Digital camera & mobile device

[lpolt]

Francis,

I'm planning to hike the Camino de Santiago in Spain next Spring (approx 500 miles) and I'd like to document my hike with photos. What do you recommend for a digital camera? I'd like to keep the weight down and I'm not sure if it's best to use disposable batteries or carry a charger and adapter.

Also, I'd like to keep a blog for my family and friends. Can you recommend a device that isn't too heavy or tedious to type into?

Thanks!
LP

[FrancisTapon]

I'm planning to hike the Camino de Santiago in Spain next Spring (approx 500 miles) and I'd like to document my hike with photos. What do you recommend for a digital camera? I'd like to keep the weight down and I'm not sure if it's best to use disposable batteries or carry a charger and adapter.

Weight wise, the two options are roughly equal. Whatever gain advantage you gain by using disposables, you lose because you generally have to carry backup batteries.

Cameras with chargers are more eco-friendly and have higher quality than cameras that use disposable batteries, so I would go with the charger option.

IMPORTANT: Before you choose a camera with a charger, make sure that the voltage accepts 110-220. USA is 110, Europe is 220. You'll need to buy a $5 adapter to plug into European plugs, but at least you can avoid having to buy an expensive and heavy transformer (which you would need to do if you the charger only accepted 110).

For 80% of the CDT I used Canon PowerShot TX1. I was very happy with it, because it's the lightest HD camcorder in the world. I had an 8GB card. Granted, HD video takes up a lot of space: 5 mins eats up 1GB. However, its true purpose is being a camera, and with 10x optical zoom, it's an amazing camera. I just like the HD camcorder feature as a bonus, because it's good at capturing a wild animal here and there. You can upload the video when you get to a Net Cafe, although it takes a long time. I never broke it, despite the rough places I took it for 5 months.

For 20% of the CDT and 100% of the CDT I used the Sony Cybershot camera. I broke this camera a couple of times, but I had accidental insurance, which was nice. It also takes great pics, but the memory stick is proprietary, which is why I prefer Canon overall.

I realize that SLR snobs would snif at the "inferior" quality of these two lightweight cameras; however, most people would think that the quality is quite good. I can send you a some samples if you would like, or you can look at my CDT page on Canada to get an idea of the quality.

Also, I'd like to keep a blog for my family and friends. Can you recommend a device that isn't too heavy or tedious to type into?

An old favorite is PocketMail. The good news is that it works, that's why it's a favorite. The bad news is that it's old. The technology hasn't advanced. It's still a brick at 8oz, although that includes the two AA batteries.

More people are moving to cell phones that have keyboards built in + Wifi. They weigh about the same as the PocketMail device (when you consider the cell phone's charger), but have more functionality:

* Cell phone
* Wifi
* MP3
* GPS
* Camera
* Keyboard

The PocketMail does have a bigger keyboard, but it's not big enough. You still type with two fingers most of the time. So you might as well resort to thumbtyping.

I used the E-TEN Glofiish M700 at the beginning of the trail. It's an international phone and works with the AT&T USA Network. I coupled it with Backcountry Navigator GPS software, which is only $30.

The downside is that the GPS chews up battery fast. So you can consider a Brunton SolarRoll or a Solio if you intend to use GPS. However, I don't think you need GPS for the Camino Santiago.

Good luck!!!!