Suggested photographic equipment for a cruise to Antarctica

 

This review is from a cruise in March 2005, so the equipment used during that trip to Antarctica is now very obsolete. Anyway, please find below a complete description of the photography equipment and other electronics that have made possible to document this beautiful trip and write this travelogue.

Olympus Camedia 5050
Olympus Camedia 5050
An excellent digital camera, with a 5 megapixel sensor and a super bright f 1.8 lens, 35-105mm equivalent. Works in totally automatic mode (point and shot) as well as in manual (*every* camera's function can controlled by the photographer, like any professional reflex). I use it also to take panoramic pictures (because it is easier and cheaper, if compared to traditional film) and in any difficult condition where it is important to preview a picture immediately after a shot. Thanks to its very bright lens, it is easy to take pictures in interiors without using a flash (useful in museums, where flashes are often not permitted).
 
Panasonic DMC-FZ10

Panasonic DMC-FZ10
Superzoom camera with 4 megapixel sensor, 35-420mm optics, plus 3x digital zoom. The lens is f2.8 through the entire zoom range and it is stabilized (I can often take perfectly steady pictures at 35mm, with an exposure of 1/5th sec.). I use this camera mainly for wildlife shots and for special effects on landscape.

 
Canon Powershot A70
Canon Powershot A70
A compact, good 3 megapixel camera, that can be carried inside a pocket. It is useful to take pictures from small spaces (for example, form the aircrafts) or where may be difficult or unconfortable to use the bigger Olympus 5050.
 

The equipment is integrated with additional lenses (wide angle and tele), a professional external flash , flash bracket, tripod, polarizer filter, neutral density graduated filter and a series of step rings which let me to use all the lenses and filters on either Olympus or Canon (but not Panasonic).

A portable CD recorder, stand alone (no PC required) lets me to burn the CDs on place (it accepts the memory cards directly and burns the CD with a single button press), giving me a virtually unlimited picture capacity. Just to be safe, an additional backup of the pictures is made each time on a portable hard drive, accepting memory cards (no PC required).

On this particular trip, I've also used a small Sony Vaio notebook, to work on the pictures during the long oceanic crossings.

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Antarctica travel guide

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