Lots of stuff: what to carry on day hikes

bfluegie

Please excuse the length of this post. I am trying to decide what gear to take for vacations that include day hikes—some level and some with elevation gains. Hikes can range from a couple of hours to maybe 8 hours. Yosemite, Rocky Mountain NP, Smoky Mountains, and Sedona are all on my list for the next couple of years. I currently have a Nikon D90 with the kit 18-105 lens, 70-300 4.5-5.6G, 35 f/1.8G, and a Tamron 90 f/2.8 macro. I also have an Olympus Pen E-PL1 with the 14-42 f/3.5-5.6, 40-150 f/4-5.6, and a 17mm f/2.8. I haven’t used the Olympus much, so I don’t know if it would suit my needs as the only camera to carry. It was an impulse purchase. I also usually carry a pocket camera with me for emergencies.

I don’t have separate flash for either camera. I have UV filters for all lenses, 58mm and 67mm circular polarizers which might cover all lenses except the <st1:place w:st="on">Olympus</st1:place> 17mm with step down rings. I have a wired remote release for the Nikon. I have a Manfrotto 681 monopod and Manfrotto tripod 190XPROB/488RC4

My main photographic goal is landscape photography with maybe a little macro (level hikes only—the macro lens probably won’t be going on a mountain hike). Wildlife only as it crosses my path and doesn’t require me to evade. Photography is a big part of the experience, but the hike and viewing the scenery is at least equally important. I’m not a pro, and the photos will be for my enjoyment (and any other family/friends I can sucker into looking at them). In other words, I don’t want to so burden myself with equipment and photographic expectations that I don’t enjoy the hike and the scenery I am seeing. Does this make any sense at all?

I would like to know what others have used for similar hikes. The lenses I have cover wide angle to telephoto pretty well, but is there something better for hiking? I am open to getting some additional gear to get better photos or to more easily hike while not compromising on photo quality. Are there some accessories I should add to my kit?

I will probably take a lot of this gear on the trip with me, but I will pick out one camera and a lens or two to take on the hikes, probably in a belt pouch like the Kata HandsFree-493 DL, Crumpler Mild Enthusiast, etc. That would allow me to have a small daypack for tripod or monopod, water, lunch, jacket, etc. Or maybe my Tamrac Velocity 7x or LowePro 200Aw (both sling bags) for the camera gear and a belt pack for lunch, etc. The LowePro currently holds all my Nikon gear and a couple of the Oly lenses.

When I had film cameras the choice was easy. I had a 50mm f/1.7 and a 135mm f/3.5. A 2x teleconverter rounded out the gear. I could carry it all in a belt pouch along with a sandwich and a lot of film. These days I have more gear, the gear is larger and heavier, and my back is a lot older

In summary (FINALLY!) these are my questions:
- Any suggested additional lenses (or lenses to not bother taking on the trip at all
- Suggested lenses to carry for specific types of hikes
- Any suggested accessories?
- Tripod or monopod?
- Bag for travel and recommended bag for day hikes

Thanks for you patience, and any suggestions you can offer.

time2smile

you need a wide angle lens for the Nikon, happy trails

angevin1

bfluegie wrote: »

In other words, I don’t want to so burden myself with equipment and photographic expectations that I don’t enjoy the hike and the scenery I am seeing.
In summary (FINALLY!) these are my questions: <o:p></o:p>

• Any suggested additional lenses (or lenses to not bother taking on the trip at all)<o:p></o:p>
• Suggested lenses to carry for specific types of hikes<o:p></o:p>
• Any suggested accessories?<o:p></o:p>
• Tripod or monopod?<o:p></o:p>
• Bag for travel and recommended bag for day hikes.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p></o:p>
Thanks for you patience, and any suggestions you can offer.

I personally like to keep it simple. Using the D-90, Choose a lens for the day and go with that one only. Make do with it and take photos as desired.

For instance the Macro you mentioned. I cannot help but wonder why you wouldn't take it on Mountain hikes? The mountain hikes I've enjoyed are full of photo op's for macro. And Macro can give you Some reach as well and it's not out of the question to use it for landscapes. Out of the lenses you mentioned it is the best piece.

I don't know how good your kit lens is, but that range would work well as a stand alone lens.

The 70-300 while not a stellar lens can grab some good shots and it obviously has some reach. But it can become rather worthless as the light begins to dim, or even under a heavy canopy. Why? because it requires good light to work well is the simplest answer. And the D-90 can be limited in it's upper ISO range. Limited in producing a good crisp image.

By choosing a single lens for the day it can help prevent you changing lenses to suit whatever wonderful scenery you happen to be in the moment. You begin to see photo's in your minds eye based on the lens you have on hand.

If by chance you decide to go on a photo-collecting hike, then you might want to load yourself down with other choices to have on-hand.

Also it's been the rare hike where I truly needed or wanted a tripod enough to warrant carrying one. I do have a small plastic fold up unit that weighs about 8 oz. and fits neatly in a bag.

cheers, and have fun hiking~

Manfr3d

Ask yourself this: How many additional bottles of water would you want carry with you so that you can still enjoy your hike.
This sets the limit to how much weight in gear you can/want to haul around. Then pick your gear accordingly.

I would recommend a one or two lens setup and no tripod (unless you want to shoot in low light or long exposures).
For example an ultra wide angle zoom (like 12-24mm) and a standard to moderate telephoto zoom, preferably with
VR and constant aperature of f4 or similar (like 24-120mm).

If a tripod is really needed, take one that doesn't extend to eye level (they pack smaller and are lighter) and weights as
little as possible (carbon fibre legset) with head.

paddler4

I shoot a canon, but also a crop sensor, so the FOV is similar to yours. My basic lens for hiking is a 15-85. You have this range covered down to 18. I would take that lens for wide-angle shots. When I am not hiking light, I often add either a 70-200, a macro lens, or both. The 70-200 is nice for tight landscape shots. I often carry a carbon fiber tripod with a small (therefore light but not high-end) ball head, and if I think of it, a remote release (cheap corded release, ~$10 on ebay) so as not to add motion to tripod shots. Problem is that all of that together is a fair amount of weight, so I often make do with less than all of it, depending on what the hike is likely to be.

bfluegie

Thanks for all the good info. In reality, the 18-105 on the crop sensor really covers all the focal lengths I had with my 35 mm film camera and I used to be pretty happy with those lenses. The kit lens isn't as fast as those lenses, but I probably won't have issues due to exposure--not hiking at night or (intentionally) in the rain. There should be enough light for that lens. If I want a shallower depth of field, I will have to take the 35 f/1.8 along. If I want macro, I will take that lens instead. The 70-300 (I have the ED, VR II version) is nice, but I am not sure I would use it enough on a hike to make me overlook the weight. Invariably, while hiking I will see something to make me wish I had it. But, it seems as if the theme of all the responses is "don't take too much". I'll probably go with the 18-105, one additional lens (best guess based on planned hike) and tripod only if I will be photographing waterfalls or streams. Since some of my planned hiking vacations will include waterfalls, I will probably look into getting a lighter tripod so I can smooth out the water with slow shutter speeds. I'll probably get one of the belt pouches for the gear and just stick with an ordinary day pack for food, water, jacket, etc. I might consider a wider lens such as the Tokina 11-17 f/2.8, but I will try a few hikes with the 18-105 and see if I am satisfied with that. Thanks again for the comments.