Camera Advice

Wilderness

I’m looking for a camera to take on a 6 day backpacking trip. I normally just take photos on my phone but I really don’t want to pack around a bunch of heavy battery backups for my phone when I won’t have service.

I was looking at the Sony a6000 but it looks like the battery life is not great, doesn’t really solve my problem if I have to pack a bunch of batteries for it. Does anyone have any suggestions on a lightweight/small camera that won’t die on day 2 or 3 of my hike? If it takes better pictures than a new cell phone that’s great but my skill with photography is very minimal, I took one class so I need something beginner friendly.

in backpackingby pibble801

75%

11d

dafreshfish

10d

Sony RX100 series of camera are the best travel camera. They are lightweight, battery life is decent, spare batteries are light as well, and they use SD card. Shoot in RAW and you'll get some amazing photos. I prefer the V4 because that was the last version that had the faster lens. The v5+ now use a longer zoom lens, but at the expense of a slower lens.

BottleCoffee

11d

If you keep your phone on airplane mode and the battery isn't totally shot it should easily last 4+ days before you need to charge it. One battery pack should be good enough.

I got a new mirrorless camera after years of lugging a full frame SLR, and this mirrorless camera can't even go a few hours without the battery dying.

pibble801

10d

I’ve just never tested my phone battery life like that so I was concerned. This is my first real trip, lasting more than a couple days and entirely out of cell service. I have a newer phone so I imagine the battery is in good shape.

Maybe I need to look into a solar battery bank?

BottleCoffee

10d

Solar stuff is usually not worth it for backpacking.

Trust me, your phone in airplane mode and a battery pack is more than enough for 6 days. Probably good for two weeks.

pibble801

10d

Good to know that is helpful, thank you!

donewithusa

10d

Solar battery stuff isn't worth it but the panels I got fold down to a laptop size and when testing it gave me about 10% in a 15 20 min time.

Projektdb

10d

Not sure what your budget is like, but CIPA ratings are a poor indication of actual battery life.

Most mirrorless cameras of the last few years will easily manage 500+ photos on a battery. The Fuji X-T5 pulls over 1000 if you are just taking photos.

Newer camera will also charge in USB-C, meaning you can bring a power bank for the phone and camera.

I have a GR III, which has pretty poor battery life due to the size limitation of the batter. I could fit 3000 shots worth of batteries in the pocket of my jeans if I wanted to.

BottleCoffee

10d

My brand new mirrorless camera dies in a few hours even with the screen turned off and the viewfinder on a sensor.

OM-5. Small battery. Very annoying, still trying to optimize battery life.

Projektdb

10d

A few hours of what?

BottleCoffee

10d

Just normal occasional shooting while on a hike.

Projektdb

10d

Are you using the 12-100 Pro by chance?

The OM5 has the same battery as.....a bunch of the older models but has more computational features the more powerful processor from the EM1.3, which has a much larger battery. They should have released a new battery when they stuck that processor in an EM5.3 body.

BottleCoffee

10d

No, I've got an Olympus 14-150 ii.

Yeah the battery life seemed to be the main drawback with the camera. I'm trying to play with the settings to minimize battery drain. It's a big shock after using a DSLR for so long, which could easily go a full week backpacking without a battery change.

Projektdb

10d

Yeah, mirrorless won't match DSLR, but the OM5 is probably far down the list of good battery life mirrorless. Lotta features in a small body with a small battery.

I use my EM1.3 specifically for backpacking. The batteries are quite a bit larger, but I still need to charge them on longer multidays. I can get by on a power bank for a handful of days but when I get into the week+ territory I tend to bring a solar panel. I like to be able to top of my phone and inReach anyways.

I use the 12-100 Pro which has Sync IS and drains battery a bit faster, but it's my favorite lens for any system I've shot so I plan on a bit of extra juice. Not needing a tripod saves me enough weight to bring power banks/solar. There are cameras with better battery than Olympus, but nothing with better weather sealing.

BottleCoffee

10d

My plan right now is to bring a spare battery (surprisingly not that cheap, at least in Canada) and a battery pack for my week long, and keeping the camera off at much as possible. The massive weight savings I get from no longer hauling a full frame DSLR means I could bring two battery packs I guess.

Projektdb

10d

Yeah, definitely needs to stay off when you aren't actively shooting.

That battery has been around forever and there are a ton of cheap third party batteries on Amazon. They all work just fine, I've been using them for years in a bunch of cameras. I still have a dozen of them that I use in my Pen F.

BottleCoffee

I ordered a third party one on eBay then immediately got scared after reading a bunch of horror stories. I might try a third party one from a more reputable site... Did you get yours on Amazon or somewhere else?

The official ones are pretty pricey in Canada.

Continue thread...

pibble801

10d

I did look at the GR III as well, it is not available easily. I may try to find it used on local marketplaces.

The Fuji X-T5 was higher than I wanted to spend. It felt like overkill for my skill level.

Projektdb

10d

You could also look at a used Sony A7CR or some of the Olympus bodies which are super weather sealed.

I've taken Olympus cameras through every awful condition imaginable and even though I have a full frame setup, when I'm climbing/hiking/backpacking, my Olympus gear comes along. It's a bit bigger than the A6000, but the Olympus E-M1 II on the used market is an incredible bargain.

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