photography tips for River Cruise, Europe
Nov 8, 2021 17:19:05 #
Sorry I responded twice. I was notified that my first one didn't go through, so I wrote again. Now both are there and basically redundant. Has anyone else had this problem with UHH? I've had it happen more than once, but it may be my email service.
Nov 8, 2021 17:28:05 #
RolandDieter wrote:
KISS is an old acronym for Keep It Simple, Stupid.... (show quote)
Or, if you want wide, you could take 2 shots (hand-held usually works well) and stitch them together in Photoshop or Lightroom Classic. Then, you don't have the weight of the extra lens to deal with. I would note, though, that if there are moving crowds, this doesn't work as well.
Nov 8, 2021 18:12:24 #
I have taken many European river cruises, and enjoyed them all. If it is not raining the flat uppermost deck is perfect for photography since you can instantly walk to whatever side is more scenic. The 18-140 should be all you need. I took and used a monopod with quick release of my camera RRS plate. The monopod steadies the camera, weighs little, can collapse 10-18" depending on which one you get. Europe is quite rainy in the spring (April/May).
Stan
Stan
Nov 8, 2021 18:52:50 #
Randyb
Loc: Houston
Just got back from a Portugal Douro river cruise and have been on 3 others in Europe. Don't weigh yourself down. Your camera and the 18-140 is more than enough and if you want to throw in your 35 for the low light shots it's so small it doesn't matter. I have a Lowepro packback with a camera compartment and it travels very well as carry on. Have a great time, you'll love the river cruises and all the tours you'll go on.
Nov 8, 2021 19:37:45 #
pdsilen
Loc: Roswell, New Mexico
I would take a Canon Rebel or something similar. Keep your camera in a shoulder bag. And very important. Make sure that the neck/shoulder strap on your camera is a generic one. Don't have a strap with the brand name on your camera embraded on it. You don't want your geer to be attracted to thieves.
Nov 8, 2021 19:56:52 #
18-140 should be great, no bag, maybe just a fitted camera case with a strap, extra large card. I did it this way this two years ago.
Nov 8, 2021 20:18:39 #
2015 late April/early May Rhine Cruise Photo Notes: from Amsterdam to Basel
Nikon D7100, 24 MP, purchased 10/2013. 3 rechargeable batteries, 2 64GB SD cards, battery charger 110-240v. Weighed 7.4 lbs. w/tripod and 6.6 lbs. without.
Nikon lenses: 18-200 f4-5.6, 35mm f1.8, and 12-24 f4. All for a DX camera, so multiply 1.5X for 35mm equivalent focal lengths.
WB-1 something to transmit photos to iPad, which I never used. Lens cleaning brush
Small Nikon SB-400 flash with 3 sets of 2AA batteries. Useful in small, darker places. Flash tilted up to allow bounce.
Nikon AW-100 16 MP waterproof camera. 3 batteries and recharger. Never used, but backup.
12” Jobo flexible tripod with a small Manfrotto ball head, carried everywhere, except the best cathedral where I could have used it. Other places, there was either no need or time to setup.
Small LowePro Adventura 170 case with shoulder strap; 4x7x8. Not a backpack. It held all the camera equipment except the chargers and spare flash gun batteries. The flexible tripod legs kept it locked onto the strap.
Four (4) 64GB SD cards for the D7100 and two (2) 16 GB cards for the AW. (Yeah, well that’s what I thought! Turns out I had only the two 64 GB cards in the D7100 for it. As a result, I had to be diligent in deleting all dud and dupe photos. Many were shot from a moving & maybe 800 worth a second look. ¼ of these were infrastructure for our civil engineer manager son.
2015 05 01 Friday
On the whole, this outfit works acceptably. With the 1.5X magnification of the Nikon DX camera, D7100, the 35mm film equivalent is 24-300mm, 50mm, and 18-35mm.
Because of the rainy weather, I wished for a camera and all three lenses with pro-level water sealing. Of course, that’s more weight.
2015 05 02 Saturday
Reason for pro weatherproofing: spring here is rainy. Light is good for shooting, overcast and bright.
My lenses were focusing slower or not accurately, noticeably the 18-200 two days ago when I stood on the top deck through the castle section despite the rain. Need to get some of those plastic camera covers for rain work.
