Anyone Have Experience with Niagara Falls?

[Black&Tan]

Greetings all...

I'm getting ready for a trip to Niagara Falls (along with Toronto, Corning & Rhinebeck), and I'm concerned about water and my Canon 40D. Naturally, most of our activities will be geared around the falls for 2 days, however I hesitate to be without my camera for any length of time. Are there any locations or sightseeing expeditions where I should definitely leave my camera behind?

Thanks!

 

[davegregory]

I can't see any instance where you would be dropping right into the camera. If you go on the Maid of the Mist tour, bring a plastic bag put it around your camera and just tear a slit for the eyepiece. Yes, it looks stupid, but you'll be getting pictures when others are worried about their cameras. L-series lenses are weather-sealed so they'll be fine. If you don't have an L lens you'll have to cover the lens as well.

If you have the chance, you can go up the Skylon Tower on the Canadian side and get some cool landscape shots from up high.

Hope you have a fun trip. Bring an umbrella, summer here in Ontario has been wet!

 

[a350]

I would have some serious protection on your camera if you do either of the activities shown in my pictures.

Pictures from the railing will be good but the spray really can get out of hand quick.

First time I went we went to the Canadian side, was Christmas eve and was very dark and gray out, also very cold.
Last time was beautiful but we stayed on the U.S. side.

 

[Black&Tan]

Thanks for the insight....I do have an L-series lense, the 24-70/2.8. I'm looking forward to giving it a good workout on this trip, the weatherproofing and speed were some of my main reasons for picking it up. I'll try and keep the body as dry as possible.

We'll be staying on the Canada side, our hotel is overlooking the falls. I'm planning on bringing my tripod for some nighttime photography, I understand the falls should be illuminated at night, weather permitting.

The Skylon tower sounds interesting, is that outside of Niagara or is that in Toronto?

I've also got the opportunity to take a ride in a biplane over the Hudson River valley in Rhinebeck. I haven't completely decided if its worth the cost, and I'm assuming I need to pay in advance, so the weather will be a complete coin toss.

Overall, this is going to be a good trip for photography and some much needed R&R. I can't wait!

 

[compuwar]

Invest in a rain cover and put a hood on your lens. I personally recommend the Fotosharp covers for price/ease of use- plus you get a 15 day trial.

If you look at my gallery, "Rainbow over Niagara" is shot on the Canadian side of the falls- lots of mist, but I didn't use a cover and evertying was fine but if I were going again, I'd use a cover and be more careful as I lost shots due to spotting on the lens.

 

[Black&Tan]

Invest in a rain cover and put a hood on your lens. I personally recommend the Fotosharp covers for price/ease of use- plus you get a 15 day trial.

The covers look intriguing. I'm going down to the camera shop this weekend and if I don't see anything there, I'll give them a shot. I'm leaving on the 15th, so that makes the timing a little tight for comfort, Fotosharp recommends 2-4 business days.

thanks!!

 

[jeffzoom91]

Maid of the mist- Even when the weather was perfect, I left my camera in tamrac land where it's nice and dry, because quite frankly, once you're there, not only is it very misty, it is not something I would have wanted to experience through the view finder of a camera. Truely amazing.

Boardwalk on the American side- If you really want to, I'd bring the bag for the super wet stuff, cover for pictures

Under the falls on the Canadian side- Don't stick around for too long, and you won't have any issues, it isn't as bad as you'd think. I didn't use a cover at all.

Everywhere else- Even though the body isn't specifically sealed, Canon builds a damn nice mid level SLR, it'll live. Your lens won't even flinch. Don't do anything stupid without a cover on, but don't worry about the mist too much, just concentrate on the pictures, your dslr will live, they're tough

 

[David G.]

L-series lenses are weather-sealed so they'll be fine. If you don't have an L lens you'll have to cover the lens as well.

Just a quick correction. Not all L-series lenses are weather-sealed. I know that both of the 70-200 L lenses that DO NOT have image stabilization are not weather-sealed and that the 16-35 2.8L lens only becomes weather-sealed when there is a filter spun on the front. I also wouldn't be surprised if there were others that weren't that I haven't mentioned. As for the 24-70 L, yes, as stated before me, it is weather sealed.

Sources: My ownership of the 16-35 2.8L, 24-70 2.8L, and the 70-200 4L (non IS) and my love to do as much reading about them on the interwebs as I do using them.

P.S. I have shot 2 back to back HS football games in a moderate to heavy rain with a kit consisting of: 1 hand towel, a Rebel XTi/70-200 4L and a Rebel XT/24-70 2.8L with a 580 EXII speedlite switching between the 2 and everything turn out ok, pictures included! Your mileage may very with the waterfall though.

 

[jodelli]

Thanks for the insight....I do have an L-series lense, the 24-70/2.8. I'm looking forward to giving it a good workout on this trip, the weatherproofing and speed were some of my main reasons for picking it up. I'll try and keep the body as dry as possible.

We'll be staying on the Canada side, our hotel is overlooking the falls. I'm planning on bringing my tripod for some nighttime photography, I understand the falls should be illuminated at night, weather permitting.

The Skylon tower sounds interesting, is that outside of Niagara or is that in Toronto?

It's a 500' tower built in the 60s using the same method of construction as the later CN Tower, and it's smack dab between the American and Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side with a great view. It's over 700' above the bottom of the gorge.

 

[compuwar]

Thanks for the insight....I do have an L-series lense, the 24-70/2.8. I'm looking forward to giving it a good workout on this trip, the weatherproofing and speed were some of my main reasons for picking it up. I'll try and keep the body as dry as possible.

My camera body and lenses are sealed rather well, I still think a cover is a good piece of insurance most of the time- if my cover had fit the small lens I was shooting, it'd have been on the camera anyway.

The Skylon tower sounds interesting, is that outside of Niagara or is that in Toronto?

It's the tower over the foliage to the left of the rainbow in the following shot:

 

[Black&Tan]

I visited the camera shop over the weekend and thankfully they had a decent cover available, something called an Elements. We tried the cover on a camera in the shop and it has a nice tight fit around the lense and covers the body nicely, with an optional drawstring taut side access panels. I think it will do the trick nicely. At the end of my lense, I have a B+W UV filter, so I think my bases are all covered, water-wise.

I really like the Skylon tower idea, that sounds like a nice stop with great visibility. We're also doing the Maid of the Mist, Journey Behind the Falls, and the White Water Walk. I'm sure there will be some incidental stops, and I'll do my best to stay at of the water.

Thanks for all the advice!! If there's any other suggestions, feel free to pipe up, we won't be leaving until Saturday am.