[360fish]

I saw one post on desert photography with a few helpful tips (keep camera dust safe except when shooting, focus on morning/evening, maybe an underwater protection casing (expensive?)) but as I'm about to head to burning man I'm hoping for more tips / advice.

Bringing a k200d w/ a DA* lens (16-50 f2.8). I'm worried about dust with the lens focus and zoom rings but I hear the DA* are really well sealed. I'm worried about heat where my camera is stored (in the tent) during the day (asked Pentax support at what temp the camera will become damaged, will post their response).

I'd love any shooting tips as well (polarizing filter...). And I'd really like to bring my FA 50mm 1.4 lens for night shooting but afraid it'll grind to a halt after a day, any thoughts? I've seen some creative bags+tape lens protections, I'll do at least that I guess (will remind me of trying to seal my holgas...)

thanks
Dana

[Mark Castleman]

A polarizer will be very useful when shooting in the day. The sun in the desert is merciless and a polarizer will act like a ND filter and will help to bring out the colors as well. Your big concern about dust will be if you change lenses and when the wind picks up. If you can avoid the first except when inside something and not shoot during the second you should be OK.

[janosh]

1) Bring brushes, fine and coarse, to get rid of surface grit. It's not just "dust."
2) Accept that you may damage or destroy or lose the camera because of elements more extreme than heat and dust (eg ambient dope and prevailing theft).
3) Big Rocket blower. If you don't have one already, kiss the camera goodbye.
4) Don't bring any other camera..keep it simple. If you're into Holga, don't bother with Pentax.
5) Use LARGE memory (4G or more) to minimize grit entry into camera from frequent changes.
6) Shoot RAW because of crazy light.
7) UV filter on lens. You need to wash (dribble) it with water, not just brush it, in that environment.
8) Polarizer will just make things confusing. You won't be making sappy postcards with clouds.

I learned a little about these issues in another desert.

Hi neighbour Dana.
I took my K10D and a couple of lenses to BM last year and it was fine. My skill level wasn't that great but the camera was fine. I didn't take but would now, a rocket blower.
I did take a few precautions, The other lens was in it's own case as well as in my kit bag for extra protection. I took some of those big ziploc bags and put the camera and spare lens in those when I went out. That way they could be in my backpack with my water and mask. Only use the bags once, that minimises dust transfer and you can reuse them for other stuff when you are packing. I even got a ziploc big enough for my kit bag!

You won't be taking shots in dust storms, you'll be taking shelter. Lighting conditions aren't too bad, just bracket and or review to see what works. Centre camp is well lit. Night shooting can be difficult, if you use the on board flash you will get nice/annoying sand spec bokeh in the shot. If you take an off camera flash, just ask someone to hold it for you, they'll be happy to help. Take a pencil and one of those small post it notes so that you can give and receive email addresses. This will be especially useful when taking shots of people. Don't forget to ask first, it's the BM way.

My camera gradually got dusty throughout the week so I just took it in for a clean. A worthwhile expense after taking it to BM. The poster who had another desert experience probably didn't have that luxury so keeping it constantly keen was much more important. Congratulations Janosh for managing.

There are some nice mountain panorama shots when the conditions are right. We always try and arrive around sunrise, there are some beautiful panoramas that you will pass on the way to the playa.

There will probably be some aerial opportunities; smoke rings, kites, parachutists with smoke and people flying in.

Out in the desert where the art installations and temple are, the light is going to be bright so just pay attention to where it is and shoot accordingly.

Your zoom should be fine, it will be much easier with no lens changes. Just take the 50 1.4 as a backup and keep it sealed. Then you can make an on the ground decision whether to use it.


Have fun, drink your water and don't worry about your camera, just be careful with it.

If you have any more specific questions, please feel free to PM me.

Gary

[360fish]

Changing (lenses, cards, etc) I found one of my old film loading bags, i think that'll help when things need moving about.

Janosh - thank you, very helpful - rule #2 should be stickied everywhere... polarizer, interesting, I have the uv filters maybe I'll bring a backup to cover damage and skip the polarizer. Multiple types of brushes, hadn't thought about that.

