Alaska Cruise ... Camera Recommendations ...

[Ralph&Pam]

Thank you! Have you every had a situation where the 18-300 and 35/1.8 didn't cut it? I would imagine the 35mm is used mostly indoors (dinner, around the ship, etc.) and the 18-200 is taken for excursions or shooting landscapes from the deck?

DW uses those two lenses on a Nikon 5300. The 18-300 is her “all purpose” lens that is normally on the camera for both excursions and on board activities. The 35 mm is great for indoors, low light, etc., so great for the dining room. I use my 18-200 as an all purpose lens, since it replaced the kit lens that came with my Nikon 3300 camera. Almost all I shoot are excursions, landscapes from the deck, some ship features, etc. But as I noted, DW is the real photographer in the family. We can look at the same scene and she sees and records works of art while I record being in a particular place while vacationing. Shooting digital allows us to take a lot of images compared to the days when we were using film.

 

[jdg345]

DW uses those two lenses on a Nikon 5300. The 18-300 is her “all purpose” lens that is normally on the camera for both excursions and on board activities. The 35 mm is great for indoors, low light, etc., so great for the dining room. I use my 18-200 as an all purpose lens, since it replaced the kit lens that came with my Nikon 3300 camera. Almost all I shoot are excursions, landscapes from the deck, some ship features, etc. But as I noted, DW is the real photographer in the family. We can look at the same scene and she sees and records works of art while I record being in a particular place while vacationing. Shooting digital allows us to take a lot of images compared to the days when we were using film.

Thanks Ralph!

btw, what's film?

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Bumping this up to get input from any recent Alaska cruisers! I have a pocket Sony RX100 24mm-70mm that is 4 years old and is light and perfect for the parks at WDW, but I'm thinking of getting a mirrorless camera because 70mm just won't be enough reach for Alaska. It's an investment to be sure and I would like to buy it soon so I can get some practice with it in the months leading up to our trip. It's been so long since I owned a SLR that my last one shot on actual film. I've looked at DSLRs but think a lightweight option would be better and more likely to be used after this trip. I don't own any lenses so would be starting from scratch. My dream camera would be the Sony A7 III, and then getting a Sony 70-300mm lens to pickup where the RX100 leaves off. I feel like having both cameras with me might ultimately be less annoying than swapping out lenses all the time, and I would only have to carry the RX100 for indoor shots like characters and at dinner. Or should I just get a wider zoom for the mirrorless as well and leave my RX100 at home? But then I would want a prime with f1.8 for indoor...... and do I need a tripod.....and a weather cover....it's all a bit overwhelming. Help!

 

[Calantha]

Reviving this thread - I wouldn't say I'm a real photographer - but I do have a mirrorless camera and some decent lenses that I'm planning to bring to Alaska. Should I bring my tripod too?

 

[StageTek]

Reviving this thread - I wouldn't say I'm a real photographer - but I do have a mirrorless camera and some decent lenses that I'm planning to bring to Alaska. Should I bring my tripod too?

It can't hurt to have a tripod with you.so I say, yes.

 

[happycamper47]

Reviving this thread - I wouldn't say I'm a real photographer - but I do have a mirrorless camera and some decent lenses that I'm planning to bring to Alaska. Should I bring my tripod too?

We were never in one spot long enough to use a tripod.

 

[KVH]

Even with IS, unless you are cranking on the ISO, when you end up in a tele- range (anything past 150mm), you stand a good chance of a blurry picture. Longer focals can REALLY accentuate camera movement. I would say, at the least, a monopod. And what about night/long exposure shots? You'd just have to have a tripod for that.

 

[Calantha]

And what about night/long exposure shots? You'd just have to have a tripod for that.

Sunset is at 10PM-ish and Sunrise is at 4AM...ouch!

 

[soniam]

Bring the tripod or maybe a platypod, much smaller and easier to deal with, maybe. Maybe a neutral density filter too to get good water and sky shots. Long lens if you've got it. Maybe a wide angle too, like ~14-24mm. If you have a newer iPhone and you aren't super particular about your photos or are not going to zoom in or blow them up large, then just take the iPhone. You could even get a really small tripod for it. I like my Pocket Tripod (https://pocket-tripod.com/). It folds to the size of a credit card, can be angled, and fits multiple phones, even with the case on. You can get some good apps for phones to help with noise and long exposures.

 

[Calantha]

Maybe a neutral density filter too to get good water and sky shots.

