Future holiday puts pressure on for possible upgrades.

CaveDweller

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I have family out in Hawaii and I've been invited out next year for 4weeks. I've been before and every time I have managed to see the lava flows in person but I wasn't into photography back then. This time I go I want to get as many shots as possible. You can get surprisingly close to the lava on the lower parts of the island, because of the flat terrain the lava flows very slow and you can even walk on it shortly after. My relatives have stayed out there for over 20years now and are very knowledgeable about the volcanic action of the island, so I don't have to worry about hiring a tour guide.

My main concerns are about my kit, mainly my camera. Obviously with the extreme heat things could get pretty messy if you hang about too long close to the lava, but even within a close vicinity of the lava the temperature will still be high. My worry about my camera is will my plastic 550D be up to the task of getting in and close to the lava flows? or should I look to upgrade to something a bit more "hardcore". I was planning an upgrade this year anyway and for my budget I don't really want to spend more than £1500. Obviously there is the choice of standing back with a telephoto lens but that doesn't give the same effect as getting in close with a wide angle.

I don't really shoot anything specific when it comes to photography. I shoot a wide range of different subjects ranging from racing cars, action shots of my dogs and I'm getting into more night time shooting now, so I'd like better noise performance, low light capabilities, faster focusing and something that's a lot tougher than the 550D.

Preferably within that budget I want a better wide angle lens that has a shorter focal length than the kit 18-55. The kit 18-55mm lens is all I have for a wide angle and I want to buy something better if I'm upgrading the body. My other lenses consist of a Canon 100-400 and 70-200 f/2.8 IS. If I have to spend more than £1500 I'd be prepared to do so but I don't want to go crazy when I only do photography as a hobby.

As of my tripod I'm not too concerned about that. I can always take the rubber feet off to stop them melting and replace them with metal spikes I made for it.

If anyone has been on a similar trip or have any advice it would be very much appreciated. A better camera is probably too good for me and my skills, but I sure do plan on getting better.

PS: I wasn't sure where to post this as it's about the holiday and equipment.
 
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I would be more worried about myself than my camera melting! I've left cameras in cars when the outside temperature has been in the high 30s with no ill effects (no idea how hot the inside of the car got - I just opened the door, turned the ignition and AC on and left it for a few minutes.) The usual problem was that the lubricants in the lenses would melt and could cause sticky aperture blades but I got away with it.

No reason not to use the trip as an excuse for a few upgrades though!!!
 
Lol I see your point. I'm not going to be close enough that I need a big silver suit but it is still going to be bad. I went through 2 lots of shoes the last time I went because the soles kept melting. Walking over the dried up crust of lava that's only an hour or two old, you can smell your shoes burning.
 
Looking at the Canon website nearly all their DSLR's are specified to an operating environment of 0-40 C with a humidity max of 85%. The only exception is the D1X which is specified up to 45 C. I'm sure they can be pushed beyond these limits but how far ?

Wouldn't it be better to take your current gear which you could really push. If anything goes wrong then you have the perfect excuse to upgrade :)
Use small SD cards and change them frequently. You wouldn't want to lose most of your photos if you fried your Canon.
 
That's a good idea to be honest lol. I'd feel a lot more comfortable anyway. Still want to upgrade this year though:D
 
If the environment really is challenging, I suggest it might be better to go for redundancy instead of upgrades. How many eggs do you want in one (potentially expensive but not necessarily any more robust) basket?

For example you could buy a couple more used 550D bodies - won't be expensive. If you damage one, fetch the second and don't go quite so close to the lava next time. If you find you don't need the backups, you could sell them again after the trip at little no loss.

Just a thought.
 
Yes a lot of helpful tips now to think about rather than taking expensive equipment to such a dangerous place.

Thanks all.
 
I've taken in what everyone has said and I don't see the reason for the upgrade for my holiday. The advantages of a better body wouldn't really apply for what I want during my trip and there's nothing wrong with the picture quality from the 550D, so I've just ordered myself another one for £200:D 10k shutter count and good condition. The first thing I'll be doing with it is putting Magic Lantern on it. I tried my 550d without it the other day and I felt lost lol. They guy used it as a back up for his main camera but he has upgraded his main one now, so the 550d was just going to be a back up of a back up. That gives me a nice healthy amount left in my budget to find a nice wide lens. All my lenses are Canon L lenses apart from the kit 18-55 which I've been wanting to replace for a while.

Once I have all upgraded lenses I'll look more into a body upgrade next year after my holiday, but I'll probably still keep the two 550d's for time lapses and a back up.
 
