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cowprintrabbit

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I lost a camera due to a rogue wave that came pretty much out of nowhere in otherwise calm conditions during a zodiac cruise ... so glad I had a second camera body with me :-) ... the camera equipment was insured, so the replacement didn't cost me anything.

 

On the topic of waterproof bags ... we opted to buy some kayak storage bags -- far less expensive. Places like REI have them, but you can also find them online. Ours had backpack straps on them, which allowed us to have our hands free on the gangway. We've since used them on boat-based bear-watching trips, as well as in the Artic.

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Where have you found a waterproof backpack?

 

What I have is a dry bag with backpack straps that looks like a backpack and can be worn like one: Outdoor Resarch Dry Comp Summit Sack:

 

http://www.outdoorresearch.com/en/or-gear/drycomp-summit-sack.html

 

This would not hold a great deal of weight if you were carrying it on your back over a long period, and I only intend to use it to have my DSLR (in its own camera bag) protected in while in the zodiac. Lindblad's gear store actually sells the OR dry bag that is one step down from this one (the Dry Peak Bagger Back Sack), link below. (The folks at OR told me the Summit Sack would be a little tougher. It's is a compression sack.)

 

http://www.outdoorresearch.com/en/or-gear/dry-peak-bagger.html

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He's right, there is always at least one person who loses a camera, usually due to an 'immersion event' rather than a splash from a wave on a zodiac. My last expedition the camera went in with passenger holding it when they slipped getting out of the zodiac. Getting in and out of the zodiac at the landing site can be the biggest problem.

.....

A small P&S tucked into a plastic bag will usually survive an immersion event. Personally I always have two DSLRS with me in a zodiac - in holsters which are then in a roll-top dry bag. We've all survived 6 trips involving zodiacs so far :-)

 

One of the points the Nat Geo photographer made on the webinar was to have nothing in your hands or on your back getting into or out of the zodiac. In other words, hand off your dry bag with your camera in it before you board, and when you get out, wait till you are out and then pick up your bag. Sounds like good advice, but obviously, stuff happens anyway, even when you are careful, so I will have my camera in the dry bag.

 

I'm taking a second DSLR body as a backup on the trip (probably will not bring it in the zodiac), and a P&S that will go ashore with my primary DSLR...

 

Folks, did you have problems with your camera batteries draining quickly because of the cold? I will have several with me, and will do my best to keep the spares someplace warm, but I'm curious about how much of a problem this was

 

I really appreciate everyone's feedback and info. CC is awesome.

 

We have four months to go, and I am getting SO excited...

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One of the points the Nat Geo photographer made on the webinar was to have nothing in your hands or on your back getting into or out of the zodiac. In other words, hand off your dry bag with your camera in it before you board, and when you get out, wait till you are out and then pick up your bag. Sounds like good advice, but obviously, stuff happens anyway, even when you are careful, so I will have my camera in the dry bag.

 

I'm taking a second DSLR body as a backup on the trip (probably will not bring it in the zodiac), and a P&S that will go ashore with my primary DSLR...

 

Folks, did you have problems with your camera batteries draining quickly because of the cold? I will have several with me, and will do my best to keep the spares someplace warm, but I'm curious about how much of a problem this was

 

I really appreciate everyone's feedback and info. CC is awesome.

 

We have four months to go, and I am getting SO excited...

 

The recommendation we got from our expedition leader was to make sure our hands were empty going down the gangway and to hold onto the railings as we went down the steps ... we were on a Quark expedition ... so obviously, different people have different thoughts on what is right :D

 

I use Canon equipment and didn't have any problems with batteries draining quickly ... not even when we went to see Polar Bears in Churchill and the temp was -40F (yes, that is minus 40F). It won't be nearly as cold in the Antarctic. I switched out batteries between landings and charged them up again, just to be on the safe side. Keep spare batteries in an inside pocket, just in case.

