sight-sea-er

Have you considered using your cellphone? If your phone is relatively new and has a decent camera, this thread might help: I linked directly the priciest (but well under those $1500 housings), but most reliable-sounding option. The rest of the thread explores other suggestions to consider.

I settled on a B+W circular polarizer a few years ago. When I was shopping for one, they had a bunch of variations. I settled on one with: High transmission (HTC, lets the most amount of light through) Nano coating (minimizes reflections between lens and filter, helps keep dirt/oil from sticking) Extra slim (XS, low profile so as not to make hood stick out much further, therefor reducing or eliminating vignetting on wide-angle lenses) Lensrentals did interesting (though overly technical) comparisons on a range of filters which helped steer my decision. It might be worth seeing if they've done a more recent batch as brand quality and value may have changed over the years.

A polarizing filter sounds much better than messing with a rubber hood against the window. I have one that I've used to cut down glare from water, but sadly it didn't occur to use it for glass. Those images are compelling evidence that the filter will work great. And good suggestion on the trains, take the windows out of the equation. No need to warn me not to apply that to flights, figured that one out myself! As for tripods, I would at most carry a mini for the use case KYB described, getting a group shot if no one else is around. Full-sized tripods are usually too heavy and bulky to mess with, and apparently risky, so glad you saved the camera, CN! I think I'll add dry bag to my list of things to consider. My camera bag... OK, bags, who am I kidding, anyone in this forum knows better... is(are!) water-resistant with a waterproof cover if really needed. I'll be doing some flatwater kayaking at one port, but I think I'll leave the camera behind for that excursion. Thanks for the suggestions!

Lenses aside, what other photo gear would anyone recommend a first-time Alaska cruiser bring? FWIW, I'm doing the inner passage and train to Denali in June. Also, it's a family trip (3 generations), so not exclusively focused on photography, hence avoiding the kitchen sink approach. I'm planning on a rain cover based on suggestions here. Would a monopod or mini tripod add much value? Has anyone used those rubber lampshade-looking lens hoods? Lots of shots through glass have me worrying about glare. @KYBOB I saw your pics from the Taku lodge flights in another thread. Did you take any special precautions to get those clean shots through the window? Thanks in advance!

pierces covered your question quite well. My only addition would be that if the wildlife is not backlit (near water or in a wooded area, for examples), then whatever the Sport mode equivalent is on your camera (icon might be a person running or simply the word Sport or Action) would be useful. That will increase your shutter speed to reduce the blur caused by moving subjects.

Thanks, @Crew News! It looks like my 12-35 should be just fine. I'll feel fortunate just to see those sights, let alone capture them so well!

I took my Samsung cellphone snorkeling just last year in a Ghostek case and would NOT recommend it. It was decidedly not waterproof, filling with water after just a short while in the ocean or pool. Doublecheck the waterproof rating of your phone model before following this advice, but by the 3rd day, ruling out user error, I opted to go without a case. The phone by itself worked great without anything and was sufficiently waterproof at snorkeling depths. I have since purchased a lanyard that works with your everyday case so that losing the phone is less likely in deeper water. I bought the Nite Ize Hitch Phone Anchor, but there are many similar designs from competitors to consider. Alternatively, my spouse was happy with the waterproof cellphone pouch options readily available from your favorite online retailer. Pictures were occasionally hazy when the pouch fogged up or blurry when the pouch separated from the phone lens. Overall, though, this worked pretty well. The touchscreen is largely unusable underwater, so make sure you have a physical key (e.g. volume buttons) mapped to trigger the shutter. I would highly advise trying out whatever your intended solution is in advance of your trip. Don't waste time fussing with all of this in the ocean when you could be enjoying the snorkeling. Spend some time in advance trying this out in a pool somewhere, or a tub or sink at least.

As a fellow member of the "bring them all cuz ya never know!" camp, I will say that I am trying to keep myself to 2 lenses for my Alaska cruise this summer. I've never been to Alaska, though, so you may want to stop reading here. That disclaimer aside, I've been doing a lot of reading in this forum and a few others and have found peace in deciding to bring lenses equivalent to 24-70 and 200-600. Okay, and a wide, fast prime for onboard the ship (it's so tiny, it hardly counts, right?). The consensus seems to be that you either want wide for landscapes and nearby animals, or the longest you can manage for wildlife afar, and that there isn't much between those extremes. Now I will wait anxiously for other members to contradict this and before I know it, I will be bringing my kitchen sink right there with you.

Thanks for the response and for the supporting pictures! 4¢? Even opinions have to be adjusted for inflation these days, huh? Anyways, that panorama turned out great. I was afraid that movement from the ship would impact the ability to stitch, but clearly that's not the case. I'm glad to know I can leave at least one lens behind and not be regretting the choice mid-cruise. Thanks again!

I've found a lot of useful tips in this forum, but one area I couldn't settle on was how wide of a lens to bring for my Alaskan Cruise. I use a micro 4/3s camera and wasn't sure how to translate some of the suggestions in other threads which mentioned specific lenses, but without mention of sensor size or crop factor. I'll be taking a northbound Inner Passage cruise this summer, followed by a few days on land to see Denali. I can see a wide-angle lens being used for the views from the ship, from our Kenai Fjords glacier cruise, on the flight to Taku lodge, and on the various trains between Seward and Denali. Would 12mm (24mm full-frame equivalent) be wide enough for those circumstances? Normally, I'd consider stitching panoramas when needed, but wasn't sure that would be an option from moving vehicles. I have a 7-14mm (14-28mm FF) that I am considering bringing, but that's more gear to lug around and more lens-swapping. I'm happy to leave that behind if the 12mm will get the job done.