Question - drain camera

[Parky]

do you avid drainers have any recommendations for a camera for drain photography? i have an OK camera, and im looking to upgrade! just wondering for any recommendations for good cameras for drain photography! thanks

 

[Oxygen Thief]

I would say any middle of the road SLR would do the job. A sturdy (turdy) tripod to go with it as well.

 

[tigger]

If particularly bothered about waterproof and robustness then look for something like a second hand Olympus Tough TG4 as a backup. Compact camera with decent features, tripod mount, etc. Popular with cavers. If a compact is what you want then I would definitely put the rugged Olympus models above others. Certainly worth considering as a backup 'every day carry' camera for those impromtu "theres a hole, I wonder what's in there?" moments.

In a more general sense then look for big megapixels and a fairly solid body rather than necessarily lots of megapixels. Things like the Nikon D300 are a good choice in older cameras. 'Crop' sensor but really solid build body not plasticy. For reasons I've never understood they don't hold secondhand value as well as less 'professional' models of the same era despite being amongst the best regarded back then! No doubt other manufacturers have their own equivalents so look for those too.

At the end of the day though...as OT says - any camera plus a decent tripod will get you a record of your fun as long as you use them. Lots of reasonable photos from cell phones (though there are far more taken on those that should never have got out)

 

[Parky]

thanks alot guys really helps, so nikon sounds good?

 

[tigger]

Not really a question of brand. I use Nikon but that choice wasn't based on the brand* - when I swapped to digital I looked for a camera that felt right in my hands as my previous cameras had (various, I still have them, but no Nikon ones). There was a Canon one that did feel 'right'...but it was their most expensive model and well beyond my means. After lots of tests I settled on a particular body and it happened to be Nikon. My reasoning at the time was that there was no point in getting what someone told me was good or 'the best' if that didn't feel comfortable as it would end up not being used. If I didn't use it then it was a waste of money however 'good' it was supposed to be.

* though in the case of the rugged compacts I do think the Olympus TG 4/5/6 stand above most similar ones (including Nikon)

 

[CantClimbTom]

lurking with interest about dark places photography, especially if recommendations on lighting get discussed

 

[KPUrban_]

Something that you don't mind breaking I suppose? Couldn't imagine a drain as an electronics ideal world.

Probably decent lighting and a tripod will be an additional consideration.

 

[tigger]

lurking with interest about dark places photography, especially if recommendations on lighting get discussed

apologies to @the_rubber_johnny as this does take things off on a bit of a tangent and ought to be in it's own thread

Big megapixels are better for low light (so to take the Olympus example the TG5 actually performs better in low light than the TG4....but whether that justifies an update or the extra money is a personal choice or to use Nikon examples, the D750 performs better than the D7x00 models but again that's not enough to make a choice for most people).

Plenty of photography days organised by caving clubs where Mark Burkey gives instruction on how to take photos in his style (rather than options/techniques in general for underground). Mark and Jess are excellent hosts and the days well worth the relatively low cost. You'll come away with a method of planning/lighting - though it's not really about the spontaneous trip photography that most people actually do. Examples from some of the courses over on ukcaving - which several people from here also frequent

I've mentioned the idea of a day or two of underground photography where people can exchange ideas, help each other and generally have some fun but it never seems to get much response. Classroom /formalised version isn't my thing as it would be too much like actual work.

 

[CantClimbTom]

https://flic.kr/p/KxAMB7

I've been admirer of Burkey's pics for some time, take a look through those! This links to his Flickr so you can scroll through

 

[CantClimbTom]

Ninety-something percent of Burkey's pics involve placing a strong pinpoint light source a distance behind the subject shining towards the camera and using the subject to mask the light source. This works really well in subjects standing in phreatic tubes (cave passage cut by water under pressure, often circular ish cross section) and people ascending rope in vertical pots, because unlike shots only lit from behind the camera, by the photographer, it lights the tube in the background giving a full sense of depth/relief by lighting the background.

I'm wondering if this would be ideal in drains too? I mean take a boring reinforced concrete pipe, you might think it'd make a dull picture as it has no real features, but a photo of a subject standing centrally in an RCP with a bright pinpoint light on a tripod way down the drain masked out by the subject might make a brilliant pic really accentuating the circularness. I tried in mine levels to recreate that look but only on solo trips and remote camera and couldn't line it up right so gave up, but if there was a separate photographer and subject an RCP might be the perfect location for the technique, that Mark Burkey and Robbie Shone seem to have mastered in caves. They should get down a drain instead?

Sorry the_rubber_johhny for further digressing your thread. I promise I'll sober up, and shut up now.

 

[tigger]

Both Mark and Robbie usually use more than one light source...often three or four and each with a person assisting with placement. Typically a single image will take an hour or longer to build/capture. It's interesting but as I already hinted...their technique isn't what most people would want to use for a few hobby photos on a trip.

I too will also resume my usual muteness....

 

[paulpowers]

I use a battered old Sony A58
I wouldn't take brand spanking new kit into an environment that will destroy it

 

[Esoteric Eric]

I use Nikon D3500, fairly entry level camera for between £400-£600 new with the kit lens. I have the trusty bex staples - Sigma 10-20 and Manfrotto tripod. I have a nifty 50 as well for detail. I've got a cracking Unilite PSH10r 1100 lumen headtorch and a backup LEDlenser h8r, couple that with a LEDlenser P7 hand torch and you're away.

Ask @tarkovsky about not doing up his dry bag properly however, and it's all pointless

 

[wormster]

Only get what you can afford to feed to the “Drain Monster” eventually you will drop it in “the Fresh!!”

 

[Lenston]

I know Mark uses a few remotely triggered light guns for underground which works well if you can be bothered to spend the time placing them around. I also know he goes through a bit of gear due to the conditions. Good fun spending the day just messing around with lights underground.