Packing

[55dusk]

Hola,
New to this site and appreciate all and any advise. I would like to record my pilgrimage on a journal and camera. It is recommended that we should only carry 10% of our body weight, that means 12 lbs. for me. If you did bring a camera, what would you recommend? Journal would be pretty easy to figure out, but I would like to hear from those that have completed the entire trip from St. Jean Pied de Port. Still trying to figure out how to take 2 months off from work. I am looking at September/October 2012 to take my journey.
Sincerely,
dusk

[Leslie]

When I last walked the Camino I did not have a digital camera - it was a while ago. However I have a couple now and walk a lot in the hill and away for weekends. The biggest issue with a camera is battery life, I would not want to have to look for somewhere to charge a camera every night on the Camino. So having one that has a battery that lasts for a few days would be good.

The next for me is what am I using the photos for? I have two main cameras one is a fairly heavy canon SLR - this for me is used when I want to play a lot with the photos afterwards as I use RAW mode for the photos. I must admit it gets used less and less. Last year I invested a lot in a fairly small light camera with long battery life and 15mp. A lot of my photos end up on the web and I find this good for that purpose, as web pic have to be reduced in file size anyway.

So summing up good battery and light would be a good choice, IMHO.

[55dusk]

Thank you for your prompt response. The photos are for my blog, so a nice small camera would work well. I'll do some research on battery life. Regards.

[HuskyNerd]

I totally agree with Leslie about weight and battery life and would add a couple of details: The battery charger itself is important. Some chargers come with long cords which are bulky and add weight. You'll want a very lightweight charger with no extra cords (mine plugs directly into the wall). I take along an extra battery so I always have a backup.

After that, to me a fast lens is important. The camino has some amazing churches and often they're poorly illuminated while flash is forbidden. A fast lens allows for high quality photos in low light, so to me that is much more valuable than lots of megapixels or various other gizmos.

One last thing is that you'll want a waterproof camera pouch that is within quick reach (i.e. not inside your pack). When you find a great shot you definitely don't want to have to take off your pack and dig through it to find your camera. I put my camera in a pouch on my chest strap so it's easy to get to.

Other camera options nowadays include GPS marking, which is kinda cool on a trek like this since you'll then know exactly where each shot was taken. It can be awkward after taking 100s of photos over a month to get home and not remember where/when something was taken. That's definitely in the "gizmo" category though and may be too geeky for lots of folks. Also, I believe some cameras are now coming with WiFi, which can be awesome for sending photos to friends and family.

I must admit, though, that I take my 2007 vintage 3 megapixel Panasonic Lumix with its metal body and chipped paint. It has now been on 3 caminos, on safari in South Africa, to Tahiti via sailboat from Mexico, etc. etc. and except for the fact that I have to pull open its mechanical lens cover sometimes it still works flawlessly and gives great photos. Not art, but still pretty good, and I can stand the teasing from people with flashier cameras that don't take better pictures.

[55dusk]

HuskyNerd,

Thank you for the advise, it helps with honing in on what type of camera I should look into. I like the wifi feature and gps, technology is amazing. I have plenty of time to look into gadgets and equipment, so the advise and sharing of what works, packing, shoes, experiences has been a real advantage to us newbies. Much appreciated.

Sincerely,
dusk