imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

IF you want to truly enjoy the cruise, an RX10m4 is the ultimate answer....otherwise, I like the idea of leaving the 150-600 at home.
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btbg

The longest lens I ha e used in Alaska is the Nikon 400 f1.8 with the built in 1.4 converter and a 2x converter. That makes it 1120 f8. Would have used bigger if I had it.

With that said most of the time 400 or 600 os probably enough. It also depends on what you normally shoot and what type of shore excursions you intend to tale. If it is calm weather and you are out on a small boat trying to takw sea otter photos then bigger is better. On the other hand if you are whale watching you might get pretty close and not need a big lens

If you plan on doing things like goimg to totem parks or wildlife rehab places you won't need a big lens at all.

It also may depend on what ports of call you are goimg to and your shooting style. If you want to try to capture the grand landscape you might stay wide angle. If you want to isolate small features yiu see then bigger is better.

So anyway when we went to Sitka in October for a week I took a 12-24 a 24-70 a 70-200 the 400 and 2x converter along with a Z9 and a D850. I used all of it but I know most people will tell you to travel light.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

I am a photography tour guide in Juneau, Alaska. I work the cruise ships. If you are taking a cruise, most likely you will be stopping in Juneau. We are the number one Alaska stop for cruise ships. Here's what I know from twenty years of doing this.
Don't bring a tripod on a cruise. It is a waste of space and I would be surprised if you used it even once. Cruise ships move and roll and vibrate so they are not a good platform for a tripod. If you take some sort of land tour, and most people do, you will be starting and ending on a bus.This is no place for a tripod either. If you book a tour that is a just a drive, (really aren't any of those in Juneau) or a hike or a whale watch, you will not need nor have time for a tripod. Leave it home. If you need to stabilize your camera there is always some way to to do it.
Next: 600mm is too much. There is no tour that is going to give you much time for bird watching and 600mm is too long for whales, Again, the boats move and if the whales are that far away you will have atmospheric things between your lens and the action.
Very popular around here are zooms up to 400mm. Beyond that doesn't improve things much. On my tours, over geared guests are often over burdened guests and spend more time fiddling with their stuff than "seeing" great opportunities. I think the 300+1.4 converter sounds like a good option.
If you take a bus drive in the interior and need 600mm to see a bear on the slope of a distant hill, enjoy the fact that you saw it but don't expect a super dramatic shot. For that you need time (maybe years) and usually a guide. If you ever drive your car up the Alcan, bring everything and expect to stop often. Cruises are just not set up for this.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

I agree with most of this. If you were in Sitka for a week, you weren't on a cruise, and that makes all the difference. If you give yourself time to take pictures, bring all the gear you think you might want to have. Isn't Sitka great. So mellow compared to Juneau.

btbg

YesvIblikebSitka. Youbare right we wern't on a cruise but i have found I often use big lenses on cruises as well. Don't necessairly take them off the ship, but if nothing else they are great for birds in flight.

Also I did hitch a ride on a tour my son-in-law was giving on his boat for cruise passengers and I was glad I had a big lense. Got photos of sea otters, Sitka deer, bear, cormorants and swveral species of ducks that I never could have shot without a big lens.

My recemdation when you leave ship is pack ligjt and specific to what you are doing, but it never hurts to have plenty of gear on the cruise ship.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I hope that when I take a trip like that, I'll have a Lumix G9 II and a 100-400mm f/4.5 to f/6.3 lens with 1.4x teleconverter. That would give me the reach of a 140 to 560mm zoom on Micro 4/3, which equates to 280 to 1120mm on full frame! It's small, light, and both lens and body are stabilized with Lumix' Dual IS II (IBIS plus in-lens OIS). Of course, I'd also pack my 12-35 and 35-100 f/2.8 zooms, which are like 24-70 and 70-200 zooms on full frame. Net coverage: 24mm to 1120mm in full frame terms.

