Experience and advice for a river trip

[bencoyote]

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The M and the 50mm Lux survived Burning Man's amazing dust storms this year with no problem. I even got caught out in a couple of big dust storms with no case and no protection other than a lens cap and a UV filter. Evidently Trey Radcliff killed three Sony A7's out there this year. Three cheers for Leica build quality. ;-)

 

Anyway, I know how to deal with dust but my next adventure involves considerable amounts of water and I have much less experience with that. This trip is Canoeing down a milder portion of the Colorado. Any suggestions and experience for river trips?

 

I'm just beginning to figure out my plan but I'm thinking of mostly of just keeping the M in a Pelican case with a long floating rope attached to the handle for all but the flattest most gentle water and using a lesser camera while on the the water. 

 

I know there are fancy ziplock bag kind of things with a sort of glove to focus the lenses that I could use but then you have to float them as well if you get dumped so that they don't sink to the bottom never to be seen again. 

 

I'm certainly not thinking housings or anything like that because the Colorado is "too thick to drink, too thin to plow" and so there is no point in trying any of those subsurface or at the surface shots that look so cool in clear water.

 

 

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[graphlex]

1. Pelican cases work perfectly even for whitewater. I took an M6 kit that stayed bone-dry on the Colorado.

 

2. I never used the M because I had an APS digital along.

 

3. I wished I'd also brought a little waterproof p&s or Nikon AW.

[Echo63]

I would be taking a waterproof compact (i know Olympus do one, a few other manufacturers do too) for the rough bits, and the M in a pelican case for the smooth flat bits or when stopped.

Make sure the pelican case is securely attached to the raft - if you cant tie knots, a 60cm sling and locking carabiner from a climbing shop will work perfectly - loop the sling around the handle (girth hitch) and clip the carabiner into the end of the loop - clip it to the boat.

 

Make sure the gear is insured too

[jaapv]

It depends on how wet you plan to get. The M is weathersealed, but not waterproof.  It might survive a dunking, but equally it might not. Most companies offer watertight bags to use on the parts where you might be flipped.

You might get away with the M in a class 1 or 2 ride ( as your post suggests you will be doing), class 3 gets risky, 4 and 5 won't allow still photography anyway, you'll be too busy paddling or exploring the bottom of the river. (class 6 will entail great risk to you, so virtually nobody will attempt that.)

I did a class 5 once and can assure you that a river gets exceedingly wet, even if you manage to stay in the raft.

If you do get flipped in a class 5 I very much doubt whether a Pelican case would stay attached to the raft or canoe and even then, the camera would get knocked about severely.

 

From  my experiences I would take one of those "adventure" cameras by GoPro for the wilder parts. Or a camera in a diving watertight housing. I have an Olympus XZ1 and the housing is not only watertight but will protect the camera from substantial knocks.

For your plans just use a ziplock bag for your M in its camera bag.

[bencoyote]

Make sure the gear is insured too

 

As I've acquired more and more camera gear and it has become more and more expensive I've considered this. Any recommendations on how to insure it or with whom? I looked around a bit and it seems like one of the best may be through PPA. It might be semantics but calling myself a "Professional" at this point may be a bit of a stretch. ;-) My gross sales for this year currently amount to $224. Though I will admit to having much grander aspirations and my sales thus far are more of a soft launch or testing of the waters.

[Echo63]

As I've acquired more and more camera gear and it has become more and more expensive I've considered this. Any recommendations on how to insure it or with whom? I looked around a bit and it seems like one of the best may be through PPA. It might be semantics but calling myself a "Professional" at this point may be a bit of a stretch. ;-) My gross sales for this year currently amount to $224. Though I will admit to having much grander aspirations and my sales thus far are more of a soft launch or testing of the waters.

I am in Australia - so any recommendation i make will probably be useless to you.

if you are a working professional (and yes, that $224 in sales make you one to the insurance company, if they are trying to deny a claim) then you need a policy that protects work tools (specifically the camera) whereas an amateur who derives no money from photography should be ok with their Home/Contents policy (here in Oz, most cover items outside the home too, some even for accidental damage)

[NZDavid]

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I would really recommend taking a less pricey camera down the river. You don't want to be worrying about it. Perhaps get a waterproof point-and-shoot or a waterproof case for something like a D-Lux. I do wish Leica would make such a ruggedized camera instead of those silly celebrity SE editions.