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Folks, did you have problems with your camera batteries draining quickly because of the cold? I will have several with me, and will do my best to keep the spares someplace warm, but I'm curious about how much of a problem this was

 

 

I've regularly spent up to 6 hours on-shore with 2 DSLRs and not had a problem. The only time I've noticed significant battery drain (even with 2 lithium batteries in a grip) was shooting whales using high FPS for an extended period in the cold on board the ship.

 

Remembering to take the batteries out of the camera to charge them is a bigger problem. The lithium batteries in a DSLR take a long time to charge, and when you're charging 3-4 of them, you need to develop a 'habit' of loading batteries into the charger every time you return to the cabin.

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Thank you all for the tips about waterproof pants and what you wore underneath. I ordered insulated waterproof pants yesterday from LL Bean and should get them soon. Sounds like they may be sufficient on certain landings just with long johns underneath, but we'll be prepared with another layer for colder days and zodiac cruising.

 

If I may ask a different question: for you folks who brought a DSLR along (as I will be doing), did you have it in a waterproof backpack (or similar bag) in the zodiac? Cougfan, I believe you said on another thread that you did. Lindblad recommends this, and I've actually bought one they suggest (made by Outdoor Research), but my partner (who is not into photography) kind of thinks I'm nuts to bring this along. (It's actually quite light, she just thinks it will be a pain when we are ashore.)

 

For folks who didn't use a waterproof bag, did you wing it with plastic bags; were they sufficient? I just don't want some big splash, wave or a fall to take out my camera. I watched a webinar by Nat Geo's Director of Expedition Photography, and he really recommended the waterproof bag. He said at least one person on every trip has a camera ruined by water. :(

 

When I was an outdoor gear tester, we tested the Aloksak Waterproof Bags and they were exceptional at keeping gear dry. You can do a search, they come in many different sizes and are reasonably cheap.

 

We took a regular, small backpack and had the equipment in the Aloksak bags inside the backpack.

 

Our ships' company would not let us board the zodiac with anything in our hands, so while we did carry two DSLR cameras, we used a smaller P&S that we kept in an inside pocket on our jacket. We had no problems with batteries, take a spare or two and keep one charged all the time. Also, recommend you take memory cards in 4g or so range, not the huge ones; if you have a problem, you could lose all of your photos on a large card.

 

We had some passengers who had camera problems, including one woman who had all her photos and camera gear in a backpack that she left in the hotel lobby, (even tho she was advised not to do so), and someone made off with all of her photos and camera gear, at the end of the trip. Not sure where you are flying into, but we were warned that well dressed thieves troll the hotel lobbies looking for small bags to abscond with.

 

RonC

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I did have a waterproof backpack and I used it twice. After the first landing we had such nice weather that for the zodiac trips to shore I just used my regular camera bag slung crosswise over my shoulder. I also had a small P&S in my parka pocket. I put a spare battery in an inside pocket but never needed it. I had three batteries for each of my cameras, so I would switch out the camera batteries after each landing. I would have one in the camera, one in my pocket and one charging back on the ship. I know that some of the people with nice DSLRs just had them around their neck while on the zodiacs. I did not hear of anyone taking a dunking.

 

I am so jealous of your trip. I would go back in a heart beat. Antarctica was my most favorite trip.

 

I have some of my pictures here

 

 

if you would like to see what you may see.

 

Julie

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Thanks once again to all of you for the tips and info (and Julie for the awesome photos).

 

Just responding to one point above: I am pretty religious about keeping my camera batteries charged while traveling, so no worries about remembering to do that. In fact, I have two chargers for my DSLR batteries, which should really come in handy on this trip in terms of keeping all the batteries charged. :)

 

BTW: Julie (Cougfan), after clicking on your smugmug home page, I feel like we are following each other around the world and vice versa. I got to Alaska before you, but you visited Egypt and the Med before I did. Maybe you should tell me where you are headed next, so I can expect to turn up there in a couple of years. :) *

 

*Edited to add: I just saw your countdown clock -- Hawaii to Vancouver! Great!