12-24 focus off and on today; maybe accidentally set to manual on camera or lens. Good thing we went back to Cologne Cathedral and had some extra time. In my excitement, I didn’t notice it wasn’t focusing well the first time through!
35mm f1.8 is most reliable. Its wider f-stop better for shooting from moving bus, allowing faster shutter speed. I think the tinting costs two stops and may affect focusing.
Also, wish I’d brought a polarizing filter.
Not being able to see where the 35mm G lens focuses (no scale) or being able to manually focus on infinity are disadvantages.
2015 05 04 Monday
Tripod—a regular tripod is impractical because the pace of tours doesn’t allow setup time and it would make no sense on a moving ship. The small Jobo tripod was good. Wish I’d carried it all the time for random opportunities when it could be used, like in cathedrals. As is, I never once used it and put the camera on some interior railings.
Memory cards—as mentioned earlier, deleted dupes and duds several times each day. But, I had forgotten about the photos already on the first card, and so lost some capacity. Altogether, the first D7100 card held 2.7M large, high quality Jpegs.
Fast photography—rapid composition and settings are a necessity on a tour like this on a moving ship or tour bus most often. In between, were in a group walking around.
Settings on bus—ISO 800, f4 with 35mm, 1.8 lens, and 1/1000 when possible; used 35mm lens, equivalent to 50mm on D7100.
Rubber lens hood—I later read—to eliminate flare in bus shots. Put against glass, but flexible rubber minimizes vibrations and allows good light seal. Now I have rubber lens hoods on both this 35mm lens and a 50mm one I’d left at home.
Polarizing filter—use also, at least try, to minimize glare, though loss of 2 stops might cause shutter speed to be too slow.
Need to do—on camera, check using M instead of AFS to have manually at infinity.
Camera motion factors
Moving vehicle—bus or ship. My motion—sometimes I shot while walking, crazy I know. Also, I am personally not as steady as I used to be!
Subjects moving—walking, vehicles in motion. All of these at the same time.
Keeping camera straight and level
Have grid on to see in viewfinder all the time. Sometimes the photos are tilted undesirably.
To do—learn how to program the Fn button on front of camera to activate the tilt scale. That’ll be more useful for fast photography than a more sophisticated grid or using Live View on the camera back. The latter requires holding the camera out, instead of steadier against one’s eye.
Camera bag and camera security
Sprayed bag with waterproofing before trip. Sometimes in the rain, I carried the camera on a neck strap and under my waterproof jacket.
For security, used cheap metal dog leash to loop around my belt and a loop on the back of the camera bag and then the end connected to the camera neck strap. I used a strong metal key ring and a thumb-operated leash lock to the camera strap.
Always had camera bag strap across my shoulders, neck to armpit, and mainly in front of me to avoid a rear attack. I also used my camera neck strap all the time.
More waterproofing—check into wipes for lens and a cover for lens and camera.
If I had it to do again . . .
Memory. I’d have brought maybe 10 64GB SD cards, maybe more, so I could shoot in RAW. Look into separate devices for backing up photos. I keep dancing close to bringing a laptop, but that’s just more weight to lug around and I’m not a pro.
Image quality. I keep going back and forth, use the lighter lenses and DX 7100 camera? Or use a similar but full size D 610 FX body to capture more data and use my heavier & higher quality lenses? On the other hand, these are just vacation photos and I got tired of carrying what I had occasionally! I did this before I went, too, and decided in favor of lighter weight vs slightly better image quality.
Technique. I simply didn’t think through the implications of trying to take photos while so much on the move—aboard a ship, in a bus, or on a walking tour. An article about this kind of shooting would have been very helpful.
On the other hand . . . before going I kept considering a small, fixed lens camera with a larger than normal sensor. A Fuji with a full size sensor and 35mm lens was intriguing. The Sony RX100 IV, with a 28-70 f2.8 lens, and viewfinder had me thinking, too. In the end, I dropped this to save $1000-1200 and use the very good, but bigger and heavier DX D7100 with my non-pro, lighter lenses--gear already in hand. Periodically, I remember that the image is the object of my photography and to back off my gearhead tendencies. But, but, but, given what I know now, I could have brought big, heavy lenses to use aboard ship or bus for a week and taken lighter stuff on walking tours. All of which means, there are varied choices and tradeoffs and the answer once again begins with “it all depends!”
