I use a harness rather than a neck strap. I find the neck strap gets heavy and my neck starts hurting after a short time of using it. I have worn the harness for hours at a time with no pain. I like the idea of the wire and always be aware of your surroundings. Even though a harness maintains the camera in front of the body, the quick releases can be easily used to steal your camera, with any system.

We did the Antelope canyon tour in October. It was a good tour, but very crowded. I didn't take the photographers tour because my wife didn't have a camera and they don't allow anyone but those with cameras on that tour. The regular tour doesn't allow tripods for good reason, too many people in too tight an area. I would have liked to take the four canyon tour to avoid the crowds, but there was too much climbing and tight spaces for tired old legs. Antelope canyon is spectacular and you will enjoy it. By the way, if you want the sun pillar effect, it is only available for a few weeks earlier in the year. The advice on dust is very accurate, many of the guides were wearing neckerchiefs over their noses to protect their lungs.

We took a similar trip a couple of years ago. The only time a tripod would be of value was on a land portion of the trip. I took one with a professional to help me learn and used his tripod for one picture. Otherwise it was not useful. I have a bridge camera with a 50x zoom. I really liked it for shooting wildlife, especially on the bus tour of Denali. I was able to get some close up shots of a grizzly that would need major cropping to achieve the same effect with a shorter zoom. I found the train to be a poor opportunity for photos, just enjoy the ride. It does stop once or twice, but they were still not great photo ops. I also hired a private guide in Skagway and she gave us some great photo ops. A tripod might have been handy there, but I didn't miss it. On the ship I was on the starboard side and it was perfect for getting some good glacier shots. I was also able to get one good video of calving. This was again done with the zoom because the ship couldn't get very close to the glacier. If you have warm weather there will be more calving. Mt Denali is frequently shrouded in clouds, we took a small plane trip to ensure a better view of the mountain. If we hadn't done that, we would have missed some good shots. Have a great trip, it is one we would like to repeat.

I shoot a Fujifilm Finepix S1 which is not a heavy camera. I have found that wearing any camera strap for any length of time to cause neck and back aches. I bought a harness system (TrueSHOT DSLR Camera Harness Strap System) from Amazon for $18. No more aching neck no matter how long I wear it.

I agree with the comment on weather. If they are around Ketchikan, the likelihood of rain is very high. I took a Fujifilm Finepix that is weather resistant and was very grateful for that. It has a decent zoom and will shoot raw as well as bracket exposures. Would I like a more expensive DSLR, absolutely, but am I satisfied for now? yes.

I purchased a Fujifilm Finepix S1 three years ago for a trip to Alaska. I wanted a zoom that would capture the wildlife. I was originally looking at Canon, Nikon and Sony. The feature that sold me was the weather resistance of the Fujifilm. I haven't been sorry. The panorama feature works well, but it is shot in movie mode and so does not have the quality of shooting several shots and stitching them. It also will not shoot a time exposure longer than 30 seconds. If you want star trails they are out of the question. I have taken some nice night shots, just no star trails. I would love to have a higher quality SLR, but the convenience of not having to carry multiple lenses as well as the expense of purchasing lenses that cost more than the body have made this a quality purchase for my limited budget.

My regret is that we didn't spend enough time there. I didn't realize we needed two days to see it well, I only scheduled 1/2 day. I am not familiar with the Adams photo of that area. We did see several ruins.

I love Bryce, we were there in October. We drove through Zion a day later and were very disappointed, not in the beauty, but in the crowds. We weren't prepared for the crowds or the shuttles. A few days later we went to Canyon DeChelly. For my money it is as beautiful as Zion, but without the crowds. It is managed by the National Park Service and the Navajo Tribe. I realize this is in Arizona, not Utah but thought I would provide an alternative in the same area.

There are great photo ops all around and in the park. To really go into the park you will have to take a park service bus tour. There is only one road into the park and it is closed a few miles inside the park to outside traffic without a special permit. There are two bus tours, one that goes about 2/3 the distance of the other one. The longer drive can include a night in the park. We took the shorter tour and had a great time. The wildlife is outstanding including many caribou, a grizzly, moose and other smaller animals. We went in August and the mountain is usually shrouded in clouds, as it was the day we went. We also took a plane ride around the mountain which was spectacular and gave us a very unique view. There is also a Denali State park which gives different angles of the mountain. I believe the view of the mountain reflected in a lake is from the state park. Enjoy the trip, it is wonderful.

I have a Fujifilm Finepix S1. I bought it about 2 years ago for a trip to Alaska. I was looking for the long zoom without the extra weight. I considered Canon and Nikon, but bought the Fujifilm for its water resistance, knowing there is a lot of rain in Alaska and we were going on one raft trip. I love its 50x zoom and was able to capture a grizzly as if it were in my back yard. I also have a Nikon coolpix with a 10x lense as my backup camera and like it really well. At that time, all the bridge cameras were about $500. I still find the camera to be a little heavy around the neck after carrying it for an extended period of time. That has been corrected with a halter instead of a neck strap. I also like the versatility of a view finder as well as a flip out screen. Without the viewfinder it is almost impossible to get a good picture in bright sunlight.