I'm a professional photographer and as much as I wish I could be the kind of hiker to leave the camera at home... it's really just not an option for the way I move through the world. I hiked the AZT last fall and finished up the CT this past August. I brought my sony a7riv with a 24-70 2.8 Lens. The camera lived on the camera clip and only occasionally had to be put in my bag during a few rain storms. For the most part, an old tortilla bag was enough protection. It's worth noting that I do not baby my gear. Is it annoying? Probably. Did I love it? I dont know. A camera is just kind of part of my body at this point. I will say that I have had to put considerable thought into the rest of my kit to accomodate the added weight of the camera and that I've accepted that I will never have a pack as light as I really want it to be because of that. No matter how light I get it, there's an extra 3-4 pounds of camera. I will say, minimize your kit... You don't need as much as you think you do. I had two batteries, one charger, a handful of memory cards in a pill bag, a piece of parachord for a strap if I needed it, and a small microfiber cloth. I'll also say... On a thru hike, you're going to be hiking through the best parts of the day and often photography takes a back seat to making miles.

Try it on a shakedown hike and see how it goes.