 

I was glad I didn't take any camera with me down the Shotover river near Queenstown some years ago. It was the maximum permissible level for rafting, Grade 5 plus with some parts like the "mother-in-law" tunnel running too high for access. Skippers Canyon road wad away in places so helicopter to the start point. I came out of the raft and went down one rapids without it. Thing to do, as taught, is to point your feet downstream and not try to swim. Climbed back on. We went over a waterfall and got stuck against a rock. Another raft flipped. Guys on another raft rescued us by leaping onboard while we perched on a rock, then they deflated the raft to release it from the rocks, and we leapt back on. White water surging all around. Another guy knocked his head. I've got a professional photo somewhere to savor the experience. I haven't been rafting since...

 

My wife and I did enjoy sea kayaking this year. Attached pic with D-Lux 5 in Golden Bay. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[bocaburger]

I shot with a Nikon F5 while sitting in the front of a long-nosed boat going down the Mekong river with copious amounts of water spraying at me and the worst issue I had was constantly having to wipe the filter clean of droplets.  It was a very expensive camera at the time, more than a contemporary Leica.  It was weather-sealed but not waterproof.  I also used it in the Galapagos, which was salt water, but there I kept my camera bag in a rubber roll-top drybag with backpack straps while on the pangas (rowboats) going to and from the main boat and the islands.  Today a camera or lens with image stabilizer would be an added advantage on that kind of trip. 

[pgk]

If you take a Pelicase, make sure that you never put anything wet or damp inside unless you have some (active) desiccant inside the Pelicase too. Pelicases are very good but trap damp inside as effectively as they keep it out. Continuous exposure to damp will eventually tell on most cameras.

[bocaburger]

I have a couple Pelicans and have never used them.  They are beastly heavy.  I found that putting a regular camera bag inside a rubber roll-top dry bag (designed specifically for river rafting as a matter of fact) works as well as those hard cases without the weight and bulk. 

[uhoh7]

I have a couple Pelicans and have never used them.  They are beastly heavy.  I found that putting a regular camera bag inside a rubber roll-top dry bag (designed specifically for river rafting as a matter of fact) works as well as those hard cases without the weight and bulk.

Exactly. I river kayaked for many years, and this is the way every photographer I ever saw carried their camera.

[jaapv]

I do use a Pelican on a sailing boat on salt water, but only as a way to store cameras when not in use. Plenty of Silicagel..

[LocalHero1953]

It's worth asking whether you expect to get images that would justify a Leica. If you expect spray, inundation and action shots, then, personally, I can't see the benefit of a Leica, and would go with either a GoPro or even my Sony smartphone, which can take a bit of submergence. Taking a GoPro allows you to enjoy the trip and the photography without worrying about your investment and what to do with a big heavy Pelican.

 

I recall a recent thread that looked at light leakage around the M mount over long exposures (solved by using a "scrunchie"). This implies to me that the body may be weatherproof, the lens may be, but the M mount probably isn't.

[tobey bilek]

cheap camera you are willing to lose.

 

otherwise Pelican case tied to yourself

[LocalHero1953]

otherwise Pelican case tied to yourself

 

 When I'm in the deep water with rocks rushing past, the last thing I want is to be tied to an anchor on a rope.

[jto555]

 When I'm in the deep water with rocks rushing past, the last thing I want is to be tied to an anchor on a rope.

I thought they floated? But yes, I would not want to be tied to it.

[jto555]

Here is an idea:

 

http://www.lowepro.com/dryzone

 

 

Just make sure your camera insurance is up to date and go for it! If the camera falls into the drink, then it was time to get a new one...     

             

[jto555]

And another idea for covering  the camera:

 

http://optechusa.com/rainsleeve.html

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[JeTexas]

I take my M sailing and kayaking all the time. However, if it gets rough, the M goes in the dry bag and the Sony NEX-6 comes out. Caught an unexpected wave over the side a couple weeks ago that dousched me pretty good. The Sony hasn't acted normal since. It constantly says "accessory not supported" even though nothing is in the smart shoe, and it keeps magically switching into panoramic mode. Very glad it wasn't the M that took the wave.

 

The waterproof point and shoots work much better than putting regular cameras in dive cases when shooting above the water because the dive cases pick up some serious glare unless submerged.

 

Good luck.

[tomlianza]

In the US you should be able to get an insurance rider on your home owner's policy if you DO NOT use the equipment professionally.  This will cover theft and accidental loss.  You need to have very specific information such as serial numbers, specific model notations, etc.  It is well worth the cost.