I should have said I bring my laptop on cruises.

Hello. It depends how I'm traveling. If it's by car I'll use a laptop and a 1 TB external hard drive. If it's a cruise I'll bring two 1 TB external hard drive. I'll put the external drives in seperate pieces of luggage. I wait till I'm home to format my cards. This way I'll have three or four copies till I get them home safely.
Hope this helps.

Hello.
Check out Mike Moats. He has always used Tamron lenses on a a budget Nikon body. You can also look for Tiny Landscapes, that is his web sight.

Hello. So when I'm using the articulating screen I'm usually using a tripod or I'm putting the camera on the ground. The articulating screen comes in very handy when your trying for a different perspective, or trying to take a long exposure. I still use the view finder for many different kinds of photography.

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Hello. If your brother has Canon then I would suggest going with Canon. If your brother has a lens you want to try or borrow can be important down the road.
I shoot Canon, currently the 70d, I can't emphasize enough how amazing an articulating screen is to me.
Equally important is how the cameras feels in your hands. What features are important to you. I wouldn't get caught up in the pixel count.
What ever you decide, enjoy your new camera.

Hello. If you go to his blog and look at his gear list, a 70d is on it. I haven't seen any post from Scott Kelby about using the 70d.

Hello. I have the the 70d, and my favorite part of the 70d is the articulating screen. I was on a photo shoot with a pro photographer who was a Nikon shooter. He was very helpful to me in taking photos. But couldn't help with gear. I know he was behind me for a shot when I put my camera on the ground swiveled the screen so I could see it with out laying on the ground. His comment about a Canon might be in his future was said to another Nikon shooter. The other Nikon shooter said he couldn't see the need for the articulating screen until that moment. He had just bought his Nikon. So I'll say it again, I Love The Articulating Screen !
I hope you find this helpful.

Hello. The most important is have fun and relax. I don't know how fast the sx50 for auto focus on children. Most of my experience is that point and shoots are usually slower then a dslr. If the grand kids are young that might be an issue. I would definently take the 24-70. I would also take the Tamron 18-270 as my walk about lens when on or off ship. I've been on 2 cruises and used my Tamron when a lot I was on excursions. I found that lugging a heavy bag of gear on excursions was more awkward and cumbersome getting in and out of the transports that were used. Most excursions moved really fast so I didn't get a chance to stop and think about what lens to use. I just tried to find a compostion that worked best. My next cruise I will take my Tamron 18-270, Sigma 24-70 2.8 and Canon 100mm macro. I use a Canon 70d. I always carry a point and shoot, but I give that to the wife to use or not. I hope this is helpful

[quote=BboH]Several things I think you might consider
1 - close focus distance - how close t=do you want to get to the object? Yes, extension tubes are available - but in the field they may not be convenient
2 - how far away from the object to

Hello.
How is it not convenient to work with extension tubes in the field ?

Hello. What kind of macro work are you trying to do? I mostly do flowers. What I found is the longer the lens the easier it is to get separation of the subject and background. I use a Canon 60d (crop sensor), 100mm Canon macro lens and a Tamron 180 mm. I use my 50mm with an extension tube. I will also use extension tubes on other lenses when I'm trying to pack light. Canon makes a close up lens filter (500d). I have and use this filter, I have found it is a light weight alternative to carrying an extra lens. This filter is expensive but delivers good picture quality. I learned about the 500d filter from Bryan Peterson (a Nikon shooter). I will also add that when I took a flower photo work shop with Allan Rokach, he strongly recommended a macro lens in the 100 mm range.
I hope this is a help.
Bill