Cover of the new Svalbard book

Today my new photo book about Svalbard is finished. I´ve worked hard these last few weeks to get the images, layout and text to what I wanted. The end result is: I´m very satisfied!

I´m very thankful for the help received from some CFR blog readers, with translating, proofreading and copy-editing the book’s 4 languages. Special thanks to:

Dan Crawford (English) – http://www.dancrawford.com/

Bob Baillargeon (English)

Claudia Becher (German) – www.close2nature.de

Luca Viola (Italian) – http://www.photoreport.biz/

Angelo Maggio (Italian)

Here are some screenshots of my book.

This book will be published in Norway at the end of April. I´m not yet sure how you can order this book outside Norway, but I think Amazon might be a good solution. Let me know if you have good information about how to get it on Amazon or other retailers, so it will be easy for you to order the book.

My next book project is an English version of my Norwegian how-to book about Digital Nature Photography, which is very popular in Norway these days. So stay tuned!

OJL

Svalbard, September 2004

UPDATE (22 Feb.): Only 4 spots are now available…

Today I have a great offer for you!

This summer I’m leading 3 photo expeditions to Svalbard. All three expeditions will be in small groups of 12 photographers, 5 to 6 staff members and 2 guides. Our main focus will be polar bears, walruses, wildlife, birds and landscapes. Two of the three ships are full with half the remaining spots still available on the third. Therefore, today I can offer all CFR readers a 10% discounted price for the trip taking place on the 3rd to 10th of September 2010. This will be my 10th expedition to Svalbard and I can highly recommend it. Why only read about exciting wildlife photography – Be part of it!

If you are into nature photography you might already know about Svalbard. Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean north of mainland Europe, about midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole.

You can read more about this photo expedition HERE

See some of my images from earlier photo expeditions HERE

NB: This photo expedition is for international photographers (amateurs and pros), and also non-Canon users are welcome.

OJL

My Camera bag on Svalbard during a blizzard, March 2009

Canon Professional Network (CPN) has done an article about what´s in my camera bag. You can read the article [HERE]

OJL

This year will be very interesting, with more field reviews and behind the scenes clips. I´m also planning some “how to” videos. This might prove costly for me so I will need sponsors or I’ll have to charge for viewing and downloading these videos. We’ll wait and see what comes up.

These days I´m working hard finishing my next book about Svalbard. In this book I’ll publish some of my best shots from this arctic island and it will be written in 4 languages (English, Norwegian, German and Italian). This book will be ready for sale by April.

Pages 78 & 79 in the new book about Svalbard.

I´m also working on the English translation of my updated digital nature photography book (published in November 2008), which has been a great success in Scandinavia. This is a “How to” book of outdoor photography, which I think many of you would love to see. I hope to publish this book through Amazon in May / June.

Pages from Chapter 1 in the English version of the digital Nature Photography book

And of course I will keep using Canon equipment out in the field for some real life testing. First I have to finish my Canon 7D articles, and then move on to the 1D Mark IV, EF 17/4 TS, EF 70-200/2.8L II and other new and interesting equipment.

These are some of my plans for the next few months.

OJL

Thanks to Bob Baillargeon for copy-editing!

Canon 7D in a snow blizzard on South Georgia Island, November 11.

TYPE OF TEST: CFR-2 (What does this mean?)

One issue I´ve been very interested in regarding the new 7D, is how well it performs under tough weather conditions. Some of my assignments and expeditions take me to extreme parts of the world, where cold temperatures, snow, rain, sand, or a mix of fine sand, rain and a splash of sea water are the norm. On my recent expediton to Antarctica I had a great opportunity to really test how well sealed and rugged this camera actually is. The other two cameras in my camera bag were the Canon 5D Mark II and 1DS Mark III.

