Photography - Something New

[Gambit McCrae]

I have always had an interest and never have taken action in photography. I recently (got it in the mail yesterday) purchased a Sony a6700 camera, a couple basic lenses, spare battery, case, some odds and ends...

My main intent with the camera is not long distance backpacking trips. I, at this time, am no where near confident enough in my experience to add the variables of photography to my long distance trips however for weekend trips that lend themselves to both good conditions and opportunities I will definitely take this beast. Speaking of the beast, I went way above my experience level intentionally with this camera. I trend in the direction of "all in" on hobbies and activities I find interest in, so I didn't want to go through the phases and stages of upgrading equipment, while trying to learn device, and technique at the same time...

I know there are photography junkies lurking around these parts, I would love to hear all you have to contribute about starting out in photography

[Odd Man Out]

I have a Fujifilm XE3 mirroless with kit zoom I have taken on a couple of trips as I wanted better pics than I can get with a cell phone. I took it on 5 day trips in the Grand Canyon and Isle Royale NPs. I carry on my pack strap with a Peak Design Clip. Works great. At the last minute it pull it out of my bag for my HMW/Katahdin hike as this hike was a bit more ambitious and wetter ( thanks to TS Debby).

[Funkmeister]

I have been a commercial photographer since the ancient days of sheet film and view cameras. I teeter on the edge of retirement. Besides a quick glance at the Sony website, I know nothing about your recent purchase. I know nothing about your technology abilities. But I can offer the smallest bit of generic advice.

I'm curious to learn what made you choose this camera body.

Your quote: "Speaking of the beast, I went way above my experience level intentionally with this camera." I recommend that you become familiar with the operation of the camera before you go on your first trip. If you can, download the user manual as a pdf on your phone for reference. There are lots of settings that are buried in submenus, and sitting on the trail going menu diving can be aggravating, time consuming, and not always successful. Practicing at home and having the manual with you can help fill in a forgotten setting. If you only use this for travel, there's plenty of time to forget exactly how to change something. I say this because I bought what I think is the perfect backpacking camera and only use it for hiking trips. Sometimes I forget how to do something since I only use it on vacation.

Your camera is likely an electron pig. It's difficult to figure out how many shots you will get on one battery. Yea, the manufacturer has a guide telling you how many you should get, but that's under specific conditions. Cycling your battery a few dozen times, and you find a drop in that number. Nothing like carrying 1.5kg of camera stuff and no battery power. When you use this on trips without power, turn down all the things that take electrons. Image review time being an important one. Focusing the lens takes energy. Time until going to sleep mode. Carrying it in sleep mode may allow the camera to turn on in your pack. This camera has movie mode, and that really bites into your battery. I know you say 'weekend trips', but if that changes, you might consider either more batteries or a USB charger to plug into your car or the wall or your battery brick that you might have with you.

RAW versus JPEG: I'm going to get some crap for this, but if you have zero interest in also learning Photoshop or Lightroom, you will be disappointed in shooting only RAW files. Personally, if I am serious about the images I'm shooting, I use RAW + JPG option. The largest jpeg file available. Even though I speak Adobe products pretty well, sometimes just tweaking a good fat jpeg gets me a great print/screen image. All cameras process jpeg images in a variety of aspects, making them look better; conversely, RAW files have no processing, no compression. Jpegs provide the lipstick on the pig straight from the camera, so to speak. RAW files require the pig to sit in the makeup chair for great results. And raw files are huge--adding Large Fine Jpegs makes them even bigger. Memory is cheap, so I recommend using 64, 128, or even 256gb cards.

You mention "some odds and ends...". Not sure what those are, but I recommend a polarizing filter. If your lenses require different sizes, get several, one for each size. And don't cheap out on them. You have spent a chunk of change on this new hobby, and there is no reason to slap a $30 piece of glass on the front of ~$3k worth of camera equipment. I use only B+W or Nikon filters. I also have skylight filters on the front of every lens I own. (Almost. Some won't allow me to attach them, and some never leave my studio, making them moot.)

I recommend a heavy duty Ziplock-type bag to carry equipment in while hiking, or at least having them available on a hike. Rain is not your friend.

Change lenses with the camera pointing down to reduce dust/debris falling onto the sensor. It's fairly easy to clean crud from the lens elements. The sensor, not so much.

Use the 'single frame' mode nearly always in this type of photography. Using the 'high speed continuous' mode for 40 frames in three seconds does not assure a great image. It does guarantee editing the images will become a chore.

Youtube is your friend. That said, there is plenty of nitwits on YT, spouting off on things they should probably not.

