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Re: Climbing with a camera?

PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:22 am
by Morlow
One of my packs at least has a perfect-sized pocket on the belt that holds my point-and-shoot and chap stick, so any time my right hand is free I am free to snap shots. Other packs I just put the camera and chap stick in a pants pocket.

Re: Climbing with a camera?

PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:00 am
by Marmaduke
radson wrote:Panasonic Lx series are a great camera. Would like to see fuji's new x10

One of my favourite pics taken under slightly cool conditions with a LX3

Image
A close up of the upper section of the 'step' by radson1, on Flickr


You should send that photo to Panasonic! It would be wise on their part to pay to use it in their advertising. Great, Great photo.

Consider a J1

PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:03 pm
by jthomas
I have lugged a DSLR for years, but I finally got tired of it, so I started investigating compacts, as they have gotten better year by year. I settled on the new Nikon J1, and I have to say I am totally blown away by this thing. The photo quality is amazing, and although bigger than a compact P/S, it is way smaller than a DSLR. I put my DSLR up for sale soon after. If you must have a viewfinder like a DSLR, consider the V1. The speed and autofocus capabilities are phenomenal. This thing literally runs circles around the typical compact.

The Panasonic LX5 (successor to Radson's LX3) is highly recommended as well.


http://photo.net/equipment/nikon/j1/review/

http://www.trustedreviews.com/nikon-j1- ... era_review

http://www.luminescentphoto.com/blog/20 ... anagement/

Re: Climbing with a camera?

PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:07 pm
by norco17
MarkDidier wrote: Any particular recommendations on good reasonably priced "photoshop" software?

check out lightroom.

Re: Climbing with a camera?

PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:25 pm
by ExcitableBoy
Try downloading Gimp, its free and can do many things that Photoshop does.

Re: Climbing with a camera?

PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:37 pm
by radson
Thanks marmaduke :)

I second norco's recommendation. Go funky with those Lightroom sliders. At least download free for 30 days.

Re: Climbing with a camera?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 3:47 pm
by Matt Worster
If you are looking to carry a DSR - here's a harness-like option that looks less bulky and quicker:

http://www.peakdesignltd.com/

It leaves the camera exposed, so technical and cold conditions may not be the best match, but it looks like it provides sweet quick access.

Re: Climbing with a camera?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 4:21 pm
by stevemeg
Try a GoPro. Unbelievable videos. Excellent stills as well (if you don't mind a little bit of the wide angle effect). The stills won't be as good as an SLR but for an all-around camera (mount on your helmet, climb, video, stills, underwater if you scuba, mount on snow skis, etc., etc., etc.), it's excellent.

http://gopro.com/cameras/hd-hero2-outdoor-edition/

Re: Climbing with a camera?

PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 2:20 am
by Wastral
Taking pictures is a mind set it has nothing to do with camera size.

Pics in the mountains come down to dynamic range and how large you wish to print along with blown highlights. Also it depends on how HIGH you are hiking. If you are Cascade hiking where elevations are not extreme and haze is hovering near the elevation you are hiking then you will need the ability to apply filters to your lense. If on the other hand you are in the Rockies where haze is generally NOT a problem, then haze filter or polarizer is not generally needed though one still needs it for water/ice reflection canceling.

If you are satisfied with 4x6 prints then a tiny compact is good for you along with screen saver only shots.

If you don't want blown highlights and want to print BIG with HIGH dynamic range then you better have a DSLR or equivalent mirrorless, though even the m4/3 does not fit this bill of goods either. M4/3 is about as good as a top of the line DSLR from 5 years ago but with the addition of video.

If on a budget, buy 2 year old cameras on Ebay. Spend 50% or less than what you would pay for new and honestly quality hasn't changed much in 5 years except if you want to take pics of pitch black rooms.

I still carry my Sony R1. It is essentially a decent lense that happens to have a photo sensor attached to it. Yea, its old, but its the person taking the pictures that makes the pictures NOT the camera. Give me old junk and I can still take good and crappy pictures. GIve me new cameras and I can still take good and crappy pictures.

