[Leica] IMG: Rafting in the Grand Canyon

[lrzeitlin at gmail.com (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

Adam Bridge wrote:

"We're contemplating a rafting trip down the Grand Canyon. It's a 13 or 14

day event. There are no convenient sources of electricity at the bottom of

the canyon. But I'd like to take my M8 and maybe a video camera. How to

charge them?


I figure the LUG readership hunkers down in the outback on more than a few

occasions. Are there solar solutions? How well do they work?


Yes, yes, I know the alternative: shoot film. Nevertheless, I'd like a

digital solution."

- - - - -

Adam,

Please excuse my tardy reply but you probably won't go down the Grand Canyon
for a couple of months yet. I've taken two trips down the Colorado River in
the Grand Canyon, once in a raft, another time in a kayak. You are right
that there is no place to charge batteries in the canyon itself. Since you
are on the water most of the day, setting up a solar charger for a few hours
in the early morning and in the evening is impracticable. The best thing to
do is, as Tina suggests, bring a half dozen fully charged batteries in a
waterproof bag. They should last the two weeks of the trip.

But think twice about bringing that valuable M8. You will get thoroughly
soaked on the rafting portion of the trip. The M8 is definitely not
waterproof, a complaint that was voiced on the LUG immediately after its
introduction. Indeed, one Lugger had a partial camera failure after a small
bit of sweat dropped on the top plate. If you take the M8 on board the raft,
keep it in a waterproof case until after the raft is beached for the night
or for sightseeing. A Pelican case is good. There are plenty of photo
opportunities on shore - probably more than on the water.

If you want to take pictures while running the rapids, pick up a truly
waterproof camera. For buying suggestions, do a Google search for waterproof
cameras. Here is a web site discussing waterproof digital cameras ranging in
price from $200 to $500.
http://www.travelgearblog.com/archive/waterproof-digital-camera.html

But if you don't need to go fully digital, a very good condition fully
waterproof Nikonos sells on eBay or a dive store for about $180. Often less.
That's much cheaper than the cost of a CLA for the M8. There is a consistent
demand for these cameras so you could probably sell it back to the dive
store after the trip for nearly what you paid for it. The lack of a
rangefinder on the Nikonos is no great disadvantage. Given the usually
bright sunlight conditions of the Grand Canyon, an aperture of F8 on the 35
mm lens will provide adequate depth of field for just about any shot you may
want to take. You won't need batteries with the Nikonos either.

To show you what you may expect in the way of splashing water, here are some
wet pictures from the raft trip. They were taken with a Nikonos. The kayak
trip was much much wetter but I was too busy simply trying to survive to
take any pictures. A trip down the Colorado is a wonderful experience but be
warned. Protect your M8.


http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/The+Placid+Colorado.jpg.html

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Son_+wife_+and+daughter.jpg.html

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Daughter+Karen.jpg.html

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/White+water+1.jpg.html

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/White+water+2.jpg.html

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/White+water+3.jpg.html

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/White+water+4.jpg.html

Larry Z