[Kingman]

I have booked the "photographic" or prime time tour for the Antelope Valley Slot Canyon Tour in two weeks. From what I have heard UWA lenses are an obvious. I will likely have with me 2 K-1 bodies with the D FA15-30mm/2.8 and the Laowa 12mm/2.8. I will have a tripod or monood with me if allowed. While I have a K-3 was a backup body, I really do not wish to carry it with me on the tour. Any other suggestions from the collective wisdom of the masses?

[The Squirrel Mafia]

Just take the K-1 bodies & lenses. Don't bother with the K-3. Never been on the photography tour, but I was there with a tripod, a Sony a200 camera, & the Sony 18-70mm zoom lens in 2010. Got lots of neat shots.

[Kingman]

Just take the K-1 bodies & lenses. Don't bother with the K-3. Never been on the photography tour, but I was there with a tripod, a Sony a200 camera, & the Sony 18-70mm zoom lens in 2010. Got lots of neat shots.

The "photographic" or prime time tours are only during mid day for direct sunlight entering the slot canyons.

[AstroDave]

Make sure your tripod is legit! Many of the tours don't want you carrying that (let alone taking the time to set it up).

We did a "regular" tour about 3 years ago, and it was a real hustle (I think Squirrel's visit was prior to the "discovery" and popularity of the canyon) -- quite crowded (see the attached shot of part of the crowd as we entered) and little time for composing shots. We were in one of about 6 or 8 groups, of 10-15 people each. It was scenic, but I'd hardly call it fun (and definitely not leisurely).

I just checked, and many of my shots were in the 20 to 35 mm range (that was probably the lens I had on the K1!). This was late in the afternoon (~4 PM, at the end of May), and I had the ISO between 1600 and 2500 for most shots. Even then, some exposures were a second or more (hurray, Pentax SR).

Attached Images

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[rogerstg]

Make sure your tripod is legit! Many of the tours don't want you carrying that (let alone taking the time to set it up).

I looked into it but was shut out in 2020 due to Covid. But as I remember it, the photo tours were a little more than double the price but that bought fewer people and three times the time of the standard tours. Tripods are allowed.

[Mike L]

The photographic tours are fantastic! The guides are fantastic at crowd control and will make sure everyone on the photo tour gets an opportunity to get shots.

Wide angle lens are a must and a sturdy tripod. A shutter release cable or remote is also handy.

It will be very dusty (the guides throw handfuls of dirt into the air to make the beams of light visible) take a blower with you and don't change lens.

These were shot with a K3 and Sigma 8-16mm