if you had $1800...

[forevermoving]

Hi!

So I've always loved capturing pictures for years. Mostly with my fuji finepix s700 which was my first real camera, and I recently this winter got a Panasonic DMC-Z19 which worked out nice for a hike... but maybe was not as nice as I'd like.

So here I am at the point where I am quitting my job and heading to Nepal at the beginning of March for hundreds of miles of trekking ahead of me. I currently have $1800 to spend on a new camera setup as I've sold my Torch (my job essentially) and I am curious as what complete camera setup you guys would recommend?

To me, staying light is a HUGE plus... This is why I got the Panasonic recently, it's a lot lighter than the older (and beaten up) finepix s700 of mine but I also think if I am going to finally be leaving North America (in Nepal for 3 months then outside Nepal to elsewhere for at least one year total minimum of traveling) that I'd really like to document this the best I can. I also can't deny that a portion of me would really love to become a photographer and hopefully one day capturing mountaineering and rock climbing professionally (but thats just a dream at the moment, a dream i'd like to start now with a better camera though!)

So if you have $1800 ($2000 tops) what would you get? Thanks

 

[jaomul]

Pentax k30 with 18-55 and 55-200 weather sealed lenses, a fast 50 and a small light tripod. This camera has a great spec and is weather sealed.Not to big or heavy either

 

[brunerww]

Hi forevermoving - with your budget, if I wanted to travel light and bring back the highest quality images (still and video), I would get the $1300 Panasonic GH3 and a Panasonic 14-140 10x zoom lens ($549 new from Adorama, $529 new from Texas Media Systems via eBay). Rugged water-resistant body, lightning fast autofocus, small, lightweight lenses compared to DSLRs.

With an electronic shutter and no reflex mirror, the camera becomes much lighter and is absolutely silent, allowing you to take candids unobtrusively. With its built-in wifi, you can upload your images wirelessly or control the camera from your phone or tablet. See this field test of the camera in Africa from pro photographer Daniel Cox.

Here are some examples of the image quality you can get from this camera:
Flickr: The Panasonic GH3 Pool
Panasonic GH3 Photos | PhotographyBLOG

I bought this camera/lens combination after 35+ years of shooting with SLRs and DSLRs. It is a very good value for your money.

Hope this is helpful and best of luck on your trek. Please post some pictures when you can!

Bill

 

[curtyoungblood]

I would look at Olympus's cameras, especially the PEN line. As a beginner who is placing a priority on camera weight, I think they'll really fit what you're looking for. The cameras are very light, small, and fully functional.

 

[goodguy]

I would recomend the Canon G1X, its got a big sensor, excellent low light and all around a good, small camera with a fixed lens so you dont need to "schlep" extra lenses with you.
Or you can get the Sony NEX-7, its a good capable little mirrorless camera.
Or a Fuji X-Pro1 also an excellent mirrorless small camera.

By the way for 2000$ I would get a Nikon D600 :hail: but its not a light weight camera so I dont think it will fit your trecking needs.

 

[forevermoving]

Thanks for the responses everyone, ill have to look into a few of these recommendations more thoroughly. The Panasonic gh3 seems really wonderful! Thanks for all those details and links Bill it helps to make this a lot easier! I do feel somewhat rushed on this decision since I fly out of Boston march first... For sure wouldn't want to be waiting on a camera in the mail days before my flight

 

[forevermoving]

is it just me or does it seem like the panasonic gh3 is out of stock everywhere?

 

[brunerww]

There is tremendously high demand for this camera, but there are a few available at buy.com's eBay store for $1212.

Hope you are able to land one!

Bill

 

[forevermoving]

thanks Bill should have the setup this coming up week just in time to take some photos of the ride from Oregon to Massachusetts before my trip

 

[brunerww]

Congratulations! Look forward to seeing pictures! Safe travels.

Bill

 

[bsinmich]

Whatever you get I would definitely look into getting a duplicate camera body that will accept the same lenses and accessories. If something breaks in Nepal or some other out of the way place for camera repair what will you do. When I was doing weddings of 2-4 per weekend I always had a spare camera and strobe in the car for that just in case conditon. I needed it only 1 time but was sure glad it was there.

 

[techniker]

Whatever you get I would definitely look into getting a duplicate camera body that will accept the same lenses and accessories. If something breaks in Nepal or some other out of the way place for camera repair what will you do. When I was doing weddings of 2-4 per weekend I always had a spare camera and strobe in the car for that just in case conditon. I needed it only 1 time but was sure glad it was there.

For the sake of travelleling light and being cost efficient, I highly recommend a disposable film camera to use for a backup.

 

[forevermoving]

K so I got this and now my only concern is charging the battery. My small point and shoot camera had a USB cord that'd go into the camera and charge the battery.. extremely convenient. I got a goal zero charger to charge my Ipad/camera although this camera has a battery charger pack that plugs into a wall only... is there any way around this? Possibly a USB adaptor that will plug into the charger pack so I can plug this into my solar charger?

 

[TCampbell]

There are 12 volt chargers available for a lot of cameras. Did you buy a camera yet?

Another consideration is that if you're not going to be anywhere with AC power, then what are you doing about photo storage? E.g. how are you unloading your memory cards? Are you bringing a laptop (which would be one more thing that needs charging) or iPad (does the iPad have enough space for all the photos you plan to take?)

 

[forevermoving]

I did get my camera in the mail today. And it did come with a charger, which has a detachable plug.. But the plug goes into the wall so I was curious if I could find one that goes into a USB so it'd fit not my solar charger or possibly a circular outlet since my solar charger had a spot for that which says 12v

as for my photos I will be bringing an ipad mini which is 64g of memory... May only save the best and plead the rest. There will be wifi and power along the way but if I need to pay extra I'd like to avoid that and rely on my solar charger moreso!