Alaska cruise
Jul 29, 2022 05:53:08 #
Jul 29, 2022 05:53:49 #
Retired CPO wrote:
Take a big telephoto/zoom. 300mm won't be enough. I carried a 200~500mm everywhere I went. And often wished for more.
Thanks
Jul 29, 2022 09:03:04 #
Jul 29, 2022 09:20:37 #
Jul 29, 2022 09:49:07 #
As always, it depends on what you plan to do. I shoot Canon so probably 75-80% of what I shoot is with my 24-105. On our last Alaska trip I took a 70-300L and a Sigma 150-600 as well. I used the Sigma for whale and bear watching, the 70-300 if I was looking for a more intermediate range. My experience has been that you can never have too much range if you intend to shoot wildlife. The Sigma was a bit uncomfortable to hold for several hours on the deck of a moving boat, but I'm always willing to put up with a little discomfort to get the shots I want. I agree you should take the longest lens you have, although if we go again I'm not sure I wouldn't just take the 70-300 and a 2X teleconverter. I always tend to overpack as I don't want to come back from a once in a lifetime trip thinking i wish I had taken........ I also never travel with a tripod so I hand hold everything which can be an issue sometimes, but each time I learn something new to make the next trip a little better. (It also gives me an excuse to go back) The whale picture was taken with the Sigma, the glacier with the 70-300.
Jul 29, 2022 09:51:29 #
Jul 29, 2022 10:17:35 #
One of the factors will be the size of the shop you are cruising on. The larger cruise ships can't get too close to shore. When I've cruised in Alaska it has been on Uncruise, whose ships are tiny in comparison (under 100 passengers). We got much closer to shore, and into smaller areas. Even so, my 18-200 lens was nowhere long enough from the ship, though it was great for when we were on skiffs. I also had an Olympus Tough 6, which is waterproof and did well for kayaking.
Jul 29, 2022 11:18:59 #
Jim Bianco wrote:
What lenses or lens should I take, I have a nikon 70-300 Afs Vr., a 60mm 2.8 macro, a nikon 20mm af 2.8, a nikon 24-85 afs, a135mm 3.5 nikon and a 28 2.8 promaster manual lens. What do you guys think. Thanks Jim Bianco
I have taken cruises where I ONLY took the Nikon 24-85. It did a great job and I was not swapping lenses all the time needlessly. If you want a second lens then I would take the 70-300.
Dennis
Jul 29, 2022 12:32:16 #
PaulB wrote:
The 70-300 and the 24-85 should cover your needs! Any thing else would be overkill and just more to pack, carry and keep up with! Enjoy the cruise.
Jul 29, 2022 13:08:05 #
bsprague wrote:
"and wished a hundred times I had packed a su... (show quote)
Yup, we've 'done' Alaska twice. 1st with a Sony RX10 III and the 2nd time with a RX10 IV. The cameras' 24-600mm (eq.) zoom covers all you'll need!
bwa
Jul 29, 2022 14:02:57 #
PaulB wrote:
The 70-300 and the 24-85 should cover your needs! Any thing else would be overkill and just more to pack, carry and keep up with! Enjoy the cruise.
Jul 29, 2022 14:19:50 #
Jul 29, 2022 14:20:52 #
Jul 29, 2022 14:35:25 #
wcmoorejr
Loc: Birmingham Alabama
Jim Bianco wrote:
What lenses or lens should I take, I have a nikon 70-300 Afs Vr., a 60mm 2.8 macro, a nikon 20mm af 2.8, a nikon 24-85 afs, a135mm 3.5 nikon and a 28 2.8 promaster manual lens. What do you guys think. Thanks Jim Bianco
Jim,
I just returned from Alaska on the same cruisetour except going from denali and ending up in Vancouver. I brought a tameron 16-300. It was great as an all around lens but when I was whale watching, I wished i had the 100-400 We also saw bears from the ship on the beach but I was too far away to get anything usable.
Regards,
Willie
Jul 29, 2022 14:49:05 #
Jim Bianco wrote:
What lenses or lens should I take, I have a nikon 70-300 Afs Vr., a 60mm 2.8 macro, a nikon 20mm af 2.8, a nikon 24-85 afs, a135mm 3.5 nikon and a 28 2.8 promaster manual lens. What do you guys think. Thanks Jim Bianco
I was on an 11 day cruise of the inland waterway of Alaska at the end of May. I had my choice of a Nikon D500 with lenses ranging from 35mm to 600mm. I have a travel tripod, a carbon fiber tripod, a heavy duty monopod and a cheap monopod. I also have a Sony RX10m4. I chose to take the Sony and the cheap monopod. The Sony has a good lens, zooms out to 600mm and allowed me to easily change shutter speeds up to at least 10 frames per second
which I did for shooting whales and eagles and is easy to setup and shoot in a crowds. It is light weight and water resistant. I used the monopod mainly as a walking stick. The Sony setup was much lighter and easier to transport while on the cruise and also on the plane traveling back and forth. I am very satisfied with the resulting pictures.
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