Camera Suggestions for your IMG Expedition

by Adam Angel (see his photography at Kalakora.com)

If there is one thing common to all of our trips, it's that we want to share the experience with others when we return home. Sometimes the only way to articulate even a smidgeon of the experience is through your photographs. It's hard to imagine more exciting places to take pictures than on one of our trips in the most spectacular places on the globe. So, how can you maximize your ability to share the experience? Read on!

Snapshot

For those short on time, here is the "point-n-shoot" camera I would choose as of November 7, 2018: Panasonic Lumix DC-LX100 II — for a small pocketable camera the LX100 has a robust battery and a body that is easy to handle with gloves.

The Right Place. The Right Camera.

You've spent a year training for your climb. You've bought the gear, hired the right guide, taken time off work, bought plane tickets AND you want a great new camera to capture the whole experience. The options these days are numerous and constantly in flux. By the time you read this article, new cameras will be released and others taken out of production. This is an exciting time to be a photographer, and your climb will no doubt provide many opportunities for dramatic images. It was the mountains after all that led me to photography in the beginning. So, what are my recommendations?

If you are reading this my guess is that image quality is paramount for you. In the past this absolutely meant bringing along a Digital-SLR with interchangeable lenses. These cameras have large sensors and are easy to operate even with gloves on. They also capture RAW files for maximum quality output. The ability for a camera to capture RAW files is absolutely necessary if you want to produce high quality images. There are volumes and volumes of books, as well as workshops, that focus on processing your camera's RAW output for optimum results. Luckily there are a few "point-and-shoot" and compact interchangeable lens cameras available now that produce RAW files. A camera with the ability to shoot RAW comes at a premium though. These cameras will cost a little more than the basic point-and-shoot cameras available today. It is worth mentioning that you pretty much get what you pay for when it comes to cameras and camera accessories. If you are serious about high quality images then spending as much as you are comfortable with is probably a good idea. Even if you don't know how to work with RAW files, you can set the camera to capture regular jpeg images and RAW files simultaneously. That way if you get "the shot," you can have a high end printer process and work the RAW file with you for output in a professional environment.

To get a camera that captures RAW files, you will be looking at a high-end point-and-shoot like the Panasonic Lumix DC-LX100 II.

The latest trend is compact mirror-less cameras with interchangeable lenses, which are smaller than D-SLRs but are still bulky. This category is not "pocketable." Their great benefit is their discreetness. If you are exploring the streets of Lhasa, or visiting with the Maasai, it is far more tasteful to aim a small lens at them than your giant "tourist" lens. The last option is to bring a Digital SLR with interchangeable lenses. While a D-SLR will provide you with the best possible image quality, you aren't going to get that many shots if the large camera is living in your backpack. I usually carry a D-SLR, but it is very liberating to travel light, and the new cameras that I mentioned above do a very good job. I can't overstate the importance of bringing a camera that you can actually use. With a high end point and shoot, you will be able to keep the camera in a jacket pocket and shoot with one hand, so that the other hand can still participate in your primary activity of the moment... CLIMBING. As an added bonus to having it handily parked in a jacket pocket, the battery will stay warm and last quite long.

In conclusion, you can't beat the price and image quality of an intro level D-SLR, but they are big. I can tell you that the climber with the most simple kit and the lightest pack on the mountain will have more fun than the others, and today's new RAW capture point-and-shoots are just the ticket that we have been waiting for! Have fun, climb safely, and bring back some great images!

Batteries

Before every long trip into the high cold mountains, I obsess over how many camera batteries to take and how to charge them. It would be wonderful if all cameras took common AA batteries, but they do not. You can typically find a few cameras on the market that use standard batteries, but they are invariably low-end cameras. Bottom line, you are going to chew through batteries proprietary or not. So get the camera you want and figure out your batteries second. Any of the cameras recommended here use a rechargeable Li-ion battery. This type of rechargeable battery holds its charge much better than the old NiCD and NiMH batteries.

All batteries have an optimum operating temperature. A typical camera battery operates and charges best at approximately 70°F. Recharging Li-ion batteries at below freezing temperatures may even damage the battery. Battery capacity (amp-hours) is reduced as temperatures drop. That's a big deal when you are on the mountain. The good news is that rechargeable batteries stored at cold temperatures discharge more slowly, so you will have optimum storage conditions.

Read Your Manual
The manual for a Canon 5D II camera says to expect 850 shots out of each battery at 73°F and 750 shots at 32°F. If I bring enough memory cards for 2000 pictures then I know that 3 cold batteries will suffice. Most of the time this is a far better option then fiddling with a solar charger and hoping for good weather, etc. Larger batteries such as those in the 5D II are more impervious to the cold than smaller batteries. The much smaller Panasonic LX100 recommended above states that each battery should provide approximately 340 shots per charge. While the larger 5D batteries lose over 10% of their capacity at freezing temperatures, I anecdotally plan on a 20% loss with the smaller batteries. So the LX100 battery should be good for about 270 shots at 32°F. Colder than that, do the math...