Big Rocket Blower - had no idea about this, ty!

Any other tips/tricks? I wish I had an idea for something to keep my camera a little cool from 10 am - 6 pm (still waiting to hear from Pentax what the melting point is, maybe it's not an issue)

[nixcamic]

I have had my k10d inside volcanic vents (air temperature about 85C would be my guess, it felt hot) and its still fine, but that was only ever for a few seconds at a time. There was however lots of heat distortion in the shots, and AF didn't seem to function quite right.

[krs]

...I'm about to head to burning man I'm hoping for more tips / advice.

Showing my ignorance - where is "burning man"?

[pentkon52]

A polarizer will be very useful when shooting in the day. The sun in the desert is merciless and a polarizer will act like a ND filter and will help to bring out the colors as well. Your big concern about dust will be if you change lenses and when the wind picks up. If you can avoid the first except when inside something and not shoot during the second you should be OK.

I was in Fire Valley last April, out side of Vegas, and the polarizer saved me.

Worked well. April is not overly hot, but the sun is merciless.
Dave

[RiceHigh]

I used to have a towel covered my cameras (lens+body) and protect them from those smallest dust which are flying everywhere around you in the dessert.

Here are a few example photos of mine:
RiceHigh's Pentax Blog: Some More Dubai Images ;-)

Putting aside on how to protect the camera gear, one important thing to note is to be careful with metering and exposure, which dessert environment could cause underexposure more than often.

I saw one post on desert photography with a few helpful tips (keep camera dust safe except when shooting, focus on morning/evening, maybe an underwater protection casing (expensive?)) but as I'm about to head to burning man I'm hoping for more tips / advice.

Bringing a k200d w/ a DA* lens (16-50 f2.8). I'm worried about dust with the lens focus and zoom rings but I hear the DA* are really well sealed. I'm worried about heat where my camera is stored (in the tent) during the day (asked Pentax support at what temp the camera will become damaged, will post their response).

I'd love any shooting tips as well (polarizing filter...). And I'd really like to bring my FA 50mm 1.4 lens for night shooting but afraid it'll grind to a halt after a day, any thoughts? I've seen some creative bags+tape lens protections, I'll do at least that I guess (will remind me of trying to seal my holgas...)

thanks
Dana

[code4code5]

I used to have a towel covered my cameras (lens+body) and protect them from those smallest dust which are flying everywhere around you in the dessert.

Here are a few example photos of mine:
RiceHigh's Pentax Blog: Some More Dubai Images ;-)

Putting aside on how to protect the camera gear, one important thing to note is to be careful with metering and exposure, which dessert environment could cause underexposure more than often.

This is from RH's blog page...

Having seen a few of the Dubai images posted on the Net recently, which were all created with the new Pentax DSLR as told (only by the K20D for what I can see so far), I am not overally impressed with some of the sample pics owing to quite some good reasons, including particularly the gloomy appearance and/or the colour response of many of them, unfortunately.

The only respect in which they are HIS images is that he has edited them to wash them out. Those are not the originals.

[emalvick]

Showing my ignorance - where is "burning man"?

Northern Nevada, in the Black Rock Desert. Google will find you a ton of information and Flickr is great for finding photos of it... It's quite unique.

[Shashinki]

huh? what does ricehigh's blog about pentax autofocus have to do with desert?
i didn't know you took pictures though... they were okay, but alot of them were out of focus.. maybe it's the af?

[Ahab]

I bought my 10D because I live in the desert. I like to keep it simple and try to choose the lens prior to going out, and unless I'm doing birds or macro the 18-55 does just fine.
Polarizers are fluff and changing lenses will introduce dust.

[mithrandir]

You can somewhat moderate the effects of temperature by keeping your equipment in a 7 day cooler (sans ice). It will keep the temperature swings to a minimum when not using the camera and accessories.

[BBear]

Hi guys!

I have to revive this thread, cause I just got tickets to Burning Man and I definitely will be bringing a Pentax camera (not sure which).

i'll have questions soon about lenses and specific details!


Lets go burners!!!!