SHOOTING ON EVEREST - Best Simple Gear/Solutions?

[Nick Morrison]

Hey guys, one of my friends is taking a trip to Mount Everest this spring...and he'd love to document the journey as best and as SIMPLY as possible.

He's not a professional DP...but he is a very talented creative.

What's the best "semi-pro" solution you guys recommend?

He's thinking about a Go Pro Hero 4 - but is concerned about battery life, media storage, power, and smooth handling of such a small camera....in particular in the cold, and in often adverse conditions.

Bearing in mind it's NOT about high tech (ie he wouldn't bring a Carbon Dragon), it's instead about the simplest/best solution for documenting a once in a lifetime, arduous journey....what pieces of advice...and what pieces of gear...would you guys recommend??

He's got 2 months to prep, so would love to keep this thread active...and give him the greatest chance at success!

Collectively...so many of you have travelled the globe...and shot some of the most amazing mages...I can't think of a more inspiring group to ask!!!

thanks so much!!!

 

[Jon D Kline]

I'm going to give some advice for shooting in general sub-zero cold. I haven't done as much climbing, so I have no idea how much weight is reasonable.
Solar charger is a no-brainer. Same with GoPro4 with bacpac, probably not the LCD.
Multiple lens cloths in two plastic bags. One for debris and the other to finish the job.
A lav mic, even a wired one, could give him the opportunity to record himself with semi-respectable audio.
I have had good luck taping those HotHands hand warmers to my equipment to get slightly better battery life in near-zero temps. LCD displays become near-worthless when they get super cold.
Use the largest capacity memory cards you can. You don't want to be doing media changes.

 

[Domenic Barbero]

i love the small size of the a7s and everything it offers. Plus you can take great photos with it. and awesome night shots.

 

[Ted Parkes]

Nick .. I did the trek to Everest Base Camp this past November so I can shed some light on what he is up against to get to Everest. Everest it self is a whole other thing but I have shot a lot in extreme weather. I will sit down and write up a detailed note when I have a few more minutes then I have right now. Lots to consider.
Ted

 

[Patrick Tresch]

i love the small size of the a7s and everything it offers. Plus you can take great photos with it. and awesome night shots.

+1 An astonishing camera.

Pat

 

[scott devitte]

I would take a Canon 1DC, heavier than the a7s, but more rugged, batteries last forever, great stills camera and does 4k internal. It is also a very good lowlight camera. Take the 8-15 for incredible, fish eye photos, 24-70 f4 is w/rotating nd, a monopod that could also work as a walking stick, on your once in a lifetime journey.

 

[Peter Majtan]

If he is aiming for the summit - the GoPro is really going to be the only option there.
I would personally recommend two-camera solution.

Camera A - Panasonic GH4 - Use this camera on the way there and for as long as possible before it becomes a burden.
Main reason is the battery life - this is one of the most, if not the most battery efficient camera with such a high quality.
It is also reasonably compact and lightweight. Invest in the largest capacity media cards (to minimise the need to swap media) and get enough cards to film all day without having to offload.
It doesn't hurt to be able to film in 4K as well...
It will work well until (and including) the Base Camp.
If he wants to go above with it - it will need a housing...

Camera B - GoPro Hero4 Black - possibly the only camera I would take to the summit - unless you are professional filmmaker with experience in filming in such a environments.
Same rules - get the largest capacity media card you can find - it will be next to impossible to swap the media unless inside of a tent warmed up.
Modify the waterproof housing by drilling a hole to provide USB power (and then seal it with hot glue leaving the USB cable attached).
Then get USB power bricks, so you can power the camera externally and can easily swap those (unlike the internal battery)...

Of course make sure you have ways to keep the cameras, battery packs, media, etc... warm and dry as much as possible...

Just my two yen...

:sifone: Peter

 

[Elia Saikaly]

Hi Nick,

I've been up to the summit twice. Shot a reality TV series the 2nd time 'round as a one-man-band with my Sherpa camera assistant. Is your friend going to base camp or is he going to the summit? Two very different things.

If he's only going to basecamp, other than the altitude, there aren't really any weather issues to be concerned with. Contrary to what people may think, it's actually quite warm and you have very adequate power in
many of the tea houses if you're willing to throw a few dollars the owners way. You may encounter some light now, but it's otherwise quite pleasant. It gets a little chilly at night, but no colder than what most people have experienced. Stunning to photograph of course. Local porters can be hired quite inexpensively by Western standards and are quite savvy and keen when it comes to learning how to handle the gear. The best part of my job is working with the locals and watching them set up track, balance my glidecam, handle the lenses and help create inspiring images. The altitude can take a lot out of you when running around with a camera so unless you're a veteran, best to take it easy and let the locals do the heavy lifting. It's easy to end up a casualty on a helicopter being evacuated because you're shooting like you're at sea level. Bistali as the locals say: SLOWLY!

