Photorex said:
gsw1 said:
i also have acceses to a a 400 mm f2.8 lens. Any valve in taking tha?
If you were to stay longer at one place, then yes, such a lens would be useful. But not on a cruise ship tour where the landing time is limited to approx. 1,5 hours for each landing. So the 100-400 will be the better match even if it means that you will sacrifice bokeh and shallow DoF.
Frank
Haven't been to Antarctica but been photographing a lot on and off zodiacs in the northern hemisphere in all conditions.
I agree much with what Photorex had to say. The 100-400 is a great option while the 400/2.8 is way too clumsy to maneuver it on a zodiac that you will share with a crowd of other people. Further, you will wish to zoom in and out when photographing from a zodiac that another person will be stearing and which's movement is out of your control. The only antarctic alternative to me would be the 400 DO II (great for seabirds from the cruise-vessel!), but then again: How would one compose tele-landscapes from the zodiac without the zooming or respond to a tame seal that comes closer than expected? Also the 400 DO is very expensive and with my advice I will try to keep the cost down:
In a Zodiac it is both a pain to have to either handle two camera-bodies with lenses attached or to have to change lenses on a single body. Of these two options, having two bodies with lenses attached is the better one. I'd go for the 16-35/4.0 and the 100-400/5.6 II on two seperate full-frame bodies, the greater resolution/pixel-density with the 100-400 II so you can crop further if needed.
Having a back-up DSLR at least on the cruise-ship is a must on such a trip. Even the 1D-series can break if it gets hit by a bucket-load of water, so having a back-up is always a good idea (and maybe it does not need to be a 1D-series). Lying low on the ground or kneeling, a flippy-tilt screen is always a good option. So in addition to a 5D III I'd probably go for the 6D II. If you can spare the flippy-tilt, a second 5D III is a good option, as you are already familiar with it. Or add a used 5D II or a 6D (max. shuttercount 50.000).
However be aware that the moisture that a snowstorm will push into a camera that is not properly sealed wil kill it (ice turns into water inside the camera - happened to my 5DII - main board failed). So in a snowstorm, a 1D-series camera is definately better than anything else! And such a storm makes for great photos if you use it to your advantage, e.g. penguins collecting the snow in their faces etc.
All that said, having a compact camera at hand for all puposes inside the zodiac might be a better idea than carrying two DSLRs around your neck. If you have a little bit of money to spend, you might wish to consider (and this would be my favoured option for great quality - non professional use on such a trip) a Sony RX10 IV with its 24-600 zoom equivalent and great autofocus. But definately take along into the zodiac a pelicase that fits the 5D III, a 16-35 and the 100-400 II for even greater image-quality when on land. Maybe with this compact-solution you might also want to take along a 50/1.8 STM for portraits at the cruise-vessel and high-res landscapes below 100mm and as a mid-range back-up should the Sony fail. With the RX10 IV alongside the 5DIII, possibly you could omit taking along a backup-DSLR. An added 25mm extension tube turns the 100-400 and the 50mm into true macro lenses if ever one is needed. If you own a 24-105, I'd take that along as well.
For universal use I highly recommend adding these following two pieces of equipment to your travel. The backpack fits a lot for its size and has no small unusable "bullshit-compartments" for drones or bananas while the case offers protection for the backpack when inside the zodiac or generally when other people handle your stuff + it should work as carry-on + you can sit on it):
https://www.tamrac.com/products/nagano-16l
this light tamrac-backpack fits into:
http://www.pelican.com/us/de/product/cases/protector/1520
But first, ask your tour-operator if taking the 1520 pelicase along in the zodiac is ok. I would think so.
The following might be a nice all-in-one carrying option, but it is not as sturdy and demands great care to keep the zipper clean (if the zipper fails, you are screwed): http://www.koenig-photobags.de/photorucksack1-standard/
Of course f-stop is always an option when it comes to weatherproof photopacks (but no hard shell).
Good luck to Antarctica from freezing Germany