Baybari

I, too, like Costco but when it really counts, I use Bay Photo.

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First I must admit never having been to Antarctica, and fantastic for you to be making such a trip - if I was more techno-literate I would add an envy emoticon.

 

Last December/January we took Oceania from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso, with a stop in the Falklands. I did not take my big weather proofed dslr, but took a Canon super-zoom and an Olympus waterproof. This is my second waterproof camera and would never travel without one - not for underwater, but because it is perfect for inclement weather. And travelling where you are, you just might run into a little wind and rain. It saved me on the Falklands when we were at a beach with penguin colonies and the rain came down in sheets, making the super-zoom useless.

 

The little waterproof takes pretty good pictures, but not to the quality you are looking for. I suspect that the super-zooms will fail when stretched out to the maximum as the image stabilization will not be sufficient to give you really crisp shots (based on my experience). Because I wanted something smaller than the dslr but with good quality and weather proofing I opted for an Olympus mirrorless with a few lenses.

 

This would be a good solution for you, except that it exceeds your price ceiling. So, since this is a bucket list trip, have you considered renting a body and a few lenses? I checked a site which I think was LensRental or something like that and you can rent a Canon 5D body and quality lenses, which will be a weather proofed system and I think come in under your price limit. This would give you the quality you are looking for without the huge price tag if you purchased. I am not familiar with other brands but they may also offer something similar to the 5D.

 

I took mine to Newfoundland a few years ago with just one lens, and took about 700 photos (single shot) in a little over 2 hours when we rented a zodiac and went out among the icebergs. Didn't have to worry about the cold, the salt spray or the wind -

 

Let us know what you choose - you posed a very interesting question

Such great information! Thanks! We'll be boarding a cruise ship doing the same route in 3 days. While I don't have a weatherproof camera, I'll be taking lots of plastic protection.. hoping that it won't be pouring at the Penguin colonies. (although the weather report looks pretty bad)

Love the picture of the Penguins and the ship that was posted!