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Climbing Camera

Original Post
Dan M · · Boulder, CO · Joined Sep 2005 · Points: 165

Who likes to take shitty climbing pictures? Butt shots? Blurry bouldering sessions? What about the perfect 10 climbing girl who wouldn't give you the time of day once she saw you trying to shoot with a disposable Kodak camera? No way!!

Due to a recent break-in, I'm fresh out of a sexy DSLR and I'm wondering if the climbing community can come up with some recommendations for a new camera. Being a climber, price is a concern so how about suggestions for the under $500 and the $500-$1000 range? Also, if anyone's selling.. I'm in the market.

Cheers,

Dan

Adam Stackhouse · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 13,970

I just bought a Canon 40D am utterly thrilled with it.

Adam Leedy · · Austin, TX · Joined Sep 2008 · Points: 760

If you want another SLR,
I recently picked up an Olympus e-420 and I love it. It is one of the most compact SLR's on the market (only the Panasonic G1 is smaller and only marginally at at twice the price.)
Got mine for 399 with 14-40 kit lens.

Lauer · · Duluth, MN · Joined Apr 2008 · Points: 0

If you want to climb with it and Olympus Stylus XXXX SW camera is nice. "Shock Proof" and waterproof. Pics are ok, but not slr quality, but mine has been so many places an slr would never get.

...can't figure out how to upload a picture

Avery N · · Boulder, CO · Joined Apr 2006 · Points: 650

Hey Dan,

Bummer to hear about the loss of the camera.

I've been through this climbing-camera thing three times, and have found the following sites very helpful:

dcresource.com
steves-digicams.com
dpreview.com
imaging-resource.com

I'm sure there are others, but these tend to have very in-depth independent technical reviews (they'll assess things like barrel/pincushion, shutter lag, data transfer rates, actual battery life, etc).

My take is that for most folks, an SLR is too big to have with you on every climb. Pretty heavy, bulky, expensive, etc. That being said, I have a tiny point-n-shoot (old canon elph), as well as more of a prosumer point-n-shoot (Lumix FZ18) that has full manual control and decent optics. I pretty much always carry it, now. No, not as good as an SLR, but about 1/2 the weight/size and rarely do I feel i can't carry it. So, I actually get pictures. Also, if I drop it, I won't cry as much as if it was an SLR.

I'd recommend deciding what features are most important to you -- seems you can't quite have it all, though they have great improvements each year.

For example, my priorities were:
- < 1lb total
- shoots raw (MUCH more image control after the shot), and at a decent speed
- 28mm equivalent, or wider -- with minimal barreling
- relatively good optics over the range of the lens, and where possible, decent sensor
- high quality video (love those)
- ability to use filters
- 1 handed operability

If you're like me and looking for raw in a non-SLR camera, do check out the Lumix cameras. I've also heard there may be some third-party software for Canons that allows feature enhancements, including raw.

Good luck!

Malcolm Daly · · Hailey, ID · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 380

Hey Dan,
Shooting RAW is a total waste of time unless your shooting for pro catalogs or magazines. Even then most will accept HQ jpgs. I love my D200 and lust for D700 but totally love my new Canon SD880. Learn how to work the saturation levels and exposures and you'll get great images... I found mine on sale for $250 a few weeks ago. Best thing about it? It shoots down to a 28mm equivalent.
Mal

smithygreg · · Portland,OR · Joined Mar 2008 · Points: 70

If you are interested in a compact point and shoot, I highly recommend the Panasonic Lumix line. They are basically the same camera as the Leica, but rebranded as Panasonic and sold for half the price. I am amazed at the shots my friends get with this camera compared to my Canon.

Avery N · · Boulder, CO · Joined Apr 2006 · Points: 650
Malcolm Daly wrote:Hey Dan, Shooting RAW is a total waste of time unless your shooting for pro catalogs or magazines.
Malcom -- I think a lot of folks would completely disagree with that statement. I still want a decent looking photo on my wall or web page.

RAW doesn't have to do with the quality of the first-generation JPEG. It has to do with the editing capabilities and amount of data you have to work with to 'save' or 'alter' a picture (and still end up with that first-generation 'HQ jpg' after your editing).

So... two reasons to shoot raw include:
  • you have full control of the image (you are very limited with this with jpegs)
  • you have all the data from the original image, which means you end up with the best looking picture in the end.

