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Good all-rounder hillwalking camera?

Good all-rounder hillwalking camera?


Postby SummitStupid » Sat Jul 27, 2019 6:59 pm

I'm no photographer, but I like taking photos. I'm wondering what the best value, reasonably lightweight digital camera would be that could take high quality pictures of the landscape, which also has a good enough zoom for bird photography, and can handle flowers or insects too. Thank you for any advice.
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Re: Good all-rounder hillwalking camera?

Postby cantabrigian » Sat Jul 27, 2019 7:30 pm

I recently bought an Olympus TG-5 after seeing recommendations on WH and elsewhere, and have been happy with it as a non-specialist - I haven't really used it to its full capabilities. (I used it to record my walking of the West Highland Way.) They've since brought out a new version in the series, the TG-6, which is more expensive than the 5 was but has extra functionality (not sure what exactly). You can still buy the TG-5 so you might find a good deal.

The key features from the hillwalker's perspective are ruggedness ("robust enough to withstand a drop test from a height of 2.1 metres") and waterproofing (you can even take photos underwater with it).
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Re: Good all-rounder hillwalking camera?

Postby prog99 » Sat Jul 27, 2019 11:07 pm

What’s your priorities?
I use a Sony rx100 mk1. It has decent ease of use and great image quality but isn’t waterproof etc can be picked up 2nd hand cheaply(mine had barely been used)
I also have a Panasonic ft30 for wet weather days. Image quality nowhere near the Sony but will survive a deluge.i picked mine up for 30quid on eBay and had hardly been used.

Mrs prog99 has the sadly discontinued canon d10 which is the best of both worlds having good picture quality with excellent weather proofing.

Andy Kirkpatrick did a recent blog on the subject - https://andy-kirkpatrick.com/blog/view/the-perfect-climbing-camera
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Re: Good all-rounder hillwalking camera?

Postby malrc » Mon Jul 29, 2019 1:40 pm

I can second the Sony rx100 range for landscape shots. I have the mk III, which I felt was a good balance between features (it has a wider field of view than the previous 2 models) and price. The zoom is okay, but as with any camera of this size, it will struggle with close up shots of birds on the wing, etc.
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Re: Good all-rounder hillwalking camera?

Postby SummitStupid » Mon Jul 29, 2019 4:50 pm

Thank you to everyone for replying. I will check out the reccommendations.
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Re: Good all-rounder hillwalking camera?

Postby madprof » Mon Jul 29, 2019 8:10 pm

SummitStupid wrote:Thank you to everyone for replying. I will check out the reccommendations.


Sony RX100 Mk2 here. Yeah they are good. Slips into a breast pocket and I use a freezer food bag to keep it dry. Also had a Canon S95 which was great.
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Re: Good all-rounder hillwalking camera?

Postby WalkWithWallace » Tue Jul 30, 2019 9:57 am

Another vote for the Sony RX100 range. I've got the MK3 model. Can get them for well under £500 now.
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Re: Good all-rounder hillwalking camera?

Postby Sgurr » Tue Jul 30, 2019 11:36 am

Just to confuse things further, I have a Pansonic Lumix TZ90 which has a 30x zoom and is under £300. I love it. I specially love spotting a movement far away, being able to zoom onto it, and if I still can't see if it is man or beast, can zoom further while I look at the image, and lo and behold, it IS (or isn't) Nessie. It has a Leica lens (always a plus) Here it is
https://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-lumix-dc-tz90-super-zoom-digital-camera-4k-ultra-hd-20-3mp-30x-optical-zoom-wi-fi-evf-3-lcd-tiltable-touch-screen/p3242637?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgemQ27fc4wIVgbHtCh0sjQ45EAAYASAAEgLGq_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

It fits in the 2nd top zipped pocket of my jacket easily(other is map). You can buy brightly coloured cheap cases for it so you can spot it easily if dropped. I am a very unimaginative photographer, so here is a bog standard photo on an overcast day of the sort you mostly get in the Highlands or Lakes

Image
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Re: Good all-rounder hillwalking camera?

Postby mrssanta » Mon Aug 12, 2019 8:05 pm

I've got an olympus TG-5 and really love it
it is waterproof and shock proof too so I just shove it in my rucksack belt pocket. I attach it to a fine ribbon tied to my rucksack strap, so if I drop it it does not get lost
but the zoom is not really up to photographing birds. You can however get an extra lens for it. I have not got such a thing as I am not bothered that much.
It is really good at macro. flowers are more my thing and it is smashing for them.
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Re: Good all-rounder hillwalking camera?

Postby rockhopper » Tue Aug 13, 2019 1:25 pm

Similar to Sgurr above, I use a Pansonic Lumix TZ60 - very similar to the TZ90 but the TZ60 doesn't have touch screen. I generally wear liner gloves (plus outers when necessary) to help with Reynauds and would need to remove them to use a touch screen. The zoom can be extended I think to 120x albeit reduced quality and it has a live viewfinder which I prefer to using the screen.
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Re: Good all-rounder hillwalking camera?

Postby willwright111 » Tue Aug 13, 2019 10:17 pm

I've just got the new Samsung Galaxy S10 plus, and I must say it's far better than I expected. Otherwise its a Sony A6000 for me
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Re: Good all-rounder hillwalking camera?

Postby Border Reiver » Sun Aug 18, 2019 5:23 pm

After dropping two different cameras into water from my pockets, I bought an Olympus TG1 & it's the perfect camera for waterproofness and ability to withstand knocks. The zoom is not brilliant, but it's ideal for most landscape shots. The quality of the pics is very good. My main camera is a Panasonic TZ200 , it's got most of the features of a DSLR and it's quite heavy, but I treat it with care as it'll be a fragile bit of kit. I do usually carry both when out walking, the Panasonic in a case and the Olympus stuffed in a pocket.
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Re: Good all-rounder hillwalking camera?

Postby EBowman » Tue Aug 20, 2019 8:45 pm

I have a Panasonic Lumix bridge camera (DMC-FZ38). It's not something that fits in your pocket, and the weight is more than a compact camera (but less than a DSLR). The zoom is reasonable, it does a decent job on most wide angle shots, and it does well when used in macro mode. The newer versions are lighter, have better optics and sensors, are somewhat weatherproof, and have a longer zoom.

P1040213.jpg
roe deer


Mind you, these days mobile phone cameras seem to be quite good for closeup and wide angle shots.
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