What lens should I bring to Antarctica and Patagonia?

[Songyun]

I am going to take a 2 weeks trips to Antarctica and Chile by Christmas time. I am thinking to bring a digital camera (5D3) and a 4X5 (Chamonix 45H1). The question is what lens should I bring with me.
For the following three location: Antarctica, Torres del Paine, and Easter island. There is a weight limit for the flight to King Georges island, and for Torres del Paine, I have to balance the weight for the hiking.
for digital: I have 24-70, 70-200, 400, 85, 35
for 4X5 I have Schneider 58XL, 80SSXL, 110 SSXL, 150Apo Sironar S, 210 APo Sironar, 300 Fuji C, 360A, 450C, and NIkon SW 90f8
Would you suggest the lens I should bring with me for Antarctica and Torres del Paine.

[Pfsor]

It depends on what you want to take pictures of, doesn't it? If you shoot portraits at home maybe you will not shoot them in Antarctica.

[diversey]

For digital, I like to use 24-70 and 70-200; for LF 4x5, I like to use 150 and 210.

[Songyun]

My favorite is 110 and 210, but not sure if I should pack wider lens for landscape.

[faberryman]

This is the problem when you have a lot of equipment. How do you normally choose your lenses when you go someplace to photograph?

[Nodda Duma]

As a lens designer, I would be concerned with thermal shock. So I recommend relatively new lenses that would deal with thermal shock better (think cemented doublets separating), or lenses that do not have cemented doublets such as a landscape lens or Cooke triplets. Very old school lenses such as rapid rectilinear which have shallow curvature on the cemented surfaces are OK as well.

Also be sure you have a back up plan for shutters that may not work in the extremely cold temperatures. So that would mean barrel lenses with focal plane shutters, for example. Also, don't forget your polarizing filter.

I would refer to lens layouts or lens diagrams to evaluate lens choice with shallow curvatures on the cemented surfaces.

[Drew Wiley]

I don't know how close you'll actually get to the peaks in Paine, but a 210 and 300 would probably be smart. Too long and you'll likely have trouble with the incessant wind. I'd leave behind anything ultrs-wide. I've never been there, but did equip my nephew for the first ascent of the face of Escudo, possibly the most difficult technical climb ever done in Soth America. Batteries getting too cold was a predictable problem. So keep a warm spare in a pocket for your meter or whatever.

[Drew Wiley]

Oh, and I notice you've got some very nice lenses that are going to be difficult or impossible to replace. Do you really want to risk them under unknown conditions? For that reason alone, I'd personally leave behind the 360A. I will admit I've used that very lens hundreds of times in the mountains, but it's the kind of photography I'm very familiar with - and things do go wrong, including blowing sand. I also shoot a 450C quite a bit, and know that just a tiny bit of wind vibration can spoil of 4x5 shot at that kind of bellows length. You won't be traveling with a camera, but a kite! I'm packing right now for another mountain trip.

[Denny]

For digital, I'd be reluctant to change lenses in the field (dust never sleeps), and I would probably just go with the 24-70. I have to admit that I'm curious about why you have so many lenses. In any case, I agree with the suggestion for 150 and 210, though I would also add a wide angle. But really, only you know what and how you like to shoot. This is kind of like asking what beer should I drink...

Have fun on the trip. Be sure to look at Elliot Porter's Antarctica photos and Michael Kenna's Easter Island photos, they're sure to give you some inspiration.

Denny

[Jac@stafford.net]

As a lens designer, I would be concerned with thermal shock. [... snip more good stuff ...]

An associate, about 87 years-old, has done both poles twice. He uses a Linhof 6x17. I asked him how the focus and shutter performed is deep sub-zero cold and he reluctantly told me that modern lubricants liberated his moral conscience from depending on 'black fish oil', which was extracted from a Dolphin species. Ugh. Is not nature amazing?

Back on topic: I have several lenses that cannot work at all in cold weather. Have them fixed.

