17 Best Cameras for Hiking and Backpacking on a Budget in 2024

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III is our top pick for the best hiking camera. It has a compact and robust camera body. It’s packed full of features backpackers will love. And the performance is excellent.

The OM-D E-M5 Mark III is a micro four thirds camera. That means it has a smaller sensor than APS-C and full frame cameras. That means they have compact bodies ideal for traveling and hiking. And Olympus ensures you don’t lose image quality with a smaller sensor. You still get 20 MP image resolution.

If you need more power from your camera, the camera has High-Res Shot mode. It takes images with a resolution of 50 MP for professional-grade images. You do need a tripod to shoot in this mode. But it’s ideal for high-quality landscape photography.

You don’t always need a tripod with the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III. It has 5-axis in-body image stabilization. It gives you 5 stops of compensation, reducing camera shake when shooting by hand.

You can also shoot hiking footage with 4K video quality. And there’s a fantastic burst mode for continuous shooting. Pro Capture mode gives you a burst rate of 30 fps. And the shutter is completely silent. It’s ideal for wildlife photography.

Autofocus is another great feature. And you also need to know this camera is completely weather-sealed and protected against the elements. The battery life isn’t great. But you know it’s up to the challenge of your next adventure.

The Nikon D5600 is another fantastic DSLR from Nikon. Inexperienced photographers can hit the ground running with this camera. But it’s still suitable for experienced photographers too. The build quality is excellent, as is the photography performance.

The sensor is a DX-format APS-C sensor with a resolution of 24.2 MP. That doesn’t look record-breaking on paper. But the image quality is exceptional with clear detail and vivid colors. The max ISO of 25,600 also gives you more shooting options when natural light is low.

The video quality is limited to Full HD. And the burst rate is a sluggish 5 fps. But the battery life is extremely reliable. And you have Wi-Fi connectivity for quick and easy image sharing. The rotating touchscreen also makes capturing those tricky shots a lot easier.

The autofocus is another positive for the Nikon D5600. It has 39 focus points across the screen. And it has eye detection and subject tracking. Landscape photographers will like the built-in High Dynamic Range mode. And it has a high-quality optical viewfinder for composing perfect shots.

The Panasonic Lumix FZ2500 is a fantastic bridge camera you can take on your next hike. A bridge camera combines the simplicity of a point-and-shoot with the features of a DSLR. And in typical Panasonic fashion, it’s also a hybrid camera with photo and video options.

It has a 1-inch sensor with a resolution of 20.1 MP. That’s a lot of power from a small sensor, and you’ll see a big improvement from a smartphone camera. And the image quality is helped by the fixed Leica lens. The optical quality is brilliant. And you get 20x zoom capabilities.

The 4K video quality is excellent. And you also have faster frame rates for slow-motion videos. You can use the Lumix 4K Photo mode, selecting frames from 4K video to use as single images. That gives you a burst speed of 24 fps.

There are fantastic shooting modes, including three for macro photography. And there are external ports for microphones and headphones. It’s the best bridge camera on the market. The Panasonic Lumix FZ2500 is another great option for multimedia hikers.