AL3XCruise

I was curious on opinions regarding this lens.  My focus has been mainly on wildlife, and because of this my recent lens purchases have all been 100mm or more.  I have a Canon 28-135 kit lens, but was curious if the relatively inexpensive Cannon EF 50 STM would give me better performance.  I'm not opposed to borrowing or renting lenses when needed, and I ultimately want to invest in one or more lenses optimized for landscape and architecture, but I'm thinking the 50 would be a cheap way to have more options when unexpected opportunities arrive or I take smaller trips I don't want to spend money (or call in favors) on lenses for.  I just wanted to mention that background as I know renting a higher end lens is the answer for the best photos at the lowest cost.

So, the short version: given I have a fairly slow kit 28-135, would it be a worthwhile investment to get a 50 f/1.8?  It is faster wide open, but would I see improved quality overall?

I read this title and I can't help but think about Jerry and George making a pitch to NCL for a new itinerary. 

3 hours ago, chipmaster said:

Walkie Talkies still around, better off IMHO to get a new phone, then a very expensive walkie talkie that will annoy everyone, versus a new shiney smartphone that does everything, this is pennywise and pound foolish, or as another said, talk to people, use sticky notes to put updates on ones cabin door

Not to mention a used Android or Apple device (or even an older model new one) can be picked up for not much more than a good set of walkie talkies.  It doesn't even need to replace the existing phone if the OP is happy with it; just use the new device like a little tablet, hook it to wifi, and have access to texting and other cruise app things.  Much more versatile than any kind of handheld radio and more reliable.

How have folks found their phones doing in low light situations that would otherwise be well suited for a phone?  I ask because the sensors on phones are physically a fraction the size of an APS-C or full frame sensor.  Even if they have the same overall resolution, I would think this could present an issue in low light.  I'm sure the high end phones use high end hardware and advanced software to counter this, but how effective is it?

I loved my experience in an aft balcony on the Breakaway.  I don't recall enough about what deck has what to answer your question though.  I'd suggest posting this on the Norwegian section of the board; some folks there know exactly what decks and cabins have the best balconies.

Have fun!

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/64-norwegian-cruise-line/

11 hours ago, pierces said:

Another tip I found while shooting my grandson's football games was that Manual mode allows me to set the aperture and shutter to suit my needs and auto-ISO takes care of variable light while following the action. Semi-Manual?

I've used this technique a lot.  As mentioned above, the shutter speed is normally determined by the motion of the subject, the aperture is typically the set either where the lens is the sharpest or where your desired depth of field is, and the camera can fill in the rest with ISO.  Of course, if the ISO gets to a point where I don't like the results, I open the aperture more. 

I'm not sure the logic cameras use in shutter priority modes to determine when they will change aperture vs change ISO and how much it varies by camera.

9 hours ago, zackiedawg said:

he small birds are a very difficult thing to start with a new camera - when in flight, they require generally being a LOT closer (or a lot more lens reach), and seriously good panning skills.  No matter how good a camera's focus system is, asking it to find a tiny, poorly lit subject that represents less than .001% of the entire frame and choose that to focus on...well it just isn't going to happen! 

The first time I tested out a super zoom lens (100-400 Canon) I somehow managed to get a pretty good shot of a carpenter bee in flight 25+ feet away.  I did use manual focus.  But from a practical perspective, I find myself struggling with anything smaller than a Seagull in flight, though on occasion if a small bird/insect moves slow and predictably (or hovers) I've gotten OK results.  Still, I would agree it takes a LONG time to develop the skills needed to follow small and fast targets through a long lens; big birds can be enough of a challenge!

5 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

A tangent— I have found that on most ferries it is good to avoid the food served in the  “restaurant” — regardless of its location.

I have found it is generally best to avoid the life rafts as well, but sometimes you don't have a choice!

20 minutes ago, pacruise804 said:

While the term may rarely be applied to a ferry, it was in that instance and why I replied how I did.

It might not have been the best choice of terms, but I'm surprised people take issue with it.  I don't believe there is any one, universal, formal definition of ship.  I'll admit "vessels" would have been a better term.  Since you understood what I was getting at (and I think everyone did) the attempt at communication was successful, if not ideal.  Making a big deal out of it reminds me of multiple choice questions with three right answers that ask which is the "most correct."  You can be right... but they can still say your wrong!

21 minutes ago, pacruise804 said:

So "forward" varies on ferries and similar vessels, but port/starboard is still left/right.

That is more or less what I thought, but wasn't sure.  I'd assume that in a case like that they'd need a method of differentiating locations on the ship that are unambiguous (you can't say the restaurant is on the starboard side, deck 4, or that in an emergency you'll be overseeing the port liferafts).