[Drew Wiley]

Eliot just took his gear "as is" - no winterization. I've had numerous arctic explorers and extreme Himalayan climbers in my home, even living here. The simpler the equipment, the better (back then, that meant totally manual Nikon F-series cameras, classic old Pentax 35mm or 6x7 (battery, but no fancy electronics). I doubt that any tourist venue to the edge of Antarctica or to Paine NP is going to encounter conditions that extreme. Friends haven't had problems with typical cameras. But with a view camera you've always got the risk of lenses or a GG fogging up due to a sudden temp change. Gear can get blown over by wind gusts and instantly ruined. Seen it all. The less stuff, the better. But I would take a view camera if it were me. That's a rare opportunity.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Eliot just took his gear "as is" - no winterization. I've had numerous arctic explorers and extreme Himalayan climbers in my home, even living here. The simpler the equipment, the better (back then, that meant totally manual Nikon F-series cameras, classic old Pentax 35mm or 6x7 (battery, but no fancy electronics). I doubt that any tourist venue to the edge of Antarctica or to Paine NP is going to encounter conditions that extreme. Friends haven't had problems with typical cameras. But with a view camera you've always got the risk of lenses or a GG fogging up due to a sudden temp change. Gear can get blown over by wind gusts and instantly ruined. Seen it all. The less stuff, the better. But I would take a view camera if it were me. That's a rare opportunity.

I believe your tourists went outside for a few moments, took unremarkable pictures and went back inside. IOW, I call bullshit.


The less stuff, the better. But I would take a view camera if it were me. That's a rare opportunity.

I am sure you will tell us if/when you actually do it. Until then it is your fantasy.

[Drew Wiley]

No, they're outdoorsy types, including a team cop you wouldn't want to say that to in person. But they are the types I wouldn't bother to discuss gear with. There are others, however, whose entire expeditions, sometimes months at a time, were funded by those expecting recognizable shots of extreme terrain with their company logo somehow "accidentally" visible on the foreground, on a jacket sleeve or tent etc. Not exactly "art", but the kind of thing that makes it to the cover of a climbing magazine.

[Drew Wiley]

Interested in coming along on a little hike in a couple of weeks, Jac? - right here in "sunny" Cal.

[LabRat]

Well, one crude test would be to place selected lenses in the freezer for a couple of days, and see which ones operate well, and don't develop issues...

Different oil based lubes used inside of gear are the biggest problem, but used dry or modern silicone lubes should do OK... Talk to a good camera tech well before you go...

Someone I knew took a electronic shutter Nikon 35MM to the region, where it didn't work most of the time due to the battery issues, so overrides and back-ups should be looked into in advance...

Note that plastics, and vinyls that cover bellows, etc can get stiff enough to break like a cracker, so consider/research other materials that can stand prolonged cold...

Prepare anything you bring for a "plan B", should any system fail, you can shoot through it...

Steve K

[Jac@stafford.net]

Well, one crude test would be to place selected lenses in the freezer for a couple of days, and see which ones operate well, and don't develop issues...

My freezer does not produce temperatures lower than just outside in depth of our Winter. In the Winter I move my stored film from the freezer to the shed. My mate is so happy to recover the freezer space. :)

[Jac@stafford.net]

Interested in coming along on a little hike in a couple of weeks, Jac? - right here in "sunny" Cal.

No thanks, Drew. You have no way to know that I am mobility impaired. We are okay.

[Songyun]

Oh, and I notice you've got some very nice lenses that are going to be difficult or impossible to replace. Do you really want to risk them under unknown conditions? For that reason alone, I'd personally leave behind the 360A. I will admit I've used that very lens hundreds of times in the mountains, but it's the kind of photography I'm very familiar with - and things do go wrong, including blowing sand. I also shoot a 450C quite a bit, and know that just a tiny bit of wind vibration can spoil of 4x5 shot at that kind of bellows length. You won't be traveling with a camera, but a kite! I'm packing right now for another mountain trip.

360A and 450C is probably staying at home.

I am not sure if I want to take 58xl, however I usually take 110/210 or 80/150/300 combination but often times I find myself always take the wrong set. I mean if I bring 80/150/300 with me, I found the I need the focal length in between, like 110 and 210.

