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dibdobbs

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HELP .. advice on newbie to Antarctica ? what to take?
« on: October 28, 2008, 07:50:27 pm »

Hi,

I am new to the forum, and hope I have put this in the right spot !!

A quick response would be very gratefully received as I am off this Friday to Antarctica !!!

I am off to Antarctica this Friday and am joining Quark Expeditions to Snow Hill to photograph the Emperor Penguins.

I am a keen enthusiast, and am taking my Canon 50D and Canon 40D as backup.

I am not relishing the 1.5 mile hike across the ice with my backpack which seems to get heavier by the day !!

I want to only take things I know that I will use, as my bag already ways 29 kilos and my rucksack camera bag (Tamrac Expedition 7) with gear in weighs around 13 kilos !!

I know your Antarctica forum is a closed forum, so hope you didn't mind re emailing you.

A number of people have said don't bother taking a Tripod and I would like your view.

I have bought 2 Leki carbon walking poles, both of which have a camera screws under the handle, so that I can put my camera on them as a monopod, and I understand from other people that when you are close to the penguins and on the boats/zodiacs, a lot of photos are taken hand held.

My tripod is just another heavy item to take, and as I am travelling on my own, I am trying to minimise what I take !

What is your views on this? Is a Tripod a necessity. I don't use mine much anyway, except for sunsets, and you never know, I might be able to borrow someone else on the trip !!

Any advice on lenses would be good.

Plant to take the following:-

All Canon:
10-22 m Wide Angle
24-75 m (2.8 Lens)
70-300 m DO Lens
100-400m L Lens


Also, is a flash useful.

I am not technical, but a friend said stick my camera on P and minus - a couple of stops compensation? Any views

Sorry for this long list, but I am a novice and want to make the most of this trip !!

Thank you SO much in advance.

Debbie :-)

 
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pindman

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HELP .. advice on newbie to Antarctica ? what to take?
« Reply #1 on: October 28, 2008, 11:12:59 pm »

Debbie,

The 70-300 is more than enough on the long end, but you may have some lens flare; the 100-400 is probably longer than you need, and does add weight.  Any chance you can pick up a 70-200 f/4 L IS?  Given the cost of the trip, it might be a good investment.  Then leave the longer ones behind.  If you stay till January I'll meet you there.

Have a wonderful time!

Paul

Quote from: dibdobbs
Hi,

I am new to the forum, and hope I have put this in the right spot !!

A quick response would be very gratefully received as I am off this Friday to Antarctica !!!

I am off to Antarctica this Friday and am joining Quark Expeditions to Snow Hill to photograph the Emperor Penguins.

I am a keen enthusiast, and am taking my Canon 50D and Canon 40D as backup.

I am not relishing the 1.5 mile hike across the ice with my backpack which seems to get heavier by the day !!

I want to only take things I know that I will use, as my bag already ways 29 kilos and my rucksack camera bag (Tamrac Expedition 7) with gear in weighs around 13 kilos !!

I know your Antarctica forum is a closed forum, so hope you didn't mind re emailing you.

A number of people have said don't bother taking a Tripod and I would like your view.

I have bought 2 Leki carbon walking poles, both of which have a camera screws under the handle, so that I can put my camera on them as a monopod, and I understand from other people that when you are close to the penguins and on the boats/zodiacs, a lot of photos are taken hand held.

My tripod is just another heavy item to take, and as I am travelling on my own, I am trying to minimise what I take !

What is your views on this? Is a Tripod a necessity. I don't use mine much anyway, except for sunsets, and you never know, I might be able to borrow someone else on the trip !!

Any advice on lenses would be good.

Plant to take the following:-

All Canon:
10-22 m Wide Angle
24-75 m (2.8 Lens)
70-300 m DO Lens
100-400m L Lens


Also, is a flash useful.

I am not technical, but a friend said stick my camera on P and minus - a couple of stops compensation? Any views

Sorry for this long list, but I am a novice and want to make the most of this trip !!

Thank you SO much in advance.

Debbie :-)

 
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feppe

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HELP .. advice on newbie to Antarctica ? what to take?
« Reply #2 on: October 29, 2008, 03:29:14 am »

Michael wrote an article about (mostly photography) gear available to everyone - that should be helpful.

situgrrl

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HELP .. advice on newbie to Antarctica ? what to take?
« Reply #3 on: October 29, 2008, 07:24:59 am »

I've never been to Antarctica but I would throw in certainly a PL filter and probably some NDs.  A 2x convertor is much lighter than the 100-400 if weight is a major issue.  To get the AF to work with the 70-300 you will need to tape the pins (Google will explain.)  

I would also recommend getting a firm handle on exposure before you go - you need to be dialing in +ve compensation rather than negative.  There is loads on this site about expose to the right (ETTR) which is necessary to extract the most information from a digital capture.  I have no problems with auto exposure modes - but to use them right I believe a firm understanding of shutter and aperture are needed.  My cameras tend to live in Av mode though Tv has it's place.  

HTH

Charly

dibdobbs

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HELP .. advice on newbie to Antarctica ? what to take?
« Reply #4 on: October 30, 2008, 09:58:46 pm »

Thanks for your comments.

appreciated.

Debs
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cgf

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HELP .. advice on newbie to Antarctica ? what to take?
« Reply #5 on: October 31, 2008, 08:16:32 am »

Quote from: dibdobbs
Thanks for your comments.

appreciated.

Debs

You're in luck at this site... MR plus some fortunate workshop members have done a couple of Antactric trips.

MR's thoughts on equipment can be found here - antarctica what worked and what didn't

An entertaining perspective on one of the trips has been written up by Jeff Schewe - here on his website

And here are the other Antarctic articles/pages found on this site:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/ND-m8-aa.shtml
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/location...c-archive.shtml
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/locations/antarctica.shtml
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/location...snapshots.shtml
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/workshop...embers-05.shtml

Enjoy your trip!!!!
Fergus.
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Plekto

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HELP .. advice on newbie to Antarctica ? what to take?
« Reply #6 on: October 31, 2008, 04:29:14 pm »

Awesome links.  I *so* have to get out there some day.  

As for cameras, I'd be tempted to also bring along a film camera - something that's completely zero tech as an ultimate backup in case the newer stuff dies in the cold or suffers other problems.  IIRC, Canon made a few bodies that will work with your current lenses, though an old range finder might also work well.  (I get the feeling that half of everyone's gear died at one point or another from that first article)
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