Field report from Ghana (1D-series)

My general experience with Canon lenses on 1D bodies is that yes, water gets into them no matter what. When not in use I store my lenses in airtight plastic bags, but eventually I need to take them out and use. Condensation on the external elements is easy to deal with, the real problem is condensation on the internal glass elements. The only way to deal with that is to heat up the lens. On a sunny day in the forest I would remove both caps from the lens and leave it in the sun for 1-2 hours, rotating the lens occasionally. I also did that with my cameras. The internal condensation evaporates after a while, which is another proof of how poorly these lenses are sealed. Interestingly, I did not have nearly as much internal condensation problems with Nikon lenses. Sigma lenses are the worst – while pretty good optically (at least some of them), they are not suitable for work under humid conditions. Not only water gets into them, but even a small amount of condensation disables the focusing mechanism (at least on Sigma 180 mm Macro.)

While in the field I nearly always camp in a tent, which limits my ability to keep things dry. Silica gel works great for the first 3 days, but after that I usually have no way of recharging it (I tried baking it over a camp fire, but that didn’t work too well.)

Piotr
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http://www.insectphotography.com

all that condensation is scary thing. It's not merely inconvenience and delay any more - water can kill cameras - it happened to my film GR1 autofocus system few years ego. I still hope that officially sealed lenses like 16-35 or 70-200 2.8 will work reasonably well in humid conditions when some care is being taken...

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Sergey
http://www.pbase.com/sergeyushakov/
http://www.photo.net/photos/SergeyUshakov

Great set of images and lens descriptions.
Thank you for going into details with this post!
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The 5D was made in heaven - Canon is just the sub-contractor!



http://www.caughtintimephotography.com
http://www.pbase.com/melaniekipp

Would you ever consider using a 5D or a backup or a backup of a backup if you ever go on a trip again?

I wonder if a few of these in a dry bag would help. You'd probably need one a day, and it would be a lot of weight to carry. I'd still look for some kind of solar/rechargable humidifier, but I imagine that's highly specialized.

http://www.gradeuk.co.uk/store/product.asp?spc=08-5600&shelfid=63S1

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Konstantinos Roumeliotis
TongYeong-Si, R. of Korea
http://roumeliotis.eu

I must admit that I have been tempted by a 5D as an additional, spare body. But after my recent experiences with 1D-series, and my friends disastrous incident with a 20D in a light rain I am no longer convinced that 5D would withstand the conditions of my typical field trip. That said, I have never actually used, or even held in my hand this camera. It is probably better sealed than 20D or 30D, but I doubt that is as robustly built and abuse-resistant as the 1D’s. I treat my cameras as inanimate tools that should simply do the job, and it shows on them. I am always surprised how clean and new-looking other people’s equipment is. That does not mean that I abuse my cameras, I simply use them A LOT.

Another issue, quite important to me, is the fact that 5D uses different batteries than 1D-series cameras. I need to carry on my back (or the backs of my porters) every piece of equipment, and the less I need to bring with me the better. Not to mention that every ounce of extra gear translates into extra money I have to pay before boarding a plane. A couple of years ago on my way to West Africa a check-in agent at the airport in Paris demanded US $2,000 for my extra luggage! [I can offer an advice here – if you are flying anywhere from the US, but have a long layover in Europe, check your luggage all the way to your final destination. There are different rules for passengers originating from the US regarding extra luggage, and you will pay less for it. If you try to re-check-in your extra luggage in Europe they may demand several times more than what you have already paid. They have no right to do it, but they will try nonetheless.]

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http://www.insectphotography.com

Thanks for the tip about traveling and checking in.

I guess as much regarding the 5D, which lay to rest once and for all by questions in this forum about what makes a camera "professional" which clearly, the 5D is not. Nothing about the image quality or the person behind the camera, ist imply is not a professional make, period.

Thanks for the wonderful pictures and tales of your experience Piotr. I agree that the rhinocerous vipers are some of the most beautiful but find the closely related gaboon viper a little more attractive. Do they share the same territory?

I am living in northern Guatemala and frequently worry about the humidity's effect on my equipment also. It is not as bad as where you are but it still has an effect. Right now I just have an xt but lost my a80 to the humidity and lost the screen on my flashtrax hard drive to the humidity. i'm only hoping that i finish up my time without losing my laptop, external hard drive or lenses to the mold and humidity. A friend of mine had to have his nikon replaced because of the humidity. As your account tells us, it is truly a formidable adversary.

thanks again for the great pictures.

atothev
http://www.pbase.com/atothev

"NT" means no text.

Joe Kurkjian, Pbase Supporter

http://www.pbase.com/jkurkjia



SEARCHING FOR A BETTER SELF PORTRAIT

--I like my 5d but it does not compare to my 1d2 for durability. I do not think it would fit your needs at all. Thnks for the report and photos.
Bill Richardson
Barrington, IL (USA)

Piotr,

Fascinating images and I can feel your pain when it comes to gear problems under extreme conditions. I have often wondered how my Canon gear (30D and 5D bodies, 16-35, 24-70 and 70-200 lenses) would fare under the conditions I subjected my old Nikon Fs to when I was a photojournalist in Vietnam. There I taped all seams with a black photo tape and kept spare lenses in a waterproof medics bag. There was no avoiding rain and humidity and I did my best to dry off front elements or L1A filters. In the dry season dust was as big a problem, the fine red laterite dust getting into everything and carefully cleaning pressure plates was essential although doing so quickly, given the fact that the F's back was a separate piece, was a real challenge. I had only all-mechanical, plain prism bodies (no meter head and no batteries) and a Weston V hand held meter. Of course all lenses were mechanical and though some photographers I knew had serious problems with fungus on lens elements, I was lucky and didn't. There was no way to treat the Fs as delicate instruments while running through brush, bodies banging against each other or while diving for cover under fire. There were dents and dings aplenty on the bodies, but all remained functional. I can't imagine that my 30D and 5D and L autofocus lenses would suffer the same abuse.

