Hunting Photography / Video (for backpacking)

TLDR: Camera and lens recommendations for backpack hunts please.

Hi folks. Looking to see what recommendations people have. For my mountain hunt, I came away without any animals last year, which is fine, but I am kind of disappointed in the amount / quality of photos that came home with me. This year, I am planning to keep a camera on tripod whenever it does not have binos or the spotter on it. I would like to string together some YouTube videos of my hunts as well. Currently leaning towards a mirrorless unit, as without the lens it is a very condensed package and it would fit in my rangefinder pouch, meaning quick and easy access. Probably pop the lens in my pack hood. What are people's thoughts on this or other alternatives? Also, what lenses might you carry with you?

Criteria for equipment:
- packable
- 4k video
- Ability to take decent shots of animals at 500 - 600 yards
- Ability to shoot some nice shots of camp, gear and landscapes.

What is your budget?

I can tell you right now, you are not going to find a camera that takes good shots of animals at 5-600 yards. That is a HUGE distance to photograph from and your best bet for that would be a spotting scope and phonescope attachment.

Mirrorless would be the way to go, yes! If your budget allows, i would buy 2 lenses. If not, a more versatile single lens like an 18-55mm that comes with most cameras. If the budget allows, something like a 35mm for every day photography and something like a 14mm for landscape photography ... which will be a huge part of it if hunting that nice open country.

Remember that lenses for mirrorless are going to cost more. Lenses for a DSLR are more widely available, and cheaper ... especially the crop sensor ones.

If you have a high budget, and are looking for a full-frame set up, then that is a different story.

This is good info, thanks! So maybe, I will do some sort of mirrorless with two lenses and then the phonescope for distance pics. I've been looking at an initial purchase of a mirrorless and one lens for under $2,000. Buy a second lens before next hunting season. Was looking at something on par with Fujifilm X-T30 / Sony a6500 / Nikon z50.

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Originally Posted by Grakyn

This is good info, thanks! So maybe, I will do some sort of mirrorless with two lenses and then the phonescope for distance pics. I've been looking at an initial purchase of a mirrorless and one lens for under $2,000. Buy a second lens before next hunting season. Was looking at something on par with Fujifilm X-T30 / Sony a6500 / Nikon z50.

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$2000 is a good budget. I am not experienced with the X-T30, but i did play around with my friends X-T3 recently and it is fantastic. I was blown away with how good the picture quality was at higher ISO.

The 18-55mm lens the XT-30 comes with (for under $1500 at Henry's) is probably going to serve you well, considering its an F2.8-4 lens. Meaning, even at 55mm you are at f4 which is a relatively decent aperture for a kit lens at 55mm.

However, a better option, for me at least, would be camera body plus a 35mm F2 lens ($500) and then later down the road picking up a 14mm F2.8 or a 16mm F1.4 (around $1000-1100 new). That way, you'd have 1 lens now, and you'd have time to look for a second one on the used market.

And remember, lenses are not cheap ... but the fastest lens you can get is always the best. Not just for those artsy out-of-focus background shots, but for night photos as well, of which you will probably take quite a few when sitting around camp.

Fast = large aperture = small f number, so lenses like F2.8, F1.4, F1.2 etc

here's one taken at F2.8 that wasn't edited. A faint shot of the Milky way. (Much more visible during summer than it is during November). At F2.8 the lens really soaks up that light which is great. If you have a camera like the X-T3 or X-T30 that handles ISO well, you can even take a MUCH better photo than this as this was only shot on ISO 800.

https://i.imgur.com/gK7jeXs.jpg

That's a perfect example of the types of camp shots I am hoping to capture. Thank you for the info on the f numbers on the lenses, will be a a big help in starting with the right stuff to experiment on hikes around home.

How much gear do you want to lug around? How much time do you have to set up a shot?

Last year I settled on a super-zoom -- a point and shoot class with big zoom (up to 65x) capabilities. I looked at:

Canon SX60 -65x
Canon SX730 - 40x, small, no viewfinder
*Nikon Coolpix P900 - 85x
*Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ80 - 60x, F2.8, 4K video, USB charging, weather sealed, $620 kit at amazon.ca
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300 - 24x, F2.8, 24-600mm, splash-proof, $670 amazon.ca
*Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS70/TZ90 - 30x, compact size, 24-720mm, F3.3-6.4, $660 amazon.ca
Sony Cybershot HX90V - 30x, compact size 24-720mm, F3.5-6.4, $550 amazon.ca
Sony Cybershot DSC-HX400V - 50x
* = editor picks

Some cameras have a compact body and some are "bridge" cameras -- they look like a DSLR but have a fixed lens.

