Looking for an Mirorrless or Compact for climbing/high altitude hiking

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xps

Oct 19, 2011
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#1
Need some advice:

I am looking for an compact Camera or Mirrorless for climbing or high-altitude hiking.
Preferences:
  • smaller an lighter than SLR
  • focus on high image quality
  • normal AF speed (shutter lag <0,5s)
  • able to use an polarisation filter e.g.
  • wide angle preference
Price unter 1500€ inclusive wideangle lens

I aimed at the Sony Cyber-shot RX100, but there are very variying tests. (Dpreview gives not the best notes. Color foto (German magazine) says superb,...) Which test to trust?
The Fuji 100s or the X-1E?

Which model would you prefer?
 
#2
xps said:
Need some advice:

I am looking for an compact Camera or Mirrorless for climbing or high-altitude hiking.
Preferences:
  • smaller an lighter than SLR
  • focus on high image quality
  • normal AF speed (shutter lag <0,5s)
  • able to use an polarisation filter e.g.
  • wide angle preference
Price unter 1500€ inclusive wideangle lens

I aimed at the Sony Cyber-shot RX100, but there are very variying tests. (Dpreview gives not the best notes. Color foto (German magazine) says superb,...) Which test to trust?
The Fuji 100s or the X-1E?

Which model would you prefer?
Click to expand...

My advice to you is: Canon T2i, Tokina 11-16 f2.8, Canon 24-105. That should be all you need. It is a very light kit with good image quality. If only one lens, get the 15-85. If you are still determined to try mirrorless, consider this...

What you ask for unfortunately is nearly an impossible combination: Low wight, High Image Quality, Low Price, and Fast AF, with Wide angle and a good polarizer. You need to decide what you are going to compromise on.

Forget the fujis. Good IQ, but bad af and high price, with no effective wide angle.

Forget anything DPReview says. Check Thom Hogan's sansmirror.com; he will give you good advice about exactly what you are looking for.

Mirrorless has a great dearth of UWA combos. Also, if you want high IQ, remember to be spending at least 100 bucks or more on a polarizer (and make sure all your lenses have the same front element size or buy the largest size and get a step up ring).

I have done some high altitude photography; how high are you talking? How acclimatized will you be? Where are you going? Who will you be with? How long will you be there? These all have great bearing on exactly what you are looking for...
 
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#3
Much thanks. The Eos 100 will be an option, indeed.
I own the 12-24 4 Tokina, and the 28-70 2.8 Canon and an 244m 2.8. But the 7D or the 60D is to heavy to carry on the Kibo. Sorry no K2 or Mount Everst. High enough for me. After my accident an limitation.

Time for acclimatication about 3-4 weeks. Staying over 3500-4000m. Travelling with an guided tour.
 
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#4
xps said:
Much thanks. The Eos 100 will be an option, indeed.
I own the 12-24 4 Tokina, and the 28-70 2.8 Canon and an 244m 2.8. But the 7D or the 60D is to heavy to carry on the Kibo. Sorry no K2 or Mount Everst. High enough for me. After my accident an limitation.

Time for acclimatication about 3-4 weeks. Staying over 3500-4000m. Travelling with an guided tour.
Click to expand...


Are you climbing Kilimanjaro then? The EOS 100 with the 15-85 is the way to go then, with the 70-300 L if you can afford it (you will want a long lens for a lot of stuff...), and, if that's too heavey, maybe the 70-200 f4 Non-IS. Although, if you are not planning on animal pictures, a mirrorless kit may work for you, just make sure you get your new gear ahead of time for a few weeks to work with it.
 
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#5
xps said:
Need some advice:

I am looking for an compact Camera or Mirrorless for climbing or high-altitude hiking.
Preferences:
  • smaller an lighter than SLR
  • focus on high image quality
  • normal AF speed (shutter lag <0,5s)
  • able to use an polarisation filter e.g.
  • wide angle preference
Price unter 1500€ inclusive wideangle lens

I aimed at the Sony Cyber-shot RX100, but there are very variying tests. (Dpreview gives not the best notes. Color foto (German magazine) says superb,...) Which test to trust?
The Fuji 100s or the X-1E?

