Need a Camera, No Ordinary camera though

[northwest]

I have a friend who is going to take "the trip of a lifetime" - and this really is it - She is going to trace Scotts trek to the Antarctic! She has told me how much this is costing !!! and the duration is a little more than three months.

So, being the sort of "techie person" I have been asked "Which camera should I buy for the trip"? This is quite a big ask - what if it all goes wrong! In the first instance, she is not a very accomplished mechanical/technical person, but no fool either and willing to learn. I have said, no matter what the final choice is, she MUST practice with the camera BEFORE the trip, if anything goes wrong or she needs advice, it is much easier here than on a small boat in the ocean.
I have also said she must buy spare batteries as the cold kills them so a couple as backup is a requirement. An SLR is out of the question. There is just too much to go wrong and the swapping of lenses is a bit much on the Arctic Tundra for a person who hasn't been doing this with recularity for some time - Please don't say it is easy enough to learn, it is but too much could go horribly wrong, I know the type of person she is.

The camera will have all of the wrong demands placed on it, it will be wanted for group shots in a tiny cabin on board ship and to photograph wildlife at a distance in an all white setting at below zero temperatures! This is a big ask.
I am very familiar with Cameras, I have a very nice Canon and a lot of glass, some L too so I understand a great deal more than most but this is completely uncharted territory for me - a compact with a good lens. Ho Hum!!

All suggestions gratefully recieved.

[DaveK]

PM Hamish - right up his street!

[northwest]

PM Hamish - right up his street!

I have actually and I am hoping he will be along soon. :)

[Reid Malenfant]

I was going to suggest firing off an email to the BBC as they have done a lot of filming there, oh look, I just did :eyebrows:

It can't do any harm after all..

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Blimey ...
that is a tall ask from a camera! especially when talking about wanting to be able to take shots of animals from a distance...

Just how cold are we talking?

My first inclination would be to go for a "tough" compact
the new olympus looks the most interesting
http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/29_digital-camera_tg-1_25792.htm
http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/images/products/mediando/DI_TG-1__Product_000_M.jpg

Waterproof, and freezeproof to -10
the lens isnt that long but the thing that makes this camera most interesting is that it will allow the use of a clip on 1.7x telecoverter - im not aware of another of this sort of camera that has a feature like this

Im a little stumped otherwise if im honest ...

Im guessing temperatures are going to be a lot lower than -10 ...
Another advantage of a compact camera is that it can be kept inside clothing where it would be warmer and only taken out for use ... that should stop the lcd freezing at very least. as you say a good few spare batteries would be a good idea!

I would probably take a completely mechanical film camera as back up

[Z-A]

I agree, totally manual film camera, relying on battery power at minus 40 -60 would be risky to say the least. Old OM 1? Just a suggestion having had electronics fail in the Himalayas..

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Although I'd be worried about film getting brittle at that low temperature ...
The camera would still need to be kept warm regardless

[northwest]

Blimey ...
that is a tall ask from a camera! especially when talking about wanting to be able to take shots of animals from a distance...

Just how cold are we talking?

My first inclination would be to go for a "tough" compact
the new olympus looks the most interesting
http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/29_digital-camera_tg-1_25792.htm
http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/images/products/mediando/DI_TG-1__Product_000_M.jpg

Waterproof, and freezeproof to -10
the lens isnt that long but the thing that makes this camera most interesting is that it will allow the use of a clip on 1.7x telecoverter - im not aware of another of this sort of camera that has a feature like this

Im a little stumped otherwise if im honest ...

Im guessing temperatures are going to be a lot lower than -10 ...
Another advantage of a compact camera is that it can be kept inside clothing where it would be warmer and only taken out for use ... that should stop the lcd freezing at very least. as you say a good few spare batteries would be a good idea!

I would probably take a completely mechanical film camera as back up

Well that is really terrific advice Hamish thank you. This fits the bill perfectly actually because the budget is around £500 and the whole package could come in, including batteries and extra lens, for less than this so plenty left over for Memory Cards. I would like to hear any further suggestions but I really do think that you scored a hole in one there.
Interestingly I have just had a PM from another member of the forum I have been chatting to about this and a friend of his actually ran a Marathon in the Arctic:stalks: He was apparently the only one with photographs as he took along a compact while everyone else had SLR's. Because the camera was in his pocket it did not suffer the extremes of cold the SLR's did.
Not like going for a day out to the seaside!

[The Vinyl Adventure]

A marathon in the arctic ... That is so far from what I would concider I mce day out I can't even begin to tell you ;)
Good news that it fits the bill!
Another nice feture I forgot to mention is that it has gps so the images would be tagged with long and lat and could be mapped on return!

[northwest]

I agree, totally manual film camera, relying on battery power at minus 40 -60 would be risky to say the least. Old OM 1? Just a suggestion having had electronics fail in the Himalayas..

This is something I had not considered, I had suggested she take my 10Mpixel Casio point n squirt as it is a pretty decent thing but having thought about it there are loads of film camera's available for reasonable money. I am not willing to loan anyone my Leica and they are big money now anyway.
So! What for a compact backup FILM camera? Please, no collectors items, but something robust. And simple to use. Not battery powered.

[snapper]

a friend of his actually ran a Marathon in the Arctic:stalks:







A marathon in the arctic ...




Not only that, but he was wearing a kilt at the time. Actually, he runs every marathon wearing his kilt.

The Running Kilt. (http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/2006/05/08/jim-the-running-kilt-86908-17045758/)

:mental:

:lol:

[snapper]

So! What for a compact backup FILM camera? Please, no collectors items, but something robust. And simple to use. Not battery powered.



