mcolie

Pdubya,

Alaska is too big for cameras. But don't let that stop you from trying.

When we did the Alaska thing, I did that wrong. This was still 35mm days and I carried 50# of gear and it didn't work.
Carry what is handy and easy to manage. Wide lenses are almost a waste of time except in the "cities". Long lenses will never be long enough. (I could go from 24 to 800 and it was still less than I might have liked.)
A monopod is a good idea for the long lens.

Do you know how to create a panorama? If you do not, shoot a lot of images that you know will overlap and stitch them when you get home.

Shoot a lot and at the highest resolution and fix it when you get home.

Otherwise, see all you can, take all the side trips you can afford and always carry extra memory and batteries.

Enjoy the excursion.

Matt

thephotoman Loc: Rochester, NY

Hi pdubya. A well known photographer, Tim Grey does not recommend use of a tripod on a boat. His thoughts are that the boats engines create a vibration that could be picked up through the tripod or monopod. Also, if the boat is bouncy as many are your photos will reflect that movement.When I went on my last cruise, I did not use mt tripod on board the boat. My photos came out very good, no vibration or movement. I used a Tamron 70 - 300 mm lens with image stabilization. It is a first generation lens, so I suspect newer lenses will produce even better images. Enjoy your trip.

Tombway

While the Tamron 70-300 is a good pick it may be a little slow on animal pictures. I have the Tamron 18 - 270 which is a 3.5. I have used this on a multitude of locations with success. From Alaska (cruise) to the game parks of South Africa. Found it to be a very versatile lens for the Canon EOS series camera. This lens gives you a wide angle with only a 30 stop loss from the 300.
Of course you could go for a new up-to-date camera like the Panasonic FZ300 or similar for the price of a new lens.

camera Dave Loc: Aurora Canada

thanks about the info regarding the windows I was afraid of that.

WillieC

24-70 is fine otherwise you won’t be able to see the forest for the trees.

Ob1 Loc: Utah

The Denali bus windows for us opened all the way. It must depend on the bus.

tims.ak Loc: Butte, Alaska

Your Tamrons will cover everything you'll encounter. G2's work very well in wet environment. The Canon 10-18 is a great lightweight addition. If you do any hiking on forest trails or walking in town you can get some incredible opportunities to give it a try. I carry my 150-600 g2 everyday for work and use it often. Skip the 1.4 or rent it for the trip to try it out. I didn't like it with the 150-600. Save the money and use for Tamron 18-400, it would do well for your trip or sometime later; not changing lenses is nice. If you have a lightweight mono I'd take that, I use mine all the time. Works excellent with your 150-600. It can make an incredible focus difference in a once in a lifetime shot. You're going on a cruise not mountain climbing so you can take what you have room for. Take extra sd cards, you'll fill them up. Take at least 2 extra batteries. It's so disappointing to run out of storage or power when action is fast. Bring lens drying materials. All your gear will get wet. Alaska is an endless photo opportunity from macro to the Aurora. Lots more than just scenery and animals. If it's raining and foggy you can still finding amazing things to photograph. You can easily shoot over 1000 per day. A trip to Alaska is an incredible photography learning opportunity. Hope you have lots of fun and make some wonderful memories visiting our home.

tims.ak Loc: Butte, Alaska

Most windows drop, check it before you sit down. And they always stop for animals if they can. I take glass wipes with me for cleaning plane windows when I travel. Small planes always get muddy windows, definitely work for bus windows along that dirt road.

pdubya

Thanks! Great shot too!

pdubya

A lot of great tips & photos, thanks everyone.

Arubalou

Just returned last sunday from an princess cruise. I basically used my 18-140 for all my shots using the 55-300 to see the glaciers up close. Not much to see on them.