A split-screen view on a Kyrgyzstan bikepacking expedition shows a cyclist riding through vast mountains under dramatic light and clouds.

Matt Hyde Hauls a Fujifilm X-E5 Up Kyrgyzstan’s 12,400-Foot Passes by Bike

Name: Kyrgyzstan
Address: Kyrgyzstan

2026-11-09

Sweating and short of breath, I push a fully loaded bicycle up Kyrgyzstan‘s Koi Dzolu Pass, which sits at 12,400 feet. Peaks of the Pamir Mountains rise to 23,000 feet beside me. Storms move in from both sides, and hail sometimes strikes as I climb. This is a typical day on a kyrgyzstan bikepacking expedition, where every ounce saved in the setup matters.

Matt Hyde is partway through a 25-day kyrgyzstan bikepacking expedition across the country. The route is remote, and everything must be hauled along on the way. Everything has to be carried, including shelter, sleep systems, cold-weather clothing, spare parts, and food. Hyde’s job is to document the trip in still photographs.

A heavily overloaded blue truck carries a huge mound of hay down a paved road toward snow-capped mountains. — A blue truck heavily overloaded with a massive mound of hay drives down a paved road toward snow-capped mountains.

The balancing act on a kyrgyzstan bikepacking expedition

Bikepacking is multi-day bicycle touring on unpaved ground. Riders use dirt tracks, gravel passes, and singletrack trails instead of paved roads. Kyrgyzstan has become a leading place to ride these high-altitude routes.

A cyclist in a cap and sunglasses rides a gear-loaded bike with a white helmet on the handlebars. — A cyclist wearing a cap, sunglasses, and a neck gaiter rides a bike loaded with gear bags and a white helmet attached to the handlebars.

Hyde’s remote routes show how much landscape work depends on the traveler behind the lens. Icelandair Challenge for Amateur Iceland Photographers offers a different take on capturing wild, far-off scenery, and is worth a look for fellow adventure shooters.

A cyclist in a green hooded jacket rides a rocky trail above a vast valley. — A cyclist in a light green hooded jacket rides a mountain bike along a rocky trail overlooking a vast, mountainous valley.

Weight barely registers on flat pavement. On steep climbs at altitude, it dominates every turn of the pedals. Hyde says some gradients force him to push a loaded bike for miles. Carry too much and the trip becomes impossible. Carry too little and the rider is exposed to the weather. Every item must justify its space, the camera included.

A cyclist stands with a loaded bike on a narrow wooden bridge over a stream. — A cyclist in a helmet and light jacket stands with a loaded mountain bike on a narrow wooden bridge over a rushing mountain stream.

Hyde describes his work as a mix of documentary, landscape, action, and adventure photography. He has no time for staging, and he cannot wait for ideal light. A rider can move from arm’s length to a valley a quarter mile away in a few seconds. He needs fast physical controls, enough dynamic range to hold harsh midday contrast, and a kit that never slows the group down.

A helmeted cyclist rides a loaded bike across a sunlit rocky mountain trail. — A cyclist wearing a helmet and sunglasses rides a loaded mountain bike across a rocky, sunlit mountain trail.

A bearded older man in a white skullcap stands outdoors before a green wall. — An elderly man with a white beard and a white skullcap wears a blue and white plaid button-down shirt, standing outdoors in front of a green wall.

An unlikely kit choice

For a rugged kyrgyzstan bikepacking expedition, the obvious picks would be a weather-sealed full-frame body or a tough Micro Four Thirds system. Hyde went another way. He paired a compact, street-style body with a motorized video zoom.

Two cyclists walk loaded bikes across a narrow wooden suspension bridge over a river. — Two cyclists walk their loaded bicycles across a narrow wooden suspension bridge over a river, while a person and a horse stand on the rocky bank nearby.

The body: Fujifilm X-E5

Fujifilm rates the X-E5 at 445 grams, including battery and memory card. It carries a back-illuminated 40.2-megapixel X-Trans CMOS 5 HR sensor and an X-Processor 5 engine. Its five-axis stabilization is rated at up to 7.0 stops at the center and 6.0 stops at the edges, based on CIPA 2024 standards, according to Fujifilm. Hyde says the body is lighter than many Micro Four Thirds options.

