NightPix Posted April 15 Share #1 Posted April 15 Advertisement (gone after registration) I will be heading to Antarctica in December on an expedition trip and need some advice. Based on my experience shooting in cold climates (far northern Canada, Svalbard, Greenland, Iceland) I know that changing lenses at low temps and in cold weather gear and gloves can be very challenging, so my plan is to carry two cameras - an SL2s with a wider option (eg 24-70) for landscapes, and an SL2 with a telephoto lens for wildlife. The higher MP SL2 will better allow for later cropping as needed. I'd prefer to keep the kit as small and light as possible as I'll be lugging it around all day long. I frequently use my Sigma 150-600 for wildlife, but I'm wondering if something like a 100-400 or even the 90-280 might be sufficient. I would appreciate suggestions on lenses to take and anything else related to shooting in Antarctica (filters, white balance, etc). Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 15 Posted April 15 Hi NightPix, Take a look here SL Lenses for Antarctica. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Leslie22 Posted April 15 Share #2 Posted April 15 Hi , Ive been to Antarctica three times in the past six years ..... SL then SL2 and last time SL3 (Plus M11 & Q3 43) December to march .. I presume you will be going in their summer. No problems at all. Coldest spell we got was in East Antarctica minus 6 to 8 Celsius. (daytime) No issues taking off gloves to change lens etc ... would advise a waterproof backpack for Zodiac rides. I used a Patagonia waterproof , expensive but worth it. Lens use , mainly 90 to 280. A brilliant lens but a touch too short next time (if) I will take a 100 to 400. However with the ability to crop heavily with the SL3 I am very happy with the results. It's also very good for bird photography from the ship. Other lens used 50 Apo M , 50 Apo SL , 75 Apo SL , 24 M & 28 M On the recent trip I was shocked at how much I used the Q3 43 , on and off the ship. We are heading to Alaska in Late May ... Looking at taking SL3 with 90 to 280 + 35 & 75 Apos , and 24 M for wide and the Q3 43 Hope some of this rambling helps you , have fun. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImmerDraussen Posted April 15 Share #3 Posted April 15 Here is my equipment list, I used for a trip to East-Greenland: Leica S007 with 30-90mm and 70mm SL2-S with 16-35mm and 150-600mm Leica X-U All in all I shot 3400 pictures and kept 250. Here is the share by lens: 30-90mm --> 45% 150-600mm --> 35% 70mm --> 10% 16-35mm --> 6,5% Everything fitted in a water tide "König" Backback. I had a second small water tide back from "Ortlieb" that takes a camera plus lens (there can be a lot of salt waterspray while cruising with the Zodiacs). Beeing on land, I mostly took only the small bag, because the thick parker and the backpack was not very comfortable to wear. On the vessel, the backpack was very useful. There was little wild life in Greenland, nevertheless the long zoom lens allowed many landscape shoots due to the clear atmosphere. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 1 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/420492-sl-lenses-for-antarctica/?do=findComment&comment=5786853'>More sharing options...