Even when trekking in an area with frequent charging stations, I have a least 3 batteries for each camera system. I will often bring 6. Discuss your charging options with the trip director, as the variation between destinations is huge!

Some tricks of the trade:

• The larger the battery, the better.
• Charge your batteries at the absolute last minute before you hit the trail.
• Use your optical viewfinder whenever possible.
• Turn down the brightness of the LCD if you can.
• Use manual zoom cameras instead of motorized zooms.
• Set the auto-off functions and LCD preview times to their shortest settings.
• If you bring a small solar charging system, call the company and give them your battery specs. Ask them exactly what to expect from the system. It's often not as impressive as you might think! You can purchase a lot of batteries for the price of a good charging system.
• If you don't remember anything else, remember this: "Store them cold, use them warm."

What's in my bag?

"Light is right." That holds true for making great images of your travels as well as for making the journey itself enjoyable. There are no stores where you are going, so everything that you need must be acquired and packed in a simple and light setup. If you are able to do this you will be able to move, adapt, anticipate, and have a good time. Keep it simple and clean. Don't think of this as a shopping list, but as a guide.

For climbs like Rainier this is what I bring:

• Canon EOS 5D Mark II with an UPstrap (upstrap-pro.com)
• Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens
• Singh-Ray LB polarizer
• Lowepro Outback 200 Modular Beltpack
• For more info: Adam Angel's Guide to Capturing Rainier »

For trips like Kilimanjaro, and treks in Nepal and Tibet, I'm not carrying as much gear on my back, so I add the following to my daily walking kit:

• Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L Lens
• Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS Lens
• Singh-Ray Vari-ND (Variable Neutral Density Filter)
• Canon Speedlite 580EX II flash with an "off camera" cord or wireless transmitter.
• Gitzo GK1580TQR5 Series 1 Traveler 6x Carbon Fiber Tripod
• LiteDisc Circular Reflector, White Opaque/Silver, 22" or Photoflex LiteDisc Circular Reflector, White Translucent, 22" for use with off camera flash Lowepro Outback 200 Modular Beltpack

Which Camera for the Serious Photographer on Kilimanjaro and Safari

"Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater." Even to those who have never experienced these places, these names summon pictures in our minds. Maybe it was an image from and old National Geographic magazine that you perused as a kid. It could be of the extraordinary people, the unparalleled wildlife, or the shear magnificence of the world's tallest free-standing mountain, rising to a commanding 19,341 feet. Whatever the case, your challenge is to articulate the experience to the folks back home. Photography will surely play a part in the story you are about to tell.

The Extremes You Will Encounter
On Kilimanjaro all equipment has to be carried, either on your back or on somebody's head. It also needs to withstand the elements. On Safari, you will enjoy spacious Land Cruisers and deluxe accommodations; you can bring the kitchen sink. As you can imagine it can get tricky when deciding what to bring and how to pack it. When I travel to Tanzania I travel with one large camera backpack that is the maximum allowable size for the airlines. All of my camera gear for the trip can fit in this one bag. The only extra piece of photo equipment that I bring is the lightweight camera bag that I climb with on my waist. It goes in one of my checked duffels. The large camera backpack goes with me during all transit and on safari.

Equipment for Kilimanjaro:

• Camera Body: Any Digital SLR will do. I have my preferences, but in a constantly changing field of options, the one constant is "you get what you pay for." Take your time to research the cameras currently on the market, and spend as much as you are comfortable with. The only buyers remorse I've ever seen is when people realized that they should have bought the next model up. Factors to consider in no particular order are focusing speed and accuracy, sensor size, megapixels, ease of use, and build. In the incredibly dusty safari vehicles having two camera bodies can be fantastic. Not only will the lion not wait while you change lenses, but it will keep your camera sensor and lens interiors clean. Every time you change lenses you subject your camera innards to all types of nasties.
  
  
• Lens(es) and flash:
  • For the climb, I carry one constant aperture zoom lens with a range of 24mm to 105mm. Occasionally, if I'm feeling strong, I'll also bring a constant aperture zoom of 16mm to 35mm. We climb through varying zones with different aspects on the mountain and a powerful flash can help deal with some of the challenging lighting situations that you will encounter on the journey.
  • On safari I carry constant aperture zoom lenses in the telephoto range. If you can afford it, 500mm is a nice amount of reach for safari. There are many highly affordable lenses in the 300mm to 400mm range. My typical set up in the vehicle is one camera with a 70-200mm lens or a 100mm-400mm, and another camera with a 500mm lens. Some photographers choose to use flashes during safari to make catch lights in eyes, etc. I choose not to.
    
    
• Tripod and Bean Bags: Tripods are an essential tool for creating a well thought out composition and capturing sunrises/sunsets on the Kilimanjaro climb. On safari you can use a bean bag on the roof of your vehicle. On the climb, in lieu of a cable release, you can use the timer to prevent camera movement.
  
  

Frequently Asked Questions Archive

Have a question about mountain photography that hasn't already been addressed? Contact Adam: adam.angel@mountainguides.com