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Stunning photographs; best yet! Thanks. We are leaving in just over 2 months from now - just realized how soon that is. Excited, and your pix made it even more thrilling. If you haven't been to the Galapagos, I think you would love it as the photographic opportunities are wonderful; especially with an underwater camera.

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Folks, did you have problems with your camera batteries draining quickly because of the cold?

No problems at all and I spent hours ashore and then immediately on deck with my camera and a spare battery.

 

My other spare would have been charging and then, when I returned to the cabin, the first thing I would do would be to put the others on charge in turn.

 

A four socket extension bar is useful to ensure that batteries, mobiles and laptop can all be charged at the same time.

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A four socket extension bar is useful to ensure that batteries, mobiles and laptop can all be charged at the same time.

 

Agreed!! We always take something like that when we travel (either a power strip or the Belkin smaller version). Funny timing about your post.... Because so many of the charging blocks are so big now that they hog the space for two outlets on those strips, I recently ordered and literally just took delivery from Amazon of a pack of 1-ft extension cords that will allow me to use all the outlets on those strips.

 

As an alternative to all of that, I also ordered (based on recommendations here on CC), an Accell Power Squid, which just arrived as well. My goodness, this thing is much larger than it looked on line; hard to imagine taking it on any trip that involves air travel. :eek:

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I initially wore long johns, then sweat pants, then the outer pants but yes it really restricts your movement and I soon discovered my outer pants were nicely insulated so I stuck to just long johns then outerpants. Outerpants definitely go on the outside of the boots and that is usually the recommendation of the expedition team who spend way more time in the thigh deep water than the passengers!

 

Never had a problem with penguin poop on the cuffs - the standing in the ocean boarding the zodiac, followed by the scrub and spray back on board takes care of it. And we were sitting for 14 hours at a time in emporer colonies numbering in the hundreds of thousands - so there was plenty of poop to test!

 

I had my cameras etc in a Crumpler Satchel bag - personal preference as I am not a backpack fan. I prefer across the body straps with bag on the side. Its "spray" proof but has been thoroughly soaked on many zodiac rides and nothing inside had got a drop on it. I pack everything inside in individual ziplocs.

For batteries I have two little polar fleece drawstring bags - one for each parka pocket - keeps them nice and warm.

 

I also have a small waterproof camera/video on a caribeener strap that I clip to my life jacket in order to capture those fun moments while in the zodiac.

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Thanks to all of you for the hiking stick info; I will go ahead and bring mine.

 

One more question: what did you wear on the landings from your waist down? To be more specific, I don't think anything really thick and heavy like jeans (which aren't that practical in cold anyway) would fit under my Muck Boots. I'm thinking maybe something like winter running tights inside the boots, with the waterproof pants outside. Any thoughts on this? Would I want "long johns" as a base layer?

 

What did you folks wear? Did it work well? Would something have been better?

 

Thanks again!

 

 

I worked on Antarctic cruises for four seasons and I would recommend Cuddle Duds thermals. They are really light weight and work wonders. I found with my cuddle duds and heavier weight water proof pants I was never cold.

 

Bring twice as much camera memory and batteries for the camera then you think you will need - every single cruise I had at least 2 or 3 passengers who ran out of space on the memory cards. Bring an extra set of gloves- the first pair will get wet, not big, bulky ones though, ones that you can move your fingers in.

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I worked on Antarctic cruises for four seasons and I would recommend Cuddle Duds thermals. They are really light weight and work wonders. I found with my cuddle duds and heavier weight water proof pants I was never cold.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I hadn't heard of Cuddle Duds and just looked at their web site. Which weight would you suggest under insulated waterproof snow pants? Lightweight? Midweight? Climatesmart? Seriously -- too many choices! :)