Eclectic Man Posted April 15 Share #4 Posted April 15 Firstly, I hope you have a great time in Antarctica. The equipment you want to take depends on what you are going to use it for, but my guess is that your experiences of other cold climates will be adequate to indicate to you what you need if you are going for the same sorts of shots. Apart from equipment, please be well aware of the wildlife, especially penguins. They may appear habituated to humans, but I heard of research showing that colonies visited by tourists had a somewhat reduced success rate in rearing chicks. Keep well away form their paths between the sea and their colonies. I was sat about six to ten feet away for such a track and was surprised to see when I turned round a queue of about 10 penguins waiting for me to leave before continuing their journey. The longest lens you have for getting those close-up shots of wildlife would be best to minimise disturbance to the wildlife. Remember, if a penguin is looking at you, you are costing it energy. Have a great time! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightPix Posted April 15 Author Share #5 Posted April 15 19 hours ago, Leslie22 said: Hi , Ive been to Antarctica three times in the past six years ..... SL then SL2 and last time SL3 (Plus M11 & Q3 43) December to march .. I presume you will be going in their summer. No problems at all. Coldest spell we got was in East Antarctica minus 6 to 8 Celsius. (daytime) No issues taking off gloves to change lens etc ... would advise a waterproof backpack for Zodiac rides. I used a Patagonia waterproof , expensive but worth it. Lens use , mainly 90 to 280. A brilliant lens but a touch too short next time (if) I will take a 100 to 400. However with the ability to crop heavily with the SL3 I am very happy with the results. It's also very good for bird photography from the ship. Other lens used 50 Apo M , 50 Apo SL , 75 Apo SL , 24 M & 28 M On the recent trip I was shocked at how much I used the Q3 43 , on and off the ship. We are heading to Alaska in Late May ... Looking at taking SL3 with 90 to 280 + 35 & 75 Apos , and 24 M for wide and the Q3 43 Hope some of this rambling helps you , have fun. Thanks for the information. I'll be there in December so hoping for mild weather but you never know. My experience with swapping lenses in the cold is that it depends a lot on temperature and wind conditions. I expect to also take along my Q3 for use on the ship, but I'm not sure it will go with me in the zodiac. I'm always worried about reach when looking for wildlife which is why I'm thinking about the 150-600. I'll probably throw a couple of M lenses with the adapter in the kit as well. Did you need any filters (ND, polarizing) - snow can be challenging especially when the sun is shining. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightPix Posted April 16 Author Share #6 Posted April 16 5 hours ago, Eclectic Man said: Firstly, I hope you have a great time in Antarctica. The equipment you want to take depends on what you are going to use it for, but my guess is that your experiences of other cold climates will be adequate to indicate to you what you need if you are going for the same sorts of shots. Apart from equipment, please be well aware of the wildlife, especially penguins. They may appear habituated to humans, but I heard of research showing that colonies visited by tourists had a somewhat reduced success rate in rearing chicks. Keep well away form their paths between the sea and their colonies. I was sat about six to ten feet away for such a track and was surprised to see when I turned round a queue of about 10 penguins waiting for me to leave before continuing their journey. The longest lens you have for getting those close-up shots of wildlife would be best to minimise disturbance to the wildlife. Remember, if a penguin is looking at you, you are costing it energy. Have a great time! Thanks. I was able to spend some time shooting several different species of penguin colonies in the Falklands a few years ago so I know to keep my distance. It's good advice when photographing any wildlife. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightPix Posted April 16 Author Share #7 Posted April 16 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) 12 hours ago, ImmerDraussen said: Here is my equipment list, I used for a trip to East-Greenland: Leica S007 with 30-90mm and 70mm SL2-S with 16-35mm and 150-600mm Leica X-U All in all I shot 3400 pictures and kept 250. Here is the share by lens: 30-90mm --> 45% 150-600mm --> 35% 70mm --> 10% 16-35mm --> 6,5% Everything fitted in a water tide "König" Backback. I had a second small water tide back from "Ortlieb" that takes a camera plus lens (there can be a lot of salt waterspray while cruising with the Zodiacs). Beeing on land, I mostly took only the small bag, because the thick parker and the backpack was not very comfortable to wear. On the vessel, the backpack was very useful. There was little wild life in Greenland, nevertheless the long zoom lens allowed many landscape shoots due to the clear atmosphere. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Your gear is pretty close to what I was thinking, and thanks for the tip on the bag. From your photo it looks like it will work for me as well. Do you happen to remember which model of the Konig bag/insert you have? Thanks. Edited April 16 by NightPix Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImmerDraussen Posted April 16 Share #8 Posted April 16 Hi, it is the smaller "Rucksack 1". The inserts are custom made for my needs (I sent an equipment list to Mr. König). There was no extra charge for this service. Here is the drawing of my version. I made the separator behind the SL2-s foldable. This allows to leave the lens hood in the working position or use the space for the X-U. All front lenses had a filter and I had tissues with me to wipe off water drops. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 2 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/420492-sl-lenses-for-antarctica/?do=findComment&comment=5787237'>More sharing options...
