X1D+21 mm XCD for photographing Upper Antelope Canyon in Arizona

[Iceman1331]

I am taking my X1d and the 21 mm xcd lens for a trip to the upper Antelope Canyon in mid Sept. I heard that the canyon is sandy and dusty, therefore protecting the camera and lens is very important. Also, they don't allow any tripods inside the canyon, and people need to move quickly to make room for others.

Any suggestions or recommendations to handle these issues will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[ShawnK]

X1D is the perfect camera for that site. I went there with Nikon D800e a few years back. Don't shoot for the highlights, as they will be blown out anyways & they don't matter. Since u r not going in the summer, u won't get any strong rays but will get wonderful pastels. X1D's high D.R will be your best friend in post to pull out details from shadows. If I were going there again (which I want to) I'd shoot at ISO not higher than 400. Unless u r going on a photo tour, u'll have max of 20mins, so shoot fast. It is doable. I'd also shoot manual & focus with AF-D backbutton. Since there is not much contrast, I'd make the focussing squares to the max/largest setting. I'd also shoot Horseshoe bend very near Page, AZ. Your 21mm is perfect for it too. Good luck & Enjoy, but do post your results.
    No need to worry abt sandy as u won't have time to change the lenses & 21mm is perfect.

[Iceman1331]

X1D is the perfect camera for that site. I went there with Nikon D800e a few years back. Don't shoot for the highlights, as they will be blown out anyways & they don't matter. Since u r not going in the summer, u won't get any strong rays but will get wonderful pastels. X1D's high D.R will be your best friend in post to pull out details from shadows. If I were going there again (which I want to) I'd shoot at ISO not higher than 400. Unless u r going on a photo tour, u'll have max of 20mins, so shoot fast. It is doable. I'd also shoot manual & focus with AF-D backbutton. Since there is not much contrast, I'd make the focussing squares to the max/largest setting. I'd also shoot Horseshoe bend very near Page, AZ. Your 21mm is perfect for it too. Good luck & Enjoy, but do post your results.
    No need to worry abt sandy as u won't have time to change the lenses & 21mm is perfect.

Very good advise ShawnK, thanks.

[fotophil]

I used a Hassy SWC with film years ago with similar coverage to X1D with 21mm in square format. You will love the combination! I very strongly suggest you sign-up for a photo tour rather than regular tour. It is more expensive but less crowded and you probably will be able to use a tripod which makes a huge difference. Also watch out for sand falling from ABOVE so bring large brim hat to cover camera quickly. Also be sure to use lens hood to avoid SERIOUS flare problems sue to bright overhead sky.! It's a great location - have fun and drink lots of water!!

[Iceman1331]

I used a Hassy SWC with film years ago with similar coverage to X1D with 21mm in square format. You will love the combination! I very strongly suggest you sign-up for a photo tour rather than regular tour. It is more expensive but less crowded and you probably will be able to use a tripod which makes a huge difference. Also watch out for sand falling from ABOVE so bring large brim hat to cover camera quickly. Also be sure to use lens hood to avoid SERIOUS flare problems sue to bright overhead sky.! It's a great location - have fun and drink lots of water!!

Thanks for your good advice Fotophil. The 21 mm xcd lens is even wider than the SWC's 38 mm. I hope I can take some good shots with my hand-held X1D.

[SrMi]

I used a Hassy SWC with film years ago with similar coverage to X1D with 21mm in square format. You will love the combination! I very strongly suggest you sign-up for a photo tour rather than regular tour. It is more expensive but less crowded and you probably will be able to use a tripod which makes a huge difference. Also watch out for sand falling from ABOVE so bring large brim hat to cover camera quickly. Also be sure to use lens hood to avoid SERIOUS flare problems sue to bright overhead sky.! It's a great location - have fun and drink lots of water!!

Thanks for your good advice Fotophil. The 21 mm xcd lens is even wider than the SWC's 38 mm. I hope I can take some good shots with my hand-held X1D.

Can you use a monopod? You can always say it's your walking stick :-).

[Iceman1331]

Can you use a monopod? You can always say it's your walking stick :-).

Good point SrMi. May be I should try. Btw, I have a carbon filber monopod which is light to carry.

