Camera/lens choice for Western Caribbean cruise

I was amused by the beating of the dead horse was getting. You must never take life seriously to prosper, that takes the fun out of it. Make a living playing is a better way.

Buy more camera equipment when in doubt.

Then go on a two week cruise.

framer

I was amused by the beating of the dead horse was getting.

At least it was an "enthusiastic" beating! :)

 

 

You must never take life seriously to prosper, that takes the fun out of it.

 

You misunderstood. Take life seriously. Watch it carefully or it will bite you in the butt. It's when life watches back that you do the crazy, fun stuff to keep it guessing...

 

 

 

Dave

Ok I agree with farmer I think the horse died a long time ago. But I declare it a tie. Each have valid points but the "I rarely shoot RAW" comment I almost went with pierces being the winner of the dead horse competition then havoc315 redeemed himself with "I love my thumbstick to move my AF point". So it is now a DEAD HEAT of a very dead horse.

But my 2 cents, I am an old fart. I am asking here but do not see how on a long lens (ie 500mm or 200 plus for that matter) you can hold a mirrorless camera steady without use of tripod, monopod etc. I like having the camera to my face looking into the viewfinder arms tight against me, the one at the middle of the lens braced back on my stomach. I have seen people with the mirrorless cameras and both arms are out away from their body trying to look through the bottom of their bifocals (this would be me). Plus I love buttons, I can using the function buttons on the front and back change metering, focus points, move focus points, etc.

Sony mirrorless cameras have a viewfinder. Brace away!

Vic

Sony mirrorless cameras have a viewfinder. Brace away!

 

Vic

Here's another 2¢ to add to Vic's. Sony mirrorless cameras have bright, clear, 120hz, 100% coverage viewfinders that display the image as it will be captured. If you have +1 or -1 set on the exposure, it will show you how the image will appear in real-time. Special effects, auto-exposure lock and any other exposure adjustment is clearly visible before you press the shutter. Focus peaking with manual lenses and magnification for fine focus are all available without ever using the LCD. Grid overlays, electronic level indicator and even a real-time histogram can be summoned as needed.

An additional bonus is you don't have to squint and try to shade the LCD to review your pictures. You just look through the aforementioned bright clear EVF. This is also a bonus in a dim venue where you want to review a shot but don't want a 3" LCD blasting light. You just turn off the LCD and use the EVF exclusively.

If you take a ½ hour and customize the controls, all the buttons and dials you will ever need are at your fingertips. You might also discover as I did that several are no longer needed. EV adjustment is very easy to control shot to shot with AEL by pointing at different areas of brightness and locking the exposure temporarily. The viewfinder shows you what the picture will look like each time you point and press. It has been years since I needed to bracket a sunset once I discovered this undocumented use of AEL.

I didn't go mirrorless because they were trendy, (truth be told, I was the target of a lot of OVF snobbery in the early years) I went mirrorless because they were smaller, gave up nothing in image quality and were easier to compose with a real-time view.

Maybe, as illustrated by the small mirrorless mammal below, it wasn't a dead horse we were beating... :)

Happy shooting!

Dave

I am asking here but do not see how on a long lens (ie 500mm or 200 plus for that matter) you can hold a mirrorless camera steady without use of tripod, monopod etc. I like having the camera to my face looking into the viewfinder arms tight against me, the one at the middle of the lens braced back on my stomach. I have seen people with the mirrorless cameras and both arms are out away from their body trying to look through the bottom of their bifocals (this would be me). Plus I love buttons, I can using the function buttons on the front and back change metering, focus points, move focus points, etc.

I hold my cameras very much the same way you do. Have been shooting with long lenses on DSLRs since 2008, and on mirrorless since 2015 (I've shot mirrorless cameras since 2011, but didn't have any long lenses until 2015!). There's no difference at all in how I hold the two systems with long lenses - any lens over 200mm means I'm supporting the lens primarily with my left hand, elbow braced against my body, and the right hand holds the grip and controls the buttons and dials but doesn't provide much actual weight support. So whether the body is over 1Lb, big fat bodied DSLR or thin lightweight mirrorless, it's the lens that's being supported and the camera grip just lets me aim and handle the controls. I shoot long lenses exclusively handheld - I'm not a big fan of tripods or monopods when I'm out shooting wildlife as I like being ready to aim in any direction and move freely...and strip out as much weight as I can. My current longer lenses for mirrorless use are a 70-300mm, a 100-400mm with TC, and a 150-600mm.

Because I strictly use cameras with viewfinders, I'll never be one of those holding a camera out at arms' length...I am just not comfortable shooting without a viewfinder, whether a tiny P&S camera or full frame DSLR. I've had a few non-viewfinder cameras in the past, and never got along with them very well.

I love buttons too...I manipulate my settings constantly while shooting, and I HATE touch screens with a fiery passion. You'd be surprised just how many direct controls you have on some small mirrorless bodies. With my A6300, I've had no problem adjusting to the compact body, and still maintain all of the crucial controls I need during a shoot. I have direct buttons or dials on the camera body to access or adjust: Aperture, Shutter speed, ISO, Drive mode, EV, and AE lock. I have two memory banks where I can directly access two completely different shooting setups, which I use for still birds and flying birds. I have a quick access menu which lets me press one button and get at settings for metering mode, white balance, focus area, DRO settings, silent shutter, minimum shutter speed in ISO, tracking lock-on, stabilization on/off, and more. Basically, I use my camera's full menu roughly one time a week, to format my card...otherwise, I never really need to 'menu dive' to access any crucial shooting setting. Because the body is customizable, I can put the controls where I like them, and essentially placed controls in precisely the spot where they are on my DSLRs for years - that allows me to access those controls 'blind', while my eye is up to the finder.

Ok I agree with farmer I think the horse died a long time ago. But I declare it a tie. Each have valid points but the "I rarely shoot RAW" comment I almost went with pierces being the winner of the dead horse competition then havoc315 redeemed himself with "I love my thumbstick to move my AF point". So it is now a DEAD HEAT of a very dead horse.

 

But my 2 cents, I am an old fart. I am asking here but do not see how on a long lens (ie 500mm or 200 plus for that matter) you can hold a mirrorless camera steady without use of tripod, monopod etc. I like having the camera to my face looking into the viewfinder arms tight against me, the one at the middle of the lens braced back on my stomach. I have seen people with the mirrorless cameras and both arms are out away from their body trying to look through the bottom of their bifocals (this would be me). Plus I love buttons, I can using the function buttons on the front and back change metering, focus points, move focus points, etc.

LOL that's framer not farmer. Be careful I've framed & hung many a politician.

framer

LOL that's framer not farmer. Be careful I've framed & hung many a politician.

 

 

framer

Many apologies. But no political aspirations so I am safe. Spelling is not my forte. Form and from get me too.