Coral Palm Posted April 28 Share #9 Posted April 28 Having been to Antarctica assorted times having used assorted cameras, yet once SL Type 601 was released then SL 2 had been using only those. My most used lens without a doubt would have been the 24-90mm SL lens. Used the 90-280 SL lens for some landscape to compress the image as well as for birds and wildlife, and the 16-35 SL lens was mostly used if I could get something into the foreground on land, for wide shots looking down from the ship on pancake ice and other types of ice, as well as sometimes just to show the sheer number of animals in some spots. Last trip left the 90-280 at home and used the 100-400 which was nice for the extra reach. I as well have the Sigma 150-600 but in most cases happy I did not bring it with me as not a lightweight lens as anyone who has it knows. Yet if shooting far off birds or whales sure the extra reach would be nice, but as has been discussed on this forum before and not to reignite a potential flame war the SL system is not for fast flying birds, sure you will get some keepers but the hit rate will be far better with other systems that lock and track better. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Richardson Posted April 28 Share #10 Posted April 28 If you are checking gear, I would look into gloves and mitts. Changing lenses in the cold should not be hard if you have the right gear. Personally, I really like Hestra gloves. If it is really cold, you might be happier with glove liners inside mittens. The mitts are usually still usable for the shutter (unless they are super bulky), and zooming. If you need fine dexterity good glove liners with grip will both keep you warm in the mittens and allow you to keep your hands warm id you have to take the mittens off to perform tasks with higher dexterity. Look for mittens or gloves with straps, as it allows them to hang around your wrist when you take them off. Just some lessons learned from a place where you typically need them 10 months of the year (and with you for 12). I like the Hestra Wakayama gloves and mittens, but they are not waterproof if that is a likely challenge. They are fine if there is snow, but not if they get really wet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMB Posted July 15 Share #11 Posted July 15 I did a trip to Antarctica, South Georgia, and Falklands in March 2024. There were 3 different types of situations as regards photography, demanding different gear choices. The easiest was shooting from the deck of the ship. Basically no different from shooting at home. Wide angle for landscape. Telephoto for birds or marine wildlife. The second was shooting during landings. These are all wet landings by zodiac. So you are somewhat limited as regards the amount of gear you can take and all must be in a watertight bag. When we were there, they also enforced very strict bio safety rules because of the avian flu. Thus, you were not allowed to put your camera bag on the ground. But this may have changed again. Thus, changing lenses was a challenge, even in good weather. The most challenging scenario were zodiac outings (although these produced some of the best photos of the entire trip). Basically, forget about changing lenses. On the landings and zodiac outings, I took a S006 with a 30-90 lens, and my wife a Canon R6ii with a 100-500 zoom (which I borrowed when I needed something longer). I think the combination of 2 SL with the 24-90 and 90-280 would be perfect for these outings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightPix Posted July 15 Author Share #12 Posted July 15 (edited) 1 hour ago, GMB said: I did a trip to Antarctica, South Georgia, and Falklands in March 2024. There were 3 different types of situations as regards photography, demanding different gear choices. The easiest was shooting from the deck of the ship. Basically no different from shooting at home. Wide angle for landscape. Telephoto for birds or marine wildlife. The second was shooting during landings. These are all wet landings by zodiac. So you are somewhat limited as regards the amount of gear you can take and all must be in a watertight bag. When we were there, they also enforced very strict bio safety rules because of the avian flu. Thus, you were not allowed to put your camera bag on the ground. But this may have changed again. Thus, changing lenses was a challenge, even in good weather. The most challenging scenario were zodiac outings (although these produced some of the best photos of the entire trip). Basically, forget about changing lenses. On the landings and zodiac outings, I took a S006 with a 30-90 lens, and my wife a Canon R6ii with a 100-500 zoom (which I borrowed when I needed something longer). I think the combination of 2 SL with the 24-90 and 90-280 would be perfect for these outings. Thanks very much for the information. My plan (hope) is to avoid changing lenses