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My advice would be, if your set on keeping the gear, buy a good sharp lens that you can keep when you upgrade (if you go FF).
Because you're on a crop sensor something like the 17-40L will go wide enough for you, though for ultimate sharpness something like the Ziess 21mm or the Canon 24mm TSe are great choices.
Body wise, for £1500 you could pick up a Canon 6D, or blow out a little more for the 5D Mark III. I use the latter and would have no worries about taking it with me to the volcanic regions.
I know someone who has taken a Nikon D3 out there multiple times and never had an issue.
 
JakeT1992 said:
My advice would be, if your set on keeping the gear, buy a good sharp lens that you can keep when you upgrade (if you go FF).
Because you're on a crop sensor something like the 17-40L will go wide enough for you, though for ultimate sharpness something like the Ziess 21mm or the Canon 24mm TSe are great choices.
Body wise, for £1500 you could pick up a Canon 6D, or blow out a little more for the 5D Mark III. I use the latter and would have no worries about taking it with me to the volcanic regions.
I know someone who has taken a Nikon D3 out there multiple times and never had an issue.
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I don't understand the forum mentality of buying lenses suitable for FF when you shoot crop. As if FF is the obvious aim for everyone.
Firstly there's no evidence to suggest the OP will ever go full frame, secondly if he did, would he want an ultra wide f4 zoom?

The best lens to buy is the one you need now. If there's a time you never need it any more, you can sell it. I'll add that if you buy SH smartly, it'll cost little eventually.
 
Phil V said:
I don't understand the forum mentality of buying lenses suitable for FF when you shoot crop. As if FF is the obvious aim for everyone.
Firstly there's no evidence to suggest the OP will ever go full frame, secondly if he did, would he want an ultra wide f4 zoom?

The best lens to buy is the one you need now. If there's a time you never need it any more, you can sell it. I'll add that if you buy SH smartly, it'll cost little eventually.
Click to expand...

To be honest I don't know what I want myself. I've had next to no experience with any kit other than my own so I can only comment what I want better. What is better and what will be best is another story I'm trying to get my head around. It's a minefield of different products out there but I do know I want to stick with Canon and upgrade to a camera that can take my lenses ok, I don't want to have to buy all new lenses when I upgrade my body.

My main reasons for wanting a better body eventually will be for better ISO performance and low light capabilities. An extra couple of FPS with continuous shooting and faster focusing wouldn't go a miss but I don't depend on it, it would just be a nice feature to have when doing action shots now and again of the dogs. Whether the camera that will suits my needs is FF or not, that I do not know.

As of the lens I'm not sure either. I'm getting into more landscape shots and I'm enjoying night shots as well like star trails. My main concern is to replace my 18-55 kit lens for something similar like the 17-40L. If I want to go wider once I replace the 18-55 I might look towards the 10-20mm sigma.
 
The 'best' replacement for the kit lens is the 17-55, it beats the 17-40 on every level except build quality ( the L just nudges that).

But many would argue the smarter buy would be a Tamron 17-50.
 
Phil V said:
I don't understand the forum mentality of buying lenses suitable for FF when you shoot crop. As if FF is the obvious aim for everyone.
Firstly there's no evidence to suggest the OP will ever go full frame, secondly if he did, would he want an ultra wide f4 zoom?

The best lens to buy is the one you need now. If there's a time you never need it any more, you can sell it. I'll add that if you buy SH smartly, it'll cost little eventually.
Click to expand...

As I said at the start it was my advice, and what I would do, and did, without looking back.
The OP obviously has an interest in landscape photography, and if that is a route he wishes to take then upgrading to FF is an option worth looking at.
Forum mentality isn't something I know much about, I just know previous experience.
 
Phil V said:
I don't understand the forum mentality of buying lens suitable for FF when you shoot crop. As if FF is the obvious aim for everyone.
Firstly there's no evidence to suggest the OP will ever go full frame, secondly if he did, would he want an ultra wide f4 zoom?

The best lens to buy is the one you need now. If there's a time you never need it any more, you can sell it. I'll add that if you buy SH smartly, it'll cost little eventually.
Click to expand...



Agree with phil on this not everyone is going to end up with full frame
In my case I shoot Canon crop and went for the Tamron 17 50 and Tokina 11 16
It would have been more expensive to get the full frame equivalents and couldn't justify it as landscape isn't my main subject
im unlikely to go full frame as I mainly do wildlife
The Tamron 17 - 50 would be a great lens for your trip excellent image quality
 
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