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your Camera when touring?

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 6:51 pm
by jemo27
I had a still camera that work well when touring, with AA batteries but the lens stopped working, so I tried one without a lens and I'm not as happy with it.

its the only outdoor type camera I could find that takes batteries (AAA) rather than a rechargable battery that requires you to have a charge. which I think would be extra weight that I would use once every 2 weeks or more.

my questions, is if you do carry a camera, do you take just a pocket size one, or a more serious larger camera?

do you take a video camera or just a normal still photograph camera?

your Camera when touring?

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 8:21 pm
by Wingnut
I take my Olympus Mju Tough 8000.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk... ;-)

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 8:35 pm
by DaveOZ
iPhone 4S? Most phone cameras are pretty good now so why carry more stuff than you need unless you are a photographer and treasure your work.

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 8:51 pm
by il padrone
I don't think many mobile phones have 10x optical zoom, nor high quality lenses.

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 9:50 pm
by gregmacc
It depends on what you intend to do with the photos ... I'm pretty fussy about the results I get so I use a Canon G11. It's definately not a "point and shoot" and produces excellent results in the right hands. I have access to many cameras (some more capable than the G11) but The G11 is the compromise I'm willing to live with. I find the SLRs a little too bulky for bicycle touring and the smaller cameras too limiting.
Cheers
Greg

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 10:08 pm
by Tandem
I took a Canon SX 30 IS with me on my 3 month trip to Europe. It has a 35 Optical and 4 x Digital zoom. High Definition Movies (1280x720)
Brought a spare battery to make sure I never run out on power. It has done a brilliant job and I had no problem with it

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 10:53 pm
by Aushiker
Hi

I take an Canon IXUS 80IS with a spare battery. That easily lasts a couple of weeks, probably longer. If the tour is longer than that my charger goes into the kick box.

Andrew

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 11:03 pm
by RonK
I use a Panasonic Lumix LX3. A little camera with a big reputation, now superceded by the LX5. A spare battery is a tiny impost and is good for many shots.

Image

Image

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 11:06 pm
by gregmacc
Yep ... same as Andrew and tandem ... take a spare battery for short trips ... and a charger for extended tours. The Canon G11's charger is miniscule.
All photos in these journals were taken with the G11: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/ki11 http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/mawson11

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 11:12 pm
by rifraf
I've had my old Sony F717 for a few years now. :D
I dont have another camera and am happy totting this one around.
Its only 5 megapixels but I've never had the need for printing anything bigger than A4
so it more than meets my needs.
Over the years I've picked up most of the available accessories for it for a song.
If the weathers ok, I take it out with me on the bike but hesitate is theres the merest
hint of cloud/rain.
I've a 2gig card for it and a few spare batteries so no worries.
I'm thinking about a Nikon D7000 for my next camera but I think I'll get another year at least
out of this one, maybe more.

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 11:15 pm
by gregmacc
Jemo27 ... I reckon generally speaking pocket cameras are best for bicycle touring. You can buy a lot of camera these days for $300-$400

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 11:20 pm
by gregmacc
Can someone tell me how to use the quote thingy ...

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 11:31 pm
by rifraf
gregmacc wrote:Can someone tell me how to use the quote thingy ...
Hmmmmmm not 100% sure of what your asking but will give it a go.
Clicking the "quote" button on the right of a post will duplicate it in a fresh post for you.
You can delete unneeded parts of their spiel but dont delete the "[/quote]" part.
If you see http// stuff its usually a picture or link to a internet page.
IMHO its best to just delete this to save repeating unnecessary content.
Hope this helps - or maybe try to be a little more specific with the question so I can
answer a little less generally for you. :D

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 11:39 pm
by gregmacc
rifraf, I'm trying to use the function that you used to select and display a portion of my previous post

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 11:47 pm
by rifraf
gregmacc wrote: that you used my previous post
As above.
I clicked the "quote" button of your post.
I then deleted words by highlighting (blueing out by left click down and draging the mouse till the words blue that I want to delete and clicking
either "back space" or "delete")
Dont delete the "[/quote]" part.
Does this help? :D

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 12:27 am
by gregmacc
jemo27 wrote: so I tried one without a lens and I'm not as happy with it.
...not quite sure what you mean here ... do you mean you tried a camera with a fixed focal length lens, not a zoom lens like your previous camera?



Thanks rifraf ... got it sorted ... sort of :roll:

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 12:48 am
by hiflange
I used to use an LX3 like RonK, I updated to the LX5 a couple of months ago. The only significant differences are the longer zoom range of the LX5 and the rationalisation of a couple of controls; both are great cameras. An f2 24mm equivalent Leica lens is matched with a durable body, sensible control placement, manual capability and RAW files.