Which model would you prefer?
Click to expand...

I have an RX100, corners at wide angle are a weakness. Otherwise I like it quite a bit - IQ is better than any other compact I've used, but not up to the standards of my 7D. Being able to charge the battery via microUSB is an asset in the backcountry if battery life is a concern (although the RX100 already has pretty good battery life) - you could keep it charged w/ a small solar kit (I have one that works with the RX100 and weighs about 8oz).

How about the Nikon Coolpix A or Ricoh GR? Fixed 28mm equivalent lens, APS-C sized sensors (no AA filters on either), very good IQ for the size/weight.

Also consider the Sigma Merrill DP1 - amazing low ISO IQ, but a bit heavier, slower AF, slow write speeds, slower in general, battery life isn't great, high ISO performance is crap. But that low ISO IQ is amazing.

I think the Ricoh GR would probably be my top recommendation at the end of the day - cheaper than the Nikon, IQ just as good or better.
 
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#6
DRe: Looking for an Mirorrless or Compact for climbing/high altitude hiking

You might find this interesting reading ...
http://lindsaydobsonphotography.com/pets/choosing-the-right-kit-for-nature-photography/

I don't know the photographer and I have almost no experience with the Olympus OM-D but you might want to look into it for your needs. The OM-D is weather sealed, and I hear the Olympus 9-18 and Olympus 12 prime are good for wide angle. Not sure if those lenses are weather sealed though, and not sure about fitting within your budget.
 
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#8
I use a Fuji X-E1 as my walk-about camera. Its image quality is comparable with a 5D MkII.

If you install the latest firmware, the AF is fast, shutter release is fast and the kit lens is excellent. It can also accept just about any manual focus lens available. Canon EOS lenses cannot be used because they have an electronic diaphragm.

If you were to add a Zeiss 12/2.8 (expected to be offered at around EUR 1k) you would have pretty much everything you want. Alternatively, Fuji will release a wide angle zoom toward the end of the year.

The camera is not perfect but it is very good. You do need to read the manual.
 
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#10
AprilForever said:
Forget the fujis. Good IQ, but bad af and high price, with no effective wide angle.
Click to expand...

Re Fuji Wide angles - Fuji has a good 14mm and Zeiss are releasing a 12mm next week (details and specs are already on their website, so not just a rumor). But both are / will be expensive. Their 18-55 zoom is also getting a lot of good reviews, is well regarded at the wider end, and is well priced as part of the X-E1 kit. And if you wanted cheaper and lighter, there is also the Fuji 18mm. If you like cheaper, manual focus lenses, Samyang also have a couple of options.

Fuji should also be releasing a 10-24 zoom and 23mm lens later this year. Looking at the price/quality of their other zooms, the 10-24 might be a good option.

Of all the mirrorless options (excluding Leica), they'll have the wide angles covered best.

No argument about price (they are aiming at the premium end) or AF. It's not that the AF is bad, but there are faster options - eg OM-D. They also lack the weather sealing of the OM-D.

Have you seen the Eos 100D / SL1?
 
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#11
Are you backpacking/tru-hiking or rock climbing? If you are, why not spend your budget on making your other gear ultra-light (tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, etc.) That's what I did and got an F-stop Tilopa bag to put everything. I have the medium ICU and it fits 5DmkIII, 16-35mm, 24-70mm, 70-300L, Lee filters, additional 3 LP-E6 batteries plus charger, intervalometer. The pack is 48-liter and I can bring enough gear and supplies for a 5 day traverse. My base weight is around 17lbs.
 
