Which camera system to take on an expedition to central Asia

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So I've got a trip planned to central asia, which will involve having very little power sources(solar mostly) for a week/two at a time, I can bring plenty batteries so power shouldn't necessarily be a deal breaker, but I'm still torn as to what to bring, being light weight is good, but every system I've narrowed it down to is light enough.

I'm thinking potentially some of the following:

OM-D E-M5 + 20mm 1.7 + 40-150 oly

Possibly considering taking film, originally had wanted to but ended up going against it as I wanted autofocus and auto exposure, neither are essential though. Leica is off limits, budget would be about £800 thereabouts, ideally spending less but if absolutely worth it I could spend more.

I'm going to be out there for about 3 weeks so will be taking plenty photos. I do enjoy film but as these photos are going to result in some significant funding I want to make sure it's going to be decent, + it's not going to have leaked while I'm none the wiser.

Fuji/sony/panasonic are the other digitals that I considered.


As to what I'll be shooting? it's probably going to be landscapes/portraits/general holiday shots, I realise this is horrendously vague so I apologise. I'm going to be on horseback and attempting to shoot while doing so if it is of any help.

Many thanks.
 
You do know that you can get auto focusing and exposure film cameras? But would you really want to be changing films on horseback :D Only joking...

Other than that, took my 5D + 50mm to central asia and it survived so I wouldn't rule out DSLR's if you want to maximise the shots to battery change ratio but even so I too would go mirrorless. Not too sure I'd want to do too many lens changes in the field and in possibly camera hostile conditions even with relatively dust bunny resistant kit so I'd be tempted to take a camera equipped with a zoom and another with a fast prime. I usually take a quality camera with a prime and a decent compact with a zoom to cover the wider and longer stuff. I'd also take a rocket blower and cleaning kit and in fact I usually do when going abroad.

Have you considered the Oly 17mm f1.8 rather than the Panasonic 20mm? I have both and although the 20mm is adequate the 17mm focuses faster and doesn't suffer the banding at higher ISO's that can afflict the 20mm.

Hope you enjoy yourself.
 
I wanted the Olympus until I held it in my hands. Compared to the Fuji's they feel a little toy-like to me.

So that would be my little snippet of advice; go and play with them all in Jessops and see which feels more intuitive for the way you personally shoot.
 
Well from memory skiing with a dslr on your body is pretty annoying, I've done it with small mirrorless cams/rangefinders and it wasn't too bad. Dust bunnys again aren't a concern of mine, never had anything I've been unable to solve before.

Appreciate the thought, but I've used the 20mm before and it was plenty fast af wise, banding was not a big issue either.
 
Whatever the cause of the banding if you get it it's pretty shot ruining. I wont use the 20mm at higher ISO's in case it occurs, never had a problem at or below 1600 though.

That's brave talk on the dust bunnies :D IMO CSC's are better than any DSLR I've had in this respect but I'd rather check my shots periodically and clean if required than take a chance and shoot the whole trip without having the option of cleaning especially if you've only got one camera. I assume you'll be taking a lens cloth/pen of some sort and if so a rocket at least might be worth its space in the bag.

Just things to think about.
 
A secondhand D3 with a brand new battery and one spare should do you for two weeks although you then need to add a secondhand lens or two.
 
Id go with mft and the 12-35 and 35-100. I've got no experience with have Olympus equivalents, they look a little larger to me. But the Panasonic lenses are just plain awesome and should cover any aspect with nice fast glass in a compact package.
 
I'm going to go against the grain and suggest a Fuji X100, either the s or the t, whichever you can afford, you could add the wide adapter and even the tele adapter to give 50mm for portraits, but the main thing is that its extremely compact, excellent image quality even at high ISO's so night shots are possible and won't get in the way when riding.
 
Fuji have some great deals and range of cameras and lenses
 
I'd just get this:

http://www.hdewcameras.co.uk/olympus-om-d-e-m5-mk-ii-14-150-ii-kit-black-2999-p.asp

And it I had money spare I'd get a fast prime to go with it.

Shooting from horseback you don't want to be faffing with changing lenses and both camera and lens are weather/dust proof which will be handy in Asia.

Tempting, but the 14-150 is dreadfully expensive, I could just as well get a cheap spare body to keep my 40-150 on.

A secondhand D3 with a brand new battery and one spare should do you for two weeks although you then need to add a secondhand lens or two.

Yeah it'd be grand battery wise, but somewhat huge by comparison to mirrorless.

Id go with mft and the 12-35 and 35-100. I've got no experience with have Olympus equivalents, they look a little larger to me. But the Panasonic lenses are just plain awesome and should cover any aspect with nice fast glass in a compact package.

Not really in need of either of them, I'm gonna be outside most of the time, so I'd be paying extra for the unnecessary speed.

I'm going to go against the grain and suggest a Fuji X100, either the s or the t, whichever you can afford, you could add the wide adapter and even the tele adapter to give 50mm for portraits, but the main thing is that its extremely compact, excellent image quality even at high ISO's so night shots are possible and won't get in the way when riding.

Always tempted me but it does lack tele, so I'd need to get a second camera as well.
 
I travelled around SE Asia for 2 years with the following kit:

-Olympus OM-D
-Panasonic 7-14
-Panasonic 14mm
-Voigtlander 25mm
-Panasonic Leica 25mm
-Olympus 45mm
-Olympus 75mm

A year or so in I added on an X100S for variety. All of this, when packed correctly, fitted in a tiny shoulder bag that would hold perhaps a DSLR with 1 lens attached. I took some amazing images and never felt restricted by the setup. If did it again I'd probably pair the kit down to:

-OM-D
-Panasonic 7-14
-Panasonic Leica 25mm
-Olympus 45mm

Giving you 14-28, 50, & 90. On a budget (weight & price) I'd swap the 7-14 for the 14 2.5 (which, despite the reviews and cost, is a gem of a lens imho, I sold my Oly 12mm in favour of keeping the 14mm). Hard to recommend the 25mm Panasonic over the Voigtlander 0.95... but I guess AF is more useful.

As for a film camera don't go overboard, pick up a Olympus OM10 + 50mm for maybe £40, add in a 28 for £40, and perhaps something longer.

Other choice is X100S with WC & TC... I actually think I preferred the images over the OM-D, but that could have been new-toy-itus... I did get wonderful images from the OM-D setup. Don't worry about a tele in Asia, I rarely went over 25mm (50 equiv) and the only time I really used the 75mm (150 equiv) was in Burma while on a longtail boat going over Inle lake. The 45mm is more useful.
 
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