[david distefano]

 my wife and i a few years back bypassed upper and went to the lower canyon, closest to power plant and lake powell. it was a fantastic experience. we were the first there and we spent hours in the canyon and we both had our tripods with us. a young man, who was a member of the community went down with his guitar and played such soothing music that reverberated through the canyon.

i went to the upper once many years ago when you could drive your own vehicle right to the mouth of the canyon. there are so many fine slot canyons in utah and arizona to explore and photograph that i will never again go to antelope canyon and fight with the crowds of people and the restrictions that are placed on the visitors, by the money grubbing tour operators.

photography should be a contemplative process not a wham bam thank you mame approach imho. when i look at my best images i find that about 85% of them were shot with just my wife and myself in the area.

take your x1d  + 21mm lens + tripod  and explore less visited slots and create images not seen before. just my 2 cents worth.

[fotophil]

Over the past several years the increase in crowds at the major Southwest Photographic Icons including the both the Upper and Lower Antelope Canyons is unbelievable. Zion Canyon, Monument Valley, Arches, Canyonlands, Horseshoe Bend,. etc. have become very difficult areas to photograph in the high tourist summer months. The Antelope Slot Canyons have special photography tours that are relatively small in size, permit the use of tripods and offer some form of crowd control. More expensive but well worth the extra cost in my experience. The same tour operators also have several alternative slot canyons that are less crowded than the main canyons. Fall and Spring crowds are less than summer so avoid the summer months if possible. It is a great location for both sightseeing and photography.

[Iceman1331]

Fall and Spring crowds are less than summer so avoid the summer months if possible. It is a great location for both sightseeing and photography.
[/quote
I look forward to my trip to the Antelope Canyon. One reason I go in late summer is to avoid the crowd and heat, while I can still see the beautiful sun light piercing from the top and bouncing around within the canyon. I believe the X1d is best for those shots.

[ShawnK]

Posting this image just to show what can be achieved without a tripod and not as good a D.R as X1D. Shot with D800e, ISO 640, f/4.0, handheld 1/80 at 22mm (16-35zoom). Shot a lot at ISO 500 & 1000. Were shot on 9th May,5 yrs back.

[Iceman1331]

Very nice shot, ShawnK. You should go back with your X1d and wide angle lenses to improve what you shot 5 yrs ago. With its dynamic range of 14 stops and HB' Natural Color Solution technology, the X1d will definitely shows its best for the location shots. I look forward to it.     

[SrMi]

Very nice shot, ShawnK. You should go back with your X1d and wide angle lenses to improve what you shot 5 yrs ago. With its dynamic range of 14 stops and HB' Natural Color Solution technology, the X1d will definitely shows its best for the location shots. I look forward to it.   

With ISO640 (higher ISO needed because of handheld) you 'loose' approximately 2 stops of PDR (according to http://www.photonstophotos.net/).

[Iceman1331]

With ISO640 (higher ISO needed because of handheld) you 'loose' approximately 2 stops of PDR (according to http://www.photonstophotos.net/).
[/quote]

Because of hand-held, the X1d needs to be set to shutter speed priority to at least 1/90 S in order to avoid hand shake. Of course, this depends on individual's ability to hold the camera steady and some may need to set to 1/120 s to keep the photos from blurry. On the other hand, this high shutter speed would reduce the intake of the beautiful ambient color reflected off from the canyon wall. For correct exposure, the aperture will be larger and reduce the depth- of- field of the photos. The only solution is to set the ISO to a higher value to compensate for the correct exposure. Hopefully, the HB's Phocus software will come to be handy to soften the grainy effect due to high ISO used. 

[Charles]

That canyon is fantastic; it is called a slot canyon because it is a narrow slot in the ground carved by wind and sand. Let me suggest two things. First, a 21 mm may be a bit too wide because inside the slot canyon is narrow and 21mm may distort too much; on the other hand the serpentine patterns that you will find contain no straight lines. I attached a photo. Especially for a medium format camera, I would consider a 45mm instead. Second, if you are going in August or early September, prepare for the heat. For us, it was far more than a few bottles of water will affect. If you are over 60 be really careful. Take plenty of water and use a wet handkerchief on your head... They have photography tours for about 4x the cost, but I found that the standard tour was quite adequate. I had no problem with dust and sand. Most of your photography will be pointed up so other people are not a significant hindrance and we moved at our own pace. There is plenty of light.

Charles
(new to Hasselblad and waiting for the x1d II)