Guide: Shooting in the Himalayas with Sony lenses

Shooting in the Himalayas sits at the summit of any travel photographer’s wishlist. But harsh weather conditions and thin air at high altitude means it’s essential to balance the features of your camera and lenses against their weight and durability. 

Sony full-frame mirrorless cameras and lenses are held in high regard. But can they hold up in some of the most challenging conditions on Earth? When you’re attempting to recreate stunning scenery with top-tier gear, ain’t no mountain high enough.

In order to really put Sony lenses to the test, travel photographer Jack Anstey hiked through Kathmandu and the ​​Khumbu Valley to get to Everest Base Camp—before climbing to reach Lobuche East Peak at 6,119 metres. In his kitbag, he took his Sony A7 IV, 70-200mm f/4 G OSS, 16-35mm f/2.8 GM and 24mm f/1.4 GM, and 24-70mm f/2.8 GM borrowed from MPB. Read on to learn about Jack’s experience with the Sony lenses and check out his imagery. Over to you, Jack.

Heading to Nepal to make the hike to Everest Base Camp and climb the 6,100m Lobuche East Peak was a dream come true. I could hardly contain my excitement as I was getting all my bags together and deciding what to take with me for the expedition. 

Packing for three weeks trekking, where everything you take has to fit into the bag on your back, or the holdall that your porter will shuttle between lodges, you have to be as conservative and as considerate as possible. Some things are a must—sleeping bag, crampons, walking boots—but others are a little more difficult to decide on. And none more so than camera gear.

As the expedition photographer, I knew I was going to be shooting a lot. And in a whole range of different scenarios, settings and conditions. The gear I take with me will have to cover everything from the bustling streets of Kathmandu, through the warm and dusty trails of the Khumbu Valley, and to the blue hour climb of a 6,100m Himalayan mountain. 

My main body is a Sony A7 IV, which I’ve been using for around six months now, and I absolutely love it. Sony has outdone themselves and done a really great job with this camera and its features. At 33 megapixels, and capable of capturing 4k video at 60 frames-per-second, it’s the perfect all-rounder. The ideal camera to take with me. 

The hardest and most stressful decision of any packing process is choosing which lenses to take. But this is even more important when you’ll be hiking above 5,000m, where the air is thin and you feel every extra kilogram of weight on your back. 

I knew I’d be shooting on the move, working to photograph the trekking group as they moved through the landscape. I need to be able to respond quickly to changes in landscape and settings, while also having a focal range big enough to handle the scale of the Himalayas. In a situation like this, I decided to fall back on the ‘holy trinity’ of lenses, the best do-it-all setup tried and tested by photographers for years. 

On the wide end, there’s the Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM, a blisteringly sharp lens that is wide enough for almost any situation. And, at f/2.8, it gives you enough options when considering depth of field, shooting indoors and in low-light. 

Next on the list is the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM. An absolute powerhouse of a lens, probably one of the most versatile and applicable lenses on the market and a great choice if you’re looking for a minimal shooting setup. 

I chose the Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS as my telephoto for the trip. While there are GM options—with a wider aperture, or that extend to longer focal lengths—I find that the f/4 is a great choice if you’re looking for something compact and lightweight.

The final lens in my bag is probably my favourite and most-used lens, the Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM. It’s unbelievably sharp and with a wide aperture that makes shooting in low-light conditions a doddle. While I expected to only rarely use the 24mm prime, I knew I had to take some sort of prime lens with me. Not only to shoot in the dark during our summit push, but also in case of any astrophotography, or for the odd portrait at a buttery low aperture. With the difficulty of choosing my camera gear finalised, the rest of my bags were packed and I was ready for the adventure of a lifetime.

In the past, people have asked me “What is the best focal length for landscape photography?” It’s always a hot topic and debate. But, for me, there is no definite answer. Every landscape is different and, as a result, a different focal length is ideal for shooting it.

In the Scottish Highlands, I find that 24mm is great. But take that to the French Alps and you’ll quickly find yourself wanting something a little wider. The opposite happens when visiting the deserts of Wadi Rum, where I found myself wanting a bit more compression and a tighter crop, maybe leaning towards 35mm or 50mm.

I expected Nepal to be on the wider end of the spectrum, especially higher up at Everest Base Camp, where the tallest mountains in the world tower above you on all sides. But it’s always good to know you’re covered for every eventuality. And, with the ‘holy trinity’ of zoom lenses, I knew I was prepared.

