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Am a keen roadie and amateur photographer (at least pretend to be anyway!) however am looking to combine the 2 as some of my local training rides take in stunning scenery. Usually use an slr but obviously don't want to lug alot of gear around on the road bike.
What do you guys do to get your photo quality without a weighty camera? Looking for something that i can ideally stuff in the back of a jersey pocket. At the moment the smallest lightest camera i own is a Canon G11 but even that feels brick like in the back pocket.
Its tricky as the two don't blend well together. Depends a lot on what you want to do with your photos? if its just for facebook, club site etc then I use a Nokia 820 with carl zeiss lens camera phone, which gives pretty good results, often quite heavily edited to hide poor light/ limited camera function. If I'm taking nice photos then unfortunately its DSLR time, with a lowe pro back pack carrying body, a few lenses, gorrilla pod etc. Certainly for le tour next year that will be my set up.
I use a Ricoh GR, either in a Rickshaw Pipsqueak on the bars or in a sandwich bag in my jersey pocket.
If you like the G11 what about an S110 (or S95, or S100)? Similar camera in a more compact package with a smaller lens.
How about fitting a suitably sized Tri-bag at the top tube/headset area and carrying your camera in that?
I used to carry an SLR around on the road bike. It's a lot of weight to carry though, especially if you spend a lot of money on lightweight components and starve your belly of any favourite treats (I don't really do either, so it didn't bother me too much!)
However, because my road rides became more purposeful in terms of riding, I found myself using it less and less, to the point where I hardly used it at all, and so I've just bought myself a Lumix LX-5. Which is probably about as small as you'll get without going into budget cameras.
Haven't tried it in a jersey pocket as I'm a little concerned about it bouncing out. So I'm still figuring out the best way of carrying it...without using my SLR bag!
I stash my LX3 in my jersey pocket. More modern versions exist.
Thanks for the replies, i've tried the tri box idea beofore but just don't trust the velcro straps on the frame to hold an expensive camera and found that it me more apprehensive when riding in case i should have a slip or something. Going to look into the idea of the light compacts you have suggested or stick with the smartphone camera (as i have that on me anyway) and edit the pics up once back home.
Panasonic gf3 here, micro 4/3 camera with 14mm pancake lens.
They can be had for about or just over 100 quid on ebay, which is a bargain for the image quality. Very fast focus is useful, along with full manual control and raw shooting. The fixed lens forces a bit of creativity!
My friend uses a bar bag, clips on clips off. And can be accessed whilst straddling the bike.
Ortlieb do a photographer-specific bar bag with padded compartments for a SLR.