What to do when snow boarding?

[jacobthellamer]

Hi Everyone,

I ham heading down to the south island(New Zealand) over the next week and will be up in the alp's playing in the snow .

Maiq question is what precautions should I take with my gear? I never been in snow with my camera...

What lenses would be best to take?

My body is a Pentax K100D

Have the kit 18-55mm, old 50mm and 28mm primes, a small 35-80 and a 100-300.

Cheers.

[Quo Fan]

If I was a snowboarder, which I'm not, I would ride different if I had my big camera with me. I do mountain bike, and when I bike with my big camera, I am the biggest chicken on the planet because I'm there to take photos, not do the crazy stuff I normally do.

If you are prone to falling, I wouldn't take your camera. If you are going to ride "safe", then by all means, bring it. Here is a review and discussion of a bag designed for action sports.

I just checked the f-stop website, and that bag is US$289. They do have less expensive, smaller bags available.

[Doug Pardee]

Originally Posted by jacobthellamer

will be up in the alp's playing in the snow .

Maiq question is what precautions should I take with my gear?

I would leave it at home. Or at least not take it out of the lodge. The K100D is not weather-sealed and if moisture gets inside any DSLR, the camera is usually a total loss. See, for example, this link: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...ssage=32600766

If you're going to take it out in the snow, you need to weather-proof it yourself. The usual technique is with a large clear plastic bag. Cut a hole in the bag that allows the end of the lens to stick out, and try to seal that opening by screwing a filter on the end of the lens. (This obviously requires a fairly thin bag to allow the filter to screw on.) You'll probably end up using tape instead.

You'll need a big plastic bag anyway, to keep condensation from getting into your camera. Put the cold camera into the plastic bag and seal it up before taking it inside into the warmth, and leave it sealed until the camera has warmed up to room temperature.

A better recommendation would be to take a weather-sealed camera. If you want to take a DSLR you could move up to the K200D or above, but you'd still have to worry about moisture getting in your lenses. Or you could go with a waterproof digicam: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q209waterproofgroup/