52 minutes ago, cruises42 said:

I thought that if you used shutter priority the camera would automatically adjust aperture and ISO. I found that all my shots were really dark so I changed the ISO. Is that the best thing to do?

I will give Aperture mode a try.

I'm not familiar with your particular camera, so I can't be sure, but I'd think you'd have a way to increase or decrease the target exposure.  If you are doing birds in flight, aperture priority might result in to slow a shutter speed.  You'll need to experiment.  With birds, shutter speed really depends on how much they are moving, as well as how much zoom you are using.  You normally want to freeze the bird motion, so a flying bird takes a faster shutter than a walking bird, which takes faster than a bird sitting totally still.  The other factor is a slow shutter with a long zoom can result in blurriness.  This normally isn't an issue with birds in flight because you will always be using a fast shutter, but on the ground there may be times where the ideal shutter speed would be slower than what you can hand hold.

For large birds in flight I've had luck with shutter speeds between 1000 and 2000 (you can see the blur in the Egret shot below where 1/1250 wasn't quite fast enough for the wingtips) , smaller birds need faster and as @Ozzydog said are VERY hard to capture.  Getting them in focus with a long lens is really hard.  Since your in VA, you might be able to find Canada Geese or Turkey Vultures to take some practice shots of.  Herons and Egrets are great if you have any in your area.

13 hours ago, kenevenpar said:

Without knowing what the light was like, for these I would use Aperture mode, aperture in the 5 to 8 range,  with the D500 take it off auto ISO, and dial in the ISO below 2500 (lower is better if there is enough light).  With the branches in the second picture, you need single focus, aim for the bird's eye if you have time before it flies off.

As others have mentioned, aperture will depend on light.  Large aperture lets in more light, but you loose depth of field.  A bird in a narrower aperture photo might be on focus, while a wide open one that is otherwise identical might not be.  I like the f/6.3 to f/8.  I think that is a good range to start in.  I know I've used up to f/11 for birds in flight on a really bright day, and wide open when the light is poor.

My Canon allows me to set limits on auto-ISO, so that it will not exceed a certain amount.  That lets me go back and change settings rather than having the camera try to "fix" a dark image by cranking up the ISO beyond what I consider acceptable.  I'm not sure with your camera, but it might be worth looking into rather than going full manual on ISO.

And I agree... focus on the birds eyes.  For a sitting bird, a single focus point on the eye will normally give the most pleasing image.

Just my 2 cents; your probably approach a quarter worth of advice by now!

Here's my question: on a double ended ship, like a ferry, how are port and starboard (as well as bow and stern) defined?  Is one end just treated as the bow, or does it vary with direction of operation?  

9 minutes ago, xfkzjg1 said:

To those who understand marine navigation much better than I do, does that suggest that the Escape will be "late" leaving NY next week?

It might be the bridge but I think Escape has clearance even at high tide. More likely the want to dock close to the slack current.  Last time I was on Escape the Captain mentioned NYC is the most challenging docking because the ship is perpendicular to a relatively strong current.  In addition, it extends slightly beyond the pier.

Slack current was around 1:30am this morning, meaning that would be the easiest time to dock.  All other things being equal, the Captain may have elected to arrive early to take advantage of this.  A 5 or 6 am arrival would have seen a much stronger current.

40 minutes ago, Budget Queen said:

If you are "living paycheck to paycheck"   and "getting behind"?    Is it very smart to bury yourself further and go on a cruise?

Yeah... when I saw the suggestion to borrow money I was kind of surprised.  Granted, I don't know everything at play here, but the facts I saw are the OP 1) has less the $900 in available liquid assets and 2) does not pay close enough attention to their finances to notice a $900 discrepancy.  That is a bad combination, and certainly not one where more debt makes sense!

On 8/16/2019 at 2:26 PM, czimm said:

Some of these responses were kind of harsh.

Suggesting that someone finds a way to have a vacation that is within their current means isn't harsh, it is honesty.  It isn't an attempt to judge someone negatively.  Most of us have had times where we've needed to make sacrifices because of the realities of life.  Pretending someone doesn't need to do so in an effort to make them feel better is ultimately far more dangerous than telling them the truth!

3 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

The customer ISN'T always right.

Bingo!  There are cases where the customer has demanded things that will negatively impact other customers, create a safety hazard, or simply not be logistically or financially possible.  

I've generally found there are two times people bring up the customer is always right.  One is when training entry level customer service positions that have no previous work experience and no real decision making authority.  The other is in the minds of entitled customers who use the phrase us justification of their unreasonable demands.  

5 hours ago, AmazedByCruising said:

I do :(

Its a pain, but that is regulatory issue; the customer is still wrong!

So I take it the consensus is cool, but not practical?

