Backup Camera

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bobmielke

New member
I think each of us that shoot with a Nikon DSLR wants or need a backup camera now & then. Let's face it, a full size camera with telephoto and battery grip can become pretty cumbersome when hiking through the woods to the base of some waterfall. In those circumstance I carry my pocket digital camera, a Leica V-LUX 20. It gives me enough resolution, a wide zoom range and quality glass to be a worthy backup to my D7000. I'm not trying to say it's as good as my main camera but it will get the job done. Here is one of many photos taken at my church of tulips displayed in the entrance foyer. When I showed my paster the shot he couldn't believe it came from within our church until I walked him up to the vase.

Tulips-41711-XL.jpg
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
Very Nice! I've thought about getting a good pocket size P&S also. My wife thinks I'm nuts, after spending 2-3k in the last year, I need a pocket camera?
 
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evan

Banned
when i need to "travel light", i take a dslr and one lens in the smallest bag it will go in. lowe pro nova 160, or if i need my sigma 150, or nikon 70-300 i use the lowe pro toploader 55 aw. bought a good point and shoot a few years back and only used it twice! rather use the d7000 or d90!
 
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bobmielke

New member
I went on a "Bucket List" vacation last year just before retiring. It included 5 national parks: Zion, Bryce, Arches, Monument Valley & the Grand Canyon. I carried both my cameras in my Think Tank Retrospective 20 bag. The tour I was on let the 35 of us out at key points in the national parks with a series of optional hikes to different treasures. It was late July and very hot. Sometimes I carried the D7000 but other longer hikes i didn't dare risk damage to a big camera so the Leica was ideal.
 
bluenoser

bluenoser

Banned
A lovely shot of those tulips Bob (well at least I *think* they're tulips! :))

My small back up to my D7000 is my D40 with a 35 1.8 on it (much smaller than say a D7000 with a 17-55 2.8) When I want to get even smaller - "stealth mode", I take my S95. Each serves a valuable role and I wouldn't want to do without any of them! Sounds like a grand trip you took Bob. I'm looking forward to one of my bucket list trips down the road!

Here is one with my tiny S95 when on a quick boat tour of Toronto's harbourfront last July:
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bobmielke

New member
My trip was aboard a Green Tortoise Tour bus out of San Francisco. The 11 day tour cost me under $800 that included all food, park fees and lodging. It was a huge bargain. There were 18 countries represented on our bus with ages ranging from 19 to 73.
 
bluenoser

bluenoser

Banned
bobmielke said:
My trip was aboard a Green Tortoise Tour bus out of San Francisco. The 11 day tour cost me under $800 that included all food, park fees and lodging. It was a huge bargain. There were 18 countries represented on our bus with ages ranging from 19 to 73.
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$800! Wow!! Congrats. I'll say that was a bargain! Makes the trip even more enjoyable! :)
 
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Eye-level

Banned
I carried my Cybershot yesterday because I knew I was gonna have poor lighting conditions and I have no flash for my F2 (well I do but it is an off camera/tripod affair which is an even bigger PITA to lug around)

I'm just now getting a DSLR and for me the ultimate backup camera would be the Nikon 1 system. I'll probably get one in the next year.
 
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bobmielke

New member
Eye-level said:
I carried my Cybershot yesterday because I knew I was gonna have poor lighting conditions and I have no flash for my F2 (well I do but it is an off camera/tripod affair which is an even bigger PITA to lug around)

I'm just now getting a DSLR and for me the ultimate backup camera would be the Nikon 1 system. I'll probably get one in the next year.
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Before you buy that Nikon 1 read this review. Nikon 1 System Review
 
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Phillydog1958

Senior Member
Both of the small cameras mentioned (Nikon 1 System and the Leica V-LUX 20) are expensive. They both are in a DSLR price range. I can't justify it. I think I'll stick to using my DLSR. If I could ever find a truly decent backup camera that was under $400, I might consider making the investment.
 
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bobmielke

New member
Phillydog1958 said:
Both of the small cameras mentioned (Nikon 1 System and the Leica V-LUX 20) are expensive. They both are in a DSLR price range. I can't justify it. I think I'll stick to using my DLSR. If I could ever find a truly decent backup camera that was under $400, I might consider making the investment.
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Here you go Phillydog [h=1]Panasonic DMC-ZS9 14.1MP Digital Camera[/h]
It's made in the same factory as my Leica V-LUX 20 with additional improvements. Oh, and it sells for under $180.
 
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