter speed:
- First is image stabilization from the lens (or in the camera body—better since it works with any lens). Image stabilization will usually give you an extra 2-3 shutter speeds with little downside.
- Second is high ISO performance which uses less light to the sensor for the photo. High ISO performance will usually give you an extra 2-4 shutter speeds with minimal image degradation.
- Third is a faster (wider aperture) lens. This might get you 1-2 shutter speeds. Downside is buying a heavier and more expensive lens.
If you combine all three above, you can gain a 5-9x increase in shutter speed with minimal impact on image quality. This is what makes handheld shots possible at dawn or dusk. Even so, bracing your camera against a tree, rock, trekking pole or even using a small, 1-3 oz tripod are all improvements over handheld. All Olympus camera bodies and now the new Sony a6500 have in-body image stabilization.Bad Focus – Another Way to Ruin a Backpacking Photo
Occasionally the camera’s “smart” auto-focus algorithm fails and puts the focus in the wrong place, leaving your “intended” subject all blurry. And sometimes in the low light of dawn and dusk there may not be enough light or contrast to get reliable focus. In either case, the resulting photo is useless.