I've used this Olympus MJU (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OLYMPUS-MJU-ZOOM-35MM-FILM-CAMERA-35-70MM-LENS-TIMER-WEATHERPROOF-33F12-/350559819904?pt=UK_Film_Cameras&hash=item519efe5880) on jobs for the papers before and always had good results. Never tried it in the Arctic though.

[snapper]

:doh:

Scrap that. Never noticed 'Not battery powered'.

[Reid Malenfant]

I've used this Olympus MJU (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OLYMPUS-MJU-ZOOM-35MM-FILM-CAMERA-35-70MM-LENS-TIMER-WEATHERPROOF-33F12-/350559819904?pt=UK_Film_Cameras&hash=item519efe5880) on jobs for the papers before and always had good results. Never tried it in the Arctic though.
Ahhhh, your forum monika now makes perfect sense David :D

6720 :)

[snapper]

Ahhhh, your forum monika now makes perfect sense David :D

6720 :)


Ask Marco, he knows the full story.

;)

[The Vinyl Adventure]

This is something I had not considered, I had suggested she take my 10Mpixel Casio point n squirt as it is a pretty decent thing but having thought about it there are loads of film camera's available for reasonable money. I am not willing to loan anyone my Leica and they are big money now anyway.
So! What for a compact backup FILM camera? Please, no collectors items, but something robust. And simple to use. Not battery powered.

there is one simple answer to this question!
Olympus trip 35!
fully auto, powered from a selenium cell, pretty indestructible, cheap as chips!
would be an ideal back up!
assuming selenium is not buggered by the cold that is ... ?

[northwest]

Another nice feture I forgot to mention is that it has gps so the images would be tagged with long and lat and could be mapped on return!

:stalks: A-Mazing!

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I've never used gps on a camera ... If I was going to the antarctic I really would want to!

[Mark Grant]

When I tried a GPS on a compact camera the battery life was reduced so not ideal if away for 3 months. A good feature if you can charge up easily.

I would take two digital compacts ideally that both use the same battery type so less chargers needed or find on that uses AA as a backup camera.

A long zoom lens on a compact is likely to struggle in the extreme cold and they are fragile, maybe choose one of the cameras with a fixed focal length so less moving parts.

Maybe a robust waterproof model and a normal model and a few Genuine memory cards, beware of ebay or Amazon marketplace sellers for memory cards as I am sure everyone knows. Buy direct from Amazon or a reputable retailer.

link about fakes and a free utility to check cards is on there somewhere:
http://sosfakeflash.wordpress.com/

Fuji do a few robust compacts on their refurb site:
http://shop.fujifilm.co.uk/refurbished-digital-cameras?cat=50

also some compacts that would do, look for same battery type in both if you buy two:
http://shop.fujifilm.co.uk/refurbished-digital-cameras?cat=61

A battery charger that can be run on what ever power source is available will be needed, maybe a 12v charger or solar powered etc, the organiser of the expedition might have some information on charging stuff.

[morris_minor]

Blimey ...
that is a tall ask from a camera! especially when talking about wanting to be able to take shots of animals from a distance...

Just how cold are we talking?

My first inclination would be to go for a "tough" compact
the new olympus looks the most interesting
http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/29_digital-camera_tg-1_25792.htm
http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/images/products/mediando/DI_TG-1__Product_000_M.jpg



The Olympus caters well for animal photography: it has a "pet detection mode" :lol:

Seriously, though, that is a great looking piece of kit. I'd agree on something like an OM1 too. This was my favourite camera of all time - and nice and light too . . .

[northwest]

I've used this Olympus MJU (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OLYMPUS-MJU-ZOOM-35MM-FILM-CAMERA-35-70MM-LENS-TIMER-WEATHERPROOF-33F12-/350559819904?pt=UK_Film_Cameras&hash=item519efe5880) on jobs for the papers before and always had good results. Never tried it in the Arctic though.

Well, I have a good friend who showed up one day at the airport for an overseas trip and this is exactly what he brought along. He was as proud as punch as it was purchased brand new for the trip. I ripped him relentlessly - How can a plastic cased thing like that compete with my 20lb Camera bag and all the lenses I had brought with me!!!

Well, a week later I was asking him how much he had paid for it:rolleyes:
The pictures were superb, it fit in a pocket it worked all day, every day and DIDN'T weigh 20lb and pull your shoulder off. Not to mention all the attention every scumbag gives to a well packed camera bag!

If it wasn't for the battery I would say this was perfect, however you would have to go a long way to beat the Trip 35 for simplicity. I was astonished to be able to find them on ebay selling at auction finish for a tenner! Amazing value.

Where do you go now to get film processed? And should I suggest to her Transparency film or regular colour film?
On a personal note some of the best photographs I have ever taken I took using black and white film so I am going to suggest she takes at least two rolls of Black and White film.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I have an Oly mju ii it's a great little camera, with a nice 35mm 2.8 lens!

I wouldn't recomend using e6 film it's hard to find people who process it ... Stick to black and white process and c41 is my recomendation!

I use a company called photo imaging north Wales ... They do black and white and c41 process (even black and white is hard to find these days, but of course it's a peice of cake to do your self :))

As for the trip, the older, slightly more desirable ones have metal buttons, the newer ones have black plastic buttons ... It might be best to go for a newer one and run a film through it befor they go!
You can check to see if the meter is working by putting your hand over it and trying to take a shot... If its working a little red flag will pop up in the vf... Testing for acuracy is not quite as easy mind - hense running a film through it before the trip :)

[Stratmangler]

Dunno if this helps http://www.coolantarctica.com/photography/photography_tips_1_gear.htm

[northwest]

Dunno if this helps http://www.coolantarctica.com/photography/photography_tips_1_gear.htm

Thanks a lot for that, very interesting. As the lady would not be able to cope with an SLR I am advising her to go down the compact route but she found the article very useful.