All photographers need tools. Away from home, a hotel stay invites a big toolset; a car camp likewise. A large-volume sea kayak can carry the gear you need. With backpacking — or with minimalist-type sea kayaking — it's essentials only. Below are two lists, for the Canon 5D and Canon Rebel xTi(400D). The xTi/10-22mm zoom combination is a very tempting backpacking option, lighter than film and better in almost all aspects.

Backpacking Camera Gear List

Indian Henry's Hunting Ground

Tripod required: three separate images captured at the scene and
later combined in Photoshop. Canon 17-40mm f/4L
Indian Henry's, Mt. Rainier NP

Getting quality shots on backpack trips is a game of ounces: how much gear can you carry into the wild; how far are you willing (or able) to carry it. Optimizing a shoot almost always means an SLR and tripod, but it also demands trekking lightly. Forget about covering all contingencies — think 80-20 rule. Take just one lens (well, maybe two).

For three-season backpacking, I’ve chiseled my pack weight to 35 pounds for a 3-day trip: 19 pounds for pack, clothing, shelter, stove, etc.; 10 pounds for camera gear; 6 pounds for food. Here’s a typical backpacking camera list for the Canon 5D and Rebel xTi.

Equipment   Weight
  • Canon 5D
  • Batteries (2)
  • 17-40mm f/4L
  • 70-200mm f/4L
  • 25mm Extension tube
  • Sock (lens padding)
  • Polarizing filter 77mm
  • Polarizing filter 67mm
  • Split ND filter (3-stop)
  • Lens Pen Combo Kit
  • Hurricane blower
  • Cleaning cloth
  • Fanny pack
  • Feisol 3301 carbon tripod
  • Slik Pro ballhead
  • CF cards (2)
Total:
    28.6 oz.
      5.8 oz.
    16.8 oz.
    25.0 oz.
      5.0 oz.
      1.5 oz.
      2.0 oz.
      1.8 oz.
      1.7 oz.
      1.5 oz.
      2.0 oz.
       .4 oz.
    12.0 oz.
    43.0 oz.
    10.1 oz.
      1.2 oz.

    158.4 oz.
      9.96 lb.

  • Canon Rebel xTi
  • Batteries (2)
  • 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
  • 17-85mm f/4-5.6
  • 25mm Extension tube
  • Sock (lens padding)
  • Polarizing filter 77mm
  • Polarizing filter 67mm
  • Split ND filter (3-stop)
  • Cleaning cloth
  • Fanny pack
  • Feisol 3301 carbon tripod
  • Slik Pro ballhead
  • CF cards (2)
Total:
    18.0 oz.
      3.9 oz.
    13.6 oz.
    16.8 oz.
      5.0 oz.
      1.5 oz.
      2.0 oz.
      1.8 oz.
      1.7 oz.
       .4 oz.
    12.0 oz.
    43.0 oz.
    10.1 oz.
      1.2 oz.

    129.8 oz.
      8.11 lb.

For the Canon 5D set, if I go with one lens — usually by leaving home the 70-200mm — I can also exclude the 67mm polarizer, and the sensor cleaning lens pens and blower since I won’t be changing lenses. Also, I can use a smaller camera bag instead of a fanny pack. In sum this cuts 2.82 lb. for a total camera gear weight of 7.14 lb. — not a bad compromise for the joy of making 80% of the shots I’d want to take.

The Canon 10.1MP Rebel xTi, or similars from Canon, Nikon, etc, is a more likely companion for most backpackers, and very attractive with combined pack weight about 1.7 lbs. less then the 5D set, much less cost, and, for the xTi, built-in sensor cleaning. The 1.6x mulitplier means the 10-85mm range for the two-lens set covers 16-135mm. Expect no discernable image quality loss compared to the 5D for sizes up to 11x14 at 100 ISO.

Gary

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Also see FAQ for on-the-water advice.