Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

That's true almost anywhere, but that can be managed. When I did cave photography - real spelunking up and down water falls, scrabbling through tiny passages - it had to be flash, but it was coordinated, usually with tripod, but we communicated and staged the shots. In a large cavern ( I do mean big) we might spread five or six cavers around, all in front of the camera. Bulb setting, and yell 'fire'! Nobody got blinded since nobody was looking directly at the flash, and got some great results. I'll have to dig them out when I can make the time to go through my old negs.

Here are a couple of pics of my old camera bag for caving.

We were much more concerned with getting our asses torched by the carbide lamp of the person following us!

Bipod

I've photographed quite a bit underground, in both caves and mines, over a period
of 40 years.

"No flash allowed"? "No headlamps allowed? Sounds like a tour cave. Don't they sell
photos in the gift shop? :-)

For anyone intested in taking pictures in a wild cave or a mine, the following might be
relevant:

The main thing is to have an inexpensive camera, so you won't mind if it gets destroyed.
I usually wore a small, cheap film camera around my neck on a short strap. If it got broken,
oh well. (Surpisingly, I can only remember breaking one.)

I know a lot of cavers go for the "industructable" camera in the padded alumnum
box. I never had the room, the money or the inclination.

It's very important that the camera's battery not run down, beause changing
batteries in a dark, wet or dusty situation can be challenging. And if you drop a
battery in water or down a crack, forget about finding it.

Also, you don't want to be fiddling with settings. But autofocus is iffy--no high
contrast edges. Cheap fixed focus film cameras with ISO 400 film were my solution
to both the focus problem and the battery problem.

Some of my best photos were taken with a Kodak instamatic and flash cubes.
Flash cubes were quite reliable, particularly the 'X' ones that didn't need batteries.
Forbidding flash is just perverse. What, does it make the bats see spots? :-)
Or does it disturb the group ahead of you? Criminy. Not my cup of tea.

Today, I'd probably bring a few ISO 400 disposable cameras -- even waterproof ones
are available -- or a digital camera (with built-in flash) from the thrift store. In a wild
cave or a mine, you're not trying to get a photo published in *Arazona Highways*,
you're just triying to get a photo (and not lose a bunch of money or kill yourself in the
process).

Regarding the latter: whatever camera you bring, make sure you can use it without
taking off your hard hat. If you take off your hard hat, then slip...

Anyway, there are two photo situations: passage and large chamber/stope/grotto.. Just
about any light will work in a passage. Flash works well.

For a larger spaces, a bright lantern (such as a Coleman-style propane lanten) will illuminate
a moderately large room. Some of these lanterns are collapsable Wire globes are better than glass,
and be sure to bring extra mantles. The latern can be wrapped in bubble pack and duct tape until
you need it. In a tight squeeze, you'll end up pushing it ahead of you. I've done that with a lighted
lantern for short crawls in limestone caves and also in lava tubes. I don't crawl in mines.

Obviously, certain mines --and a few caves-- pose low oxygen or gas (CO2, methane or
geothermal H2S) hazards. I'm not talking about those.

In any large room, first you have to figure out what you want to photograph, and for that you
will need a bright light anyway. So the latern is really nice: it will improve your experience
immensely. Some photographers use magnesium torches--another thing I've never wanted
to try, having one had a bad experience with flash powder. :-) Propane lanterns are about
the right balance beween completely safe and crazy dangerous.

I also don't recommend carbide lanterns--though they do give a nice light. I stopped using mine
many years ago. For one thing, they require water. For another: acetylene gas falls into the
"crazy dangerous" category: wide explosive limits and easy to ignite. The lamps only make
a tiny bit at a time, but a cannister of calcium carbide fuel only has to get wet to give off
copious quantities of acetylene gas.

A candle lantern made from a tin can works surpisingly well. Cut off one end of the can,
then turn it on its side. Add a a bailing wire hoop handle on top side, and punch a hole for the
candle in the bottom side.. I've found a lot of these in old mines, so the 49ers liked them too.
The remaining end of the can works as a reflector. There's not much to break except the
candle: which you can cut in half and both halves will work. That's a example of
"appropriate technology". :-)

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

You're clearly not Elon Musk, you've been there!!

Speleopod Troglogustus

Bipod

Sorry if I wondered off-topic. I'll try to remember hat this board is only for telling people
what photo gear to buy...and for trolling. :-) Unfortunately, in this case, I can't think of
any gear that would help--not even a night vision lens.

If I were going on a cave tour, I would just enjoy the experience and not try to take photos.
With the conditions they've imposed, shooting is bound to be frustrating and the resulting
images are likely to be disappointing.