Nikon D7100, 24 MP, purchased 10/2013. 3 rechargeable batteries, 2 64GB SD cards, battery charger 110-240v. Weighed 7.4 lbs. w/tripod and 6.6 lbs. without.
Nikon lenses: 18-200 f4-5.6, 35mm f1.8, and 12-24 f4. All for a DX camera, so multiply 1.5X for 35mm equivalent focal lengths.
WB-1 something to transmit photos to iPad, which I never used. Lens cleaning brush
Small Nikon SB-400 flash with 3 sets of 2AA batteries. Useful in small, darker places. Flash tilted up to allow bounce.
Nikon AW-100 16 MP waterproof camera. 3 batteries and recharger. Never used, but backup.
12” Jobo flexible tripod with a small Manfrotto ball head, carried everywhere, except the best cathedral where I could have used it. Other places, there was either no need or time to setup.
Small LowePro Adventura 170 case with shoulder strap; 4x7x8. Not a backpack. It held all the camera equipment except the chargers and spare flash gun batteries. The flexible tripod legs kept it locked onto the strap.
Four (4) 64GB SD cards for the D7100 and two (2) 16 GB cards for the AW. (Yeah, well that’s what I thought! Turns out I had only the two 64 GB cards in the D7100 for it. As a result, I had to be diligent in deleting all dud and dupe photos. Many were shot from a moving & maybe 800 worth a second look. ¼ of these were infrastructure for our civil engineer manager son.
2015 05 01 Friday
On the whole, this outfit works acceptably. With the 1.5X magnification of the Nikon DX camera, D7100, the 35mm film equivalent is 24-300mm, 50mm, and 18-35mm.
Because of the rainy weather, I wished for a camera and all three lenses with pro-level water sealing. Of course, that’s more weight.
2015 05 02 Saturday
Reason for pro weatherproofing: spring here is rainy. Light is good for shooting, overcast and bright.
My lenses were focusing slower or not accurately, noticeably the 18-200 two days ago when I stood on the top deck through the castle section despite the rain. Need to get some of those plastic camera covers for rain work.
12-24 focus off and on today; maybe accidentally set to manual on camera or lens. Good thing we went back to Cologne Cathedral and had some extra time. In my excitement, I didn’t notice it wasn’t focusing well the first time through!
35mm f1.8 is most reliable. Its wider f-stop better for shooting from moving bus, allowing faster shutter speed. I think the tinting costs two stops and may affect focusing.
Also, wish I’d brought a polarizing filter.
Not being able to see where the 35mm G lens focuses (no scale) or being able to manually focus on infinity are disadvantages.
2015 05 04 Monday
Tripod—a regular tripod is impractical because the pace of tours doesn’t allow setup time and it would make no sense on a moving ship. The small Jobo tripod was good. Wish I’d carried it all the time for random opportunities when it could be used, like in cathedrals. As is, I never once used it and put the camera on some interior railings.
Memory cards—as mentioned earlier, deleted dupes and duds several times each day. But, I had forgotten about the photos already on the first card, and so lost some capacity. Altogether, the first D7100 card held 2.7M large, high quality Jpegs.
Fast photography—rapid composition and settings are a necessity on a tour like this on a moving ship or tour bus most often. In between, were in a group walking around.
Settings on bus—ISO 800, f4 with 35mm, 1.8 lens, and 1/1000 when possible; used 35mm lens, equivalent to 50mm on D7100.
Rubber lens hood—I later read—to eliminate flare in bus shots. Put against glass, but flexible rubber minimizes vibrations and allows good light seal. Now I have rubber lens hoods on both this 35mm lens and a 50mm one I’d left at home.
Polarizing filter—use also, at least try, to minimize glare, though loss of 2 stops might cause shutter speed to be too slow.
Need to do—on camera, check using M instead of AFS to have manually at infinity.
Camera motion factors
Moving vehicle—bus or ship. My motion—sometimes I shot while walking, crazy I know. Also, I am personally not as steady as I used to be!
