Shooting while skiing

Anyone had good luck shooting on the slopes? I have an old GX7, which I find to be winter-jacket pocketable but not weatherproof to inspire confidence or have the battery last in the cold. I more recently got a G85, which I think would function a lot better handling-wise , AF-wise, and for stabilized video, but I don't really want to have to take my backpack off (in the backcountry) every time I want to get a shot or have to carry it "naked" when riding the lifts with my kids. I also have an old "tough" P&S which I've enjoyed being able to grab out of my pants pocket, but the image/video quality isn't as good as m43.

Thinking about this winter, I guess I've narrowed it down to finding the best way to carry my G85 (and 12-60 or 12-32) or maybe picking up a used and older-model RX100 to throw in my pocket. Thoughts on different carrying options like holsters, etc.? Other considerations?

Thanks in advance. Picture for attention:

thats a lovely shot!

I like the Oly TG point and shoot cameras for this. They shoot raw and have nice fast lenses, so you can get good images out of them. They are bombproof and can be controlled even when wearing thick gloves. You can actually bash on different parts of the case to set aperture etc! My experience is that once you take your gloves off to take a photo with a regular camera, your hands never warm up again.

The TG cameras will also survive being dropped into wet snow, crashes, etc.

I shoot backcountry skiing but only a few times a year. I tend to carry my camera and shoot on good weather days in the most spectacular skiing terrain. Mostly though, the camera is in my pack, but I bring it out for one or two runs and ski with it - usually the EM-1 I and 12-40, but sometimes also the 8mm FE. For those runs I carry the camera chest-mounted in a Lowepro Toploader bag. I don't shoot on a bunch of runs because shooting is rather disruptive to the day - much as it is when done too much in hiking. I am selective. On the days I carry the camera it will spend much of the time in the pack.

Shooting on lifts, I would not likely do, but something like helicopter skiing would be different. So, that is what I would do. I would just pick a run or two with good light to have the camera available even if just shooting your kids. But I wouldn't feel like I had to document every run or every day I skied. The 12-40 is a great focal length for most skiing shots. Medium to long telephotos are problematic as you have to orchestrate what the subject is to do to get the backdrop you want. The process with a long lens is tedious.

Your photo looks like a trail I skied many years ago in Rocky Mountain National Park.

There is something to be said for compact cameras for this purpose, like the TG6. I had a TG4 for a while and it takes pretty good pics in daylight, though it sucks at night. Easy to carry and use, hard to destroy.

I recently bought a used Panasonic ZS100 for cheap, 1" sensor, good daylight images, though not weather resistant. A lot less expensive than an RX100.

I mostly carried compacts when I was back-country skiing. Two of my compact camera ski shots placed 1st and 2nd in challenges here:

https://www.dpreview.com/challenges/Entry.aspx?ID=575647

https://www.dpreview.com/challenges/Entry.aspx?ID=811721

It's a trade-off.  I probably went more to the side of small and light when skiing, even if the IQ wasn't as good.

I've used a OMD EM1.2 with the 12-40 a few times on the slopes.
I carry it in a Lowepro slingshot bag, space enough for the PL8-18 too and perhaps also the 50-200 too.

With a slingshot bag,  it is normally out of the way on your back, but when you need it, it's very easy to swing it around and get the camera out of the "top" in a few seconds. It's also ideal for getting on the chair lifts. if you were to forget to take off a normal rucksack it can almost push you out of the chair lift seat while getting on, much easier to just swing the sling shot bag around before you get on.

When skiing around you never know for sure when the perfect scene with the  perfect lighting is just around the corner, so it's good when you have easy and quick access to the camera. I don't ski in a big group so don't have people waiting for me while I take photos. It's usually only my wife and she is used to waiting a bit , but not too long

When skiing or, hiking for that matter, it's important to make sure the quick release strap is connected, so it stops it from swinging around. If that were open and it swings around it can put you off balance!

Over many years of skiing with a camera, I have always favoured a point and shoot . This is because the hassle of using a DSLR or even my EM5 gets in the way of skiing. My early cameras were a Canon, not too good, Ricoh Caplio GX8, which was good in bright light, but so noisey in dull conditions, and laterly a fuji 300 EXR and X10.  The biggest issue in cold conditions is battery life. I always ski with the camera on a neckstrap, inside my jacket, and have seldom had to change a battery for a days shooting.

Chamonix

My wife , we are both now in our mid seventies.

Glacier skiing Chamonix.

Sansicario Italy, Part of the Olympic downhill run.

Regards,

For skiing, I use my first m43 camera, the Pany GF1 with the Pany 14-42X pancake zoom.  Fits into a pocket and takes great pictures still.  Otherwise, its the EM1.3 & 12-100/4 for everything else.

Good thought. I've got an old lumix one but it doesn't have raw shooting. Think it makes a big difference in this sensor size?

Sounds like an interesting option. How's the lumix fare vs the tg4? Were you shooting in raw?

dmokn wrote:

Sounds like an interesting option. How's the lumix fare vs the tg4? Were you shooting in raw?

The ZS100 with its one inch sensor has better IQ than the TG, and it also has a (small) EVF. Both it and the TG4 shoot raw. The two images of mine to which I linked were with older compact P&S cameras that did not shoot raw.