This is an interesting topic. Wonder what would work best, a digital Nikonos-like bodie and completely sealed internal focus/zoom lenses?

I wish I could spend some time in Guatemala - so many fantastic photo opportunities (not to mention biodiversity and culture.) I often work in Costa Rica, but have never been N of this country. I have had some bad water-related experiences with my equipment in CR (not caused by condensation but by dropping things into mud), but never as dramatic as in Africa or Madagascar. This is mostly because when I am in CR I usually don't spend more than a couple of days away from electricity or a dry (or as dry as it gets there) shelter. This allows me to thoroughly clean and dry my equipment every few days. When things get really wet I often put my equipment inside an oven (no kidding) and dry it there at about 60C for a couple of hours (checking every 10-15 minutes to make sure that things don't get too hot.) This usually takes care of any moisture problems and I never had a major failure of a camera (although my PowerBook's keyboard died once.)

Atothev, I like your picture gallery, really good stuff (although I do not approve of the one called "fair trial for the 8 legged.jpg).

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http://www.insectphotography.com

Precognito,

I often wonder how the new crop of digital cameras and high tech lenses are performing under the most extreme stress of war photojournalism. I cannot say that I envy your experience in Vietnam, but I do envy your experience of having done that and knowing how to deal with some of the issues you describe. So far I have not used my digital bodies too often in the dry tropics, the last time shot in the Namib desert I was still using my old, trusty Nikons 6006 and 90s (not manual, but decidedly less high tech than what we use now) with a bunch of manual lenses. Just like you describe, fine sand was a major problem. And unlike a digital camera, once you have a grain of sand stuck to the back plate of a film camera the entire roll will have a deep scratch running through it. I used Nikon D1x in a few southern African countries, but not under super dry, super harsh conditions. At the end of this year I am starting a 3 year project in S. Africa and Namibia, which should give me plenty of opportunities to test the new gear under sandy and windy conditions.

And I always wondered about using something like a Nikonos. The problem is that the lens selection is fairly small for my needs (mostly extreme macro). But I am actually looking now at the possibility of using a bag made by Ewa-Marine while in the rainforest (it should also work well against fine sand.)

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http://www.insectphotography.com

Piotr,

One war was enough for me and I certainly respect journalists who routinely put themselves in harms way in places that in my mind are even more dangerous than Vietnam was back then. It would seem that conflict has become all the more barbaric. War is seldom necessary, always evil.

I actually used a Nikonos in Vietnam but changing film was awkward and it was limited in scope as there was only one lens, a 35mm f:2.5 as I recall. Focus was without rangefinder (depth of field chart only). Of much more interest is the Nikonos RS, introduced in 1995. It is an extremely rugged waterproof SLR with autofocus and waterproof lenses and strobes but was discontinued in 1996. It would be interesting to see someone take that approach with a digital body and a few lenses more appropriate for land use. Check it out at: http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/htmls/models/htmls/nikonosrs.htm .

Thanks again for a interesting post! Superb photos.

Paul

no offense on the insects. Don't worry though. I don't kill any of the insects except for the cockroaches and usually I just leave those until the ants carry them away (far more entertaining than the local marimba music!) I've had to relocate a few tarantulas and one that crawled out of my bed.

Guatemala is an excellent place for pictures. Tikal has beautiful mayan ruins and views but you would probably enjoy it much more for the wildlife that is in the park.

thanks for the nice comments on my gallery!

atothev
http://www.pbase.com/atothev

This is unique and amazing, thanks a lot for sharing your experience as well as those beautiful pictures.

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http://www.nobrakes.ch
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shabok/

Thanks for sharing your wonderfull expeirences and the beautifull pictures. Fascinating. How long did you stay in Ghana rain forrest? I wonder we can just go there by ourselves. Do we need a guide or can we just rent a car and go like in the US.
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The Lightmagician
Sun is my eye
Winds my breaths
Sky my open Mind.
http://www.lightmagical.com

thanks for taking the time and let us know !

about the nikon (nikkors) nostalgia I absolutely agree ... just looking at the 180 2.8 (first, second and third version of it) it shows how tough a lens can be .

there is not much we can do about heavy condensation, only to let it dry, and the 100-400 is not robust and sealed as I expected, there I again agree.

The effect on the sensor was a surprise (for me).. again, that's good to know.

thanks

Check out his earlier posts - he was there for a month.

Since he was only a few miles outside Accra, the capital, I doubt a guide would be needed, although porters to carry the gear might be.

lightmagic said:

Thanks for sharing your wonderfull expeirences and the beautifull
pictures. Fascinating. How long did you stay in Ghana rain forrest?
I wonder we can just go there by ourselves. Do we need a guide or
can we just rent a car and go like in the US.
--
The Lightmagician
Sun is my eye
Winds my breaths
Sky my open Mind.
http://www.lightmagical.com

Click to expand...

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Regards,
DaveMart

'Just a wildebeast on the plain of life'
Please see profile for equipment