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Cameras
There are people who say that you should never take a camera to a beautiful place because you'll not "see what's there". I'm in the other camp; you should never go to a beautiful place without a camera. If you think it's interfering with your overall appreciation of the spot, put it down for a while. The camera you have with you won't leap up into your face spontaneously, after all! But the one you don't have with you won't capture any astonishing images, and if you do any amount of adventure travel at all you will see many of those astonishing images. Don't sit at home afterward wishing you'd captured them. I may shoot ten thousand pictures on a trip, and even on one-week trips I've shot five thousand. But I don't feel I missed the scenery. If you're taking so long to take pictures you never get to look at the view without the camera, you're spending too long framing shots.
OK, so you'll take a camera. What one should you take? Chances are that the answer is "the one you already have" because it's not particularly smart or fun to break in a new camera on some trip of a lifetime. On the other hand, many people will want to look at a camera especially for adventure travel, either because they don't have one already or because the one they have isn't suitable.
What's a suitable camera? Taking that topic on is a great way to make enemies of those who own ones that you say isn't suitable. Let's take a different tack; what should you look for in an adventure camera? Here are some recommendations:
- Seriously consider a digital camera unless you can't use a computer (and if that's the case how are you reading this?) Digital is much cheaper to shoot and print, produces better results, lets you post pictures on photo sites or email them to friends, and all that good stuff. They won't hold you up at security to open fifty film cans in airport inspection either!
- If you are familiar with interchangeable-lens or "Single-Lens Reflex" (SLR) models, and if you're comfortable with the size, those will generally take the best pictures. The top SLR brands are Canon, Nikon, and Sony in my view. The smaller models (the Nikon D600, for example) are not much bigger than a point and shoot camera but they will generate much better pictures.
- If you are more comfortable without the complexity of SLRs, by all means get a point-and-shoot digital. There are other advantages to this kind of camera too; it is usually smaller and lighter than a digital SLR, and many will also shoot video clips as well as still images. If you want wildlife shots, look for something that has about an 8:1 or better optical zoom ratio. Don't ever use digital zoom; ignore whatever they say about it. My wife carries a Canon S5 and it's a great little camera.
- Get something with at least 6 Megapixels and if you like close-up shots go for 8 or even more. For prints larger than 8x10 you may also want to opt for more megapixels, but remember that the number of megapixels influences how big a memory card you'll need.
- If you are really serious about your images, find a model that supports shooting in RAW mode and set it that way. If no RAW mode is available, then shoot with the highest-quality JPG file format you can. That means the smallest number of pictures per card. Check your manual for what mode that is and how to set it.
- Take a lot of memory cards with you. An 8 GB SD memory card now costs about $50 so there's no excuse not to have one. Set your camera for the least compression and largest image size if you can't shoot RAW. We traveled a number of times with people who didn't bring enough memory cards to hold their images and they were really bummed out, or they had to buy some more at tourist prices.
- Think about getting a camera that will also shoot movies. Many of the high-end point-and-shoots and some of the new DSLRs will shoot video. It's wonderful when you need it, and it's always an option. If you plan to take video be aware that even "decent" video will use up an 8G card in about an hour. You may need extra storage.
- Don't expose your camera to water (rain), drop it, or get it too hot.
- Remember your attery charger and spare batteries, and be sure that your charger will work with the current in the countries you are visiting, and that you have adapter plugs as needed.
You may need some form of camera support to keep your camera steady in low light, or if you have a video feature that you're using. There are three primary choices here:
- Tripods, which are the usual three-legged things you always see under cameras. These will hold a camera steady even if you aren't holding on to it, but they are also bulky and often heavy. If you want a good one, get carbon fiber. Be sure the tripod is rated to hold the weight of the camera and the heaviest lens you think you'll buy.
- Monopods, which are one-legged tripods. These are really almost sticks with a camera mounting on top. They won't hold a camera up, and they're not as steady as a tripod, but you probably will find them good enough for anything but exposures of a second or more, and they're a lot easier to haul around.
