protecting gear from sand

this could possibly be the stoopidest reply but… i thought it was in a dried lake plane therefore not sand but more dust desert?

Correct and ridicule me if this is wrong.

if it is camera gear , try cameraarmor.com

Con, it’s dry when wet or non-windy. It’s super dusty when windy. I’ve been there in whiteout conditions and it ain’t pretty. Anamitra, thanks for your suggestion.

Plastic bags, rubber bands, and gaffer’s tape, and put a UV filter on the front of your lenses. That Camera Armor thingie won’t do a thing for dust or sand- I think it’s made mostly for bumps and scrapes.

underwater camera? Nikonos or the like

This guy pulled a DIY and made a cover for his gear out of an old wetsuit. http://www.windvisions.com/my-gear.html

you have an assignment at burning man? it’s not sand there, it’s very very fine dust… it will get in your equipment, there’s just no way around it. wrap your gear in plastic as much as possible and you have a fighting chance. eros’ suggestion of an underwater set-up is probably the only guarantee. more importantly, PARTICIPATE…. :)

Man, am I envious! You get an assignment there. Cool! I’ve wanted to go to Burning Man for years. Maybe I can get an assignment next year.

I have been many times in the Sahara. I don’t know if it compare to the condition you will meet. I have protected my gear with a homemade nylon tube open at both end. One end is tie around the lens (I have made mine with a jacket cord lock as found in outdoor garment) and the other end is large enough so I can get my hands and head to shoot. The tube is long (>12”) to have enough tissu to close everything. Every night, at camp I brush dust off. I had no problem even in a 10 hours sand storm. Take care when you get your camera in and out of your bag wich should absolutely have a zipper to close it tight.

Hope this will help you

M-A

if you shoot canon use 1D series bodies and EF L lenses. duct tape their focusing grids. use loads of ziplock bags and try not to use your laptop outdoors. always use a small personal tent if possibile to leave your stuff around and work the laptop. the kit is made to be used. get insurance for it and dont worry too much about it if not you ll finish only thinking about your camera’s state. use what you re use to shoot with. i would suggest not to get involved with weird and bolky protective stuff. they d limit your mobility and speed.

That wetsuit idea sounds great. I’m going to give that a try! It might also take away that “expensive” look of Canon’s white lenses while in third-world countries.

Hey Allison, Have fun at Burning Man, always a gig I wanted to do. My .02 on dust after having spent some time in it in Iraq, worst being constant dust storms and construction of a new FOB in Anbar where I slept with my Nikon bodies on the ground… Take a professional body and “embrace the suck.” Seriously, I tried the plastic bag route but when they get filled, and they will through any opening, you’re just grinding that dust in while struggling with the cumbersome wrap. Instead, I did not remove any lenses on my D2s and used a paint brush to knock the heavy off. They were still functional 2 months later though the push/pull 80-200 was pretty stiff and was shooting everything at f4 or faster to avoid specks. Sent them to Nikon NPS on return but they still have a fine tan patina. But, they still function flawlessly. Pro bodies will take a lot of abuse even my d200s have made a couple of trips without hiccup. All this assumes you’re shooting with issued gear and not your own (wink.) Good shootin’, JLee

Forget the duck tape. Don’t change lenses…Nikonos just may be the answer..this seems to be the problem now that we’re all shooting digital…just shoot- get the gear cleaned later. Shot film. ? go- have a great time. What is your assignment? set up in a tent…

I agree with Guy, James and Sarah…pick yer lens/body setup and never switch lenses. Most of the pro bodies and lenses are pretty well sealed. All the bags, wrap, and “armor” just get in the way and don’t do a whole lot.

“Embrace the suck”....I love it!

I agree with a Eros, a nikonos V will do the trick, but every time im in a desert, i have all my gear in plastic bags that seal and i have a big very thin raincoat to cover everything when things are getting hard and of i dont change lences. have with you a brush to revome all the dust and as soon as you get back send your gear for check and cleaning. be very careful with cards and such.

bump

This may be overkill, but…

http://ewa-marine.com/

Feli

hmmmm, maybe we could get a LS to sanction an EMBRACE THE SUCK bumper sticker…
Will go the paintbrush, uv filter, gaffers, ziplock route. Photo/audio editing station will be in rented suv that will stay closed all other times. Have to go digi bc of super tight deadline and lack of such luxuries as film processing or heck, even a cell signal (which I’m frankly stoked about, except when I’ll have to transmit… on someone’s borrowed satellite uplink). Thanks all! I’ll post a link to results around Sept. 4!