An older woman in a headscarf sits on a bench in an outdoor kitchen. — An elderly woman wearing a headscarf, purple sweater, and floral skirt sits on a wooden bench in an outdoor kitchen area filled with dishes, pots, and food items.

The top plate is machined from solid aluminum, the first in the X Series, according to Fujifilm. The dials are laid out for one-handed operation with the eye at the viewfinder. Hyde relied on those dials to change shutter speed, aperture, and focus zones on the move.

A man in a yellow jacket pushes a loaded gravel bike up a steep slope. — A man in a yellow hooded jacket pushes a loaded gravel bike up a steep, rocky mountain trail.

Subject detection tracked fast-moving riders reliably, Hyde reports. Fujifilm lists bicycles among the subjects its AI detection recognizes. The buffer handled long bursts of RAW and JPEG files without stalling. Hyde shot JPEGs with the Velvia film simulation, which produced files he could send during the rare moments of cell signal.

A cyclist stands with a loaded mountain bike on a dirt trail under a bright sky. — A cyclist stands with a loaded mountain bike on a dirt trail in a mountainous landscape under a bright, sunlit sky.

The main lens: XF 18-120mm f/4

Swapping lenses on dusty, windy passes invites sensor contamination. Hyde needed one zoom with broad reach. He chose the Fujifilm XF 18-120mm f/4 LM PZ WR. He says it delivered sharper results and more reach than standard kit zooms, and it weighed less than full-frame equivalents.

A cyclist in a pink jacket rides across a dark grassy field below hazy mountains. — A cyclist in a bright pink jacket rides across a dark, grassy field beneath a massive, hazy mountain range.

Power zooms rarely win praise from still photographers because their zoom response is slower than a manual ring. Hyde accepts that trade-off. The constant f/4 aperture gave him enough subject separation and let him keep ISO low under shifting alpine light. He learned to work around the zoom speed with practice.

A cyclist in a blue shirt rides a loaded gravel bike along a dirt trail. — A cyclist in a light blue shirt and helmet rides a loaded gravel bike on a dirt trail, with another cyclist visible in the distance against a backdrop of mountains.

Two small primes

Two compact lenses rounded out the kit for visual variety. The 35mm f/1.4 handled low-light campsite portraits and shallow depth-of-field detail shots. The Laowa 10mm ultra-wide pancake covered sweeping mountain views and tight shots from the cockpit.

Two smiling boys with short hair stand side by side, arms around each other. — Two young boys with short hair stand side-by-side with their arms around each other, both smiling broadly while wearing casual t-shirts.

A woman carrying a tray leaves a yurt in a grassy clearing among tall trees. — A woman carrying a tray exits a yurt in a grassy clearing surrounded by tall, thin trees, with another yurt and a small shed nearby.

Before the trip, Hyde tested two bodies and three lenses on shakedown rides close to home. He wanted to confirm performance under a loaded bike before he left.

A cyclist with loaded bags rides a light blue gravel bike along a rocky grassy path. — A cyclist with gear-laden bags rides a light blue gravel bike along a rocky, unpaved path through a grassy, hilly landscape.

Versatility over categories

A rangefinder-style street camera paired with a power-zoom video lens may look out of place on a 1,000-kilometer crossing. Hyde’s test rides suggested otherwise, and the expedition backed that up.

A cyclist in a rain jacket rides a loaded gravel bike along a muddy dirt road. — A cyclist in a blue rain jacket rides a loaded gravel bike along a muddy dirt road through a mountainous, grassy landscape under a cloudy sky.

A cyclist in a pink jacket stands with a loaded bike beneath stormy clouds. — A cyclist in a pink jacket and helmet stands with a loaded mountain bike on a dirt path against a backdrop of mountains and stormy clouds.

A smiling young girl with dark hair and earrings wears a black zip-up jacket. — A young girl with dark hair and earrings smiles while wearing a black zip-up jacket.