19 minutes ago, LandlockedCruiser01 said:

  And yet... just look at RCI's Oasis class ships: pretty much the entire aft bulkhead (wall) is missing. 

Not sure how that is relevant; the aft deck of the Oasis is far more than two feet above the waterline.

3 hours ago, Oakman58 said:

.  Lighting conditions along the coast of Alaska aren't the best on most days.  There are a lot of rainy days in Alaska and even when it's not raining you can have dense low hanging clouds.  In the mornings and evenings you will be shooting with somewhat slow shutter speeds.

That's a good point; been too long since I've been to Alaska!  With IS I've taken shots at 600mm down to about 1/60 shutter, but the keep rate is abysmal.  I frequently use a monopod.  If your subject is slow moving or still it works; if you might only have the opportunity for three or four shots there is a good chance none will be satisfactory. 

The same light factors will apply for photos of a marching band, though there are more options to plan the shot than with wildlife.

I have had at least one scenario where I needed 600mm, light wouldn't cooperate, and I elected to crank the ISO just so that I could get something of a rare (at least around where I was) bird in the distance.  Its a pretty bad photo, but without 600mm it would have been nothing.  Does the possibility of such a scenario justify buying and lugging around an expensive and heavy lens?  Only the OP can decide!

11 hours ago, poppersgirls said:

'm a teacher, so $$ is a big factor.  I'm looking at either a Tamron 18-400 or Tamron 150-600(older version not G2).

I'm far less experienced than some other posters, but I found myself in a very simliar position a few months ago so my experience and research might be applicable.

Have you looked at the Sigma 150-600C?  I was looking at getting a teleconverter for a Canon 100-400L (first gen), but ended up finding a deal on the 150-600C and decided to try it.  I have been very happy.  While a second gen 100-400L would probably beat it, and a high end prime would definitely give a better photo, I have been happy.

It is priced around the same as the Tamron 150-600 first gen, but most of the comparative reviews I looked at showed it as being a  better lens (its more competitive with the G2.)  My only issue has been some AF issues shooting flying birds against a clear sky.  Of course, that is demanding for any lens, though I think the Canon was slightly better.  The IS has been pretty good too.  It is big compared to the 100-400, but is much lighter than some of the other 150-600 options (most notably Sigma's 150-600s).

I was tempted to look at something like a 50-500 or 60-600 to reduce the amount of lens swapping, but as the other posters have said the longer the zoom range has a downside.  Reviews showed a lot more people complaining about sharpness on either the short or long end of these lenses,  and the issues seemed to vary form lens to lens making me think quality control is very tough on a lens with such an extreme range.  I did not look at the Tamron 18-400, but it might have similar issues.

Of course if you don't need the reach, the suggestion to rent makes sense.  Similarly some used options might be good.  But I appreciate the value proposition.  I should note I use a 5D MKIII, so you'll have a crop factor relative to me.  In addition, you might want to check how the lenses work with your cameras AF; at 600mm its an F/6.3 lens (so is the Tamron) and not all AFs like that.

Hope that helps!

Just a few quick pics from the 150-600C:

560mm f/9 1/320

600mm F/5.3 1/400

560mm, f/9, 1/400

On 8/1/2019 at 8:51 AM, Cherylynn123 said:

I am considering Atlantis, a Caribbean AI, trip West in US for national parks... I'm open to anything! We like to try anything once, that's why a cruise is being considered, but my number one issue is that darn lure of the gaming rooms! Not a perk in my eyes! 

 

I am less worried about their phones- yes, I would probably leave them at home then - than I am about them hanging in a club and staring at a gaming console.

The kids clubs and gaming areas are really a very small part of the cruise experience, there is much more to do on modern ships both for teens and the whole family.  Of course, if you think that the gaming options are going to be a big draw to your kids, that might still not matter.  If I understand correctly you are trying to avoid pressuring them to avoid certain activities in a way that could cause tension on vacation.  You know them better than anyone on this board; perhaps you can review the various on board activities of the ships your considering and see if you can gauge their level of interest.  I started cruising around there age and found myself spending very little time in kids clubs and gaming rooms; the games may be a bit more enticing than what I was presented with in the 90s, but so are the other activities.

You may also want to consider a port intensive cruise.  Less time at sea means you need to cram everything you want to do into a smaller period.  Perhaps gaming time will get pushed aside when they realize they only have a day or two for obstacle courses, surfing, etc.

Just a few thoughts... best wishes on finding what works for your family!

5 hours ago, Son of a son of a ... said:

If possible, Deck 8 aft to the point where you stand looking into the Manhattan room.  From this vantage, you can see both the City and SOL.

I agree with this.  Aft on deck 8 you can walk to either side as you sail past Manhattan and the SOL, then go to the center and watch both fade into the distance.  The upper decks don't provide much of an aft view, and this is perhaps the most impressive angle.

