Going on a cruise end of February til mid March of '22. Considering that the photography is going to be of most everything ( people, places and things from near to far). Trying to pack light as possible, no tripod, what lenses should I consider taking (Nikon D7200). Available lenses, Nikon 16-85, 70-200, 50-300, 50mm and Tamron 16-300. I'm going to try to stay off Auto. I recently retired, got into photography to stay busy not quite three years ago, so I have a lot to learn and could use advise to make this bucket list trip memorable. Thanks everyone in advance.

If number of lenses is an issue, I'd bring the 50 and 16-300. Why are you going to try to stay of auto? My D7200 works quite well in semi-auto and full auto. Using manual all the time is not the badge of honor many UHH members like to say it is. I've been doing photography for a long time and digital photography since 2001. The cameras I shoot with today are pretty much usually set to Aperture Priority. I usually set the ISO, though occasionally use auto ISO, and the aperture and let the camera select shutter speed. I do use shutter priority when called for and sometimes, when light is plentiful and not an issue, even use full auto. Use what ever exposure mode best suited for the conditions and situation. Sometimes full auto is indeed the best choice. Again, shooting in full manual mode is not a badge of honor and you are far more likely, being relatively new to photography, to miss shots by doing so. Modern digital cameras are a whole lot more powerful and accurate than the older digital and analog cameras.

Going on a cruise end of February til mid March of '22. Considering that the photography is going to be of most everything ( people, places and things from near to far). Trying to pack light as possible, no tripod, what lenses should I consider taking (Nikon D7200). Available lenses, Nikon 16-85, 70-200, 50-300, 50mm and Tamron 16-300. I'm going to try to stay off Auto. I recently retired, got into photography to stay busy not quite three years ago, so I have a lot to learn and could use advise to make this bucket list trip memorable. Thanks everyone in advance.

Going on a cruise end of February til mid March of '22. Considering that the photography is going to be of most everything ( people, places and things from near to far). Trying to pack light as possible, no tripod, what lenses should I consider taking (Nikon D7200). Available lenses, Nikon 16-85, 70-200, 50-300, 50mm and Tamron 16-300. I'm going to try to stay off Auto. I recently retired, got into photography to stay busy not quite three years ago, so I have a lot to learn and could use advise to make this bucket list trip memorable. Thanks everyone in advance.

Going on a cruise end of February til mid March of '22. Considering that the photography is going to be of most everything ( people, places and things from near to far). Trying to pack light as possible, no tripod, what lenses should I consider taking (Nikon D7200). Available lenses, Nikon 16-85, 70-200, 50-300, 50mm and Tamron 16-300. I'm going to try to stay off Auto. I recently retired, got into photography to stay busy not quite three years ago, so I have a lot to learn and could use advise to make this bucket list trip memorable. Thanks everyone in advance.

Everyone will have an opinion from their experiences so here is mine. I have done numerous cruises. My wife and I love them. During the first couple, I took my Nikon D7000 and several lenses, including a wide to medium/long zoom, a prime, etc, and carried them everywhere. That was a mistake. During excursions at port destinations, you have to disembark the ship and climb aboard a bus or other transportation. These buses have limited space and seating and it is not always easy to get all your kit on and off easily. At stops for sightseeing, we have never really felt rushed but the time is limited. If you spend a lot of time setting up a tripod and taking one or two shots, you will miss much of what you came to see. The bus will have numerous stops to make before getting back to the ship at the required time. In short, if you want to see and experience all you have paid for, you cannot stop and spend a lot of time doing photography.

Besides, the opportunities to get really well composed, quality shots of a memorable site will be limited mainly because it IS a tourist area and will most likely be crowded and many people are usually present. Remember, depending on the cruise line and where it goes, there is an excellent chance there will be other cruise ships disembarking people at the same time you are there. We have been in ports where there were 2-3 other cruise ships docked. Many of the popular excursion sites may have multiple busses dropping off people.

During these first few cruises, while I did get a few good shots, most of our memorable shots came from my wife's iPhone as she would shoot as she walked and viewed all the sights while I fiddled with the camera gear. This led me to purchase a Sony RX100 M3. I left all the other gear at home and have been very pleased with the results. There are numerous makers of these small capable cameras including Canon, Nikon, etc, and are reasonably priced. They allow the photographer full control of exposure along with various auto modes and include a wide to moderate telephoto zoom. It is the only camera I carry on my travels now. It fits in a pocket or small shoulder bag and can be deployed in seconds to get the shots I would have missed otherwise.

However, to address your original question if I did want to carry the D7200, I would probably only bring the Nikon 16-85. This lens should cover the majority of your needs onboard the ship and most excursion shots. You may be tempted at taking the longer telephoto lens but these are heavy and with the ship moving I think would be of limited use. Besides, changing the lens is not something you may want to do on the deck of a ship. The Tamron 16-300 may also be a consideration depending on its weight.

Going on a cruise end of February til mid March of '22. Considering that the photography is going to be of most everything ( people, places and things from near to far). Trying to pack light as possible, no tripod, what lenses should I consider taking (Nikon D7200). Available lenses, Nikon 16-85, 70-200, 50-300, 50mm and Tamron 16-300. I'm going to try to stay off Auto. I recently retired, got into photography to stay busy not quite three years ago, so I have a lot to learn and could use advise to make this bucket list trip memorable. Thanks everyone in advance.