Travelling to Wadi Rum this year which has been an ambition for years. Will be trekking and camping in the desert. I want to take my DSLR but want to protect it and the lens as best as I can from sand. Im thinking of using a waterproof bag type camera case but I will want to use my grad filters. Im wondering if anyone can recommend some good cases/options?
Dunno about cases, but a friend of mine who's done a bit of war photography uses self amalgamating tape wrapped around the lens to keep sand out when shooting - she swears by it and it seems like a good solution to me.
Great venue for photography. I've not taken any particular precautions beyond the obvious ones (good cases, puffer brushes, etc.) on my trips to Rum and on the whole haven't had problems except for one year when we had a lot of air borne dust, especially at the same time as a camel race. My focus and zoom mechanisms were pretty gritty after that.
Hope you have a good time. The Bedouin are wonderful people.
+1 for a drybag (and common sense re. prevailing conditions and the timing of any lens swops.) If it gets really windy, giving you sandstorm-lite conditions, you probably won't be taking any camera photos and then a 'fixed lens' device such as a phone camera comes into it's own.
Deserts aren't all about sand though. Rocky, gravelly areas can lead to issues with very fine airbourne dust too. It's not all about being outside either. The other thing to consider is travelling in 4x4s, especially if travelling in convoy. These kick up huge dustclouds which gets into the vehicle past the doorseals. The dust literally gets everywhere and can then be transferred onto cameras etc from hands, arms, hair, clothing etc.
I've used a drybag many times - in the Kalahari, the Namib, Sahara and a few other minor deserts in the States (sadly, I have a bit of a 'thing' for deserts) and, with care, I've never had a problem. Never been to Wadi Rum though. <green with envy>
