I’m a bit of a volcano junkie. I’ve hiked them all over the world, from Guatemala and Chile to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Usually, I’ll hire a porter to carry my gear – it’s a great way to give a local guy a day’s income, and save myself the pain of lugging kilos of lenses and a tripod for hours uphill.
But for Ol Doinyo Lengai, an active volcano in northern Tanzania, that wasn’t an option.
Rising over 9,800ft / 3,000m above Lake Natron, Ol Doinyo Lengai is sacred to the Maasai, known as the Mountain of God. It’s also the only volcano in the world that erupts natrocarbonatite lava – a black, sticky paste that flows at a searing 932°F / 500°C.
While not as high as other volcanos I’ve climbed, it’s also stupidly steep – and completely terrifying.
We started at midnight to reach the summit for sunrise. That meant six hours of climbing by torchlight, scrambling up forty-five-degree slopes of compacted ash with no switchbacks, nothing to grab onto, and a very real risk of losing your footing and sliding straight back down to the valley floor, with nothing to break your fall.
There was no way I was dragging a DSLR and lenses up there. So I left the ‘big camera’ behind and took only my Fujifilm X100T – the precursor to the Fujifilm X100VI, a compact with a fixed 35mm lens and a small pouch that I could attach to my belt.
It was the perfect choice. I could easily whip it out to shoot climbers lit by torchlight or capture the vertigo-inducing views of the valley far below.
At the top, it handled the glowing sunrise and precarious crater rim beautifully. And when I needed the all-important summit photo, my guide could easily handle the simple task of pointing and shooting.
Would the DSLR have given me better image quality? Of course. But I probably wouldn’t have made it to the top with it. Sometimes, the best camera is simply the one you can actually carry up a volcano.
You might also like…
Take a look at more of the best compact cameras, along with the best travel cameras. And if you want to take photos in hostile locations, check out the best waterproof and rugged cameras.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
