Originally posted by MJKoski Extra gear is extra weight. For example weight of carried stuff I took for one 60km hike in harsh terrain was 35kg in the beginning of the hike including 10kg of photographic gear (Sony A7r, three lenses, batteries and a solid 5kg tripod & ballhead). Not very enjoyable. Huawei P20 Pro gives me the same pictures and total weight of photographic gear would be about 1.5kg including a mini travel tripod.
Hauling photographic junk into wilderness is doable, sure. Fun? No.
I do think that if one is doing long hikes it pays to have a kit dedicated to the activity. For me, a cell phone doesn't cut it, the image quality, while improving, is still not there. I was impressed with the camera in my P20 Pro. For a cell phone camera it is pretty good, but it is still a cell phone camera, which means it is only good when compared to other cell phone cameras.
Were I doing a lot of hikes, I would consider fleshing out my Fuji kit a bit more, adding an X-T4 body and a couple of their little zooms, or picking up one of the smaller Pentax APS-C bodies and a couple of lightweight zooms. Neither solution is all that heavy, and the image quality is quite a lot better than what a cell phone is capable of.
For me, though, the working dog solution is the best one. I've never been anywhere that he (now she) wasn't allowed to hike with me, though I know they exist. I recall Zion park in Utah doesn't allow dogs on the trails.
I wonder if I could get my animals certified as service dogs. That would be a good work around for that sort of rule.
Also, the sort of wildlife I prefer to not encounter in the woods (eg: bears and ax murderers) will tend to give dogs a fairly wide berth, so there is an added safety factor in having a well trained Rottweiler at one's side.
Last edited by Wheatfield; 08-18-2020 at 08:42 AM.