once I'm off the ship. So right now I plan to have an SL2-S + 24-70 and SL2 + 100-400 (in place of the 150-600 to keep weight and bulk down a bit). I have a Blackrapid dual harness so I can have them both hanging on my side when I am in the Zodiac or onshore. What is your opinion on using the harness, especially in the zodiac? Is it feasible to leave my bag in the zodiac and just carry cameras onshore (I have rain covers)? Also, which watertight bag did you use in the zodiac? Thanks again for sharing your experience! Edited July 15 by NightPix Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMB Posted July 20 Share #13 Posted July 20 On 7/15/2025 at 7:47 PM, NightPix said: Thanks very much for the information. My plan (hope) is to avoid changing lenses once I'm off the ship. So right now I plan to have an SL2-S + 24-70 and SL2 + 100-400 (in place of the 150-600 to keep weight and bulk down a bit). I have a Blackrapid dual harness so I can have them both hanging on my side when I am in the Zodiac or onshore. What is your opinion on using the harness, especially in the zodiac? Is it feasible to leave my bag in the zodiac and just carry cameras onshore (I have rain covers)? Also, which watertight bag did you use in the zodiac? Thanks again for sharing your experience! Frankly, I don't think that a double harness with 2 SL bodies with zooms works on a zodiac. Space on the zodiac is tight. You never know where you are sitting. Also, you are facing towards the other side of the zodiac. Thus, either you shoot through the passengers on that side or you turn around to shoot on your side. Or perhaps stand up. But standing up in a zodiac in sometimes not very stable conditions with two camera bodies is a challenge, at least for me. Also, unless the sea is very calm, you typically board the zodiac by handing your bag to the pilot and then step in. Thus, you would have to fix the cameras only once on the zodiac. You also cannot count on getting privileged treatment or access because you are taking real photos and your fellow passengers mostly take selfies with their iPhones, as frustrating as this may be. But if you are lucky, fellow passengers pay attention that you can get your shot but no guarantee. Things may be different if you book a special photo trip or photo package. The company that operated our ship was considering offering such packages, where you pay extra to have better photo opportunities. On our trip it also would not have been possible to leave your bag in the zodiac while on land. Zodiacs were constantly going back and forth between the ship and the landing side. I do not recall what brand the water safe is. Any bag big enough will do. I bought mine in Ushuaia before boarding the ship. I am attaching two photos so that you can see hot it is on board of a zodiac. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/420492-sl-lenses-for-antarctica/?do=findComment&comment=5836306'>More sharing options...
GMB Posted July 20 Share #14 Posted July 20 Just posting a few shot from the trip. S006 - with the 30-90 S @59mm. Shot from the zodiac at Kines Cove, Antarctica. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 2 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/420492-sl-lenses-for-antarctica/?do=findComment&comment=5836323'>More sharing options...
GMB Posted July 20 Share #15 Posted July 20 S008 with S180. Shot from the ship approaching Antarctica. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 3 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/420492-sl-lenses-for-antarctica/?do=findComment&comment=5836325'>More sharing options...
GMB Posted July 20 Share #16 Posted July 20 S006 with 30-90 @30 mm. South Georgia. Shot from zodiac. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 2 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/420492-sl-lenses-for-antarctica/?do=findComment&comment=5836326'>More sharing options...
GMB Posted July 20 Share #17 Posted July 20 S006 with 30-90 @66m. Shot from zodiac. South Georgia Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 2 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/420492-sl-lenses-for-antarctica/?do=findComment&comment=5836328'>More sharing options...
GMB Posted July 20 Share #18 Posted July 20 S006 with S180. Shot on land. South Georgia. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 6 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/420492-sl-lenses-for-antarctica/?do=findComment&comment=5836330'>More sharing options...
GMB Posted July 20 Share #19 Posted July 20 One more zodiac photo with photo Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! graphers in action. 1 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! graphers in action. ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/420492-sl-lenses-for-antarctica/?do=findComment&comment=5836335'>More sharing options...
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