The most important tip: practice. Then practice some more. A really expensive camera does not guarantee great photos. By far, the most important part of the photography process happens behind the viewfinder.

One final note: if you go 'all in' on hobbies, give some thought to either scuba diving. Or aviation.

[Miner]

I have an older Sony A6300 and a similar Panasonic GX7. I always take one on long backpacking trips as I may not ever see that scenery again and want to have a good photo/video of it for later. On last years CDT hike, I took the Panasonic as I prefer it, but the Sony has a bigger sensor size which helps in low light situations. The main reason I take the Sony is for night photography so use it with a wide angle fast lens (wide aperture or small number). Here are a couple from the Sony I've taken at night while hiking.

I have Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, so I do like using the RAW+JPG settings with the maximum size for the photos set.

For backpacking, most people aren't going to want to carry a lot of equipment unless they are really serious about it. I normally take a all in one zoom lens that goes from wide angle to a decent amount of zoom. If I'm planning on taking photos at night, I'll also bring a fast much wider angle prime lens to maximize the light my camera can gather. I always have a polarizing filter for shooting in the daylight as it can help in really bright light and if you are shooting water it can reduce the light reflection on the water so you can see through it. I sometimes bring one or two ND filters but for most people, the polarizer is enough. If shooting the sky at night, I have a filter for blocking out some of the city light noise which effects most locations that aren't hundreds of miles from nowhere. I even use the same type of filters on my GoPro video camera for the same reasons. I have a very light weight 2ft tall folding tripod that I often bring as well. I always carry at least 1 spare battery and a short USB cable so I can charge them in the camera if needed from my battery pack that I can also use for charging my cell phone.

[Time Zone]

In addition to the excellent observations above, I'll add some general considerations, not so technical.

You already have your camera, but for others who are contemplating the equipment - there's no good substitute for a large bucket for collecting photons. A sizeable sensor matters. That's why the images we get from real cameras are so much better than those from mobile phones.

I think your challenge is going to be more to master the features on your camera and know what is required to get the image you want. Buying a Les Paul isn't going to turn you into Jimmy Page; similarly, buying a great camera won't turn you into Ansel Adams. Getting fluent with all the camera's features and settings will take time studying and much practice (trial and error). You'll also need to decide how much (if any) effort you want to put into learning image editing software. Again, another large feature set with which to develop fluency - will take time and practice. Personally I only do basic editing (cropping, leveling via rotation, a few other things), rarely anything that would require Photoshop or GIMP. You say you're a person who goes "all in", so you will probably get further than most in learning how to get the most from the tools at your disposal.

I occasionally hike with friends who carry DSLRs. I gave some thought to hiking with mine (and getting an adquate harness / clip system for it), but I've decided for now to not put mine at risk of damage. I occasionally suffer falls when hiking, and I'm often in rocky areas. I'm not often hiking on a flat bed of pine straw. I just don't want that much electronic expense at risk ... and if I have it in a well-padded case I'm not likely to bother to get it out while hiking, unless I'm en route to a specific scenic destination where I'll be stopping. It's just not worth it. Just last week I had a fall that - by the looks of my bruises - was worse than I realized at the time. I had a camera (a superzoom) out, and I was lucky it wasn't damaged. It got a nice coating of dirt which I cleaned off carefully after getting home. I couldn't believe the crappy lens cap stayed on during the fall because it was coming off regularly while hiking (it was tethered, but still). I was willing to risk that one; I'm really glad it wasn't my DSLR. I used to just carry a point-and-shoot pocketable camera, but I got tired of its inability to focus at any level of zoom. I would gladly buy another versus having the superzoom around my neck, but that market has been all but lost to smartphones, because most people find them good enough for what people used to capture with a pocketable camera.

[soboyle]

A great camera for backpacking is the Sony RX100 series. The later models have a 24-200 zoom in a very compact camera body. It has a 1" sensor, which is large for a compact camera, so gives excellent image quality, even in fairly low light. Phone cameras are getting better and better, but can't beat a dedicated camera for image quality if you want to do something with the files besides posting to social media, like printing. The RX-100 is not cheap, but you get what you pay for. I use an older RX-100 III, still available, but with a lesser zoom than the later models.
The Sony A6700 camera is an excellent camera, I had the earlier A6000 back in 2015, and liked it.

[imscotty]

A will second soboyle's recommendation of the RX100 as a great trail camera. Bigger heavier camera's often end up in the pack so wildlife sightings are often missed. The RX100 fits in a hip-belt pocket for quick access, although I often hike with it in my hand (since I don't use poles). The photo quality is good, although still not a match to an SLR with quality interchangeable lenses.