??'s for Serious Amateur Photographers

[TiggerKing]

I LOVE photography. I currently have 2 35mm SLRs (one autofocus, one manual), one point and shoot, and am looking at purchasing a point and shoot digital. DW and I have no children and will be doing the 4 day on 11/28. We will be driving, so luggage space is not an issue.

So, my question is, did you any of you carry your "serious" photography equipment with you on the ship, and did you find that you used it enough to justify the baggage, or did you end up using your point & shoot (digital or film) for most of the shots? Also, did anyone without kids carry a video camera, and did you use it?

TIA for your responses!

 

[smchan]

Originally posted by TiggerKing
So, my question is, did you any of you carry your "serious" photography equipment with you on the ship, and did you find that you used it enough to justify the baggage, or did you end up using your point & shoot (digital or film) for most of the shots? Also, did anyone without kids carry a video camera, and did you use it?

I'm a serious amateur as well. One point of advice to consider is that you might want to make the leap to a digital SLR. In the past, I've had nice Nikon 35mm equipment and was never really happy with the digital point and shoot compared to the film camera. The quality and capabilities of the digital point and shoot just aren't there with respect to a 35mm film camera.

I finally got a digital SLR that was compatible with my Nikon lenses. It's a fun camera, comparable (yet different) to my film SLR, but does require a different set of skills from film. Just the same, I think your current skills will translate well.

That said, yes, I carry my serious gear on the ship, and I definitely used it. You'll achieve far better results with a SLR, though, whether it be film or digital. I'm less inclined to use my digital point and shoot simply because of the limitations are too great to do much more than vacation snapshots. (As a serious amateur, I presume you want more than snapshots.)

Sam

 

[jrabbit]

I've never taken my "serious" camera with me on the cruise (actually I haven't used my serious camera for over 10 years). Several years ago we had tablemates from Japan. Each night at dinner they had different cameras, computers, etc with them. At the final breakfast we couldn't believe how many different cameras/pieces of electronic equipment they had. I should have taken a picture of all of their stuff - It would have rivaled MJ's shoe picture for quantity!!

 

[markºoº]

I also carry all my photo gear. This includes 35mm SLR with 2 lenses, flash, and filters; Sony MicroMV digital camcorder, wide angle lens, and filters; Canon G2 digicam; SeaKing underwater camera; and a compact tripod. I can fit everything in a photo backpack except the SeaKing camera which I only need for snorkeling.

It is a lot to carry around but I love to take pictures and always try different pictures. Bringing everything really gives me flexibility. The Canon G2 digicam also functions as a point-n-shoot when I really don't want to take everything (such as pictures at dinner).

 

[TiggerKing]

Thanks for all the information folks! I was leaning towards carrying the "serious" equipment because I know that I want at least a couple of sunset and sunrise shots on the ocean. I will probably also want to try and get some good quality shots of the ship, Nassau and CC. I just need to stock up on film.

I may not be overly concerned about buying the digital before the cruise, and just rely on the point & shoot for those shots (like dinner). Also, if I wait a little longer, I can go ahead and get a digital SLR!

 

[smchan]

Be sure to bring a fast lens for the indoor, flashless shots. Normal to wide angle is probably best for character shots, etc as ship quarters can be a little tighter than you might think.

Sam

 

[TiggerKing]

Thanks for the heads up Sam. Do you think an f2.8 would be sufficient? I have a 105mm that is a 2.8 and then a 28 - 135 that is a 2.8/3.5.

 

[smchan]

Originally posted by TiggerKing
Thanks for the heads up Sam. Do you think an f2.8 would be sufficient? I have a 105mm that is a 2.8 and then a 28 - 135 that is a 2.8/3.5.

The 105 will be great for shows, I think. I had trouble getting a proper exposure though digital is less flexible than film in that regard. Just the same, careful with metering. (I typically used spot metering on the performers' faces for best exposure.)

If I can think to, I'll look up the shooting data for some of my show pictures tonight to give you an idea of the lighting conditions.

The variable zoom will be fine as well.

Would love to hear your ideas for shots. I'll be sailing again in December and am trying to start a notebook of photo ideas.

Sam

 

[LindaBabe]

I'm so glad to see there are others like me who lug every camera thing every where! my friends think i'm NUTS.

 

[Laurarn]

This is Laura's DH. I'm a serious amateur. I've got a Canon 1DMkII DSLR that I took with me on our 7-day last month. I got some great shots!



Last year I had a digicam on our 4-day and I was happy with those shots as well. If you go the digicam route, I'd definitely have a good hotshoe flash of possible. I had a Canon G3 w/ a 550EX flash that worked great.

2.8 was okay for the shows if you can shoot at least ISO800 or 1600.