Bottom Line: Buy old junk. especially mountain climbing as you will trash it. Trashing/Bashing old cheaper cameras is far preferable to smashing/bashing new more expensive cameras that are no better at capturing higher dynamic range photos. The one caveat here is if you shoot in RAW and like to do HDR. Then a new camera with 14bit RAW files helps a LOT. A little effort with older cameras and its still easily doable.

Until someone makes another Fuji S5 Pro that allows one to capture a dynamic range of 12 or greater with out of camera Jpeg with awesome color tones, then buy old junk cameras. I will still stick to my Sony R1 and Fuji S5 Pro.

Re: Climbing with a camera?

PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 4:59 pm
by albanberg
Hi Wastral,

Thanks for your input, I find this very interesting. Can you point me to some good images on the web from an S5 Pro? How do you think the S5 compares to a Cannon 5D? The 5D does not cost much more used.

Re: Climbing with a camera?

PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 6:33 pm
by Tools_Incoming
As the OP I'm happy to see that A) I wasn't the only one with this question and B) that so many many were willing to share and assist.

@Wastral- that's where I'm going. I am not looking to blow anything up to large, so I am going with a good quality point and shoot. With that, eBay is going to be my source. Using many of the great suggestions I've gotten here, I'm on the lookout. I have some time before the climb where it will be used (the Summer), so maybe once CES2011 is over and new models are introduced we'll see more used ones on the market and sales in the stores to get the "old" models out of the way.

Re: Climbing with a camera?

PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:07 pm
by Wastral
In every respect OTHER THAN dynamic range out of the camera in jpg/RAW mode the Cannon 5D is superior to the Fuji S5. No one will even contemplate saying otherwise.

Rock and Ice with sun thrown in require such a monstorous high dynamic range that I prefer the high dynamic range over everything else. If I could get 15+ in a modern sensor camera like on old film, I would and so would every other landscape photographer.

For instance my old Sony R1 has a DR of a whopping 7.8 according to Dpreview. Others reviewers put it about 8. Under RAW you can get "ALL" the way to maybe 9. M4/3 systems get 8 in jpg and about 9 in RAW. Now if you buy a newer dslr their jpg out of camera is about 9 for say Sony A55 and Nikon D7000 etc, but their RAW capability is around 12. The old Fuji S5 has jpg out of camera at 12 to start with without BOOSTING the ISO NOISE in the blacks like is being done on modern cameras. True, its not that bad as difference between black and mottled black with some detail isn't horrible and this boosts the DR about 1-2 stops from 8 upwards of 10+.

Yes, old Fuji is essentially only a 6mpix camera, but this is more than good enough for prints at 12". With Stitching programs, obtaining 200-300dpi prints is not difficult at all for MONSTER prints any size you wish. I am looking at White Rock Lakes at 36 wide and 17 high. I am looking at the Pickets from Luna 17 high and 60 wide. I am looking at myself sitting on top of Challenger sans rope with feet dangling 4000 feet straight down to Lousy Lake/Glacier 17 high and 36 wide. Note my limiting factor was my printer. Said pictures if looked at standard 3 foot distance would really have been able to be blown up twice this size.

Stitching does take some learning, especially needed is a manual operated camera so one does not get "lines" in the sky or scenery.

I'll be honest, I haven't looked at P&S quality in some time as their quality is generally Piss Poor due to horrible lenses and TINY sensors. Its NOT just the F stop on the lense that makes it a good or bad lense. That just tells you how much light is allowed to the sensor. Lower the F stop the more light is allowed to the sensor. Its how sharp said lense is. How much light fall off in the corners is your lense. This will limit what pictures you can stitch if your lense has significant light fall off in the corners and your pictures will have banding problems.

I originally started off with a "good" f stop lense P&S and sure it allowed quite a bit of light in compared to other lenses, but its light fall off in the corners was so significant that it was impossible to get a clean stitch. I went to the Sony R1 with its good lense and have not had such problems again. That and it has threads for the ability to use filters and split neutral density filters. I then picked up the old Fuji S5 and while its really only a 6Mpix camera body, it gives great skin tones and high dynamic range out of the body without POST PROCESSING. Now I know many just love pixel peeping on their computer screens for hours/days on end, but I am NOT one of them. I can do it, but I do not enjoy it.

