Antarctica

[didirus]

Hi All,
I will be going on the Antarctica cruise sometime next month and was wondering if anyone here has experience in this kind of trip.
What kind of exp comp shld i be looking out for? Any need for tripod?
I'm planning to bring D300s with 12-24mm, 17-55mm and 70-200mm. As it will be a cruise with only some land excursions, I'm not too worried about carrying too much equip.
And advise will be appreciated.

 

[sabrewolf]

Never been there, but as the norm for cold weather photography. Bring tons and tons of batteries, you will not believe how the cold will eat up the juice from the battery. Keep spare batteries warm in your pocket and replace them frequently.

A good glove, the one with naked fingers (or just the thumbs and index), goes a long way. Not too thick or you will find it hard to operate your camera.

Watchout for moisture when bringing your camera from indoor. Most will recommend putting your camera in a plastic bag before you get outside and let it sit outside for 10-15min, before taking it out.

 

[2evans]

Searched and found this article with some good info, http://photo.net/learn/nature/antarctica

 

[didirus]

Hi,
Thanks for the replies and help. Hopefully I'll get to take some nice pics to post.
Appreciate it.

 

[JacePhoto]

wow, its my dream to do this cruise as well. do share the photos...

 

[daredevil123]

Watchout for moisture when bringing your camera from indoor. Most will recommend putting your camera in a plastic bag before you get outside and let it sit outside for 10-15min, before taking it out.

Going from warm to cold, there is no problem. Cold air is always a lot dryer than warm air.

Only need to watch out when going from cold to warm. So from cold outdoors going indoors, you need to watch for condensation.

 

[Alpina]

hi, i saw this documentary about a curise to antarctica starting from australia.
is that the one you are going on?
enjoy yourself and have fun, it looks very beautiful although i've never been there.
bring a telephoto lens as i saw people taking photos of penguins.

 

[DarkImperial]

tell us more about your trip when you come back. Will be hearing from you.

 

[pupuce]

Hey there,

I was in antarctica for a 12 days cruise with 6 days landing including the 7th Continent.
I was using only a 18-200mm lens as I was on a 15 months long trip so weight of equiment was kept to minimal.
If you can bring a zoom of 300mm will be advantageous as we had many close calls with the humpback whales while we zipped around in our zodiacs and I managed to get some shots of other zodiacs close to the whales with their water spray. At that time,
I wish I had a 300mm to capture that scene. There are also lots of birds species if that interest you so a good zoom will help.

You dont need the telelens for the penguins as they are are up close and personal..if you get over the smelly poop and get there to their level, their curiousity will bring them so close to you and they will peck at you to check you out!

Enjoy as it is like watching national Geographic except this time, its for real..

 

[jaskak]

Going from warm to cold, there is no problem. Cold air is always a lot dryer than warm air.

Only need to watch out when going from cold to warm. So from cold outdoors going indoors, you need to watch for condensation.

I met one photographer who crossed Antarctica by skis, pole to pole expedition. He was using Nikon D700 on at Antarctica and he told me that, if staying long time at cold places, leave your camera outside, just take memory cards with you warm inside. This way you prevent every day warm-cold changes in your camera, no need to be afraid condensation.
He also did nice trick with the battery, he soldered attachment with short wire to battery pin inside the camera, put battery under his coat (chest pocket), did same kind of attachment to battery end and he had longer wire going under his sleeve on a hand he used to hold the camera, wire coming out of the cuff with quick attachment. So every time he wanted to start shooting, he took camera from his bag, quickly connected the camera wire and the wire coming from cuff. This way battery was always warm and lasted LOOONG time.
He didnt have any problems on with D700 at Antarctica.

But of course, this is a bit extreme example.