Light packing restrictions on Alaska trip
Feb 17, 2018 09:18:03 #
I recently purchased the Tamron 18-400m. Have found that the longer lengths work well, but at least with the lens I have the 18-50mm range has very poor sharpness unless very close to subject. A friend has the Tamron 150-600 G and is very satisfied with it, and is taking it on our up coming trip to South Africa.
Feb 17, 2018 09:26:13 #
PS, in August, you may need a baseball bat..........for the mosquitos, be prepared 😉😉😉
Feb 17, 2018 09:44:55 #
Paul L_S
Loc: Lithia Springs GA USA
[quote=andymac]In August we will be traveling on an alumni trip to Alaska including Denali NWR, the southeastern coast via boat and an air trip to the Artic Circle. We are very excited about the trip!
Just my 2 cents. Went to Alaska last July. I took 2 bodies Nikon D7000, and D7200. 2 lens Sigma 150-600 C and Nikor 18-140. Black Rapid straps to carry them. With 2 bodies I never had to change lenses in the field. This set worked fine for me and I am happy with the results. Also mentioned in another reply was the bus tour in Denali, our driver stopped for wildlife and we opened windows for clear shots. Enjoy your trip.
Just my 2 cents. Went to Alaska last July. I took 2 bodies Nikon D7000, and D7200. 2 lens Sigma 150-600 C and Nikor 18-140. Black Rapid straps to carry them. With 2 bodies I never had to change lenses in the field. This set worked fine for me and I am happy with the results. Also mentioned in another reply was the bus tour in Denali, our driver stopped for wildlife and we opened windows for clear shots. Enjoy your trip.
Feb 17, 2018 09:52:30 #
Blaster34 wrote:
PS, in August, you may need a baseball bat..........for the mosquitos, be prepared ððð
Thought you might like to see this.
I was there in Mid July - early August and the mosquitos were annoying but not deadly. You should pack something to wear over your face; they cost very little/take up no space and will be wonderful to have if you should need it.
Feb 17, 2018 10:49:43 #
rbmartiniv wrote:
I went on a similar Alaska trip last summer. I only took my D7000 and my Nikkor 18-300 lens. You will probably use 18mm more than 300mm but it's nice to have. A few of the photos I took are on my Smugmug page along with some of the Canadian Rockies on same trip.
I enjoyed your beautiful photos of the Canadian Rockies....I was there not too long ago to many of the same places. I have "like" photos in my Flickr page but enjoyed yours with the dusting of snow. I also like your style of processing.
Good job..Marsha
Feb 17, 2018 11:48:41 #
If you want to go light and avoid lugging around a ton of cameras and lenses and having to choose which one for this or that occasion, and your budget is up to it, you might want to consider picking up a Sony RX10iii. It zooms out to 600mm (35mm eq.) and with its Clear Image Zoom, it gives you up to 1200mm without loss of image quality. It should cover all your needs, while giving nice quality images, as well. There have been some issues reported regarding auto focusing, however it appears that that can be solved by turning off the “pre-focus” feature. Just a thought.
Feb 17, 2018 12:25:55 #
andymac wrote:
Light packing restrictions on Alaska trip.......
I have never been anywhere there was a limit on how much light I could pack. It doesn't weigh much.
Feb 17, 2018 12:33:44 #
andymac wrote:
In August we will be traveling on an alumni trip t... (show quote)
Leave the Nikon at home and take a Sony RX10 IV. It's excellent 24-600mm zoom will cover the full range required and will probably cost less than the lenses you're looking at for the Nikon. You won't be disappointed by its image quality either!
bwa
Feb 17, 2018 13:11:45 #
Travel Perfected
Loc: Santa Barbara
I am a travel consultant and travel all the time. With airline restrictions especially intra country smaller airlines baggage, including carry on is severely limited. I find my SONY RX10III amazing to capture all the different types of shots presented. Before purchasing I read tons of reviews and professional photographers were giving it a thumbs up. I have now been to Vietnam, Cambodia and India within the last year or so and have been very satisfied with my pictures. When touring and moving all the time and being with others even with private touring you don't have that much time to stop and set up anyway unless you are with a photography tour. I think the newest model is now the IV. If you plan on lots of travel in the world worth looking into.