I lug all of my equipment with me whereever I go. I did see quite a few Canon Digital Rebels/10D's and Nikon D70s on board. They're a lot more compact than my 1D.

BTW - make sure you have plenty of flash memory or a CD Writer with you!

Good Luck!
Chris

 

[SueEllen]

I too take both my Nikon N70 (with lenses) and my Olympus Digital. I no longer take a point and shoot as I found that these two cameras get everything done that I want to. I take the camcorder also. I don't use the camcorder much, but do take a TON of pictures with my other cameras.

I find that I often will take my shots with both my Cannon SLR and my digital so I have both developed media and digital. I have taken some incredible shots with both cameras.

Sue Ellen

 

[smchan]

As promised, here are some pictures along with the shooting data. Most were taken from the first few rows of the theater using either spot or centered weighted metering. Keep in mind my DSLR has a 1.5 cropping factor meaning the field-of-view for a 50mm focal length is effectively like a 75mm on a 35mm SLR.

As Chris reported, f/2.8 glass will do the trick, and I'm sure you won't have troubles with your variable zoom as long as you use a higher speed film.

Sam

85mm, f/4, 1/80, ISO 1000

24mm, f/3.2, 1/100s, ISO 800

60mm, f/4, 1/320s, ISO 800

85mm, f/4, 1/180s, ISO 1000

48mm, f/3.5, 1/350s, ISO 1000

40mm, f/3.3, 1/750s, ISO 1000

 

[smchan]

Originally posted by Laurarn
This is Laura's DH. I'm a serious amateur. I've got a Canon 1DMkII DSLR that I took with me on our 7-day last month. I got some great shots! You're welcome to see them at

http://www.pbase.com/cscuron/disney_cruise_04

Cool shots, Chris! I enjoyed checking them out.

Sam

 

[brack]

I have a Canon EOS1 film camera and a Canon Digital Rebel. I take both on my cruises along with a tripod.

On my last cruise I got up at 3am and took still shots all over the ship with no one around. It was a full moon so I got some of it with the ship as well.

It's a lot to carry but that is what I bought them for. If I leave them at home what good are they?

 

[smchan]

Originally posted by brack
On my last cruise I got up at 3am and took still shots all over the ship with no one around. It was a full moon so I got some of it with the ship as well.

Well, show us the photos already!

Sam

 

[DVCajun]

Yes, I would LOVE to see these! Did you use a tripod or high speed film?

 

[TiggerKing]

Sam & Chris: The shots are awesome!

I just want you folks to know that you have gotten me extremely excited about carrying the equipment with me.

Brack, what a great idea about doing some super early photography. I know that on our cruise, according to the charts, we will just be a day or two past a full moon, so that should be an awesome opportunity for some night time shots.

I really appreciate all the input, and Sam, I especially appreciate the data on the shots you showed.

I will be sure and post mine once I get back and get some "feedback" from you follks!

Bob

 

[brack]

I have been testing different ISO settings on my Canon Digital Rebel and like most of the results. Does anyone have any tips on specific settings for shows?

 

[smchan]

I have been testing different ISO settings on my Canon Digital Rebel and like most of the results. Does anyone have any tips on specific settings for shows?

Here are lots of show pictures I took on the 12/11/04 Eastern Magic cruise: http://www.pbase.com/srmchan/disney_cruise_line&page=all The EXIF data shows some of the exposure settings, though the ISO is missing and it thinks I was using -1/3 EV. Typical ISO is anywhere from 800 to 1600. If you use a large aperture like 1.4 or 1.8, you can get away with 800 - maybe 400 - but anything much smaller and you'll want to crank down to 1000 or 1600. Unfortunately, that'll introduce a fair bit of noise into your pictures.

For all pictures, I spot metered the brightest part of the performer, locked exposure, composed and fired. I used a variety of lenses but my best results were with a 50/1.4 and 85/1.8 primes. For the 50/1.4, somewhere in the first 3-4 rows works best. For 85mm, roughly 15-20 rows back.

If I had it to do over again, I would experiment with my 50mm using aperture priority at f/2, ISO 800 or 1000, and EV somewhere between +1 and +2 - again spot metered off the brightest part of the performer. I think I can get better results from the shadow details.

Good luck and please share your results with us!

Feedback on my photos is appreciated.

Sam

 

[brack]

Thanks for the info. I looked at your photo gallery and it was great. It gave me some new ideas. I particularly liked the family photo on deck 10 at the rear stack. That is a definite for this cruise with our DS, his wife, MIL and SIL.

The two lenses I have are the 18-55mm EFS lens that came with the Rebel and a 28-135mm with stabilization. I hope to get a faster lens in the 50 to 85 mm range someday as well as a 400mm after that.

I will try some of the settings you used as a starter.

You also mentioned spot metering. Did you use that function in your camera or do you have a spot meter? If so which one?