Getting a new camera for Antarctica

An epic trip deserves an epic camera

As well as ordering wool base layers, a beanie, wool socks, a fleece hoodie, and waterproof everything for my upcoming trip to Antarctica, I decided to get a new camera.

I’ve owned a DSLR, a Nikon D3200, for the longest time. It was great until the battery started to get stuck in it. And, well, it’s mighty inconvenient when your camera battery dies in the middle of a memorable moment and you can’t change it without using an icepick. I even tried to order a new Nikon, but I ran into the same issue.

For a while now, I’ve just been borrowing the hubby’s camera body paired with my lens. Or taking photos with my phone.

Antarctica, I decided, needed more epic camera equipment.

As I read up on traditional DSLRs versus the newer mirrorless camera technology, I concluded I wanted to go mirrorless. They’re lighter and more suited for travel, and that seems to be where camera tech is largely heading.

It helped that, unlike other more serious photographers, I haven’t invested in a plethora of expensive DSLR cameras or lenses. I was willing to try something new, even outside the Nikon brand.

I’ve been on a visual minimalist kick lately so I narrowed my search to white cameras. (Don’t do this if you want more than two mirrorless camera body choices under $1,000.)

As I widened my criteria, such as durability in cold weather, I stumbled upon this on the Nikon website:

Are mirrorless cameras good in the cold? Most of today’s digital cameras are designed to do well in weather down to at least freezing, and that includes Nikon DSLRs and Z series mirrorless as well as COOLPIX point & shoot cameras. Unless you’re going to be photographing in the Arctic or Antarctica you should be fine.

Um, I happen to be photographing in Antarctica.

The Pentax K-1 Mark II, lauded as military-grade tough, almost tempted me.

Almost.

In the end, I decided I couldn’t justify spending another 1K. Plus it was a DSLR, would be heavier for travel, and was not white.

By the time I was recycling the same Youtube videos (if you are a Youtuber helping us lost souls, bless your heart), I stumbled upon a refurbished white Sony telephoto lens. (The only thing rarer than a white camera body is a white lens body.) The reviews were good. The lens would match a white camera body.

Frankly, out of sheer exhaustion, I decided to take a leap of faith and go for the Sony ZV-E10 instead of the Canon EOS M50 Mark II.

The Sony will come with a silver 18–50 mm kit lens. Someday, I plan to invest in a wide-angle lens for landscapes and portraits.

I also ordered that refurbished Sony FE 70–200mm telephoto lens. I get giddy thinking how cool it would be to walk around with my white camera gear. Or when I take a minimalist photo of it.

If you think my getting a camera based on color was a terrible decision, be kind.

There’s always a chance that when I get to Antarctica, my new camera will stop working. Batteries reportedly drain faster when cold. Also, unlike the Pentax K-1 Mark II, the Sony ZV-E10 is not weather-sealed.

To be on the safe side, I will have my Coolpix waterproof camera as a backup. And, of course, there’s always my phone.

If my new camera can outlast the harsh conditions of Antarctica, I will enjoy using it once I get back. Although come to think of it, Utah temperatures where I live have been down to single digits. Will Antarctica truly be harsher in the 30s?

I told my husband I finally ordered a camera. “White on white,” I said.

“Just don’t set it on the snow,” he said, “or you might never find it.”

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