Vic Falls camera protection
 

My husband and will be in Victoria Falls in late July for two nights before beginning our Botswana safari. I want to photograph the falls but after seeing all the posts about how wet it gets close to the falls, I am concerned about getting my camera and/or lens wet. I will have a Canon 20D and a Canon Rebel. I figure I will use the Rebel for this. I have looked at the Kata E-690 elements cover but don't know that I want to purchase and drag something like that along for this one purpose - plus I am not convinced it would work that well. Would a plastic bag do? Also what mm lens would you recommend for taking pictures from a helicopter?

No guarantees, but a plastic bag would probably suffice. We even stuck the cameras inside our ponchos until we needed to shoot...an umbrella also helps. I would probably suggest the canon 17-40mm or24-70 to get the wide angle shots. A 10-20 or 12-24(tamron) would also do the trick. In addition a 70-200 or 100-300 zoom will also be useful. Obviously, from the helicopter, you want to shoot with high shutter speed. If you have a video camera take it to at least record the incredible sounds of the falls...when I re-watch ours I am blown away by the noise.
Regards,
Eric

You definitely need a plastic bag... it can get quite wet. I also found an umbrella valuable for taking pictures while holding the camera under the umbrella.

I figured we would rent ponchos but I hadn't thought about an umbrella. Did you bring it with you or rent it?

Yes, my husband does the video and has already purchased an elements cover for his camera. He is really looking forward to the falls and the helicopter ride!

Hi slsmith

I was there July last year and you would be amazed at how wet you get even with a poncho on! I had my camera in its bag then within a plastic zipped bag, then under the poncho, and it was fine.

Kind regards,

Kaye

If you have a chance to get to Livingstone Island, which is a tiny island right on the edge of the Falls AT THE TOP, you can take photos to your heart's content and remain completely dry. You get a unique view of the rainbows and the spray, but obviously it's a different type of shot from standing at the bottom. The boats are operated out of the Royal Livingstone Hotel or Tongabezi Lodge; I am not certain whether guests from other hotels can book the trip. Personally I would not use a plastic bag to protect a good camera at the bottom of the Falls. You will definitely risk your camera.

Re: helicopter photography, you don't need a long lens at all. The best photos from the air are of the entire system, showing the falls, river, jungle and gorges. I took photos from my charter plane, through a window, with no zoom and with my 10x zoom. At 10x it's very hard to snap a photo that isn't blurry in a moving plane. The no zoom photos were awesome, and would probably be better from a helicopter with no window, and which flies lower.

You can buy excellent raincovers for cameras. This one is good : http://tinyurl.com/44oat

Hetismij, this looks a lot more flexible than the Kata I was looking at. With the Kata I was concerned about which lens it would work with but this looks like it would fit all my lenses. Just what I needed.. thanks!

Lin, although I don't think we will be able to make it to Livingstone Island (we will be on the Zim side), it sounds awesome!

Thanks, everyone, for all your tips! I can't believe we leave in less than 5 months!

Oh, and another thing about the rain cover... it looks like this one would be ideal for keeping dust off the camera during game drives.