Camera Suggestions for outdoors trips

[Blackmagic71]

The last couple years some friends and I have been making some semi-frequent trips up to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and the Superior Hiking Trail in northern Minnesota.

Normally I take pictures with my iPhone 13 Pro Max (which does a surprisingly good job), and lately I’ve had some of the nicer panoramic photos printed on HD metal to hang in my house plus a few I’ve given away as gifts.

I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a dedicated camera, even tho I know it’ll be a little bulky to bring with.

What I’d like to use this camera for:
-Panoramic landscapes
-Night time shots of stars
-Cityscape shots
-General nature shots

Features I’d like:
-Water resistant (I don’t need something that functions underwater, but it would be nice to have something where I don’t have to worry about light drizzle)
-Rugged/durable is a huge plus
-Can be mounted on a tripod
-24mega pixels or greater
-Ability to swap lenses as needed

Budget
Maybe $1000 to $1500

Does anybody have any good suggestions?

[ford]

It's been a year or two since I investigated getting back into big cameras... But here are some random thoughts/takeaways from that research.

The Nikons / Cannons / Sonys of the camera world feel stagnant to me. They love speccing bigger/better sensors but I think they hit the point of diminishing returns long ago.

Your iPhone has features like night mode that cheat a photo into looking better with all that phone processing power, while bigger SLR cameras, the goal has always been just to get light into the sensor as accurately as possible.

Your iPhone 13 Pro Max already has image stabilization (both physical and software supported). If you want the same thing in most SLR cameras you're going to pay lots more for a lens with that feature.

Speaking of lenses, it's hard to find a lens that can do all the things you mentioned wanting. Those nature shops, you probably want a good zoom, and F-stop that can get you that nice focus/blur look.

For Panoramic shots? Probably a different super wide (fish?) lens.

So let's say to accomplish your goals in the SLR world for this trip you're talking 2 lenses, and a gently used mirrorless camera that's been out for a year or two. I have a feeling you'll blow through your budget on a setup like that with the big brands. (could be wrong... been some time since I looked).

Then it comes down to photo management. How important is it to you to have complete control of your photos? If you really want to shoot RAW and then process photos on a computer in Lightroom maybe a SLR setup makes sense, but if you're out in the backcountry and may want to take some photos and adjust some basic settings on the fly your iPhone is going to be way easier for doing that.

All that in mind, I would take half your potential SLR budget and try and max out what you can get from your iPhone 13 Pro Max. Get a tripod/mount for the thing, Get some kind of lens cover/case that does a great job protecting the lenses from scratches... There's got to be a ton of accessories you could test out that even if they suck would be cheaper than trying to get a decent SLR setup.

[Cdn_Cuda]

Check out the Pentax K line, they have weatherproof options. I bought one several years ago (forget the model) and quite like it. Been using a macro lens on it when out in nature and having fun with it.

[Blackmagic71]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Just an update: I ended up going with a Nikon Z5, it seems like it has some good features and it was around my price range.

I’ve got a hiking trip coming up in a few weeks, so I’ll keep you posted how it goes!

[redsquirrel]

Still a major difference between phone and dedicated camera quality. Glad to hear you picked one up.

[JeeperCreeper]

Heck yeah, team Nikon!

[chrislognshot]

not sure how good weather sealing on the Z5. but get Gen 2 FTZ and Some old F mount lenses used. try KEH for used lenses. if need help with Z5 i own Z6 and Z9 and tons of good glass.

[Blackmagic71]

Update: some buddies and I knocked out three nights on the Superior Hiking Trail near Finland MN.

We missed peak colors by a few weeks and the last half of the hike was a pretty consistent light rain. Fortunately we all packed well for the conditions so it was still fun and we were reasonably dry, warm, and comfortable at night.

Tons of gorgeous overlooks (especially Sawmill Dome and Section 13). Took a bunch of pictures and stitched together some panoramic photos using adobe lightroom and then had several printed on metal which should be arriving sometime this week.

The new camera held up well, even if it was a bit heavy to lug up and down the hills 🤣

[JeeperCreeper]

Have you messed around with manual mode yet? It's a little more work, but can yield great results once you figure out how the settings all balance each other out.

[Blackmagic71]

Jeepercreeper - I’ve started to mess around with manual mode a little bit. Mostly trying to get nice longer exposure pictures of moving water.

Just a general update: I just bought a Nikon 20mm f1.8 lens. I’m hoping it’ll work well for outdoor landscapes and maybe some Astro when I go up to the BWCA in June.

[Blackmagic71]

I took this picture at the Egge Creek crossing on the Superior Hiking Trail.

(I had to reduce the quality to upload it here.)