Question for our Photography group friends (I am not in group)

[Marie and Hoka]

I am very excited to say my family and I will be climbing Kilimanjaro in July!!!! We will also take a short safari. (kind of nuts!)

I am planning to re-invest in a good camera before the trip. I used to have a really nice film Nikon and several lenses, but we had a break-in and all my good lenses, etc were stolen.  I was reluctant to replace it all and have been just using small point and shoots.

I am hoping to get a DSLR and lenses ranging from macro to telephoto.  I would prefer it be light to carry, since I will be carrying it up the mountain! 

Any thoughts on an easy to use camera that is not too heavy?

I will likely bring a "freeze-proof" point and shoot as back-up, since it will be pretty cold.

Costco has good prices on packages with 2 lenses for:

Sony NEX 5TL 

Canon EOS Rebel T3i

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

Wow - what a trip. I understand why you want to have the right camera equipment. Besides my more serious Nikon DSLR camera and lenses, I have a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100. It has automatic settings, but you can also select the manual options. It's a compact camera with a 20.2 MP 1.8 Carl Zeiss lens. You can choose between JPEG and RAW, and it can record videos.  It has become my vacation camera, because it takes amazing photos and I can tuck it in my purse or backpack. Sony sells a separate case.  Cyber-shot Digital Camera RX100 - DSCRX100/B Review - Sony US. Check it out!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Hi Marie,

Here is a video that just came across my fb page.  It is obvious that it is a promotion for Nikon ( the Camera I use) but it shows what this mountain climber takes on his climbing shoots.

He used a Nikon D7100, with 3 different lenses ( in my opinion the perfect lenses for me)
10-24mm
50mm
70-200mm

[Marie and Hoka]

These are just the sizes that were stolen!  I miss my old film Nikon N75 (AF/SLR).  I may have to get 2 cameras!

[F, Calla & Luca]

That 70-200 weighs a ton.

[Nancy and Georgia Brown]

I don't know about that exact model, but I would vote for the sony. I didn't bring my dslr on my backpacking trip in the grand canyon because it was too heavy, my point and shoot just didn't measure up. One guy on the trip had one of those four thirds mirrorless cameras (the category that the sony falls into) and it created great pictures. A pro photographer I know used one on her recent vacation for the same reason you described.

Sometimes costco is great with prices, sometimes not so competitive compared to online. And sometimes the models they carry may not be the best. I have relied on dpreview.com for many years to be a good source for all the pros and cons of the various models. I would look at that camera and similar cameras in that size and price range and then make a decision.

[Marie and Hoka]

Thanks everyone!!! I have a lot of research to do.  This all gives me a great start. I thought I was done once I bought the tickets, the sleeping bags, picked the most responsible tour operator, etc. LOL.  Not to mention the 25-35 miles per week walk/runs I have been doing to prepare.

This will be a trip for a lifetime because it is so time intensive to prepare for!

[Pam Thomas]

Good Luck, you are one of the few to have the trip of your dreams really happen.

[Emily, Bentley, & Maserati]

I have the Canon Rebel T3i and I love it. I have multiple lenses and when all together it can get a little heavy to lug around, especially on a hike! 

I do love the quality I can produce with my iPhone! Many of the pictures print nicely on a large print scale too!

I hope you share your photos after your trip, it sounds amazing!