- Beanbags, which are just bags filled with some loose material like dried beans or plastic spheres. These are designed to dampen vibration if you have to rest the camera on something like an open car window or the railing of a ship. They're really nice for their mission, but unless you get one that has a tripod screw on it, there's a risk you'll drop the thing out of the car or overboard
I've got all these support options, and truth be told I've not been using them much. The reason may be enlightening; if you have a good image-stabilized lens you probably won't need them in most cases and they're another thing to carry along and set up. If you plan to shoot long time exposures you'll need them. If you have a really long telephoto lens without image stabilization you'll need one. If you do low-light shooting you may want one, but the value will depend on just where you are.
Let me illustrate with a story. I did a cruise to Panama and Costa Rica and I followed my usual practice of carrying a small monopod to help get better shots of birds, etc. The trip was a superb birding trip to be sure, but in a rain forest hiking in a group, it was really hard to get the monopod set up quickly without stabbing or slashing my companions, and even hiking along presented a risk of random violence to others. I also found that I was getting into all kinds of weird positions to shoot, from sitting and kneeling to prone and crawling. The monopod started staying aboard, and I'm not even taking one on the next trip. I think I'd take a full tripod with a gimbal head if I were planning a Yellowstone driving trip and took my 500 mm Sigma with the 1.4x teleconverter, but unless you're planning that kind of trip you may want to think about just shooting while handholding.
Travel lenses are another question where you have multiple choices. Most people will tell you that a zoom lens is best, but there are so many ranges of zoom available that advice isn't all that helpful. If you buy a point-and-shoot digital it will come with a lens, usually a zoom lens with a range like 4:1 or 8:1 specified. If you buy a digital SLR you can change lenses when you have to. Here are some suggestions:
- For wildlife photography, you'll need a long telephoto lens. For interchangeable lenses, that means something longer than 200mm. For cameras with fixed zoom lenses, look for at least 8:1 zoom range for wildlife. I use an 80-400mm zoom for most wildlife shots.
- For scenery you need something wider-angle. Digital SLRs with interchangeable lenses are best with something that zooms from about 14 mm or 17mm up to at least 55mm. I use a 17-55 zoom for scenery and people shots.
- There are some nice lenses that go from about 18 to 200 mm, but this is a very wide range and you will need to test carefully to be sure the lens is sharp, meaning that the pictures are crisp. I've not had much luck with this range.
- A good general-purpose lens might zoom from about 50-150mm but that range isn't popular.
- Most point-and-shoot cameras won't zoom much in the wide-angle direction so you may have to experiment if you want extreme wide-angle shots.
- Look for lenses with image stabilization (if your camera body doesn't have it). The term varies by manufacturer; Canon calls it "IS" and Nikon "VR". It's essential if you're using anything over 200mm in my view. My 80-400 Nikon zoom is a VR lens and I've gotten serviceable shots at 400mm with 1/100th second or lower shutter speeds. You're not going there without VR unless you use support, and that can be difficult.
Most cameras will have a setting that lets you adapt to overall light level--you'll find it under some arcane acronym like "ISO" in your manual. If you know cameras pretty well, you can set this yourself for conditions. If not, see if your camera has an "auto ISO" setting and set it there. A general rule is to set an ISO of 200 or less for normal shots and to go to a higher ISO for telephoto or low-light shots. Your pictures will get visibly grainy at higher ISOs so don't just set ISO 800 and leave it there! When you get into the trip, every time you're in a new place or have a new lighting condition, check to see what your exposure will be and adjust the ISO as needed. It's nearly impossible to hold any shot steady at less than 1/30th second exposure, and if you have a telephoto lens or are zoomed to telephoto, you should expect to see shutter speeds of 1/250th for short zoom/telephoto, or even 1/500th for long telephoto. If you don't get that exposure, change your ISO before you start shooting. That way you won't mess up shots. I traveled in Africa with a companion DSLR user who was shooting telephoto shots with shutter speeds down around 1/20th of a second becuase the ISO was set too low. None of these shots came out, and wildlife pictures aren't ones you can get a do-over for!