Feb 17, 2018 13:35:39 #
Feb 17, 2018 16:19:28 #
I am also heading back for 17 days this July. Not sure how your group is traveling and you may have a set itinerary but I will relay the best advice I ever received about AK. If you get the chance do a Summit flight over Mt. Denali. They have many flights, take the one that actually flies over the Summit. Not inexpensive. Go solo if need be. Departs from Talkeetna which is on the train route. Funky little town. Solo may get you in the co pilot seat with a group in the back. Your photos will be absolute show stoppers. Use a CPL, wear black/dark you will still get tossers due to window reflections. For the flight you will not need much reach but if you take your 18-300 you will definitely get close ups of the base camps on Denali and maybe see some climbers en route. Always sunny at the top so ignore the weather on the ground.
The weight issue is impactful once you arrive in Anchorage. I carry on a pelican and pack another 50 of gear in it including the 600mm and never let it out of my sight. The interior flights are usually 50 LBs TOTAL weight and no carry on. And they have to weigh the passengers too for load purposes. Strap a camera around your neck as your gear will be out of reach. Air operators may let you pay $1lb for extra weight for baggage. Oh you will see plenty of bald eagles. They sit on the telephone poles/lines up there like crows in the lower 48. The trick will be getting them to do something behavioral.
One of the most amazingly unspoiled places on earth and so vast you will not see even a fraction of it. Hope you get to see some whales bubble up! Never seen it but am told it always happens the day before I was there. And twice the day after.
The weight issue is impactful once you arrive in Anchorage. I carry on a pelican and pack another 50 of gear in it including the 600mm and never let it out of my sight. The interior flights are usually 50 LBs TOTAL weight and no carry on. And they have to weigh the passengers too for load purposes. Strap a camera around your neck as your gear will be out of reach. Air operators may let you pay $1lb for extra weight for baggage. Oh you will see plenty of bald eagles. They sit on the telephone poles/lines up there like crows in the lower 48. The trick will be getting them to do something behavioral.
One of the most amazingly unspoiled places on earth and so vast you will not see even a fraction of it. Hope you get to see some whales bubble up! Never seen it but am told it always happens the day before I was there. And twice the day after.
Feb 17, 2018 16:20:50 #
Would take the Nikon 18-300; purchase a tele-convertor, and use the weight savings to add a tripod.
Feb 17, 2018 18:21:17 #
One bit of advice regarding the plane tour of Denali. Some of those planes are small, particularly the Cessna’s, and there’s precious little room for a long lens, which will get in the way. If you manage to score the co-pilot’s seat in front, you need to be aware that it is easy to a piece of the wing in a picture when you don’t want it in there. A second thing is, when shooting out the windshield, two things will occur: 1.) you will get a blurred image of the propellor in the picture, and 2.). The windshield is curved and will cause blurred areas in an image. Just so you know.
Feb 17, 2018 20:12:00 #
I would take the Nikon D500 with the Nikon 18-300 or 27 to 450 good wide angle to telephoto and shoot most of the pictures with that lens I would just being me also take the Tamron 150-600 or 225-900 when You absolutely have to have the extra reach,,,Did Alaska last summer with the Fuji XT2 and three lens in a ChestVest which I really like,,,carried the 10-24 or 15 to 36 and the 50-140 or 75 to 210 and the 100 to 400 or 150 to 600 also carried the 1.4 Teleconverter on the 100 to 400 changing it to a 210 to 840,,,Had Bears and Caribou right out the Bus Window to on the sides of Mountains,,,Sheep and Goats far away on the sides of Mountains,,,Eagles all over the place and easy to Photograph,,,Never saw any Wolves and very few Moose,,,quite a few Whales and Seals and Orcas and Seabirds,,,,I envy You Have Fun !!!
Feb 17, 2018 20:36:18 #
andymac wrote:
In August we will be traveling on an alumni trip t... (show quote)
I went there last year taking my D500 with the Nikon 80 to 300 and 16 to 80. I carried my camera equipment including both lenses, battery charger with spare battery, iPad Pro with cables, etc and rain gear all in my backpack. It fit mostly under the seat on the flights. We did the extende bus tour to Denali and other locations plus a cruise. We were only allowed one piece of luggage. Nothing wrong with wearing same pants more than several days as long as they stay fairly clean.
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