They can achieve the big zoom by having a small sensor. When you have a larger sensor you need a bigger lens so that's the trade off.

Note that some are weather sealed which is nice when you're mostly outside.

I bought mine at London Drugs which has a good selection, knowledgeable staff and competitive prices.

I ended up buying a Panasonic DC-ZS70. The small size fits in a pocket, has a [digital] viewfinder and a 30x zoom. It also has more manual controls than I can figure out. In addition to the full compliment of programmable buttons it has a touchscreen for everything else.

Another thing to look for are plugs for external microphones (for video).

I also carry a Panasonic TS-4 which is tiny and waterproof. I take it swimming.

I have been filming my hunts for years and been using a canon 70d, this season i switched to a canon eos R mirrorless, its been fantastic, the 4k is cropped but the image quality is good for youtube plus with a 1.6 crop it helps get in close with animals. I always carried a 50-500mm lens but its quite heavy, switched to a 70-200 lens with a 2x magnifier, gives alot more flexibility with your lenses. The big drawback is all that gear is quite heavy and expensive. Try and get the fastest aperture lens you can as it gives you more low light flexibility because you have to keep your shutter speed at twice your frame rate and cant crank it up or down for lighting conditions. Another option is to get a phone scope and use your spotting scope for the wildlife footage, its not as good but its good enough when you consider the weight savings. Like i said ive been doing it for some time and of course im still learning but if you have any questions feel free to message me. If you would like to see how similar set ups to what you are thinking about l, check out my youtube page!

Harv.

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCaL0aOmOtqq93Kvn2oUYtow

One thing i forgot to mention is buying used lenses is a good idea, i have only bought used and you save alot of cash plus of they already have a bit of cosmetic wear there is less worry about that and you will bring them to more exiting places and there for get more exiting footage. Just what i have found through my experience

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Grakyn

This is good info, thanks! So maybe, I will do some sort of mirrorless with two lenses and then the phonescope for distance pics. I've been looking at an initial purchase of a mirrorless and one lens for under $2,000. Buy a second lens before next hunting season. Was looking at something on par with Fujifilm X-T30 / Sony a6500 / Nikon z50.

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You'll be hard-pressed to find anything better than a phoneskope at the price point for shooting video at long distances(assuming you have a more recent phone and a decent spotter).

Going mirrorless is gonna save you space/weight but you do need to be(more) careful when switching lenses, especially in the field.
There have been great suggestions in this thread already when it comes to lens choice, ultimately it all boils down to price and weight. I run a 16-35mm wide and a 24-70mm at F2.8, but they're not cheap!

I believe having a mid-range zoom lens to be the most important for your kit as a hunter. You could easily go with a prime lens(fixed mm) for the wide/night shots, just need to make sure it's F2.8 or lower, you'll save a few bucks by doing this. I wouldn't suggest anything over 70mm unless you know you are going to use it lots as they are just plain heavy.

Best route to go for lightweight back packing is get a phoneskope for your Cel to use on your spotting scope that way your not switching items off your tripod

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Originally Posted by pg83

You'll be hard-pressed to find anything better than a phoneskope at the price point for shooting video at long distances(assuming you have a more recent phone and a decent spotter).

Going mirrorless is gonna save you space/weight but you do need to be(more) careful when switching lenses, especially in the field.
There have been great suggestions in this thread already when it comes to lens choice, ultimately it all boils down to price and weight. I run a 16-35mm wide and a 24-70mm at F2.8, but they're not cheap!

I believe having a mid-range zoom lens to be the most important for your kit as a hunter. You could easily go with a prime lens(fixed mm) for the wide/night shots, just need to make sure it's F2.8 or lower, you'll save a few bucks by doing this. I wouldn't suggest anything over 70mm unless you know you are going to use it lots as they are just plain heavy.

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I'll almost certainly run a PhoneSkope along with whatever else I choose. Barely anything for additional weight considering the phone and spotter are already in the bag. Mostly just trying to decide on what else I want to bring.

As you say, lots of great suggestions already. Going to spend some time with some friend's cameras in the field and try to narrow down the lens selection. I am thinking I will be doing exactly as you mentioned with a mid-range zoom and a prime with a fast lens.

Thanks for all the help guys. I ended up going with the Fuji X-T3 and 18-55mm F/2.8-4 lens to start. Got out last night and tried a few night shots. Turned out alright for very minimal knowledge and basic attempts at settings. Definitely excited to get out on a few hikes and see what I can learn.

https://i.imgur.com/UsKijv3.jpg

Congrats. That camera should handle high ISO numbers pretty well while keeping the graininess to a minimum. Should be a huge help for those night time shots.

