Going To Cuba - Gear Advice Appreciated...

[Bobfrance]

Hi gang!

I'm off to Cuba for a couple of weeks shortly and I was wondering if many of you have been.

Coming from the UK I'm not used to dealing with such bright/hot hot conditions and I was wondering what gear would suit me best.
I initially planned to take My Hexar RF with CV 35 & 50mm lenses loaded with B&W for street stuff and my MF Fuji GS645 loaded with colour for the panoramas. However a friend suggested taking all colour as Cuba is such a colourful place and the I could always convert to B&W at a later stage.
Also would it be worth me getting some UV filters?

What's your thoughts ladies & gentlemen? What would your gear-up with? You can see what I have to choose from in my sig below.

Also any suggestions of good places to visit would be appreciated. We will be based around Havanna/Varadero.

Gracias!

Bob.

[Bobfrance]

...Bump

[Pablito]

I work a lot in very hot and humid climates and my advice would be, take the equipment you know best and use most. Modern equipment is made to withstand fairly harsh climates. Just use common sense (don't leave film in a hot car). Batteries give out faster in the heat. Having said that, the Hexar RF is somewhat delicate. I have used in in very hot climates but got rid of it because of the constant problems with RF alignment. Any travel may shake it up and cause this problem, but maybe you have one of the "good" (later) ones that are supposedly less prone to this. Personally, I'd feel more secure with Leica or Nikon slr (if the pictures are really important) And of course take backup - another M body at least.

I think you should ask this question on Lightstalkers where you'll get a different crowd- not so much gear oriented but pro photojournalists who may give you info on traveling to Cuba with film, permits, etc. I've heard there are restrictions on how much film you can bring in. Travel to Cuba is much harder, of course, for U.S. citizens.... so at least THAT won't be an issue for you.

[crawdiddy]

Perhaps our RFF brethren from Canada, or some other American, but not U.S. locale can answer that. As the airline industry says, "some restrictions apply." We're forbidden from visiting the land of 1950s automobiles, bananas, Cuba Libre's and Guantanamo Bay. That is, unless we're declared an enemy combattant. Then we go to Gitmo, but not much anywhere else. And then there's the waterboarding. It gets very ugly.

Actually, I know of some U.S. persons who have gone to Cuba for vacation. They had a great time. Yes, it will be bright, and probably a bit hazy. I wouldn't know what to tell you photo-gear-wise. But definitely enjoy a good cigar for me!