[at-l] Trail Camera

[icw39@ncfreedom.net (Clark Wright)]

Rafe's answers are great; I would add the following couple of extra
points:

1)  The Nikon point and shoots are awesome; not too heavy, glass lenses,
sharp as heck, even with zoom lense, and the panorama feature really
works, using a cropped wide-angle set-up.  If you peruse my picture
gallery [ http://gallery.backcountry.net/ThruThinker2001AT ], you can
see up to 619 pics taken with my Nikon Lite-Touch pocket 120 zoom camera
. . . and, as to the panorama feature, some of my favorite trail shots
are where I used the panorama feature in a vertical format, to emphasize
a "long and winding trail" look.

2)  Many point and shoots use film other than 35mm - usually with
smaller negatives; smaller negatives in general mean less sharp, less
rich prints, slides, etc.  If you don't think you will be doing
enlargements, slide shows, etc. then this is not all that big a deal,
but I personally dislike the Kodak APS size film, and other smaller
negative film formats.

3)  For about $5.00 - $10.00 you can buy a little pocket pouch that will
velcro onto your pack shoulder strap, hip belt, etc.  Or, you can carry
a small fanny pack that you use as a "tummy" pack to hold camera and
extra film.  I velcroed my little pouch up high on my left pack shoulder
strap, and carried a ziplock in my pocket; if it started to rain, I
pulled the camera out of the pouch, put it in the ziplock, and crammed
it back into the pouch . . . that camera went thru hell and never missed
a beat.

4)  I generally hate extended warranties - they are almost always a
rip-off; however, for my thru-hike, I bought one for my Nikon pocket
camera [which on sale still cost $189.00]; the warranty cost $14.95 for
one year - and covered ALL losses - even if you dropped it into a lake! 
I  probably abused the camera even more knowing I had the warranty, and
it never failed me - so I really recommend the Nikon Lite-Touch zoom
series pocket cameras as darn great choices.

5)  Point and shoots do require a bit of practice, for two reasons. 
First, since it is not an SLR [single lense reflex - where the picture
you see in the viewfinder is the actual image coming through the camera
lense] the pocket camera viewfinder does not show exactly the same image
that the lense "sees" - especially at very close range, or at large zoom
magnifications and close range.  It pays to experiment with a roll of
film at home taking close-ups of people, flowers, etc. to get the hang
of how to correct for this . . . most viewfinders on these cameras
nowadays have little marks inside to try and help with this, too.  The
other thing it takes a bit of getting used to is what I call "shutter
delay."  Most pocket cameras have an autofocus feature, plus they always
warm up the flash when you open the camera . . . if you are trying to
quickly get a picture of - say - that black bear ambling across the
trail, sometimes by the time the camera gets the flash warmed up, and
the autofocus happy, the bear is long gone!  On my Nikon, you could
disable these features and go it alone, but you had to do that after
opening the camera, which means that the bottom line is that it takes a
second or two for most of these cameras to get set to activate the
shutter.  On a real basic point and shoot that has no autofocus or
flash, this is not an issue.  Also, it takes a little while to learn how
your particular model's autofocus works [or does not work!] in various
lighting and close-up scene situations.

Hope this info helps!

thru-thinker

rafe.bustin@verizon.net wrote:
> 
> On 9 Apr 2002 at 17:14, Jan Leitschuh wrote:
> 
> > What's the difference between SLR and ?the other one (non-SLR) in practical
> > terms?
> 
> SLR = Single lens reflex.  The other kind is a generally
> refered to as "point-and-shoot" (P & S) and usually has auto-focus.
> There are some other geeky types of cameras that pros use,
> but definitely not for hikers, unless your name is David Muench.
> 
> SLRs are cool but heavy.  Cool because they use high-quality,
> interchangeable lenses.  OTOH, this is not an option that the
> typical thru-hiker will take advantage of, as there's a huge
> amount of weight involved (by thru-hiking standards.)
> 
> SLRs have many other advantages, and are the "serious"
> photographer's choice.  I lug around an old Nikon SLR on
> weekend hikes, but it would be a crazy call to take that camera
> on an extended hike, where every ounce counts.
> 
> > Do I want a zoom? How will I know?
> 
> Zooms are handy, but always a compromise in terms of
> optical quality.  For the same price, a "prime" lens (fixed
> focal length, non-zoom) should be better quality.
> 
> > How important is a glass lens?
> 
> Fairly important, I'd say.  Glass can be ground and
> polished much more accurately, and glass lenses
> carry coatings that help capture the maximum amount
> of light.
> 
> > How lightweight do these babies get?
> 
> You can get some very light P & S cameras that
> weigh maybe four, five ounces.  My old Olympus
> Stylus weights 7.3 oz.
> 
> > How important is waterproof/water resistant?
> 
> Another tradeoff.  You pay for that feature.  It's
> handy but not really essential, unless you're
> determined to shoot photos in foul weather, or
> from a boat, or underwater.
> 
> > How important is the panorama feature?
> 
> Not.  (IMHO)  It's just a gimmick, really -- in most
> cases it's accomplished by cropping part of the
> frame to give the appearance of a longer aspect
> ratio.
> 
> > What other features are nice/near-essential?
> 
> Self-timer, or a remote shutter, if you like taking
> "group" photos with yourself in the picture.  Or
> photos of yourself in front of some landmark.
> 
> > how did you carry it? Where?
> 
> I carried mine in one of the outer pockets of my
> Camp Trails pack.
> 
> > What are a few lightweight models worth exploring?
> 
> Olympus Stylus.
> 
> > Any battery considerations?
> 
> Hmmm.  Best if it takes a "standard" battery
> (like maybe AAA) but this criteria could exclude
> some otherwise worthy models.
> 
> Final note -- have a look at BH Photo's website
> (www.bhphotovideo.com) and shop around.  Their
> prices are about as good as you're going to find,
> their selection is second to none, and they are
> about as reputable a shop as you will ever find.
> 
> Whatever you choose (and as with any other piece
> of gear) I suggest you take some practice hikes
> with the camera and get used to its quirks before
> starting a serious hike with it.  And always carry
> a spare battery... <g>
> 
> rafe b.
> aka terrapin
> 
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