I will be visiting Burkina Faso in January, during the Harmattan season. The Harmattan is a wind which carries extremely fine dust, reputed to get into everything. Any suggestions on how to keep the dust out when walking around the bush in these conditions?

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First,

I would bring along a couple of cans of compressed air to blow off each few hours....along with your normal Giotto blower......

Do not shoot any compressed air into your mirror or other internal parts as they contain water sometimes...

the compressed are should only be used at a distance to get off the surface dust....


think tank makes some covers...called Chimp-packs which will hold stuff....and I think they sell some body and lense covers...

DC

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Took the D700 to Patagonia, where it is as dusty and windy as can be and I had no problem whatsoever, just try avoid changing lenses in the open. To protect the lens from dust you might want to use a clear filter. I did not find this necessary, but I took care to remove the lens cap only when shooting.

Tristan

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Tristan I would be interested in hearing more about the Patagonia conditions as I will be going there next year with my D700.

Bob Baldassano
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Well - You have been to Iceland, just amplify the wind, rain & dust conditions and you approximate Patagonia. To minimize lens changes, I brought two bodies, D700 and D200 and three lenses. Lens usage was 47% 70-200, 35% 24-70, 18% 14-24. Sometimes the wind was so strong that one could not walk upright and I always used my camera bag to weigh down the tripod. To keep rain and dirt off the lens, I used a cpl filter for protection and kept the lens cap on whenever possible. I did not use any special care to protect the camera bodies from dust and light rain, for heavier rain I used a garbage bag for protection. For yourself, bring a windbreaker, a hat that you can secure to your head and a sweater. You will need adapter plugs to charge your batteries. The most "photogenic " part of Patagonia is Torres del Paine National Park in Chile, but the whole place is quite extraordinary. In case you are interested, here is a link to some pictures: http://gianttristan.smugmug.com/Latin-America/Patagonia-112010/14894550_MhSjmx/ Most of them are geo tagged, but not all, since the wind ripped off and destroyed one of my GPS units...

Tristan

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What about something like these OP/Tech rain sleeves? They're inexpensive and look like it would help minimize dust.

http://www.amazon.com/OP-TECH-USA-Rainsleeve-18-Inch/dp/B000PTFDYO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356805758&sr=8-1&keywords=dslr+rain+cover

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Hi William,

A Think Tank Hydrophobia or Aqua Tech SS Sports Shield Rain Cover and a Clear Multicoated filter will add an exrea layer of protection for your camera and lens.
Good Luck and Enjoy your Nikons!

Best Regards,
Marty