UKH

I'm very fortunate to be spending a few years in British Columbia, so naturally I want to capture the scene when out ski-touring, trail running, hiking and climbing! Although I'm a pretty experienced photographer, I often find myself leaving the camera at home because it's just too big, bulky and expensive - I've got an a7s, a7rII and a collection for FE glass. I love the a7r II (paired with the 24-105 f4 it's an amazing do-it-all camera), but I just can't ski or climb well with it in my pack.

So let's pretend I'm selling all my full-frame gear, what would you swap to?

• Fast autofocus to capture skiing
• Good aftermarket lenses (love the Sony E mount because there are so many options from Tamron / Sigma / etc)
• Decent battery life (bonus if it uses the Sony batteries I've already got loads of)
• Small size & light weight to fit in my climbing pack

I've already for a Sony RX100 VII for ultralight trips.

I like the look of the a6600 but some people criticise the colour science, low light performance and user experience. The Fuji XT-4 is another classic - but it's that little bit bigger, heavier and without the range of lenses of the Sony system.

I use an a6600 which I'm very happy with. I get tempted to go the other way and swap to an A7r, but the size of the a6600 makes it more manageable, although far from compact.

The a6600 uses bigger batteries than the other 6000 series models, same as the A7 I think.

A7c? Full frame in a 6000 sized body.

Fuji XT5? Slightly smaller than the XT4 and more stills oriented.

The lens selection for the Fuji X system is outstanding.

I could reuse my glass then but the weight saving is minimal - it's the big lenses that hamper full frame.

Have you considered some of the smaller FE lenses or even some apsc lenses on the FF camera? You still get lots of pixels from the A7r

Have you considered Micro Four Thirds cameras?

Anything you would recommend?

The 28 - 60 I hear is a decent kit lens and I think is just about the smallest zoom on E mount. The photo I attached to my post was off the 28 - 60. I don't own this lens myself. I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum with a 200 - 600 normally attached to my Sony (photo below!). 

Otherwise maybe a smaller and not massively fast prime e.g. f2.8?

I was going to say, the 28-60 is a pretty good little zoom and makes for a remarkably small and light FF package.

I've a A7R3 and 24-105 and love it but, like you, I'd love to have something portable. I also have the RX100 VII but am terrified of the wet with it as I've already killed a RX100 III.. 

Chatting with friends, the Olympus (OM-D EM10) are amazingly weather sealed, stunning stabilisation, great low light performance and pretty rugged. I've seriously considered buying a setup for my climbing/walking/etc... Paired with the 12-100 lens, it would be a seriously nice setup (24-200 focal length!!) or if you want fast aperture and smaller size, the 12-40 is gobsmackingly good... 

 

Might be worth considering a DSC - Rx1RM2. Very pricey, but certainly works in being compact, lower weight & less faff with the lenses. The quality is assured, lives up to its well earned hype.

After a couple of years of indecision, committed to getting one specifically for skiing, climbing & it works for me. 
 

Some thoughts/options on the budget end of the market. 

I got myself a canon M100, as like you, I just wasn't packing my bigger cameras.

Advantages - about as small and light as you can get with an asf-c sensor, and unlike premium micro 4/3, the native lenses are very small, light and inexpensive. The 22mm lens is genuinely tiny, the 15-45 is small and foldable and just sharp enough. They also do a very light wide angle, which I don't have as I use an eos lens for that. 

Disadvantages- Dunno how auto focus and image quality compare - probably a fair drop. And it's a dead system, obviously a disadvantage, but you might get a setup very cheap, making it approaching disposable.

Also, I got a Pixel 7 Pro phone, which is probably my main reason for not taking the Canon out more. Waterproof, light, wide angle. Taking frames out of the 4k video is reasonable for action shots. Random skiing pic below. 

There is an obvious quality drop, but I'd have to be taking photos in low light, or printing them big to care.