In many ways, shooting raw is similar to having the negative, whereas shooting jpg is similar to just having the print.

All that being said, if you rarely or never intend to edit your photos -- by all means, make life easy -- shoot jpeg.

Cheers,
Avery
Stiles · · the Mountains · Joined May 2003 · Points: 845

For me the best pictures are action shots. I had a nice camera that stayed in the bag and only came out at safe places like belays and summit shots. I have a Olympus SWxxxx; waterproof, crushproof, shockproof, freeze proof, etc. I feel comfortable climbing, skiing and kayaking with it in a pocket and have gotten a lot better 'in the moment' action than with my fancy camera in the pack. Worth looking into.

Erik W · · Santa Cruz, CA · Joined Mar 2007 · Points: 280

With the P&S cameras, definitely beware of high pixel densities on their sensors( >35 MP/cm^2). The general public just equates high megapixels with "rockin'camera," so marketing departments are pushing engineering to scrunch as many as possible on the same dinky sensor. The result is that newer 12MP cameras shoot crappier pics than 5MP cameras from a couple years ago. Most of the current P&S's with MP>10 have pixel densities greater than that 35MP/cm^2 level (compare that to DSLR's which are typically in the 4MP/cm^2 range). So I'd recommend to stay in the 7-10MP sweet spot.

Also realize that most P&S cameras these days don't have much in the way of manual input (which for someone coming from an SLR environment will be really annoying). You can usually select your ISO sensitivity, but the camera selects the aperture and shutter speed. Problem is, most cameras are programmed to shoot near the wide open end to ensure that the shutter speed is fastest and thereby reducing the risk of movement-induced blurring. For families at Disneyland, that's fine and dandy, but for climbers and outdoor folks it sucks because it usually limits us to an f/2.8-4.5 aperture range, making the DOF really shallow.

There are some cameras that still give you override abilities or Av and Tv priority modes, but those are usually clunkier P&S's... in the ultra-compact realm there are less than a handful. The Panasonic Lumix FX line has some of these functionalities, but their image quality has been pretty much slammed (which sucks given the quality of the Leica optics). I opted for the Canon P&S's because of the CHDK ( chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK) open source firmware add-on that allows you to get added functionality out of Cannon cameras (including aperture priority).

For a climbing camera I wanted something with a wide angle (28mm equivalent) and I wanted it to be ultracompact so that it wouldn't even be a consideration whether I brought it or not (my previous camera was big enough that it was a hassle pulling out of my pack or out of the hip mounted case - the result was fewer pics). I went with the Canon SD880 because of the wide angle and CHDK firmware addon.

Sorry for the long ramble. Hopefully some of the info helps. Best of luck on your new camera selection. Let us know how it goes. -Erik

James Beissel · · Boulder, CO · Joined Aug 2004 · Points: 905

Dan, bummer about your camera.

Check out this link

kenrockwell.com/tech/recomm…

The guy who authors this site is a bit "out there" with some of his opinions, but this particular page has sound advice.

Derek W · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2008 · Points: 20

+1 for the Olympus Stylus XXXX SW. Mine has taken some abuse and some sweet underwater pics. fits in my pocket nicely and its always handy.

K Ice · · Minneapolis, MN · Joined Apr 2008 · Points: 1,152
Wehling wrote:+1 for the Olympus Stylus XXXX SW. Mine has taken some abuse and some sweet underwater pics. fits in my pocket nicely and its always handy.
I agree. This is an awesome point and shoot for adventure people. Colors are fairly good and it withstands ALOT of abuse. I'd go with the higher end model since it has a wider angle lens.

You don't have to worry about it in wet conditions or knocking it around on your harness.
Puzman puziss · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 45

I just bought a Panasonic Lumix TZ5. For the optics (10x zoom, 28-280 35mm equivalent), this is an amazingly compact, durable (all metal) point and shoot. I didn't want to lug an SLR + lenses up a climb, and this is a great all-around point-n-shoot.

R. Emerson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2008 · Points: 0

climbing cameras are like your climbing shoes. You pick the right one for the situation you are in.

If i'm climbing long alpine routes and am weight conscious I'll carry the Canon SD600 (elph). It takes good pictures but doesn't have the zoom capabilities to get up close on your subject.