This trip was almost the same 3.5 week photo expedition to Antartctica as last year, where I had a 50D and Canon HF10 HD video camera for testing. On that trip I destroyed the video camera on my first day at South Georgia, and the 50D camera had a one day “hangover” after a wet landing. After a few days I put the 50D away because it was not suited to those conditions. 3-4 photographers with Canon 30Ds and 40Ds broke their cameras during last year’s expedition. NB: My workhorse, the 1DS Mark III worked flawlessly, even after 2 “baths” in cold sea water. After these experiences, I wasn’t sure if the 7D and 5D Mark II would survive for the duration of the expedition this year.

Weather resistant

When I´m shooting I’m very focused on my subject and technique. The cameras and equipment experience extremely hard use. When shooting wildlife I´m usually laying on my stomach, with the camera in direct ground contact. This works great with most cameras if the ground is dry, but in Antarctica the ground is almost always wet, muddy or covered with snow or sand. On my recent expedition it snowed almost every day, and at times wet snow, which is worse than rain.

Rough weather conditions = rough images. This Antarctic Fur Seal was photographed with 7D and 300/2.8L on South Georgia.

I always use the 7D with the attached battery grip because it gives me a much better grasp of the camera. Some 5D Mark II users who use the battery grip have reported some problems with water leaking between the camera and battery grip. The battery grip for 7D is new and seems tighter and better sealed. In my case the 7D had absolutely NO problems with snow, rain and water (sea spray). This was just as I had hoped. I’ve also used the 7D on rainy days in Norway, without any problems. The 7D easily passed the rain and wet conditions test.

My 7D in heavy rain.

Wet snow in South Georgia. These conditions might destroy cheaper cameras after a few hours. I used a ThinkTank “raincoat” for my 300mm, but nothing over the camera.

So, what about the two other cameras?
My 1DS Mark III is built like a tank and is heavily weather sealed. I didn´t drop it into sea water this year, but used it without worry or protecting it from bad weather. It worked as expected, without problems.

The big surprise was the 5D Mark II. I used this camera as hard as (but not as much) the 7D and it performed superbly. I didn´t use any protection from rain or snow. The camera was used without the battery grip, which might have helped. The 5D Mark II has been on 2 expeditions to Svalbard (Arctic – 80° North) and one recent expedition to Antarctica without problems, so the weather sealing is robust enough for most conditions.


Conclusion
All three cameras performed very well  for the whole Antarctica expedition. The 7D performed as I had hoped, surpassing 10,000 exposures without a problem. I must admit that the 5D Mark II surprised me as well with its build quality. The 1DS Mark III camera is the most rugged and best weather sealed, but the 7D and 5D Mark II (without battery grip) performed 100% in my opinion.

I have not tried to drop the 7D or 5D Mark II “by accident” into salt water, but I don´t expect them to survive as well as the Mark III / IV cameras. It will be interesting to hear your opinions regarding your use of these cameras (especially the 7D) in extreme weather. Have you had any different experiences, or mostly the same as mine?

OJL

Thanks to Bob Baillargeon for copy-editing!

1) Weather sealing – Would the 7D survive the rough conditions with rain, snow, sand, sea water and wind of the Antarctic climate?

2) Autofocus – Is the 7D AF system really fast and accurate, and does it perform in difficult lighting conditions with fast moving birds?

3) HD-Video – How does the 7D HD-video option operate in the field?

4) Image quality – How does the 7D perform compared to Canon 5D Mark II and 1DS Mark III?

I’ll break my 7D field review into these four articles, instead of one very large article.

OJL

Thanks to Bob Baillargeon for copy-editing!

I’m now back from 3,5 week in Antarctica. I have tested the Canon 7D and also different DSLR HD-Video accessories on this expedition so I will soon update with some more field reviews…

I think the video quality in 1080P from Canon 7D and 5D Mark II is very good, but there is some challanges regarding:

1. Smooth and accurate focusing

2. Viewfinder

3. Sound quality

4. Rolling shutter

I will come back with more information about my field tests of different accessories that can improve the HD-video quality for Canon 7D and 5D Mark II