Paul J. Svetlik Loc: Colorado

One full frame DSLR for landscapes and one bridge camera with a superzoom.

Paul Buckhiester Loc: Columbus, GA USA

Forgot to mention wrist straps!

gypsy02 Loc: Indiana

We took a similar trip 2 years ago and I purchased the Sony RX10 III just for the trip. It is a fantastic camera and perfect for all parts of the trip. I came home with wonderful shots of everything. Wildlife, eagles, whales, landscapes, plane rides, dog sledding, the cruise. Still love, love, love that camera! (maybe the Sony RX10 IV is a little better now?) I'm ready to take that trip again. :)

rdrechsler Loc: Channel Islands Harbor, CA

I’m a big believer in “bridge” cameras for traveling. I went all through the Alaskan panhandle on a sailboat with a Canon SX 20 and got excellent results. I recently upgraded that to a SX 60 HS and love the results (many posted in this forum).

The Nikon P900 is an excellent choice as well and the extra zoom will come in handy in Alaska. I use a Nikon D7200 for my “artistic” work, but I doubt I’d drag it along with assorted lenses, etc, to Alaska.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Sorry, but I consider those to be pretty poor choices!

First, it depends on the camera... is it full frame or APS-C model? Different lenses are needed depending upon the sensor format. For example, on a DX camera a 28-300mm would be far from "perfect". In fact, on DX it wouldn't be wide at all! For wildlife, I'd also prefer to not use a teleconverter, if at all possible. Especially for a once-in-a-lifetime trip and photos opportunities, if I didn't want to invest in it at a minimum I'd consider renting a longer lens (though fairly powerful teles are now quite affordable). Besides, what's the purpose of a 70-200mm if one is already carrying around a 28-300?

With full frame/FX, I'd take:

20mm and 24-70mm for landscapes and similar wide vistas... a 16-35mm or 17-35mm would be a good alternative.
70-200mm or 135mm for portraiture and other short tele purposes.
100-400mm or longer for wildlife. Nikon's 200-500mm seems a very good lens for the money.

APS-C/DX camera, I'd take:

10-22mm for landscape and similar wide vistas... 10-20mm, 11-20mm, 10-24mm, 12-24mm are all very similar alternatives.
24-70mm or 85mm for portraiture.
100-400mm or longer for wildlife.

Depending upon how close focusing some of the other lenses are, a macro lens between 60mm (DX) and 90, 100, 105mm (FX) might be helpful for both portraiture and close-up shots.

azi Loc: Columbia, Marylamd

Did the cruise and land trip a few years back. Used a nikon 18-300 f3.5 almost exclusively. I found that some of the wildlife appears suddenly so you want a set up you can focus and shoot quickly. I normally shoot in manual but for the wildlife a used aperture priority -- one less thing to worry about. Attached is a photo of a grizzly in Denali taken with the 18-300 at full extension. I don't think I could have managed a longer lens shooting out the window of the moving, albeit slowly, of the Denali tour bus. BTW you'll love the trip

Paul J. Svetlik Loc: Colorado

With a bridge camera and a superzoom your pictures will be better than the samples here.

rdrechsler Loc: Channel Islands Harbor, CA

Some Canon SX 20 results from Alaska...

Things happen really fast in Alaska. You'll want your camera with you and ready to shoot on a second's notice. As I said, the new Canon SX60HS is my choice (I like the shutter button zoom lever), but the Nikon P900 would be great as well. Unless you plan to pose all your shots, you won't have time to choose just the right lens, etc. I was on a sailboat, so the bridge camera was ideal. I never set sail without the camera right next to me at the helm.

Bergie Bit in Tracy Arm

(Download)

Icebergs are blue

(Download)

Eagle on Ice

(Download)

Eagle Landing

(Download)

Marjorie Glacier

(Download)

df61743 Loc: Corpus Christi, TX

Good advice. SX60HS is a terrific travel camera.

Dick

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

Get yourself a newer camera and take a 28-300 (or 18-300 if you shoot DX) and a wide lens. You will be on buses, maybe the train from to Denali to catch your ship, and then the ship. Tours in the Southeast Alaska towns are going to have you on buses and vans and smaller boats. You want to be well covered with range, both wide and far, but won't really have time to fiddle with lots of gear. If you do a Photo Safari Tour in Juneau I may be your guide. Often the people on my tours who take the least shots are those with too much gear. Practice so that you can work your new camera quickly without much fuss and have a great time. If you see a tour guide on the docks with a NIKON around his neck, come over and say hi. We work with all the ships on all the docks.
..Cam

Properframe Loc: US Virginia

Alaska is shockingly vast in size. You will see a tiny fraction of it. Your land tour likely includes the train on either side of the Denali stop. Most of the shots will be of landscapes. 24-70 is most useful. Around June 21 you get tremendous length of day and will have a lot of low light opportunities. Know how to shoot it beforehand. Must use manual mode. Midnight is civil twilight. Though it is unspoiled and natural the shots you get within Denali of wildlife will likely be long distance. I had a crop sensor camera and 300mm reach when I did the bus trip through Denali years ago and the shots are okay but not superb. Thinking back it seemed that 50-75 yards was the usual depth from the roadway for the grizzlies, coyotes, elk. The landscape shots with the 24-70 are show stoppers. Glacier Bay is top notch. The other small towns are great for culture. The White Pass and Yukon rail trip is a good excursion but I like trains. Eagles everywhere so be ready. They will fly right overhead with a fish even while you are just standing in line somewhere. Get in a whale watch outing - maybe Juneau. I always like to freelance the tours and not rely on the ship excursions. Do your homework before hand and you can get a local guide to do a private much better tour for the same cost as the ship cattle call. And the guide gets the full amount. Be ready to shoot some video. The glaciers will calve ice blocks. Though I have continuous still frames of the event video does it more justice. I would make sure to have a point and shoot camera also as you will be on social travel and not a hardcore photo tour. It is a vacation so have fun first and foremost of course and just be ready when the opportunities come. If you get to Talkeetna take the Summit Flight OVER Denali. Over $300 and worth every penny.

df61743 Loc: Corpus Christi, TX

I know this is off topic, but I couldn't resist. I was in Alaska a short while back and came across a T-shirt with a picture similar to this. It had an arrow pointing to Texas and a caption that said "This is our baby sister... Ain't she cute". Alas, I couldn't find one my size.

Back on topic. A Canon SX60 would be a terrific "point and shoot." With a 65X optical zoom the 35mm equivalent is 21mm wide angle to 1365mm telephoto.

Dick

James Van Ells

If you are on a cruise pick your excursions wisely. The best in Denali is the long bus ride and a 100-400 with a 1.4x will work just fine; if and this is a big if, you are sitting by the window. The windows do go half way down, true. But on some buses they go half-way up as well. You will be hand holding your shots from the bus unless the engine is off so expect shutter speeds of 1/500 minimum.

James Van Ells

If you are on a cruise pick your excursions wisely. The best in Denali is the long bus ride and a 100-400 with a 1.4x will work just fine; if and this is a big if, you are sitting by the window. The windows do go half way down, true. But on some buses they go half-way up as well. You will be hand holding your shots from the bus unless the engine is off so expect shutter speeds of 1/500 minimum.

Mistophocles

Hi. My name is Robert Young. My wife and I will be on the Radiance of the Seas leaving Seward on May 25th. I'm getting the FZ1000. Are you leading one of the excursions that Royal Caribbean has set up? I believe we will be in Juneau on the 27th or 28th.