The snow is piled high here in the Heartland of America. It’s nice to look at but I find my mind wandering to warmer locations. Go figure. Those who know me are well aware that I am definitely NOT a cold weather photographer. I’m certainly glad I “pulled the trigger” and put India and Nepal on my travel calendar. My India and Nepal Trek is coming up this spring. I’m already in the planning and organizing phase which is for me, an enjoyable part of any travel adventure.
I’ve never been to India or Nepal before so I plan to do some serious photography on the journey. I’m generally one to travel light. But for this trip I find myself taking a bit more photo gear than usual. Why? Well, I want to be prepared for a wide variety of shooting situations. . But also I am slowing moving into the world of video. I’ve been shooting images for a long time. But video? I’m definitely a newbie. So, what camera gear am I taking for this India and Nepal Trek? Here’s my current camera kit. I’ll share my “accessories” kit in a future article.
My Nikon D600 will be my primary camera body. It’s rugged and very versatile, sporting a 24 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor. Great image quality for portraits and landscapes. It’s great in low light without flash and should be good for those inside temple images. And as a bonus, it shoots HD video as well.
My backup camera is a Sony DSC-HX 50V. This is a small and compact camera (9.6 ounces) with the various trade offs that implies. It has no view finder, only an LCD screen. It doesn’t do very well in low light. But with ample lighting it produces a great image with it’s 20.4 megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor. There’s built in wi-fi capability as well as GPS. I’m especially interested in it’s long range ability, using the 30x optical zoom (equivalent to a 24mm to 720mm) to reach out and capture distant subjects – maybe a tiger or two? And also, it shoots HD video and has a very capable built in image stabilization system.
I recently picked up a GoPro Hero 3+ (previous articles). It’s a powerful camera in a tiny package. Shooting HD video as well as time lapse, burst mode, and single images – it’s versatile and takes up very little room. I’m not exactly sure how I’ll end up using it but I have thoughts of clamping it on rickshaws, camels, and and maybe an elephant or two for those “action” videos. Time will tell.
I’m also taking along my Kodak Zi8. This is a nifty little camera that I use primarily for video. It’s small and easy to operate with one hand. It’s unobtrusive and doesn’t intimidate subjects. Basically a point and shoot video camera, it does a great job. Unfortunately Kodak no long makes this item – I’m glad I’ve got mine.
Finally, I’m also taking my iPhone 5S. It’s my go to tech device for information, communication and the like. But it also has a very capable camera – which again will shoot stills as well as video.
I can almost hear some of you groaning as you read this. But yes, I am taking four different cameras as well as my iPhone. And yes, that is a lot of cameras. But then – hey – I’m a camera geek. (Actually I’m taking my iPad Air also – yep, it has another camera in it – but if you ever see me shooting photos with my iPad you will know that either I am totally out of memory cards for all my other devices -unlikely – or I have totally lost my mind!)
So that is the list of cameras that I plan to take in my kit for the India and Nepal Trek. Of course all of this is subject to change. Meanwhile, what cameras would you take? I’m always open to suggestions.
Get The Shot …………….. And Enjoy The Adventure!
Dr.B, The Photo Trekker
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