On my recent trip to Panama/Costa Rica I did a lot of shooting at ISO 640, 800, and even higher. Sure, the shots were grainy, but they were a lot better than I'd have gotten at ISO 400 with a shutter speed of 1/25th of a second at 400mm zoom! Get software with a noise reduction capability and jack up the ISO value to keep your shutter speeds high enough. Camera shake is worse than digital noise.
I've complied a series of photo and camera tips over the years; if you're interested in them please click HERE !
Learn to use your camera before the trip; take some walks or outings to get familiar with it. Be sure to take your manual with you too!
Camera Cases and Bags
You will almost certainly need something to carry your camera in, not only two and from your trip but also while you're traveling. There are many options here, and just what will be best depends on what camera you have and where you're going.
Most people with small point-and-shoot cameras find that sticking them in normal carry-on luggage is the best approach while you're en route, and most will stick them in a pocket, which is probably not a good idea for anything but the smallest. For most, a backpack or (best bet in my view) belt pouch is better for hiking and walking around on the trip itself. The only thing you need to worry about is whether the camera is protected.
Two bad things happen to point-and-shoot cameras on trips. First, you get them wet. Second, you bang them around either by falling on them or dropping them. The reason I like a belt pouch for small camera transport is that you can put a rainproof jacket on to cover the pouch and it will then protect the camera. Belt pouches are also better for protecting the camera because most times if you fall forward you'll catch yourself and won't land on the pouch. If you use a backpack, try to find one that at least resists water or has a rain cover.
For the bigger digital SLRs (like I have), you can't be as cavalier. Most will be too large to fit in pouches and many won't be comfortable in a normal backpack. That gives you two options, essentially. First, you can buy a photo-backpack and second you can buy a holster.
Photo backpacks are great for most purposes. You can use them for traveling to your trip and also while hiking or walking. The good ones (I have a Lowepro) will have a sleeve for laptops and will also have a rain cover that will keep everything dry if you have to walk in the rain. Get the smallest one that will hold your gear adequately, keeping in mind that you'll want to put anything that's not likely to be stolen (meaning not particularly valuable relative to your normal luggage contents) in your luggage. Many countries will restrict the weight and size of carry-ons.
Holsters are really my favorite choice for large cameras, but I have to admit that your spouse and friends will likely laugh at you when they first see you using one. A camera holster is a case that's designed to be belt-mounted. The top zips open to allow access to the camera, and good ones are expandable so that you can still get the camera in when you put the lens hood on. Think Tank Photo makes mine, and I have two (because I have two cameras). You'll need to measure carefully to make sure you get a model that will fit. You should get the photo belt from the same company who makes your holster. I tried to use a standard web belt and it's just not secure or comfortable. If you have a single heavy camera or (worse yet) two heavy cameras, you'll probably want to get a harness to transfer some weight to your shoulders and to insure that the whole mess doesn't slip down around your knees (possibly taking your pants with it) while you're climbing up some steep trail. Holsters from Think Tank have rain covers like the backpacks do, so that will keep your gear dry.
One of the biggest problems with big cameras in any bag or holster comes with wet landings. If you are landing on a beach from a zodiac, you'll likely face the risk of getting drenched, dropping the gear, etc. The best solution for that is to get a nylon dry bag to hold the gear while you're going ashore, or returning. Always assume that if there's any surf at all, you're going to get very wet. Most times that won't be the case, but the cost of being wrong can be considerable. Even if you think you're safe (or don't have a dry bag with you) always deploy your rain cover before you get into any small boat. If you don't have one of those either, then be sure every zipper is snug and hang onto the bag so it doesn't actually fall into the water. Holsters and backpacks for pro cameras will stay dry in their main compartments even if a big wave drenches you, but get the gear out of a wet bag quickly and dry it out thoroughly before you use it again.
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