[teiki arii]

Thanks to AdrianM, it reminds me when I got married in New Zealand "some" 20 years ago. Your photos are beautiful. And yes, you are right, I am to buying a Pentax 28-105 for tough weather conditions.. next year.

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Last edited by teiki arii; 11-16-2016 at 01:55 PM.

[AdrianM]

It is amazing what a bit of sunshine in Tio's shot makes to the same scene.

[sgt_gatr]

Adrian, Great photos! My wife and I did the same trek back in April of this year. I carried a 645Z with the DA645 28-45mm, D FA 90mm, and tripod. Unfortunately the weather didn't agree and it basically poured rained for all of the trip except for Mackinnon when the rain turned to snow with 100mph winds. The groups infront and behind ours had to be helicoptered out! The weather gods did give me a few hours with the camera when we hit the Milford Sound Lodge on the last day. Thanks for the photos.

WOW Tio!!! That is a stunning photo.

[gaweidert]

Adrian, Great photos! My wife and I did the same trek back in April of this year. I carried a 645Z with the DA645 28-45mm, D FA 90mm, and tripod. Unfortunately the weather didn't agree and it basically poured rained for all of the trip except for Mackinnon when the rain turned to snow with 100mph winds. The groups infront and behind ours had to be helicoptered out! The weather gods did give me a few hours with the camera when we hit the Milford Sound Lodge on the last day. Thanks for the photos.

Spectacular shot. Definite wall hanger for sure.

[frankoz]

Hi Adrian, I am visiting the Track in late November this year with my K1, a 28-105 and also, despite the weight, my DFA 15-30.

I have been hunting for photos of the hike and stumbled on yours via Google - love your work - I only hope I can get some near as good.

I am taking a small gorilla pod and some filters but plan to leave the tripod behind. I was wondering if you had any key take away from your experience and any gear recommendations?

I am going with an Ultimate Hikes group.

Any help or suggestions appreciated.

Rgds
John

[alvaro_garcia]

Very nice shots! Well done.

[AdrianM]

.... I was wondering if you had any key take away from your experience and any gear recommendations?

....Rgds John

G'day John - I took my tripod, but only used it once, so waste of time. A bean bag (use styrofoam - you can't import grain into NZ) would be better. The Pentax 28-105 is magnificent because of its compactness and light weight. Also worth taking a longer lens and light (as in "not heavy") flash for the birds (particularly the South Island Robins that will pose) - I took a Sigma 18-250 as it is compact (although not water resistant), and when chasing Robins the crop isn't so important.

Expect that your gear will be wet most if not all of the time. The K1 and 28-105 is magnificent in these conditions as you don't need to change lenses and you can leave it in a wet bag at ambient temperature. Uses of other brands of dSLR on my trip had to keep their cameras dry in a bag, and that meant it fogged up all the time. I found that the 28-105 handled the wide angles well. The Pentax 15-30 is also magnificent in these conditions but heavy.

I carry my gear in Lowepro or Kinesis photo bags on military belt webbing, wearing the pack over the top. That way, you can get to your gear without taking your pack off and you change lenses easily without putting your gear down on wet, snowy or muddy ground.

I hope this helps.

Adrian

[Sandy Hancock]

Great to see these shots right now. I'll be sailing into Milford Sound just after sunrise tomorrow (K-1 and KP with 15-30, 28-105 and 55-300).

Can't wait!

[y0chang]

Amazing shots. Milford track is one of my bucket list trekking adventure

[frankoz]

G'day John - I took my tripod, but only used it once, so waste of time. A bean bag (use styrofoam - you can't import grain into NZ) would be better. The Pentax 28-105 is magnificent because of its compactness and light weight. Also worth taking a longer lens and light (as in "not heavy") flash for the birds (particularly the South Island Robins that will pose) - I took a Sigma 18-250 as it is compact (although not water resistant), and when chasing Robins the crop isn't so important.

Expect that your gear will be wet most if not all of the time. The K1 and 28-105 is magnificent in these conditions as you don't need to change lenses and you can leave it in a wet bag at ambient temperature. Uses of other brands of dSLR on my trip had to keep their cameras dry in a bag, and that meant it fogged up all the time. I found that the 28-105 handled the wide angles well. The Pentax 15-30 is also magnificent in these conditions but heavy.

I carry my gear in Lowepro or Kinesis photo bags on military belt webbing, wearing the pack over the top. That way, you can get to your gear without taking your pack off and you change lenses easily without putting your gear down on wet, snowy or muddy ground.

I hope this helps.

Adrian

Hi Adrian, my son and I completed the walk on 27 November 2018. We were blessed with sunny, dry weather for all but the ascent of Mackinnon Pass. At the top, the clouds parted for amazing vistas at 12 Second Drop. Took the K1, the 15-30 and 28-105 lenses for some beautiful shots. Also carried a small carbon fibre tripod. The extra weight was a pain, but now I am home and have processed my PEF files, I am well pleased.

It was a truly awesome experience, with great guides from Ultimate Hikes. Thoroughly recommend the walk to anyone with moderate fitness. Gotta say that glamping with Ultimate Hikes is the way to go. Arriving at day's end to showers, three course meal, beer and wines made the trip a rare pleasure.

Thanks for your comments and advice.

Rgds
John

[Ash]

Lovely images despite the overcast weather. Nice clarity and detail from the 'kit' FF lens. Thanks for sharing, This gives ever more confidence that the 28-105 is a very useful and high-IQ lens.