Deck 8 also has fewer wind-blocks and other obstructions that can get in the way of taking photos and is generally less crowded.

Thus, unless you really like the extra height or really want a forward view, I feel Deck 8 aft is the place to be.

Double Post

On 7/25/2019 at 9:48 PM, chipmaster said:

I appreciate everyone shoots for different reasons, and appreciate a good camera and I know some hate the comment smartphones pack in some ways the most amazing capabilities when you include the size, computation processing and stuff like I phone editing and manipulation they can do, the real cameras fall further and further behind but have their uses.

I don't know if anyone denies how versatile a phone can be; I think that some may feel "fall further and further behind" isn't the best phrase.  I'm assuming you mean in terms of speed of development and in terms of the full array of abilities they have (software and hardware).  I'm not an expert, but I haven't heard of a scenario where (given an unlimited budget, unlimited weight capacity, time to edit on a dedicated machine, and so on) a high end DSLR or mirrorless will give a result that fall behind a high end phone in terms of quality.  

I've seen several side by side comparisons of cell phone and DSLRs.  Most of the time the differences in quality are pretty small and probably not noticeable to most people unless pointed out.  So I'd agree that phones have made remarkable strides as cameras, and even more impressive ones when viewed as integrated cameras/processors/sharing tools.  Given that most of us have limits on budget and the amount of stuff we want to carry on vacation, there are certainly lots of scenarios where they make sense.  Most people aren't trying to get printed in NatGeo, so an negligible decrease in quality is a fair tradeoff for having such a powerful and versatile tool in your pocket.  

It certainly hurts the case for a point and shoot.  While I can justify a DSLR and a big lens for wildlife photos, I can't think of too many scenarios where my old point and shoot would be preferable to my phone.  I'm sure those scenarios will rarer very quickly given the rate of cell phone development.  

One more thought: some hardware improvements developed for cell phone sensors are applicable to dedicated cameras, so I expect that the delta between cell phones professional grade cameras will be a bit harder crack.  Phones often need to solve problems with software that a DSLR solves with a big lens.  Again, I'm not an expert, but I can appreciate how hard that is.  Impressive strides have been made already (like artificial bokeh), so it will be interesting to see what comes next.

7 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

7 hours ago, Michele035 said:

Wow just Wow to the responses I have received.  I will never ever ever post on CC ever again.  WOW.  

I saw nothing that should have bothered you....

Just imagine if they'd had a question about tipping... 

5 hours ago, pierces said:

 

Normally my routine is to take along a small ReptiTherm terrarium heater pad.

Thanks for the suggestion.  I had a Bearded Dragon years ago; he had a heating pad to use at night when the basking light was off.  I may still have it...

This guy realized there was an Alligator behind him...

I think its pretty well accepted that letting your gear slowly warm to the ambient temperature is the best option to deal with condensation on the lens, but do any of you have thoughts about what to do when it isn't practical?

Some travel, including cruising, can involve a lot of going between air conditioning and hot, humid outdoor air.  I don't always have an outdoor space I'd be willing to leave my equipment to keep it warm, and on a recent trip I found my big Sigma could take almost an hour to acclimate to the hot, humid weather.  I know in astrophotography heated dew strips are used to keep condensation off a telescope, and they are made in sizes for lenses.  I'm not sure if these are a practical/safe solution.  After all, the only thing worse than missing a shot because of condensation is ruining your gear trying to get that shot!

Thanks!

9 hours ago, danak13 said:

1.) A little worried about the crowds-anyone who has cruised this time, did you find it a bit less crowded since it was right after a holiday?

I think the big factor is if schools are in session.  NCL doesn't publish a maximum passenger capacity for Breakaway, but it has been reported at between 4800 and 5200.  That means when completely full about 1,000 passengers (roughly 20%)  are third and fourth persons in their respective cabins.  Though not all of these are kids, a big chunk of them are.  I have nothing against kids, but I'm not a fan of crowds!  Having a few hundred less people on the ship is noticeable and makes for a more enjoyable cruise.

10 hours ago, danak13 said:

2.) To avoid crowds and because I think we would love it, I am interested in hopefully spending a good amount of time around the waterfront area.  Does this area get crowded? Are bars open close by? 

The waterfront is wonderful, and there are lots of options for bars.  Even if the bars on the waterfront itself are closed there will almost always be something open within a short walk.  Some choice seating might be unavailable during peak times, but finding a spot to sit has never been a problem for me.

10 hours ago, danak13 said:

3.) Are the balconies REALLY as tiny as I hear everyone complain about?  

Yes.  As Two Wheels mentioned angled balconies are a good option.  If a balcony is important to you, you may want to look into aft balcony options as well.