Early on the Everest Base Camp trail, I found the valleys interesting and varied. We were walking up a winding path that followed the river upstream, zig-zagging across it on a series of bridges as we passed through various settlements and tea-houses. In this environment of changing vistas, I found the 24-70mm a perfect companion. I’d find myself hovering at 50-70mm, capturing the landscape’s layers and details, with the grand snowy mountains way off in the sky. But it was also so easy to dial it all the way out to 24mm to quickly photograph the trail, villages and my fellow trekkers experiencing it all. 

In advance, I was unsure which lens will become dominant on the trip. But the 24-70mm quickly found its way to the front of the pack. And 75% of all images on the trip were taken with it. Its versatile and adaptable focal lengths were perfect for changing scenarios and diverse landscapes. 

As we progressed higher, above the Sherpa capital of Namche Bazaar and into the higher reaches of the Himalayas, the mountains seemed to grow around us. The trees and bushes that lined the trail gave way to rocks and scree, and suddenly 8,000-metre–high giants surrounded us. Here, the 16-35mm took centre stage. This lens showed off its ability to capture the full landscape and give such a great sense of scale to the environment. 

I still found myself leaning heavily on the 24-70mm, but I found myself really enjoying shooting wide vistas with the 16-35mm. When shooting with a wide angle, I often like to juxtapose it with the telephoto lens. And although it probably only accounts for 5% of the images, the 70-200mm helps to give so much context and extra detail. 

The Holy Trinity was proving why it is revered so much in the photography world. It’s really able to do it all. And considering how much I love the 24mm prime, I was surprised at how little use it was getting.

In fact, I didn’t actually shoot on the 24mm until the eve of our summit attempt. We’d spent the last ten days walking through the Khumbu Valley up to Everest Base Camp, which was hard enough on its own. But now we were preparing for the main challenge of the trip, climbing Lobuche East. 

At 6,119m, Lobuche East is no easy task. With hours to be spent climbing steep snowy slopes, each step taking you higher and into thinner air. At Lobuche High Camp, one-third of the way up the peak, we were making our final preparations for the following morning, checking over all our gear and getting all of our equipment ready for an early start. I fired off a few shots on the 24mm at f/1.4 and left it on my camera body, making sure everything was ready for the next day before trying to calm my excitement and get a few hours of sleep.

A little after midnight we woke, pulled on our heavy mountaineering boots, warm jackets and head torches and headed out into the dark. The going was tough, and almost from the moment we left camp we were climbing steep rocky slopes. With just the light from our head torches guiding us the atmosphere was tense and made for some really dramatic shots. 

As the dark night gave way to blue hour, we found the snowline. And, after putting on our crampons to help us grip the ice, we clipped onto the fixed rope and started climbing upwards. It’s in this period that the 24mm f/1.4 really went to work. Its ability to suck in as much light as possible from the environment, and its remarkable auto-focus speed, helped to capture some incredible shots as we ascended.

With sunrise came one of the most incredible views I’ve ever seen. From 6,000m, it felt like we could see the whole world stretched out before us. Looking back down to where we’d started in the dark six hours earlier, I felt a strong sense of achievement. And with the summit now in sight, I knew it would only be one last burst of energy to get to the top. With the sun rising, and the strong light of another bluebird day above us, I made the final ridge and then the last few steps to the summit—6,119m!

My oxygen and sleep-deprived body were thankful for a few moments to rest on the summit as I made sure to put the camera down and appreciate the scene without the viewfinder. After taking a photo of the team on the summit, I switched back to the 24-70mm. I knew its versatility would come in use on our descent back to our high camp and then on the path back towards Lukla and Kathmandu, where it had been so valuable the previous week.

In the build-up to the trip, the choice of gear I was to take to Nepal gave me a lot of concern. I didn’t want to find myself missing a particular lens. But keeping this in balance with the weight of my bag was a difficult task.

In retrospect, I think I had the perfect setup and selection of gear for the expedition. The setup enabled me to capture the full story of the experience, whatever the conditions. 

Considering that I mainly shoot on prime lenses, I was unsure how I’d find the zooms. It’s been a fair few years since I heavily relied on them and used them, and I wasn’t entirely confident of how they’d perform and how I would find the images. But just as with the Sony A7R IV, I was hugely impressed by the quality and standard of the equipment. I think this setup was perfect for the task.

Thanks, Jack. Read Jack Anstey’s Sony A7R IV review, or check out more of Jack’s work at on Instagram @jack_anstey. Read more guides and reviews at the MPB content hub.