I hadn't thought about that - but I just looked at some landscapes taken with a filter - they look amazing. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

[KVH]

Sunset is at 10PM-ish and Sunrise is at 4AM...ouch!

Oh, yeah. True. But sometimes you must suffer for your art . . .

 

[Intr3pid]

We used to bring our mirrorless cameras with us. They would work wonders at capturing, say, distant wildlife moving at speed. Some of the special lenses and ISO settings would be put to good use - particularly in dark scenes.

But, no more. The high-quality smartphone cameras today - iPhone Pros in our case - do a great job in 99% of the situations. They add or enhance elements using machine learning that isn't possible with a traditional camera. All on the spot without any post-processing delay. We have needed our traditional cameras more outside of cruising - where we can hunker down and have time to look for a good photo spot and an object.

The mirrorless cameras capture more data, but the iPhone Pros have better software.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Bring the tripod. I have a lighter weight travel one. Better to have and not need/want than to need and not have. And as stated above, don't forget the filters. Also highly recommend a waterproof cover for your set up. It can be rainy. They aren't expensive-I got mine at Amazon and it was invaluable on my trip.

 

[soniam]

We used to bring our mirrorless cameras with us. They would work wonders at capturing, say, distant wildlife moving at speed. Some of the special lenses and ISO settings would be put to good use - particularly in dark scenes.

But, no more. The high-quality smartphone cameras today - iPhone Pros in our case - do a great job in 99% of the situations. They add or enhance elements using machine learning that isn't possible with a traditional camera. All on the spot without any post-processing delay. We have needed our traditional cameras more outside of cruising - where we can hunker down and have time to look for a good photo spot and an object.

The mirrorless cameras capture more data, but the iPhone Pros have better software.

Actually, you can get better aftermarket software plugins that work with photoshop/Lightroom than you can get for the iPhone. Boris FX, ON1, and Nik have amazing plugins. It’s easier and more flexible to manipulate raw data.

 

[lovingeire]

Can an iPhone Pro really capture things at a distance? I have a 13, but still think packing the DSLR could be useful, however, I would need a longer distance lense than what I do have. When we cruised the Caribbean or Bermuda I was fine with my iPhone, but am thinking that I'd like to have the DSLR on this trip.

If so, does anyone have any recommendation of reasonably priced lenses to go with my Canon? Is it better to buy something or rent it? (Clearly, I am NOT a professional photographer!)

 

[Intr3pid]

Actually, you can get better aftermarket software plugins that work with photoshop/Lightroom than you can get for the iPhone. Boris FX, ON1, and Nik have amazing plugins. It’s easier and more flexible to manipulate raw data.

Yup, very much - but with two big caveats:

1. How much time do you have for post processing? And how many pictures do you take? An iPhone will do it on the spot, and you can publish it in just a minute. If I'm taking four trips a year and taking 1,000 snaps per trip, that's dozens of hours of post-processing time that I won't have (unless I'm being paid!).

2. Your phone sensors pick up meta data beyond that coming through the main lens - altitude, weather/time of day, LIDAR depth, three parallel sets of pixels from multiple cameras, etc. That data is fed into the machine learning model on the device. Most of it is lost if you are only working with pixels.

Can an iPhone Pro really capture things at a distance?

No, not in the same way as with a larger telephoto lens. So, you gotta decide whether you want to carry that additional camera and its bag for probably an occasional use. Since you won't be in those snaps anyways, you could simply find these pics through a Google search. But if own photography is one of the key reasons for the trip (and you already have a DSLR), look for any midrange telephoto lens within your budget.

 

[KVH]

If the idea is that reach is needed, as in you're not going to get as close the wildlife as you'd like, lens rental is a possibility too. That way, you're only spending a bit on a lens you might never need again. Like a NK200-500 or a Bigma.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Can an iPhone Pro really capture things at a distance? I have a 13, but still think packing the DSLR could be useful, however, I would need a longer distance lense than what I do have. When we cruised the Caribbean or Bermuda I was fine with my iPhone, but am thinking that I'd like to have the DSLR on this trip.

If so, does anyone have any recommendation of reasonably priced lenses to go with my Canon? Is it better to buy something or rent it? (Clearly, I am NOT a professional photographer!)

Iphone will not get you the distance shots. It depends on what type of pictures you want to take and are you printing them? Framing them? Your DSLR will take the shots you would want.

Buying v. renting? Price it out. and it depends-will you use that longer lens after the cruise? I shoot Nikon, but I found the Sigma lens-150-600mm a good value. It is an investment, but if you will use it regularly, you will get some great shots.