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Best PowerShot for ski touring?

Started 3 months ago | Discussions
t3hite
t3hite New Member • Posts: 5
Best PowerShot for ski touring?

I need a pocketable camera for ski touring to shoot landscape images and some video of friends skiing.

The G5 X Mark II is the middle price point on my list. I'm also thinking about the DMC-ZS100/TS100 or the RX100 Mark VI or VII.

On downside of the G5 X m.2 is the small battery in low temperatures. I've used a couple of  Sony RX100 versions and find them well suited but difficult to control in cold weather (impossible with gloves). The DMC-ZS100 has more zoom but a tiny viewfinder.

Any suggestions?

 t3hite's gear list:t3hite's gear list
Olympus E-M1 III OM-1 Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm F4-5.6 R Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm F1.8 Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm F2.8 Macro +2 more
Canon PowerShot G5 X Sony RX100
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requa
requa Contributing Member • Posts: 860
Re: Best PowerShot for ski touring?
2

I use my G5X-II for everything, including outdoor winter shooting, but I highly recommend keeping a spare battery (or two) in an inside jacket pocket ready to swap out. The low battery tends to restore a bit once it warms up again, too. I also agree that the physical grip features of the G5X-II are good for this usage. I also have gloves specifically for winter photography with the retractable index and thumb for operating controls (but not warm enough for skiing).

 requa's gear list:requa's gear list
Olympus Stylus Tough TG-870 Canon G5 X II
t3hite
OP t3hite New Member • Posts: 5
Re: Best PowerShot for ski touring?
1

Reading this thread about the future of the PowerShot family made me wonder if a G1 X Mark III might be a good choice:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66645646

It's weather sealed to boot and the APS-C sensor should offer better dynamic range.

 t3hite's gear list:t3hite's gear list
Olympus E-M1 III OM-1 Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm F4-5.6 R Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm F1.8 Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm F2.8 Macro +2 more
Swerky Contributing Member • Posts: 793
Re: Best PowerShot for ski touring?

t3hite wrote:

Reading this thread about the future of the PowerShot family made me wonder if a G1 X Mark III might be a good choice:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66645646

It's weather sealed to boot and the APS-C sensor should offer better dynamic range.

The weather resistance should give you some peace of mind while being out in nature as well. Also shooting surrounded by white snow might make it harder to view the screen if it is sunny. The pop up evf of the G5X II might be fiddly. The top evf of the G1X III is also better protected against potential stray light. But someone who has hands on experience with the G5X II might give you a better idea. But also need at least one spare battery for the G1X III.

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Nothing to read here.

 Swerky's gear list:Swerky's gear list
Canon G1 X III Canon EOS 6D Fujifilm X-A10 Voigtlander 20mm F3.5 Color Skopar SL II Voigtlander 90mm F3.5 APO-Lanthar SL II +1 more
Chris 222 Senior Member • Posts: 1,981
Re: Best PowerShot for ski touring?
6

t3hite wrote:

Reading this thread about the future of the PowerShot family made me wonder if a G1 X Mark III might be a good choice:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66645646

It's weather sealed to boot and the APS-C sensor should offer better dynamic range.

I can confirm that the G1X3 works great for your purpose. In addition to the solid WR, the ND filter is a big help in bright snow conditions, as are decent burst shooting (7fps with AF) the excellent DR (you can do a lot in post if desired) and the 1/2000 shutter.

A couple more thoughts based on stuff we've done in my community with the G1X3:

1 - For stills of people doing jumps or acrobatics, set it up on a small tripod 10-20 feet below the take-off point and use the wifi to control it with your phone. Play with different angles.

2 - For videos, make sure you first apply thin strips of anti-slip material to the top and bottom edges of the LCD (the best ones are often found in... gun shops!) Then, when you want to shoot a video, pull the screen out and hold it firmly with your left hand while using your right hand for the main controls, and your entire body as a sort of giant gimball. Move slowly and smoothly, with knees bent and use the cam's wonderful screen articulation for creative angles (sideways, super low, super high, etc.) This technique (learned from one of our members who is a retired film director) allows for absolutely incredible videos.

Do practice this technique extensively at home first (which is cool because it also makes for great videos of kids and pets, hehe!)

I should also say that while skiing we all carry two or more extra batteries, usually in a pocket fairly close to the body.

And most of us carry an extra pair of thin gloves just for those shots/videos.

I hope this helps

Jack Tingle
Jack Tingle Senior Member • Posts: 1,526
Re: Best PowerShot for ski touring?

A) Having been a victim of the SX280HS, Always Carry Extra Batteries!

B) My current cool weather gloves are a pair of acrylic glove liners (the stretchy ones young girls use as gloves) under a pair of fingerless mittens. For really cold weather, I use XC ski gloves or woodchopper mittens with the liners. As you say, those are no good for camera manipulation.

C) I'm going to try a pair of golf glove covers over the thinner gloves for cold weather. https://www.amazon.com/FINGER-TEN-Winter-Comfortable-X-Large/dp/B07KMZTXTF

I had them last year, but too late for the really cold weather.

 Jack Tingle's gear list:Jack Tingle's gear list
Canon PowerShot SX720 HS Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS70 Olympus OM-D E-M10 II Panasonic G95 Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm 1:4-5.6 +8 more
S_L
S_L Forum Member • Posts: 65
Re: Best PowerShot for ski touring?
1

Not sure if it is the best, but I snowboard and *love* to carry my G1 X Mark III around at the Alps ski resorts (side-piste, pow, up to 3800 meters altitude, etc.).

I just carry the camera around with a UV filter to replace the protective cap and put the camera body in the goggle pocket of the snowboard jacket, also carry a small cleaning cloth and 1,2 extra batteries for sure.

The weather sealing feature, solid body feel really give me peace of mind, build-in EVF is helpful at those bright sunny days and the 3x optical zoom (max. 12x combined zoom with optical image stabilizer) is handy for those big mountains/glaciers photos and from hiking experience, I can imagine it would also be helpful for those wildlife encountered along the route (admittedly, it does have its limit as it is not a 400/600mm lens).

 S_L's gear list:S_L's gear list
Canon G1 X III
Sactojim Veteran Member • Posts: 9,104
Re: Best PowerShot for ski touring?

Smartphone. Most have 4k or 1080p @60fps, IS, if you want to save big, go with a previous gen Google Pixel 3 or 4, iPhone 7 or 8 and can be found for $100+- in excellent condition. If you need some reach, pretty much any p&s will get the job done.

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