DarylEPC

Hi All,

Going on a cruise with stops in Rome, the Greek Islands and Turkey. Plan on taking a 16-35mm and 28-300mm lens and a Circ Polarizer filter. I've nixed a tripod.
To anybody that has been there your recommendations/comments would be much appreciated

George in McKinney Loc: McKinney, Texas

Dary, I visited some of these areas several years ago without a tripod. Really wished I had a tripod for sunset/sunrise shots and night shots. A smaller tripod would of been a great help or even high quality monopod with the Three Legged Thing DOCZ foot stabilizer. with a cable release could work if you give enough time for the vibrations to subside, this setup could work as a second choice alternative. If you are using a DSLR, lock the mirror up. I have used the monopod set up in gardens that would not allow a tripods, with very good success, without the wind.
Sounds like a wonderful trip.

Have fun,

George

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

As you can imagine, tripods-on-ships don't really work. On land, if you need the stabilization, set your camera on a wall/other sturdy foundation. Didn't mention which camera. I travel now mostly with the 16-35mm Nikkor. For longer reach, I take my 28-200mm. I find the 28-300 "that I have" kinda big-and-bulky and a little soft for images from a "trip of a lifetime" holiday. Enjoy your trip. My last Med cruise was Venice to Rome and it was amazing.

repleo Loc: Boston

Lugging the 28-300 around Rome or Istanbul will get exhausting pretty quick. Leave it on board and keep it for shots from the ship or excursions out of the cities. The 16-35 will cover most of your shots. A 24-70 or 24-105 would be even better.

You won't miss the tripod. You won't have room or permission to set it up in most of the places you would want it. You will need a tilt screen so you can raise the camera above the crowd.

d2b2 Loc: Catonsville, Maryland, USA

I have done a lot of overseas travel and photography. I agree that the 28-300mm is not necessary to lug around continually - the wider lenses are much better for landscape and architectural photos that would theoretically make up most of the scenery you might want to capture, particularly in the narrow streets of these older and more historical areas of the World. But I do think the tripod is something I would take. I take a small one and frankly, do not often use it; however, when I need it, it is a critical need.

Tomcat5133 Loc: Gladwyne PA

Sound like a great trip. On visiting from a cruise ship you want to be very portable.
A very portable monopod sounds good to me. Unless your are thinking long exposures.
I do something a little different I have a L bracket (used for flashes) I screw to the bottom
of my camera and use the handle bracket for stability. Simple but it works. You will be carrying
this gear all day and hight will be good. Like the 16 -35 take one lens. I would.

picsix

Just returned from 3 weeks in Croatia, Montenegro and Rome. Took my Canon Mark IV and a 35MM, 50MM and a 24-105MM. I was on land and boats and never used my fixed lenses. I found my 24-105 was enough! I also traveled with a lightweight tripod and never pulled it out! Have a great trip!

suntouched Loc: Sierra Vista AZ

I see a trend now for people going on vacation to drag their heavy gear so as not to miss ANY opportunity- after all it is a trip of a lifetime. For the trip you are going to take, I think it would be much more enjoyable to carry two small, lightweight, fast primes- say a 16mm and a 50 mm- and shoot only what you can with those two lenses WELL instead of trying to shoot everything. The 16 mm would work well for tight shots (museums, churches, alleyways, landscapes ) and the 50 mm for everything else. Have fun and don't load yourself down. And there is something to be said for being unobtrusive.

elliott937 Loc: St. Louis

I'm with Picsix. I've found that my 24-105 has served soo many of my needs when I've traveled the Mediterranean. I once took a camera backpack with three lenses, but seldom used the long lens. So I tried taking only the 24-105. When I almost missed a castle at a good distance, I just did some serious cropping and printed very pleasing enlargements at home. And on the tripod issue? I've taken one of those 10" mini-tripods and placed it onto 'something' and had rewarding long exposures, to include the Statue of Liberty during early morning dark hours.

sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey

On a cruise I would take an inexpensive monopod. On the ship or boat I used it all the time. A photographer who works at B&H recommended it and I agree.

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

My wife and I have taken many cruises and are booked for an Italy to Greece cruise in November. When we started cruising I carried two Nikons, five lenses, a tripod and almost a whole studio. Over the years I have observed what I have and have not used and drastically reduced the list. Traveling light is especially important because of extreme cabin carry on size and weight restrictions on many overseas and European and African airlines.

My equipment list now consists of a Nikon D800 body, a 24-70mm f2.8 VR lens for land travel where I will not be shooting from a tour bus and a 24-105mm for tour busses because the f2.8 is too long to comfortably use at a window seat on a bus. I also take a CPL for each lens, an SB-700 for fill and some interiors and small accessories such as lens cleaning tools. Everything fits in a gadget bag under the seat or in the overhead on airplanes. In addition, I pack a Cotton Carrier in my checked luggage. The Cotton Carrier makes it much easier to carry the camera all day and provides theft protection because the camera is centered in front of me and it is tethered to my body via the security strap on the Cotton Carrier.

I do not take a tripod or even my monopod because modern digital cameras can be used with high shutter speed settings in dark interiors and at night. In the old days I took a 70-300mm and found that I never used it on several cruises. The combination of a 36Mp full-frame sensor and either of the two lenses I now carry makes that unnecessary. Travel light and enjoy your adventure!

classic320

I did a similar trip 2 yrs ago, and I think you already have what you need. I used a 16-50 and a 100-300, similar lengths to what you plan. I also took an 11-16 which I didn't use much but its small and light enough and did get some use. All that said, I was kinda envious of one on my travel mates who took a high end bridge camera--no camera bag! Simplification lets you enjoy the trip, reduces your burden and risks. Didn't take a tripod and didn't miss it except maybe once or twice.

Mama Bear984 Loc: Langley, BC Canada

Having been in Rome & done a bunch of traveling in The Med. what I wanted was a wider lens.
I use Fuji XT2 with a 18-135 wished I’d had a 10-20. If you go to the Vatican be prepared to no get any shots inside it’s walk to wall people. The crowds are too much.

Dossile

Most of my shots in the big cities come between 24-70. On occasion, I use a long lens to compress the image, especially with panorama landscapes or distant architecture shots. I have quit taking my 16-35 because of distortion.

The Blue Mosque at sunset or in the night sky is alone worth taking a small tripod. I like cityscapes at night. The cities you are visiting are particularly spectacular at night. In my hands no amount of ISO manipulation can create the dynamic range for crisp handheld nighttime features and skies without grain. I love the clean dark blue with vibrant clouds as a background that are created by city lights at night with an ISO of 400. For me, that requires a tripod. I use a 3 inch high RRS tripod that easily holds a FF DSR and pro zoom.

Tinkwmobile

I just returned from a trip to Mediterranean. I took my Olympus with one zoom lens (12-40 in micro 4/3). A tripod would never work for me. If you will be on a cruise, opportunity for evening/nighttime photography will be limited.

Most places you will go will be overrun with tourists, most with selfie sticks. We took a couple of boat tours and found them lacking opportunity for photos. Not enough time; they just wanted to get us to next shopping opportunity.

The boat docks during the day and with rare exceptions will want you back on board by 5PM local. We stayed past sunset in Santorini for their sunset - go to Dauphin Island Alabama, it's much nicer and likely cheaper :)

Got my best pictures when we got away from crowds, which was fairly difficult.

Enjoyable trip. Visit Venice if you can!