I've recently been using a Nikon D90 and i must say it is a fantastic camera and being able to swap lenses out to get the perfect shot makes me wonder why I ever went away from the film SLR in the first place. However, I wouldn't want to be climbing near my limit while carrying it with me. So I mainly use it for single pitch cragging.

And I've got to be honest. Usually when i'm trying to speed my way up long multipitch routes, I'm not so focused on taking pictures so the convenience of the smaller point and shoot Elph outweighs the superiority of the DSLR.

Dan M · · Boulder, CO · Joined Sep 2005 · Points: 165

Thanks to all for the suggestions and comments. Most of all I'd like to thank my boss for the fatty bonus that just bought me my new camera!

I considered the convenience vs. quality and opted for quality: Nikon D40 with the 18-55 and 55-200 mm lenses. The camera with kit lens, 55-200 lens, 4 gig SD card, UV and polarizer filters, and '3 million dollar' Crumpler camera case ran a cool $800. I had buyer's remorse for all of about 60 seconds :)

I've been hard at work putting this camera through its paces in the deserts of Utah and at the crags in Vedawoo. So far it's been fantastic. The images are sharp and clear. The bulk has been manageable and I haven't been afraid to leave it bumping around on an ATV. My only complaint is that it blows out highlights in some bright (shooting into the sun) situations.

My next camera will probably be the Canon SD880 so I can take it up the Diamond.

Hope everyone has a great summer climbing and comes away with images worthy of a frame and wall space.

Cheers,
Dan

Goodman Sachs · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2008 · Points: 315

I have the Olympus Stylus 1030 I think it is. It's the Shockproof/Waterproof/Freezeproof one. I absolutely love it for cragging around with. I take it up climbs, down rivers, and anywhere else you can think of. It even accidentally ended up in my freezer for a few days and it was totally fine. 10 mega pixels for under 400 bucks. I got mine at best buy and bought the 4 year extended warranty and the suckers have replaced it and fixed a few times already. I have beat the crap out of it.

B-rad · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2008 · Points: 40

Now that you've gotten your new SLR and are shopping for a P&S, it would be worth your time to look at the Ricoh GX200. The optics are fantastic, it is light weight and compact and fully functional (aperture priority, bracketing, metering, etc.)

Some perks: almost no shutter delay, writes to the card quickly, solid hand feel, 12.1MP, multitude of ISOs (down to ISO64), user-friendly controls, and various image quality options including RAW.

One of the selling points for me: 24mm wide angle! (you can also toss on polarizer, other filters, or a 19mm wide with an inexpensive adapter)

ricoh.com/r_dc/gx/gx200/

Good luck!

Brad Brandewie · · Estes Park · Joined Apr 2001 · Points: 2,931

I agree with Malcolm about raw images. For most folks, raw is a waste of time.

shooting raw = more work on the computer

I have been running a print shop in Durango for 4 years and I find that most people can do whatever they want to do with a Jpg that is edited and saved as a tiff.

I'm not disagreeing with you Avery that there are definite advantages to shooting raw. I'm just saying that most casual photographers will never utilize those advantages and will not like the additional computer time they have to put into their images.

Cheers,
Brad

Dan,
I just got a Cannon SX10is and have been happy with it. It is no DSLR but it's comparatively compact and the zoom is pretty incredible. 35mm equivalent of 28 - 560mm The Image Stabilization is good enough to hand hold shots at 560 if you have a good stance. Retails for $400. I'm not saying it's the best thing out there, but I find it to be a good climbing camera.

jack roberts · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2002 · Points: 0

I've got a Lumix FX5 that is totally easy to use, gives me great shots, has Leica optics and runs on AA batteries as does my headlamp and other digital camera which is a
Olympus 565 RX and is one that I'd also recommend. The Lumix has buttons and switches that can be operated when wearing glove, which for me is something I need because I use it ice climbing. It hasn't frozen up on me and seems pretty tough.

The Olympus 565 also has great optics and is easy to figure out and use.

Lots of good stuff out there. These are just the two I've been using and had good results with.

John Hegyes · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined Feb 2002 · Points: 5,676

You want the Canon G10. It is a fully manual camera in a point and shoot frame. 15 megapixels. Under $500.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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