A cyclist in a pink shirt rides a loaded bike past rugged mountains. — A cyclist wearing a pink long-sleeved shirt, cap, and sunglasses rides a loaded mountain bike on a dirt path with large, rugged mountains in the background.

Three people sit in a yurt with lattice walls, a wood stove, and beds. — Three people sit inside a yurt with wooden lattice walls, a wood stove, and beds covered in blankets.

Camera marketing sorts gear into narrow categories. Hyde argues that learning a camera’s quirks and tailoring its controls to your own workflow matters far more than the label on the box.

A person in a purple jacket exits a yurt beside two loaded mountain bikes. — A person in a purple jacket exits a yurt, with two loaded mountain bikes parked in front of the structure on a grassy hillside.

Hyde’s kit proves that a single camera can cross genres, and Fujifilm’s lens lineup keeps pushing in that direction. Fujifilm’s New XF400mm f/4.5 Telephoto Lens shows how one X-mount optic can stretch into wildlife and motorsports work, which is worth checking if you like versatile gear.

A cyclist rides a loaded mountain bike along a grassy trail above a rocky canyon. — A cyclist rides a mountain bike with bikepacking bags along a grassy trail overlooking a rocky canyon.

A cyclist in a green jacket pushes a loaded mountain bike up a steep slope. — A cyclist in a light green jacket and striped socks pushes a heavily loaded mountain bike up a steep, rocky mountain slope.

A cyclist flashes a peace sign beside a loaded touring bike on a mountain pass. — A cyclist stands on a rocky mountain pass with arms raised in a peace sign, posing with a loaded touring bicycle against a backdrop of cloudy peaks.

A cyclist in a blue jacket rides a gear-loaded mountain bike across rocky terrain. — A cyclist in a blue jacket rides a mountain bike loaded with gear across a rocky, mountainous landscape under a cloudy sky.

A cyclist on a red bike follows a dirt path toward a snow-capped peak. — A cyclist rides a red bike with gear bags along a dirt path through a vast, mountainous landscape with a snow-capped peak.

A cyclist rides a gravel bike beside a cascading stream in a forested valley. — A cyclist rides a gravel bike along a rocky mountain path next to a cascading stream in a forested valley.

A cyclist in a bright pink jacket rides down a dusty road toward colorful mountains. — A cyclist in a bright pink jacket rides a bike down a dusty, unpaved road toward a backdrop of large, rugged, colorful mountains.

The route’s total climbing comes to more than twice the height of Mount Everest, according to Hyde. Kyrgyzstan’s passes punish every extra gram. Hyde’s setup suggests a light camera can keep pace with a loaded bike on a kyrgyzstan bikepacking expedition.

Three cyclists ride across a golden grassy plain in front of arid rolling hills. — Three cyclists ride across a vast, golden grassy plain in front of rolling, arid hills.

Image credits: Matt Hyde (@mattalatta)

Sources & Links

@mattalatta

Frequently asked questions

What camera did Matt Hyde use on his Kyrgyzstan bikepacking trip?

Hyde used a Fujifilm X-E5 body, a compact street-style camera, paired with the Fujifilm XF 18-120mm f/4 LM PZ WR power zoom as his main lens. He also carried a 35mm f/1.4 and a Laowa 10mm ultra-wide pancake lens.

What is bikepacking?

Bikepacking is multi-day bicycle touring on unpaved ground, using dirt tracks, gravel passes, and singletrack trails instead of paved roads. Riders carry everything they need on the bike.

How much does the Fujifilm X-E5 weigh?

Fujifilm rates the X-E5 at 445 grams, including the battery and memory card. Hyde says the body is lighter than many Micro Four Thirds options.

Why did Hyde choose the XF 18-120mm f/4 zoom for the expedition?

Hyde needed one zoom with broad reach, since swapping lenses on dusty, windy passes risks sensor contamination. He says the lens delivered sharper results and more reach than standard kit zooms, and it weighed less than full-frame equivalents.