Subjects moving—walking, vehicles in motion. All of these at the same time.
Keeping camera straight and level
Have grid on to see in viewfinder all the time. Sometimes the photos are tilted undesirably.
To do—learn how to program the Fn button on front of camera to activate the tilt scale. That’ll be more useful for fast photography than a more sophisticated grid or using Live View on the camera back. The latter requires holding the camera out, instead of steadier against one’s eye.
Camera bag and camera security
Sprayed bag with waterproofing before trip. Sometimes in the rain, I carried the camera on a neck strap and under my waterproof jacket.
For security, used cheap metal dog leash to loop around my belt and a loop on the back of the camera bag and then the end connected to the camera neck strap. I used a strong metal key ring and a thumb-operated leash lock to the camera strap.
Always had camera bag strap across my shoulders, neck to armpit, and mainly in front of me to avoid a rear attack. I also used my camera neck strap all the time.
More waterproofing—check into wipes for lens and a cover for lens and camera.
If I had it to do again . . .
Memory. I’d have brought maybe 10 64GB SD cards, maybe more, so I could shoot in RAW. Look into separate devices for backing up photos. I keep dancing close to bringing a laptop, but that’s just more weight to lug around and I’m not a pro.
Image quality. I keep going back and forth, use the lighter lenses and DX 7100 camera? Or use a similar but full size D 610 FX body to capture more data and use my heavier & higher quality lenses? On the other hand, these are just vacation photos and I got tired of carrying what I had occasionally! I did this before I went, too, and decided in favor of lighter weight vs slightly better image quality.
Technique. I simply didn’t think through the implications of trying to take photos while so much on the move—aboard a ship, in a bus, or on a walking tour. An article about this kind of shooting would have been very helpful.
On the other hand . . . before going I kept considering a small, fixed lens camera with a larger than normal sensor. A Fuji with a full size sensor and 35mm lens was intriguing. The Sony RX100 IV, with a 28-70 f2.8 lens, and viewfinder had me thinking, too. In the end, I dropped this to save $1000-1200 and use the very good, but bigger and heavier DX D7100 with my non-pro, lighter lenses--gear already in hand. Periodically, I remember that the image is the object of my photography and to back off my gearhead tendencies. But, but, but, given what I know now, I could have brought big, heavy lenses to use aboard ship or bus for a week and taken lighter stuff on walking tours. All of which means, there are varied choices and tradeoffs and the answer once again begins with “it all depends!”
Nov 8, 2021 20:33:45 #
Nov 8, 2021 20:48:39 #
Nov 8, 2021 21:18:17 #
keith k wrote:
Wow...~! Thanks for the time and detail. I will read and reread this many times.
Keith
Keith
Keith, I was frustrated because I couldn’t find info like this online before we went in 2015. What I sent is a handout for a talk to a local photo club.
I was concerned about weight a lot because I’d had open heart surgery the previous October!
When we went to Netherlands only for a week in 2018, I was satisfied with only a D610 and 24-70 2.8 (non VR) lens. By the way, my wife’s 70th birthday present was a full day at Keukenhof Gardens, a stunning place we saw on a side trip (extra cost) Viking offered from Amsterdam. We spent a week between Haarlem and Amsterdam
If I were on a similar cruise now, I’d bring my D810 with 24-70 and 70-200 f 2.8 Probably wouldn’t lug the 70-200 around on tours. But I’d be very tempted to think a lot about a 28-300!
It turns out, that maybe 10 people have wanted to see my about 500 edited pictures. I made 4x6 prints in an album; view the maybe once a year on a 65” TV; and mainly see them on my iPad to relive the trip and discover details I’d missed.
If you want, I’ll send you a thumb drive with ship handouts, info on windmills and cathedrals, and pictures so you can see what I saw. Just PM me with your address & email.
After the trip, I wanted to know more about the Netherlands, the Rhine, and European history in general. So that led to more books. Even now, I’ll search You Tube for Rhine River, RR aerials, RR castles, RR cruises, Cologne cathedral, etc.