For stars/milky way with a camera like that do:

Tripod
Manual mode
ISO 2000-3200
F2.8 (wide open)
shutter - play with 15 - 30 sec for best exposure. After 30s you'll probably get star trails

https://i.imgur.com/6KudhC1.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/G6ipq33.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/XURJyyV.jpg?1

Picked up a starter camera last week to see how I like it(Sony a6000). Wow, is there ever alot of learning to do.

Was going to try making some videos, but am curious. What programs are you guys using for video editing?

I used to be a huge Adobe user when I was working regularly as a graphics guy. I'm unemployed now so I've been experimenting with free video software.

Currently using this:
https://www.openshot.org/

Fairly intiuitive. All of the preset filters are kind of assy though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Grakyn

Thanks for all the help guys. I ended up going with the Fuji X-T3 and 18-55mm F/2.8-4 lens to start. Got out last night and tried a few night shots. Turned out alright for very minimal knowledge and basic attempts at settings. Definitely excited to get out on a few hikes and see what I can learn.

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That's a nice camera with a great kit lens, and I'm glad you chose to go with something that's weather sealed.

If you have the budget, I would recommend adding a fast (low F-stop) prime lens for any low-light camp photos you may want to do. I personally prefer the 28mm equivalent focal range (which would be 18mm for your camera). Something like the 18mm F2, the 16mm F1.4 or if you want to you could go 35mm F1.4 (I'd buy used from a reputable place like Henrys or wait for a sale)

A nice lens for wildlife is the Fuji XF 100-400MM, but it's $2,500 retail. You could probably find the 50-230 XC lens for $350 used, but I have no idea how good it is. In Fuji-land XF is a higher quality lens than XC and WR stands for weather resistant.

Some suggestions on operations:
I can't remember if that camera has two card slots, but if it does I'd suggest shooting in RAW + JPG (fine). The Raw files will allow a high level of post processing (think photoshop - if you get into that) and the JPGs are something you can share immediately. This MIGHT slow down your burst speed a bit - don't skimp on cheap cards.

Spend some time taking the same shot at higher and higher ISOs - then look at the photos and decide at what level they become too "grainy" or noisy for your tastes. You can then set the maximum ISO in the camera to your tastes.

Get to know shutter priority - most people focus on aperture priority, but shutter priority is IMO more important for wildlife. You need to learn at what shutter speeds you want to take pictures of what animals in order to freeze motion and avoid blur e.g. a hummingbird might need 1/1000th or higher, but a sloth could go down to 1/60th.

There are good and bad folks on youtube, but dpreview.com is probably the best camera forum to start learning/asking questions/reading articles on.

Edit:
Poop - I just realized I said basically the same thing as TwoSeven0 - so either he is really smart or I am;)
In all seriousness there were 2 or 3 decent wildlife photographers on this website but I forget who they are.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by silveragent

I used to be a huge Adobe user when I was working regularly as a graphics guy. I'm unemployed now so I've been experimenting with free video software.

Currently using this:
https://www.openshot.org/

Fairly intiuitive. All of the preset filters are kind of assy though.

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Fuji cameras come with Capture One free if I remember right - you can then apply the Fuji film simulations in post.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by David

Some suggestions on operations:
I can't remember if that camera has two card slots, but if it does I'd suggest shooting in RAW + JPG (fine). The Raw files will allow a high level of post processing (think photoshop - if you get into that) and the JPGs are something you can share immediately. This MIGHT slow down your burst speed a bit - don't skimp on cheap cards.

Spend some time taking the same shot at higher and higher ISOs - then look at the photos and decide at what level they become too "grainy" or noisy for your tastes. You can then set the maximum ISO in the camera to your tastes.

Get to know shutter priority - most people focus on aperture priority, but shutter priority is IMO more important for wildlife. You need to learn at what shutter speeds you want to take pictures of what animals in order to freeze motion and avoid blur e.g. a hummingbird might need 1/1000th or higher, but a sloth could go down to 1/60th.

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Thank you for these tidbits, this will be the stuff I am working on for the next while. It does have two card slots. Additional cards and batteries are on the shopping list in addition to an extra lens. I have been playing with the ISO already, I need some "live action test subjects" to really figure it out though. Good to know about shutter priority, most of the stuff I read discussed aperture priority, but it wasn't geared towards wildlife shots, so I was curious on that front.