[John Kasaian]

Lots of good advice here on logistics. Having never been to Antarctica I can only offer these concerns:
1. I'd want a lens I can keep mounted when the 4x5 is folded for transport. A lot of moisture can enter a camera through a lens board less front standard. At least the camera back can be sheltered with your focusing cloth.
2. K-Y lubricant (that's right, K-Y) was the recommended lubricant for shooting in the Arctic. This was maybe 30 years ago. The reason given is that it's water soluble so easy to remove on the return to more temperate climes.

I don't know if any of this helps, but good luck! I wish I were going.

[tonyowen]

If I read the OP's #1 post correctly you're be in Antarctica in the local high summer. Googling the question, the temperature at the South pole is -12.3 degrees C and at the Antarctica Peninsular typically 0 degrees C. I'm assuming these temperatures take account of 'normal' wind chill in those places.
So no real temperature problem [I lived in Toronto for years] and the Winter temperatures was typically 0 degrees C to -30 degrees C - without wind chill. I used a Leica M3 without problem even though it turned into a block of ice when moving from outside to indoors!!
Gusty wind is going to be a problem [in both Chile and Antarctica - don't know about Easter Island] - also what clothing are you going to be wearing and how will this effect camera operation????
Have fun - I envy you
regards
Tony

[Drew Wiley]

Waterproof darkcoth with Velcro closure, good lens shade to protect from moisture as well as water. Sturdiest tripod and head you can realistically travel with. Mass and weight help. A good parka. Paine is an extremely popular park with accommodations. Won't be like up on the peaks and their horrific weather. I don 't know if my nephew's ole Rock & Ice magazine article is still online too: Twenty Days of Paine by Chris Breemer, an obvious pun for "pain".That will give you a clue about the weather.

[Bob Salomon]

Check out Neelon Crawford's Antarctica photographs.

[Adam Long]

Paine is pronounced Pie-knee, so pain puns are a touch forced.

When I was in Patagonia my favourite images mainly came from lenses toward the normal range, or slightly longer. I did get plenty of use from wides too, just less keepers. I'd say if the 110Xl and 210 are you favourites, take them. They should suit the landscape nicely and you'll get to use your favourite lenses to boot. Your main issue shooting LF in Patagonia will be the weather - and even if it is fine high wind is still the norm. In Fitzroy about one clear day a week was typical, in Paine probably less.

[Drew Wiley]

One of the three climbers was Chilean, and the article was in English anyway. Climber lingo has long involved every conceivable torture of vocabulary possible. I'm packing right now for a hike to Tunemah Basin, named for an old Chinese shepherder shortcut to there which is somewhat disputed per exact location. But it's commonly known that "tunemah" was an expletive so foul that there is no English equivalent. Nobody ever since has dared approach the basin from the same direction. It overlooks the deepest canyon in North America.

[tgtaylor]

I am going to take a 2 weeks trips to Antarctica and Chile by Christmas time. I am thinking to bring a digital camera (5D3) and a 4X5 (Chamonix 45H1). The question is what lens should I bring with me.
for 4X5 I have Schneider 58XL, 80SSXL, 110 SSXL, 150Apo Sironar S, 210 APo Sironar, 300 Fuji C, 360A, 450C, and NIkon SW 90f8
Would you suggest the lens I should bring with me for Antarctica and Torres del Paine.

150 Apo Sironar-S and 90mm Nikon SW.

Thomas

[Greg]

OK... My passion is LF and ULF film photography. That being said, on a recent trip I took with me my FX DSLR and a spare FX DSLR body and another borrowed DX DSLR. Lenses: 14-24mm, 24-70mm, 80-200mm, and a 200-500mm. All fit easily in my ThinTank backpack which was my carry on luggage. For a tripod I only carried a small "table top" Polaroid tripod with its ball/socket head. Also took a Mac laptop with a rugged Lacie external Hard drive, I was able copy the image files onto the laptop and also onto the Lacie as my backup. Upon getting back home, edited all the images in Lightroom. Color images were printed digitally. My primary B&W print medium is Platinum/Palladium. For these images, I made digital negatives. Largest prints 11x14 and I dare to have anyone tell me if I shot the image with film or digital. One thing I do do is compose my images as if I were using a view camera. I read that Galen Rowell shot this way. Seldom do I press the shutter immediately upon putting the camera up to my eye. Seems as though lately for my photo excursions, I either shoot LF and ULF negatives (80% of the time) or only digital (20% of the time). I'd take Digital with backup to Antarctica and Patagonia... but then we all shoot differently which makes this FORUM interesting.