Sounds crazy, I know, but I took more than 5000 shots. Most were of those were on bus trips when I had the camera shooting as fast as possible. That’s because I discovered I was too slow between seeing a subject, framing, and shooting. So I just mashed the button when something interesting appeared.
I was also the nut up before dawn a few times on the top deck. I was spellbound by the sights! Other people were better behaved or cool compared to me. Of course, a half dozen or so asked if I’d share my photos! I was happy to.
I was on the top a lot. Frankly, the sights were of more interest to me than new acquaintances. However, my wife and I did enjoy conversations with others on the deck, over meals, and while touring.
Your 18-140 would cover 90% of my keepers. I liked the upper range of my 18-200 especially when we went through the castle area. But with cropping, you can accomplish much the same if desired.
Nov 8, 2021 22:20:37 #
River cruises are, by far, our favorite way to travel. I'd just add to what others have said that you should be aware that the main portions of the trip will include the boat traveling while you sleep. You'll wake up in another fantastic place and you'll spend most of your time ashore. The 18-140mm will be good for those days.
There will be a couple of days when you will cruise during the day which is when you may want longer reach than a 140mm. A 1.4x or 2x teleconverter would be a good addition to your bag.
There will be a couple of days when you will cruise during the day which is when you may want longer reach than a 140mm. A 1.4x or 2x teleconverter would be a good addition to your bag.
Nov 8, 2021 22:55:55 #
I’ve been on four Viking river cruises, and before #3 I decided that carrying my Nikon D800E and five lenses was way too much work. So I bought a Sony A6000 and a Zeiss 16-70 lens and I’m delighted with the results. Both my back and my photography have improved. Right now I’m in Santa Fe, NM, and my Sony is the camera I brought along. The only responder I would disagree with is the one who said don’t bother with a tripod. I bought a lightweight tripod that handles the A6000 fine and allows me to take night shots of European cities without worrying about shake or blurring. Enjoy your trip.
Nov 10, 2021 08:21:15 #
Since you have 2 lenses, I would take both. I took a Viking Danube Waltz cruise from Passau to Budapest in 2019. Arriving Budapest at night, I had to use a 20mm 1.8 lens on my Z6 with adapter to capture the night scene. I also used my D500 with 70-200 2.8 lens along the river. Attached is sample with a 20mm lens. You might need your 35mm for inside darkened cathedral photos. I brought my tripod and used it frequently at night.
At the same time, I would love to hear from other members who had taken a cruise from St Petersburg to Moscow and which lenses that were used most. I have decided on a Z6 with Z 24-70, 14-30, 20, and 70-300. I might drop the 14-30 to lighten the load. Thank you in advance. Albert
At the same time, I would love to hear from other members who had taken a cruise from St Petersburg to Moscow and which lenses that were used most. I have decided on a Z6 with Z 24-70, 14-30, 20, and 70-300. I might drop the 14-30 to lighten the load. Thank you in advance. Albert
Nov 10, 2021 08:56:11 #
ALam wrote:
At the same time, I would love to hear from other members who had taken a cruise from St Petersburg to Moscow and which lenses that were used most. I have decided on a Z6 with Z 24-70, 14-30, 20, and 70-300. I might drop the 14-30 to lighten the load. Thank you in advance. Albert
My wife and I took the Viking Moscow to St Petersburg in 2018. I took along a Sony a6000 w/18-104 f4 lens and a Canon SX60 bridge camera. Also had a Sony 55-200mm but it never left the cabin. The vast majority of my shots were with the Sony. No tripod or monopod, and no camera bag per se, just a XS Timbuk2 messenger bag with padded insert. Most shots were in the 40-60mm range.
Nov 10, 2021 09:32:13 #
47greyfox wrote:
My wife and I took the Viking Moscow to St Petersburg in 2018. I took along a Sony a6000 w/18-104 f4 lens and a Canon SX60 bridge camera. The vast majority of my shots were with the Sony. No tripod or monopod, and no camera bag per se, just a XS Timbuk2 messenger bag with padded insert. Most shots were in the 40-60mm range.
Thank you for your tip from your Russia Cruise. I did not carry my tripod during the excursion but used tripod when I was out on my own at night. Might I ask for your suggestion for the optional excursions that I should not miss during this cruise?
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