Almost everyone brings a digital camera south – the question is what kind? A compact camera is easy to carry around and convenient for mountaineering/skiing and SLRs are more expensive, heavy and bulkier but give you full manual control. The choice is yours and there are definite advantages to having both. Most people tend to have Nikon, Canon and Olympus digital SLRs, the standard of digital SLRs these days is high and most makes are more than likely to be suitable. As for compact cameras, there are loads of great ones on the market which for most of the time will do the job. If you haven’t got a camera already then read the online reviews before buying and make sure that it’ll do what you want it to do (i.e. quality images, video). Most camera shops will tell you that you’ll need the most expensive top end camera as soon as they hear the word “Antarctica” but the reality is that most cameras will work down here if you look after them. Recommended SLR lenses are a wide angle 24mm, standard 50mm and a telephoto 200mm; any zoom lenses covering this focal length will be suitable.
In terms of camera durability most cameras will do fine. There’s no need to get a high end digital SLR with waterproofing and seals. However it’s important that you buy a decent camera bag to carry it around in. There can be moisture condensation problems associated with taking a cold camera into a warm building but if you leave it in a camera bag for a few hours then it won’t be a problem.
All of the public PCs have card readers for downloading from digital cameras, there’s an A4 and A3 sized photographic printers. Bring your own photo grade paper as this isn’t provided.
Essential spares
For all forms of photography you’ll need to have a spare battery (rechargeable), the cold sucks the charge out of the battery quick so it’s essential to have a second battery. Bring plenty of memory cards with you. You may even consider a hard case for those long winter trip skidoo journeys (i.e. a pelicase) but most of the time a good quality camera bag will suffice. For serious photography a good quality tripod is essential, the light begins to fade rapidly after the summer season ends and it’s the only way to properly capture the stunning Rothera winter sunsets and weird clouds. Think about whether you want to insure your camera equipment but note that a lot of companies won’t insure for Antarctica (i.e. read the small print!) Remote control release, flash guns, UV and polarising filters are also useful.
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