I shot this event last summer and I've been asked to do it again for 2022. It's a 50 Mile trail running race held at high altitude in the San Juan mountains near Lake City, Co.
It was not an easy event to photograph at a high level. It's about a 10 mile hike with significant elevation gain from the trailhead to the area they want photos from in National Forest (so no motorized or even mechanized travel is allowed). Carrying my gear, that is about a 3 hour hike and the racers come through starting at about 7am. This requires me to spend the night nearby up there so that adds a lot more gear to carry.
Last year I had my new K-3iii and my old original K-3. I put the (screwdrive converted) SMC 16-50 on the K-3 with a fill flash (Godox V1) and my old DA L 55-300 on the K-3. This worked pretty well but the IQ of the 55-300 is just ok. I've recently gotten a 150-450 which would be great for the photos but it's just too big and heavy to bring on a trip like this unless I change my approach (like not spending the night and starting up at 3am instead).
So now I'm pondering if I could improve this setup in a meaningful way that wouldn't break the bank or my back.
With my old 55-300 not being WR one thing I'm thinking about is a new PLM 55-300 in case the weather is bad. Have any of you compared the old 55-300 to the new one? I understand the optical formula has not changed but the coatings and AF have been updated. Does this make much difference? Last year I shot the mostly at the long end of the 55-300 range and AF (mostly) wasn't a problem for the distant subjects. I might also need to rent a second K-3iii body if I did that since my original K-3's hotshoe is damaged which forces me to use the K-3iii with the flash for closer range shots and the original K-3 won't work with a PLM lens.
Or I could not change anything and shoot it like last year. The client liked the photos last year so there is that. But being without WR backpacking at 12,000' makes me a little uneasy.
It was stormy over night last year but it got nicer when I needed to shoot.
Any suggestions I should consider to stay light and improve IQ or add WR?
For reference, last year's photos are
here.
Thanks!