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#13
dilbert said:
Note, I would recommend against using/taking a DSLR because you will want to have it attached to various buckles, etc, so that in the event that you slip, tip, etc, that the camera doesn't end up in a ravine. And similarly, you don't want it on a long lead where it will swing and smash into the side of the mountain.
Click to expand...

My mountain kit is a 70-200 on a 7D, and a 24-105 on a 5D mkII (formerly 5D mk I... I like the 7D better, but canon does not make a 16-85 f2.5....)

I keep the one in a Toploader, and the other on my side on an r-strap. If it gets dicey, it can go in my backpack. This combo would work pretty well for most Kilimanjaro stuff, from what I have read of the routes; they're not too technical... This combo might be a bit heavy for Kili, but with proper acclimitization, not too bad. Comparatively, Kilimanjaro is not too high... You should be fine with a light SLR, if you are in good shape. A lot of people hump an SLR up Everest (check the blogs...)!!!
 
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#17
christianronnel said:
Are you backpacking/tru-hiking or rock climbing? If you are, why not spend your budget on making your other gear ultra-light (tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, etc.) That's what I did and got an F-stop Tilopa bag to put everything. I have the medium ICU and it fits 5DmkIII, 16-35mm, 24-70mm, 70-300L, Lee filters, additional 3 LP-E6 batteries plus charger, intervalometer. The pack is 48-liter and I can bring enough gear and supplies for a 5 day traverse. My base weight is around 17lbs.
Click to expand...
I own the Satori exp. With the mediom and large icu. But I use an Deuter hiking backpack aircontact pro 75. It is the best solution for this trip, as our guide tells us. I have to carry a lot of equipment, including medical equipment too. So the space for my camera equipment ist not big. A cam with one lens willl be maximum.
 
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#18
AprilForever said:
dilbert said:
Note, I would recommend against using/taking a DSLR because you will want to have it attached to various buckles, etc, so that in the event that you slip, tip, etc, that the camera doesn't end up in a ravine. And similarly, you don't want it on a long lead where it will swing and smash into the side of the mountain.
Click to expand...

My mountain kit is a 70-200 on a 7D, and a 24-105 on a 5D mkII (formerly 5D mk I... I like the 7D better, but canon does not make a 16-85 f2.5....)

I keep the one in a Toploader, and the other on my side on an r-strap. If it gets dicey, it can go in my backpack. This combo would work pretty well for most Kilimanjaro stuff, from what I have read of the routes; they're not too technical... This combo might be a bit heavy for Kili, but with proper acclimitization, not too bad. Comparatively, Kilimanjaro is not too high... You should be fine with a light SLR, if you are in good shape. A lot of people hump an SLR up Everest (check the blogs...)!!!
Click to expand...

On hiking I use the f-stop Satori exp or my click elite contrejour 40 (the side release ist very fine). On walking with my family, I often take an normal deuter backpack with an front release and one of my f-stop ICUs.
Normally, I take my 60D (former: 7D, former-former: 5D) the 12-24 Tokina, 28-70 2.8 Canon, and 35mm 1.4. In special situations the 70-200 2.8 IS.

But in this Special situation I have to reduce the euqipment. "Reduce to maximum"... Maybe an 100D with the 16-35 2.8...
I am not confident which combination to take.

(Sorry for poor english, my diffuse axional laesion brought me back to grammar school.)
 
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#20
xps said:
Disappointed by the "artifically" looking (to much contrast, noise,...) IQ of the testes 100D, I check the Olympus OM-D and Sony NEX-7 in the next two weeks...
Click to expand...

I don't think that 100D IQ is noticeably different from 60D or any other camera that shares the same/similar sensor. I don't know what tests are you talking about, but I strongly advise against judging cameras by their default JPEG settings, which are mostly represented by the early samples floating around. IMHO, every "IQ-hungry" person should be shooting RAW and getting the desired result in post. From my experience, no camera can produce an image which mirrors reality. Human vision has much much wider dynamic range than any DSLR or Mirrorless. Did you try the HDR mode?
 
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