If your friend is going to the summit, again, it's relatively warm most of the way. The higher you climb, the colder it gets. The first 3/4 of Everest you're dealing with overheating, not sub-zero temperatures. I know, hard to believe huh? As with all mountains, weather can change on a dime you you should always be prepared. It's cold at night anywhere above basecamp. But certainly nothing crazy and you're generally wasted and sleeping anyway. Summit night is cold and that's likely the only time you're shooting when it's very cold. -20c is about as cold as most climb in, sometimes colder. That's only during the night portion of the climb. By sunrise, it warms up. The thing with Everest is that if it's any colder and windier, you really shouldn't be climbing. You should be waiting for clearer weather. The lack of oxygen makes -20c deadly of course because you're whole system is out of whack and your body is literally dying above 8000m. The plan tends to be - get the hell out of there as quick as possible and be transient.

I have found that the 5D Mark 2 and 3 are beasts in the cold. Never had a shutter freeze on me and I haven't needed to even worry about covering them up unless it's snowing. I've shot at 29, 035ft with my 5D with no problem. What I have done though is remove the battery after every shot in order to conserve power. I shot the entire route to the summit in 2013 using the 5D and a T3i with this technique. All of my night footage on my summit push was with a t3i that was hanging outside my down suit for 7 hours as we climbed. It was -20c that night. Because the climb is very tough and vertical, I used the lightest camera I had as I could not ask anyone to stop. Once I hit the balcony, I pulled out the 5D (around sunrise) and put the t3i away. Those camera both feel like fridges at that altitude, but the images are well worth it if you can manage to pull it off. Some of the shots are below.

GoPro's are a must of course. Just get extra batteries. Good to have a little extender pole as well. I always find it a shame to so see people only using them on their heads.

http://vimeo.com/108619171

I generally time-lapse 4-5 cameras every night under the stars up there every night that it's clear and don't generally have any issues. It's very dry in the high mountains, so unless the clouds are rolling in, no moisture issues. Just acclimatize the cameras and either keep them warm, or cold. Same with your lenses.

Bring lots of batteries, bring many hand-warmers, bring USD's to pay the tea houses for power, find a good crew of porters and Sherpas and you're all set. They'll make it a success and make it a hell of a lot of fun.
You'll even be able to get wifi for a few dollars a day this season from basecamp. Most of the tea houses have internet as well.

Solid State drives area must above basecamp too. Lacie rugged drives perform exceptionally well up to 17, 500ft above sea level - regardless of what the manual says. I've been using them up there since 2006. Never had one fail. I'd highly recommend a solid state MacBookPro as your main computer - or equivalent. If I take a laptop to camp 2 around 22, 000ft - I use solid state drives. Everything else will crash because of the thin air.

I'm debating bringing my Dragon this season. We'll see. I'll have an a7s, a 1DC and a bunch of Mark3's. If power is a concern, you can generally pay the larger teams a few dollars and they'll let you charge up your gear.

Let me know if you have any other specific questions, happy to share what I've learned.

Also: Most of what I wrote is assuming he's on the South Side in Nepal. The North side is a totally different mountain. Much colder and windier with less infrastructure. The Chinese authorities aren't generally too co-operative when it comes to cameras as well.

Elia

 

[Ted Parkes]

The a7s is a great camera and I do like it a lot but it is power hungry. Recharging on the trek in to Base Camp won't be an issue. All of the tea houses have power and you can pay to be able to plug in. The GoPro4 is good as well and using the cell phone app helps with set up and you can keep your phone charged with a solar charger pretty easily. the wifi does drain the batteries. One thing that I wasn't aware of until I did the trek was the dust. Crazy relentless dust. Changing lenses is very risky. To the point I wouldn't recommend it unless you have to. I had my Nikon D800 and 3 lenses… I ended up putting a second lens on my backup body a Nikon D7000 and not switching lenses at all. The sub zero cold won't come into play or be a real factor until into the actual climb. Depending on what he hope to achieve with the footage I would even suggest and decent prosumer video camera and something like the a7s for stills and supporting video. Take lots of extra batteries and sell them afterwards..

 

[Ted Parkes]

+1 on what Elia said.. More experience on Everest then I have. I played a supporting role as a young man in 1986. Only went as far as Camp 2. Then 28 year later.. this past November I did the trek to Base Camp.

 

[Nick Morrison]

Hey guys...can't thank you enough for all the advice!!!! So amazing!!!!

I think my friend Matt is committed to using a GoPro, as he doesn't own a DSLR or lenses yet, and the GoPro seems overall like the more streamlined/SIMPLE solution (besides...he already owns it!).

Any more GoPro specific advice you guys recommend?

Specifics like: a solar charger, multiple lens cloths, large memory cards, USB power bricks, an extender pole, hand warmers, dust concerns, using local porters, etc, etc...are so awesome, and appreciated!

PS - he just reached out and clarified...he's going as far as BASE CAMP!

Thanks again guys - just another reminder why Reduser is a one of a kind community!

You guys ROCK!!

best

Hi Nick,
Shot a reality TV series the 2nd time 'round as a one-man-band with my Sherpa camera assistant.

http://vimeo.com/108619171

Also, Elia...this piece is AMAZING. Unbelievably inspiring and breathtaking!