A couple of weeks after my LX5 purchase Canon released the S100 which is the only real competitor. If you're interested in shooting RAW files on a small camera both of them are well worth checking out. If you're after something less expensive have a squizz at dpreview, still the best camera review site around.

The phones in cameras are just getting better and better as well. Here're a coupla pics I shot on my recent trip, the first with the LX5 (jpeg massaged in Filterstorm on the iPad), the second shot on an iPhone 3S and treated in Plastic Bullet:
Image
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40196473@N00/6207251647/
Image

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 1:35 am
by Aushiker
RobertFrith wrote:A couple of weeks after my LX5 purchase Canon released the S100 which is the only real competitor. If you're interested in shooting RAW files on a small camera both of them are well worth checking out. If you're after something less expensive have a squizz at dpreview, still the best camera review site around.
Where would the IXUS 1100HS fit in the scheme of things ... I find the PowerShots require more skills than I have :)

Andrew

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 7:59 am
by spirito
I'm also use LX3 and consider it ideal. Also cheap, so not too worried about dropping it or getting soaked (even though that's easily prevented). Spare battery will suffice for plenty shots

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 9:17 am
by gregmacc
Aushiker wrote:
Where would the IXUS 1100HS fit in the scheme of things ... I find the PowerShots require more skills than I have :)

Andrew ... In my opinion any modern compact camera built by one of the big companies (Nikon, Canon, Sony, Panasonic), in terms of what was available 5 years ago, is a nice piece of kit. Unfortunately however, they are designed and marketed to the whims of the average "unskilled" consumer. A simple, sturdy and capable point and shoot camera would be relatively easy to design and produce ... but don't hold your breath ... it ain't gonna happen. They wouldn't sell ... nowhere near enough bells and whistles :wink: Today's compacts are ergonomically appalling. 12x optical zoom is ridiculous ... so is 12 megapixels for that matter ...
The maximum aperture on the camera you quoted is f3.5 (ish). For reasons that probably wouldn't faze the average casual holiday snapping photographer, that's not big enough. And a touch screen on a camera? Hmmmmmm :roll:
If I were jemo27 (or me with even less room for a camera in my handlebar bag than I have now) I would be wandering into a dedicated camera store and looking for the following: Any of the said brands; small but not too small; rugged build and weather and dust resistance (good luck with that one); minimal pixels; minimal optical zoom; a maximum aperture of at least f2.8 (good luck with that one too on the point and shoot models); and some sort of "program" shooting mode where you will have the option of overriding some of the camera's automation. Then hit the local library and find a couple of introduction to photography books. Preferably something that provides some fundamentals about the technical side of things. Have fun ... and you don't need RAW ...
Cheers
Greg

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 11:10 am
by gregmacc
... Sorry Andrew ... just edited my previous post slightly so as not to sound quite so bloody lecturous :oops:

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 11:20 am
by RonK
gregmacc wrote:Andrew ... In my opinion any modern compact camera built by one of the big companies (Nikon, Canon, Sony, Panasonic), in terms of what was available 5 years ago, is a nice piece of kit. Unfortunately however, they are designed and marketed to the whims of the average "unskilled" consumer. A simple, sturdy and capable point and shoot camera would be relatively easy to design and produce ... but don't hold your breath ... it ain't gonna happen. They wouldn't sell ... nowhere near enough bells and whistles :wink:
All the more reason to get an LX3 (still available), or an LX5. Panasonic opted to focus (excuse the pun) on the performance of the lens, sensor and software, rather than adding more zoom and squeezing even more pixels on a small sensor. The result is a very compact high performance camera at a reasonable price, with modest resolution and zoom, and point and shoot simplicity for the casual snapper but with more than enough features and image quality to please the professionals, so you won't grow out of it in a hurry. 8)

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 11:51 am
by Aushiker
RonK wrote:
gregmacc wrote:Andrew ... In my opinion any modern compact camera built by one of the big companies (Nikon, Canon, Sony, Panasonic), in terms of what was available 5 years ago, is a nice piece of kit. Unfortunately however, they are designed and marketed to the whims of the average "unskilled" consumer. A simple, sturdy and capable point and shoot camera would be relatively easy to design and produce ... but don't hold your breath ... it ain't gonna happen. They wouldn't sell ... nowhere near enough bells and whistles :wink:
All the more reason to get an LX3 (still available), or an LX5.
Do you know a good source? I have done a quick search without much luck. Amazon is looking promising but are there other good sources?

Andrew

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 1:29 pm
by }SkOrPn--7
Andrew ebay is another source for both models.

Ricky

Re: your Camera when touring?

Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 1:37 pm
by Aushiker
}SkOrPn--7 wrote:Andrew ebay is another source for both models.
Yep, search already in place, but would like to have a reference price :)

Andrew