Honestly, with today's cameras you really can't go wrong. They are all amazing. In my humble opinion it really just depends on how much you wish to spend or if you are looking for something VERY specific that you wish to have. For instance both cameras I have do not have image stabilization. I really wish I had it many times and for this reason am finally looking at maybe upgrading. Except of course its not in body in everyone cameras other than Sony and Olympus forcing one to buy ultra expensive lenses and since I own Nikon Lenses to go with the Fuji S5...

=)

No easy answer. Never has been never will be. Quality or convenience.

PS. I have carried 4x5 and 5x7 cameras into the mountains before. A tidy 80lb pack when all was said and done. Image lake, Buck Creek Pass and Liberty Bell, Shucksan, Coleman Demming route on Baker, Paradise, PCT north from Rainy Pass, etc.

PPS. While rock climbing I have found P&S clipped to rack get thrashed without a carry case and if you do this, buy CHEEP or get a carry case. I can rock climb with Sony R1(2lb) camera up everything other than chimneys comfortably. Note, its LCD screen flips closed so can't get scratched. Its LCD screen is also a piece of garbage, but... What do you want with a 6+ year old camera?

albanberg wrote:Hi Wastral,

Thanks for your input, I find this very interesting. Can you point me to some good images on the web from an S5 Pro? How do you think the S5 compares to a Cannon 5D? The 5D does not cost much more used.

Re: Climbing with a camera?

PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:33 pm
by Wastral
Just noticed I never answered your question. Oops!

I don't have my pics online. Fuji pics online? Wedding pictures is what is online from what I saw when purchasing. Ask the question on dpreview in the Fuji forum and there will be pics. I still remember the markable difference between the Fuji S5 and Cannon MK1 though the MK1 was close. It wasn't until the MK2 and post processing in RAW that they matched or nearly matched the Fuji for dynamic range. Not many of said cameras sold to start with. Doubt you could really buy one at this late date. Ebay I suppose. Good Luck.

Most all Fuji cameras were sold to wedding photographers, if not all, as its ability to get a WHITE wedding dress and the BLACK tux of the Groom was paramount. Since then newer cameras with their RAW ability match or slightly surpass the Fuji in this regard though they do have to have a post processing work flow.

Remember it claims 12M pix camera but in reality its a 6 to maybe 8 Mpix camera.

Naturally as you know, or probably do, the time of day, photo composition determines good pictures no matter what camera you have...

For mountain shots, being able to select how much high light to clip is paramount in my opinion. Why I prefer Live View cameras instead of the DSLR's where its a "guess" how much highlight I clip, take a pic, look at pic on LCD, burning my battery reserves, then retake the picture, and look at it again. Yes, once you learn your camera you "know" about where to set it on manual, but with an EVIL camera you just look at it and KNOW. Especially helps when composing panoramas where you not only need to know the exposure highlight clip on the FAR RIGHT but also the deep blacks on the FAR LEFT as well.

Think I have burned through my 0.02 cents for the day already.

albanberg wrote:Hi Wastral,

Thanks for your input, I find this very interesting. Can you point me to some good images on the web from an S5 Pro? How do you think the S5 compares to a Cannon 5D? The 5D does not cost much more used.

Re: Climbing with a camera?

PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:36 pm
by albanberg
Cool Wastral, thanks for the info.

I've had some editing done with the P&S LX3 which has worked well. I shoot 2 pics of the same scene with different exposures (sky/foreground) and have them combined later. When I have done this even a big DR would not have made a difference as the range was too big.

Re: Climbing with a camera?

PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:41 pm
by albanberg
Thanks for the additional input Wastral...I did find some S5 pics to look at and they seem really nice. S5 is available online. I think I'll wait though as I don't have a trip planned at the moment anyway. 5D looks nice, but then I need a new lens or two.