In my experience, ultralight backpacking and backcountry photography don't mix, pick one or the other. I pack all my gear in, camera gear easily adds 10lbs+ to my pack and can make a simple weekend hunt a 55lb load going in. Not one trip goes by that I don't contemplate saying forget it next time and leaving it all at home, especially when I go multiple trips without using my heavy ass 70-300mm. When that magic moment happens and you have the option between controlling your shutter speed, ISO, depth of field etc or just taking a point and shoot photo with your phone you'll thank yourself for lugging all that in not just in that moment but every time you look at that photo for years to come. Do yourself a favor and don't even weigh your pack if you want to take awesome photos and videos out there, just get in the gym more and do a few extra sets of squats.

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Originally Posted by 45freezer

In my experience, ultralight backpacking and backcountry photography don't mix, pick one or the other. I pack all my gear in, camera gear easily adds 10lbs+ to my pack and can make a simple weekend hunt a 55lb load going in. Not one trip goes by that I don't contemplate saying forget it next time and leaving it all at home, especially when I go multiple trips without using my heavy ass 70-300mm. When that magic moment happens and you have the option between controlling your shutter speed, ISO, depth of field etc or just taking a point and shoot photo with your phone you'll thank yourself for lugging all that in not just in that moment but every time you look at that photo for years to come. Do yourself a favor and don't even weigh your pack if you want to take awesome photos and videos out there, just get in the gym more and do a few extra sets of squats.

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I hear you, but wouldn't leave home without my 15lbs of camera gear anymore lol.

not to hijack the thread, but wondering what folks are using for photo editing software? I am interested in getting more involved in taking better quality shots and editing seems to be important. I have watched some of Steve Drake's youtube videos about using Lightroom but wondering if there are other programs people would recommend? maybe a bit optimistic on my part to wonder if there is a free good editing program?

I'm a big fan of Lightroom and Adobe products in general when it comes to anything in the photo/vid/graphic realm.

Having grown up shooting print and slide film with a pro canon camera and lenses,

I recently settled on the Panasonic Z300.

Best bridge camera for the buck hands down.

Otherwise your looking at a lot of money and a lot of weight....

The Z300 needs to have someone behind it,

that knows a lot about taking pics at a high level, manually...

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Originally Posted by kitnayakwa77

not to hijack the thread, but wondering what folks are using for photo editing software? I am interested in getting more involved in taking better quality shots and editing seems to be important. I have watched some of Steve Drake's youtube videos about using Lightroom but wondering if there are other programs people would recommend? maybe a bit optimistic on my part to wonder if there is a free good editing program?

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Yes, there are. I also cannot pay the crazy fees for lightroom especially now that they want a monthly subscription. You cant even buy the CD and own the product anymore.

Anyways, try "Gimp" and "Photopea". Photopea is basically a photoshop rip off created by a student out of Europe and has ALL of the features that photoshop does it does not even need an installation as it runs right in your browser.

Gimp is a program you download and one I use most. By far my most common type of edit is color correction. Maybe its my aging DSLR but almost always my colors are "flat". Adjusting the curves settings really improves the quality of the pics.

Another is highlights and shadows. Huge improvements can be made if you were not able to get the exposure exactly right.

PM me if you have any more questions

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Originally Posted by twoSevenO

Yes, there are. I also cannot pay the crazy fees for lightroom especially now that they want a monthly subscription. You cant even buy the CD and own the product anymore.

Anyways, try "Gimp" and "Photopea". Photopea is basically a photoshop rip off created by a student out of Europe and has ALL of the features that photoshop does it does not even need an installation as it runs right in your browser.

Gimp is a program you download and one I use most. By far my most common type of edit is color correction. Maybe its my aging DSLR but almost always my colors are "flat". Adjusting the curves settings really improves the quality of the pics.

Another is highlights and shadows. Huge improvements can be made if you were not able to get the exposure exactly right.

PM me if you have any more questions

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thanks for the info I will check those both out. The cost for Lightroom seems pretty high!

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Originally Posted by kitnayakwa77

thanks for the info I will check those both out. The cost for Lightroom seems pretty high!

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I too ran away from Adobe products because of their switch to a monthly subscription.

Most camera brands have a free version of post processing software - if i remember right for Nikon it's Capture NX-D, for Fuji Capture One, for Panasonic SilkyPix - not sure what it is for Canon. The nice thing about these programs is:
a) they are usually free
b) if you like some of the film simulations in your camera, you can usually still shoot RAW and then use these programs to apply that default simulation in post.

Edit:
I should add that Nikon also has a "beginner friendly" version called View NX - which I use with my Nikon 1. You get generic processing tools (sharpness, shadows, highlights, etc.), ability to apply presets, and the ability to adjust exposure by +/- 2 stops