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Good quality long underwear. I think I got silks from LL Bean or North Face. I also got LL Bean's boot warmers which go inside your rubber boots and you can take out and wash. These were life savers for me. I had an old pair of ski pants which I wore over my long underwear and than my cheap LL Bean waterproof pants. This was my bottom layer. If it was very cold I also brought a pair of fleece pants but to be honest I mostly wore this on board when we were looking at the sights outside and not for the zodiacs. I brought a warm hat and a fleece neck gaiter (not a scarf!!). For gloves I bought the thin gloves and then on top had my ski gloves. My husband bought the gloves that open up by the fingers so he could take pictures w/o taking his gloves off. For a jacket ours were provided and were great. We wore them all the time. Do not forget sun glasses and sun screen you will need both every day. I had the glasses holder around my glasses - one woman lost her glasses as she went to get off the zodiac so this is a must. We also bought needle nose clips so we clipped our gloves and hats to our jackets. Sometimes it was hot (really!!) and we could just clip our things to our jacket and not worry about losing anything. Do not forget that at all times on the zodiac you will be wearing a life vest so this makes for more bulk. Our ship gave us backpacks so we used them. Nothing in your hands as you get in and out of the zodiac. I am so jealous we had such a great time it was our favorite trip. I have all my things just waiting to go again.

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Thanks for the suggestion. I hadn't heard of Cuddle Duds and just looked at their web site. Which weight would you suggest under insulated waterproof snow pants? Lightweight? Midweight? Climatesmart? Seriously -- too many choices! :)

 

 

I did the climate smart and light weight ones.

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Any advice on whether we should have any sort of backpack on the landings? My partner is very much into "I don't want anything constraining me" mode, and I'm wondering whether we need something.

 

I mentioned above that my dry bag for my camera actually has backpack straps, so I could use that if I'd really have some need for it on land (it's virtually weightless when empty, but you still have to have it on your shoulders), or I could go to a smaller dry bag that literally rolls up and could be stuffed into a pocket.

 

As always, all advice is greatly appreciated!

 

BTW, do you bring water bottles on the landings?

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We took a small backpack. It meant we had both hands free when we got in and out of the Polar Cirkle and we could put any discarded layer of clothing into it. It sometimes got a little warm with the sun and the exertion!

 

It also meant that I could carry my 'other' lens reasonably comfortably, especially the 150-500 when I had the shorter lens on the camera.

 

We didn't bother with drinks and we never felt we needed one. When we were ashore on East and West Falkland (delicious) refreshments were provided: tea, coffee and cakes!

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Any advice on whether we should have any sort of backpack on the landings? My partner is very much into "I don't want anything constraining me" mode, and I'm wondering whether we need something.

 

I mentioned above that my dry bag for my camera actually has backpack straps, so I could use that if I'd really have some need for it on land (it's virtually weightless when empty, but you still have to have it on your shoulders), or I could go to a smaller dry bag that literally rolls up and could be stuffed into a pocket.

 

As always, all advice is greatly appreciated!

 

BTW, do you bring water bottles on the landings?

 

We took a BP to hold our two DSLR cameras, and water. It came in handy to store gear we wore while in the zodiacs but did not need to wear on shore.

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I took a crumpler satchel bag on shore for every landing. Most of our landings were upwards of 12 or 13 hours at a time so I always had a water bottle. Also spare socks and gloves in case your own got soaked (it never happened for the socks as the muck boots were brilliant - but plenty of times the gloves got a soaking on the zodiacs). Our expedition leader also recommended having a block of chocolate or power bars or any other kind of emergency rations (but our landings were very different to anything you will be doing) - but the rule was no actual eating of them randomly on land - you always had to return to the base camp tent and eat inside it. They would also have soup and sandwich supplies in there for us.

 

Take what you are most comfortable with. I am not personally a backpack fan - they dont suit my build and I dont like having to remove it everytime you need something - hence my like for a satchel bag with a cross body strap.

 

As digitl said - if the temps warm up or you are getting over warm from the walking while bundled up - the bag of whatever description is also handy for stuffing with whatever clothing you remove.

 

For boarding zodiacs - whatever you choose - it needs to be something you are not carrying with your hands - for safety reasons.

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