The Best Camera For Overlanding

Aaron Wasson

In the rear with the gear
I usually have three with me depending on what I'm going. I'll have the GoPro, Nikon AW110 and a Nikon D2x with lenses. I'm considering retiring the d2x and holding out for a d4 or newer.


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haven

Expedition Leader
I think the answer has to be qualified by the final use of the images. Who will be the consumer of your work? For friends via Facebook? Publication in Overland Journal? 72x48 prints for corporate wall art? Discovery Channel? Different goals, different tools.
 

DeskToGlory

Adventurer
I think the answer has to be qualified by the final use of the images. Who will be the consumer of your work? For friends via Facebook? Publication in Overland Journal? 72x48 prints for corporate wall art? Discovery Channel? Different goals, different tools.

Good point Haven!

I wrote that assuming that you were taking photos strictly for personal use, Facebook, blogging, etc.

Ever photo I've had published was shot with a 5D Mark III. For professional use (weddings, published articles, etc) I use this with a 5D II as a backup. As far as I can tell this is the best professional camera body option for me right now based on performance, quality, and price.
 

kojackJKU

Autism Family Travellers!
Correct Haven. I just bought 2 new Fuji models. an X10 and X-S1. Both produce great images. I have yet to print one, since my photo printer is packed up to move. But, The images directly from camera are amazing. One lens for each and two cameras for different trips and uses. I am loving both of them!
 

fike

Adventurer
The Micro Four Thirds cameras from Panasonic and Olympus are fantastic as well as the Fuju X-series and the Sony NEX cameras. All of these are EVF cameras ...that means their viewfinder is an electronic LCD. This allows the camera to shed its mirror and prism and become much smaller. The Sony and Fuji mirrorless cameras use a 1.5x cropped sensor. The Micro Four Thirds cameras from Panasonic and Olympus use a 2x cropped sensor. I think the biggest benefit to these cameras is their much smaller lenses. I have been using Olympus for almost three years now and love it. I had been using my Canon 7D for many years, but it became too bulky and heavy for me to hike long distances. The Olympus OM-D E-M1 is weather sealed (won't be bothered by a constant downpour of rain) and has professional controls and usability features. I love it. I can carry twice the number of specialized lenses at half the weight of a full-frame or traditional APS-C DSLR kit. If you look at my blog, everything in the last two years has been done with my Olympus system. http://trailpixie.net/
 

scottishpinz

Adventurer
I balance a semi pro DSLR with a range of lenses and a phone camera. In fact I've been known to put down the SLR and grab the phone as it is quicker than switching to a wide angle lens. I also have a waterproof case for the phone. Unless you are printing big most people can't tell which camera took which photo!
 

Cayuse

Observer
The best camera is the one you have with you. I have a couple Nikon dSLR's with an assortment of lenses but on my last trip I used either my phone or a Pentax Optio WG-2 that is ruggedized and waterproof to 30 feet because it is light and I didn't need to worry about it if I slipped in a pool while in a slot canyon. Now it lives in my truck most of the time so I always have a camera for adventures.
 

fike

Adventurer
If all you plan to do is post to the web, and you won't ever make the image real by printing it, and you don't want to do low-light or astro photography, and you don't want to shoot action or wildlife, and you don't want to manually control exposure, and you can tolerate chromatic aberration, and you like noisy images, and you are lazy, and you enjoy diddling sheep, and you bought a pontiac aztek, and you like Justin Beiber, then I suppose you might be able to get by with a phone camera. :elkgrin:
 

kojackJKU

Autism Family Travellers!
hey, the nokia 1020 camera is amazing. better than many point and shoots. But any other phone yes, burn at the stake.
 

chadlanc

Adventurer
I'd get a Sony A7R... mirror-less, small, high megapixel, plus you can put just about any lens imaginable on it.
 

Mad Matt

Adventurer
I'm invested in a single brand now because of lenses, but I really want to upgrade my DSLR body to one that has an integrated GPS. I have grown to love the fact that all of my smart phone pictures are automatically geo-tagged, and being able to roam around a map of the world on my computer and relive past adventures is awesome.
 

Lost Canadian

Expedition Leader
I'd get a Sony A7R... mirror-less, small, high megapixel, plus you can put just about any lens imaginable on it.

The problem with Sony is the complete lack of native lenses for the A7 cameras. A couple of slow'ish primes albeit good ones, and a few slow zooms is really insufficient. The adapted lenses, especially anything wider than 35mm don't seem to fair so well, not to mention they're manual focus when adapted, which is fine in some arenas but isn't something a lot of shooters are going to want to put up with all the time.

It's a shame really, Sony has made a great camera in the A7's but at the moment it's really a system with unrecognized potential due to the lack of lens support.

Fuji has really done it right IMO and in a very very short time, they listened to their customers wants and created a line of superb lenses and now with the XT-1, a body with very little compromise. That's what Sony should have done.

As for the original question I agree with Haven, different goals, different priorities, both personal and professional, will require different tools.
 

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