[Leica] Re: Salt water fishing

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

On Jul 11, 2007, at 11:17 AM, Greg Lorenzo wrote:

> I'm off to fish for halibut and salmon off Langara Island in the  
> Queen Charlotte Islands next week. This entails accommodation on a  
> converted navy minesweeper anchored offshore and 12 hour plus days  
> of fishing from a "17 foot Boston Whaler". I need to travel light  
> restricting myself to one M6 camera, two lenses, a couple filters  
> and film.
>
>  Not having ever having seeing a Boston Whaler I suspect that I'll  
> need to find waterproof storage cases for my camera and lenses and  
> maybe a waterproof bag. I going to bring my 25mm Zeiss lens for on  
> boat photos and perhaps a 50mm lens (50 Elmarit collapsable) for  
> scenery.
>
> Suggestions on waterproof gear from those that have done this much  
> appreciated!
>


Greg,

It pains me to say this, but leave your expensive cameras at home. Go  
with a waterproof P&S digital or a used Nikonos. Enjoy the fishing.

Since I retired, I've served as a navigator on a 43 foot sailboat in  
the Newport to Bermuda race several times. I've also sailed my own  
boat thousands of miles along the Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia to  
the Florida Keys, and experienced too many bad weather days to mention.

Small boats get wet. Really wet. While a Leica will stand up under  
rain and spray, I can assure you that a couple of forceful blasts of  
salt water or a temporary wave immersion isn't too good for the  
camera's well being. You wouldn't wash down your camera with a garden  
hose would you. That's what taking pictures in a small boat with  
green water sloshing over the deck is like.

When I started offshore sailing, I used a couple of my M3s and they  
worked well - for a time. Eventually the action became harder and the  
range/viewfinder fogged up. I took them to Sherry Krauter,  
fortunately a reasonably close neighbor of mine. After $500 worth of  
CLA, lens cleaning and mainspring replacement, she told me "Stop  
pissing on your cameras."

It used to be that getting the photo was worth any reasonable risk to  
equipment. But then I was getting paid for it and I didn't finance  
the repairs myself. But as a hobby photographer, endangering  
thousands of dollars worth of Leica gear for some wet weather  
scrapbook shots ain't worth it. When the lens is wet, a $150 water  
sealed Olympus P&S takes as good pictures as a Summicron.

Good watertight cases may protect the equipment when stored but the  
cameras will be vulnerable in use. Watertight housings are available  
but the good ones cost almost as much as the camera. If you want full  
operation of the controls the case must be penetrated by a half dozen  
levers and knobs, all of which must be sealed. If you use film  
cameras, they must be removed from the case for loading. The flexible  
bags work in spray but leave the camera vulnerable to a real dousing.

Your best bet is to get a digital camera, watertight to at least 30  
feet. Not that I expect you to do much diving but water spray from a  
powerboat has considerable force. Olympus makes a good, rugged P&S  
digital. A digital will have automatic exposure, a zoom lens, and,  
most important will be able to take several hundred high resolution  
pictures without reloading. One CLA of your expensive gear will more  
than pay for the cost of the digital. If you want to stay with film,  
a good used Nikonos can be bought for less than $200. I picked up a  
Nikonos II with an excellent 35 mm Nikkor lens for $189. Check any  
large diver shop. When you get home, you can use the camera to drive  
nails or crack walnuts.

I must admit, I still use my Leicas when boating on the Hudson River  
and in the Intracoastal Waterway, but I sell those pictures to marine  
magazines. I even use more water sensitive digital cameras in those  
benign conditions. But when sailing offshore, I use a Nikonos. There  
is no point asking for trouble.

Larry Z