The TG4 was 16MP. Oly changed to 12MP for the TG5 and TG6, which I understand may have improved IQ.

I bought a used ZS100 in pristine condition for $240. Though it's not weather-resistant, that price lessens the consequence of ruining it in bad weather. I suspect it could take a little snow and be fine, as my prior compacts were. Personally, I'd probably go with that for backcountry skiing (or consider an LX10 if you prefer its fast lens over the EVF and the longer zoom range of the ZS100) and just be a bit more careful in weather than with a TG. But a TG should be OK in daylight.

A user review of the ZS100: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/62337549

And further discussion of it: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/64097818

Gary from Seattle wrote:

I shoot backcountry skiing but only a few times a year. I tend to carry my camera and shoot on good weather days in the most spectacular skiing terrain. Mostly though, the camera is in my pack, but I bring it out for one or two runs and ski with it - usually the EM-1 I and 12-40, but sometimes also the 8mm FE. For those runs I carry the camera chest-mounted in a Lowepro Toploader bag. I don't shoot on a bunch of runs because shooting is rather disruptive to the day - much as it is when done too much in hiking. I am selective. On the days I carry the camera it will spend much of the time in the pack.

Shooting on lifts, I would not likely do, but something like helicopter skiing would be different. So, that is what I would do. I would just pick a run or two with good light to have the camera available even if just shooting your kids. But I wouldn't feel like I had to document every run or every day I skied. The 12-40 is a great focal length for most skiing shots. Medium to long telephotos are problematic as you have to orchestrate what the subject is to do to get the backdrop you want. The process with a long lens is tedious.

Good point on just picking a run to take some shots with the kids and keeping it packed for the rest of the time. Days riding lifts with the kids tend to be longer and have more time to just ski and not shoot. Days in the backcountry are often just quick after-work missions when I'd want to prioritize my 1-2 quick runs but be able to pull a P&S out of my pocket quickly if the scene presented itself.

I used to take RX100 with me, but now i'm sure theres no camera more affordable, pocketable and with greater image quality than the GR, if you can live with fixed 28mm and APSC.

I've yet to try it when skiing (thanks to corona...), but it has shown really useful in the summer as it fits in my MTB backpack hip belt pocket and is therefore always accessible in seconds. So, luckily no need to use smartpone, even with more limiting sports (in terms of what gear i can bring) like MTB or climbing.

Aldersyde wrote:

Sansicario Italy, Part of the Olympic downhill run.

Regards,

Too narrow for the Olympic. That is mid section of run 72 down from Mavie restaurant  I think!

Sadly we won't be getting there this winter.

I was using gx80 for skiing but since I bought the GM5 that is my camera of choice with the 12-32 compact zoom. I pack the 35-100 compact and 20m 1.7 in pockets or the top of my wife's sack! Lots easier to access as I don't need to remove my sack. spare battery in inside pocket to keep warm but never needed it.

I shot just part of one run on the best skiing day of last season.

...I wonder where you will ski with all the lockdowns around

Anyway, I have been doing snowboard two - three times per year and after several years I have narrowed my ski photography options to two:

1) a good, small P&S with at least a 24-120 zoom, which can easily fit in one of my jacket pockets, such as the Sony RX100 VI (24-200) or Canon G5X mk2 or the TZ200. Have in mind that the RX100 VI had a relatively sharp lens and an impressively fast CAF (the best I have ever used!!). I now have the G5X mk2 which has a shorter but faster and sharper lens, but haven't tested it due to Covid. The big drawback here is that none of these cameras are weatherproof...

Taken with the 4k photo mode

OR a small ILC camera such as an m43 (GX8+PL12-60 here) again with a zoom lens of at least 120mm (although more would be better, as seen previously with the RX100 VI). For that you would need a backpack though...

The big advantage here is that the ILC system can be weather resistant and fee a bit more comfortable while carrying at the ski slopes

Personally I think the ideal combination would be a weather proof small P&S with a good 24-200 lens.

dmokn wrote:

Anyone had good luck shooting on the slopes? I have an old GX7, which I find to be winter-jacket pocketable but not weatherproof to inspire confidence or have the battery last in the cold. I more recently got a G85, which I think would function a lot better handling-wise , AF-wise, and for stabilized video, but I don't really want to have to take my backpack off (in the backcountry) every time I want to get a shot or have to carry it "naked" when riding the lifts with my kids. I also have an old "tough" P&S which I've enjoyed being able to grab out of my pants pocket, but the image/video quality isn't as good as m43.

Thinking about this winter, I guess I've narrowed it down to finding the best way to carry my G85 (and 12-60 or 12-32) or maybe picking up a used and older-model RX100 to throw in my pocket. Thoughts on different carrying options like holsters, etc.? Other considerations?

Thanks in advance. Picture for attention:

Yep, it particularly helps with white balance and tone. But the non RAW one should be fine too. I used to take an old Fuji F30 point and shoot skiing and got decent shots. (And very cold fingers).

Thanks, all. Good stuff to think about. I do like the idea of having a 1" sensor with zoom in my pocket, especially on short backcountry missions. Might have to pick up a used ZS100 or RX100. But maybe I'll throw my G85 in my pack when skiing slow with my little ones. I live in Vermont so I'll be hopefully be skiing as much as usual, though probably with lots of snacks and drinks in the pack too! #nogoinginside