I love traveling with less than half the kit weight of full frame.

b top gun

I have been taking two Nikons on road trips since 2014; I like having a back up. Lately, as suggested by another person who replied, I like having two cameras with different lenses ready at all times, grab whatever is better for the application; forget about swapping out lenses on location. Never took the 24-70 off the D850; I did swap out lenses on the Z8, did that the night before when necessary. I had my cell phone fully charged every day and it came in very handy. IF I ever go back for wildlife only, then I would have a different set up specific to the application.

Seabastes

I believe you possibly are way over equipping yourself for a trip of this type. A wide angle to medium zoom on one body Like a 24-70 a 70-300 on the other body and your longest lens in a carry soft case should cover. No tripod or hard case. A pocket size P&S if you have one for when not carrying your other gear should meet all of your photo needs. That really long lens could give you some wildlife images that you would not get otherwise. Remember that you will be in a group situation which will mean other people can be photographing around you.

CamB's comments are excellent as well as others.

I say this as a photographer who has been to Alaska 50 times since 1964.

Have a wonderful adventure.

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

Thanks for asking. As I sad earlier I am all so going in May and got some good advice. I will take what I said on page 1.
PS I am taking my R 5 which is 40MP so I can crop.

sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey

Take the longest lens you have. I had a 75-300 mm lens for my Olympus EM-5 which becomes 150-600mm and could have used a longer lens. Also bring a monopod ,rain and cleaning gear.

Canisdirus

If the trip is really important to get the best images...rent a lens.

francosp Loc: Arizona

I have been in Alaska many times to take picture of Grizzly bears and eagles, but also enjoyed taking photo of landscape. If you travel to take pictures of animals take the 200-500 lens and the 1.4 extender, even if I do not think you will use it much. The 200-500mm telephoto lens without the extender will allow you to adjust your shot framing depending the distance of the subject and it will deliver sharp images you can enlarge. For the landscape I suggest you a small zoom 24-70mm or a prime 24mm or 35mm lens attached to another camera. So, you will not have to switch lens on your Z8. Since you like to travel light, may I suggest you to use your phone camera to take photo of landscape? Any good cell phone has not less than 16 MB and it is enough for landscape photos you will keep for your memory and not to be submitted to any photo contest.

robertkjr3d Loc: Ann Arbor, MI

In Alaska... it seems your often going to want to take a lot of wide-angle shots at 15mm to 18mm (some of my best shots are in that range of breath-taking landscapes) but yes what I didn't have the last time, but wished I had was a lens that had greater reach in the 400 to 800 range (to get close to whales or birds)

Edit: Our whole trip we had never spotted a bear. But in post-processing, we had noticed on the edge of one of our photos a 'bear' in the bottom of one of my wide-angle shots. haha. I guess it could've been bigfoot too, since the detail is so small at that much digital cropping.

V2volk Loc: St. Louis area

I have been several times, suggest the 200-500 on your cropped D500 should be sufficient. You did not say what you are doing for excursions but based on experience, you will need a fast shutter speed on smaller whale watching boats and keep in mind it could be cloudy and that is why I didn’t mention the 1.4 tele which will reduce the speed you might need. I will tell you up front that May isn’t the best month for whales because they are just making their way up there. Yes there are Seals, Eagles, some Bears and things like that. Now if you are going into the Interior of Alaska that opens up more possibilities. You will definitely need a nice walk around lens besides that zoom so be thinking of that.
FYI, forget a tripod (unless going to Denali or something) and really even a mono on small excursion boats isn’t needed. You just need a fast shutter and be able to carry camera and lens with a nice shoulder strap. I use a Rapid Sport.

I would suggest taking a nice pair of binoculars, probably the best thing to have on hand to spot things with, then pictures if appropriate. I have seen things clearly with great binoculars.

Have fun.

robertkjr3d Loc: Ann Arbor, MI

I'm sorry, I could have even used a tripod on the boat. He did say he was taking a 'Cruise'. If you don't already have a balcony, part of the fun of being a photographer on an Alaskan Cruise is to set your 'Tripod' out on the 'Walking' deck and hunt for whales. Which are really easy to find... And with a long lens, set with some quick-exposure times... you can capture their jumps... Yes would be good to have the tripod sitting on the deck. The same when they pull over to places like 'The Hubbard Glacier' and the boat does donuts in front of it.