[Drew Wiley]

By the time Galen's snapshots made it to a page or wall print, they looked so fake that even my non-photographer friends started snickering. He was noted climber, but hardly a role model for serious photography. Any real lilly doesn't need to be gilded.

[Jody_S]

I am going to take a 2 weeks trips to Antarctica and Chile by Christmas time. I am thinking to bring a digital camera (5D3) and a 4X5 (Chamonix 45H1). The question is what lens should I bring with me.
For the following three location: Antarctica, Torres del Paine, and Easter island. There is a weight limit for the flight to King Georges island, and for Torres del Paine, I have to balance the weight for the hiking.
for digital: I have 24-70, 70-200, 400, 85, 35
for 4X5 I have Schneider 58XL, 80SSXL, 110 SSXL, 150Apo Sironar S, 210 APo Sironar, 300 Fuji C, 360A, 450C, and NIkon SW 90f8
Would you suggest the lens I should bring with me for Antarctica and Torres del Paine.

If weight and space are a factor you can't go wrong with the 150 Apo Sironar S.

[John Kasaian]

Or just take a brace of 8x10s long like this guy ;)
http://www.popphoto.com/how-to/2008/12/large-format-antarctic-expedition

[Drew Wiley]

Hmmm... Right now I'm looking at a copy of The Endurace by Caroline Alexander. It's an excellent guide book on Antarctic view camera photography. Even has a recipe for eating penguin for an entire year.

[John Kasaian]

Hmmm... Right now I'm looking at a copy of The Endurace by Caroline Alexander. It's an excellent guide book on Antarctic view camera photography. Even has a recipe for eating penguin for an entire year.

Sriracha might help. I don't think it would freeze up.

[Pere Casals]

I am going to take a 2 weeks trips to Antarctica and Chile by Christmas time. I am thinking to bring a digital camera (5D3) and a 4X5 (Chamonix 45H1). The question is what lens should I bring with me.
For the following three location: Antarctica, Torres del Paine, and Easter island. There is a weight limit for the flight to King Georges island, and for Torres del Paine, I have to balance the weight for the hiking.
for digital: I have 24-70, 70-200, 400, 85, 35
for 4X5 I have Schneider 58XL, 80SSXL, 110 SSXL, 150Apo Sironar S, 210 APo Sironar, 300 Fuji C, 360A, 450C, and NIkon SW 90f8
Would you suggest the lens I should bring with me for Antarctica and Torres del Paine.


Congratulations !!!

There are millions of digital photographs of Antarctica, so I'd take a Nikon P900 Superzoom as an spot photometer, for distant animals and for mundane situations. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl3JhoKcgXA)

The P900 is 24-2000 mm equivalent, you may need a 1000mm on a DSLR to get same "far subject performance", a crop of a 1000mm DSLR may have equivalent quality than the P900 at 2000mm equivalent. So here you save a lot of weight.

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/57681201

Anyway you should be used to the few P900 limitations to still get great photographs, DR?. I'd make a side by side test with a DSLR to know if the P900 is convincing for you.



I'd concentrate in the 4x5 job, great Velvia 50 and Provia 100 slides from antarctica are a less common delicatessen.

From 58 to 210 there is no problem, take it all but the 90, it is a perfect kit with 30% progression. Then I'd take that 300, 250 grs only.


Another option, I'd take a 6x7 MF camera instead the 4x5, a Pentax 6x7 II. You would shot much cheaper and a lot of slides, and you would be able to project it much easier than 4x5 stuff.


Sorry for messing all, but to go there I'd take a Pentax 67 II with a monopod and a P900.


Regards, and again, congratulations !

[Drew Wiley]

I've successfully shot a 300EDIF on my P67 resting on a railing. It would work on a ship railing as long as higher shutter speed were used. But back to the Endurance book, ya gotta admire how the expedition photographer salvaged his film and gear, and even got wonderfully beautiful images of the ship sinking through the ice, when everyone else was trying to figure out how to survive. Sound like a familiar debate?