First off, quite honestly, I wasn't really worried about the gear. Both Mary and I were shooting Canon 500mm IS lenses that are supposed to be weather sealed, with O ring type seals at critical locations, and we were using Canon EOS 1D Mark II cameras, which I've been told are weather proof for 2 inches of rain per hour. When I bought my first Mark II I stupidly placed the camera on a table underneath an aquarium where I was filming aquatic insects. That night the aquarium sprung a leak, and dripped all night onto the camera! I had a non-weather resistant 180mm lens attached, but very little, if any, water fell upon the lens. But the camera took a direct hit. I didn't panic when I discovered the accident the next morning, and I merely wiped off the body. Everything was fine. Talk about trial by fire .... err, water!
After that experience I was fairly confident that the gear would hold up in bad weather. However, for drenching rain squalls I felt it only prudent not to tempt fate so Mary and I did cover and protect our gear. To do so, we merely used plastic garbage bags! We cut a hole in the bottom that was small, or big, enough to just fit the lens, creating a tight, snug fit. The camera, then, stuck out of the open end of the bag, but the length of our garbage bags extended beyond, and over, the camera far enough that water dripped passed the camera. Sometimes the rain came in nearly horizontal sheets, and at those times we made sure that our lenses were aimed away from the wind, and pointed downward so that any blowing rain didn't strike the lens.
Now I realize that using a garbage bag for protecting a lens isn't a brainstorm tip, but I'm mentioning this now because of the other systems we saw. One of our photographers had commercially produced, rather fancy-looking custom covers for both his 600mm and 300mm lenses. The 600mm hood was too short, and the section that is supposed to cover the camera just barely did so, and he felt very compromised in its use. The 300mm, made by the same manufacturer, was actually too long, and he had to bunch it up a bit so that he could properly use it. I didn't get the name of the product, so my only advice here is if you order a commercial lens cover make sure you TEST it before you actually have to use it. You may wish to make a provision in ordering -- if it doesn't fit, you don't acquit - oops, that was OJ, I meant to say, you don't buy or you can return the product. I felt the custom covers that photographer was using were virtually worthless.
In the past I've also used heavy nylon covers that were commercially made, and that secured to the lens by velcro. Again, my problem with those covers was two fold. One, either the lens porthole diameter was too narrow, and the velcro didn't secure the lens securely, or ( a dumb move on my part) I'd grab the wrong cover for the lens I was using and either have one that was too long, or too short. When wet, the heavy, rather bulky nylon covers also created a bit of an issue for storing. Where do you put a soaking wet cover when you don't need it?
So, for all of our trips, Mary and I now go the simplest route possible for weather-proofing our lenses and cameras. A big white kitchen garbage bag, or an even heavier-duty black plastic trash can liner bag, takes up almost no space when neatly folded, and there is no weight. After use, a couple of crisp shakes will generally flip off excess water and what little remains can be secured fairly easily when the bag is rolled up. For really damp bags I've sometimes placed the bag into a ziplock bag for storage so that my pack or my pocket stays dry.
Normally, the light level is fairly low during a heavy rain, and shutter speeds can be an issue. Three of the sixteen photographers on this trip shot with film and I worried about their shutter speeds in some of the low lighting conditions we had. For the digital shooters (which included Mary and me), I simply advised raising the ISO to 400, which in virtually every situation gave us shutter speeds faster than 1/320th at f4, and sometimes 1/600th. These speeds were fast enough to stop most subject motion and almost all camera-induced motion, provided the photographers' tripods were securely mounted.
Remember, with digital, you can and you should raise your ISO as shooting conditions require. In 2005's BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest I had two third-places, or Highly Commendeds, which will appear in their book and displays. Both were shot with ISO 400, one on a cloudy day, and one during or just after a storm in very dim conditions. Accordingly, I have no worries about using ISO 400 when needed, and for much of our Denali shooting I kept my ISO there, only changing it when it was truly a bright day.
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