Trip Report: Oasis of the Seas 5/14-5/21...tons of pictures

[bbdqsony]

I must say your photos is awesome. I have same camera (t2i) but I always get nervous to take pics lol. What Len do u recommend? And what software u use for photo editing? And how do u keep pic name note all together without forget what it is??

[mr.jdm]

hey, thank you so much. for lens i say get something that is constant f2.8 aperature which will help for indoor/low light shootings. so far i've been using 10-20 f3.5 and 30mm f1.4 as my go-to lens for cruise. i do have the 18-55 and 55-250 that came with the camera. but i rarely use it, camera bag gets too heavy with 4 lens to lug around for a cruise. as for post processing... im using adobe lightroom and photomatix for hdr picture and i dont keep tracks of the file names. the picture are always shot in order from boarding day to the last day of the cruise. so its easy to remember. follow me on my next trip report should be up by december. im leaving in 14days. panama canal :D

[bbdqsony]

Thanks for replying back... and I do have lightroom 3 as well, just got photomatix and it's awesome software for HDR.. I always find HDR photo amazed. I just tested with one of photo I took of lighthouse in front with Atlantis Resort behind it as the cruise was leaving the dock it came out interesting photo :) I'm gonna download it on my macbook pro now. I need to buy better lens. And you don't need to keep track of ur photos??? LOL Everytime I take pic of something I would say what lounge is that? What food that is? Where that is? lol I suck at that so I need something to keep track of everything I take pic in easy way. Any tip? :D And do you have website or something that I can follow ya? If not use Tumblr? it's free or imgur? Wish this board has a way to allow member to keep in touch to each other!! OH I'm going on Millie end of this month and Solstice in Dec.

 

hey, thank you so much. for lens i say get something that is constant f2.8 aperature which will help for indoor/low light shootings. so far i've been using 10-20 f3.5 and 30mm f1.4 as my go-to lens for cruise. i do have the 18-55 and 55-250 that came with the camera. but i rarely use it, camera bag gets too heavy with 4 lens to lug around for a cruise. as for post processing... im using adobe lightroom and photomatix for hdr picture and i dont keep tracks of the file names. the picture are always shot in order from boarding day to the last day of the cruise. so its easy to remember. follow me on my next trip report should be up by december. im leaving in 14days. panama canal :D

[mr.jdm]

since we have the same camera. go on your settings and find the AEB bracket setting.. it will automatically shoot 3 different exposures for HDR use. 1 very under exposed, 1 over exposed and 1 normal exposure. then take those 3 pictures, load and merge them in photomatix. will make life alot easier. I honestly dont know what tips you need for keeping track of pictures. as for as that is the best part of going thru the pictures without being labelled. it will bring back memories on how a 7 day cruise goes by super fast. ahhaa. I will have to ask my fiance as she's the one doing the write up and keeping the pictures. i just do all the tidious work of creaiting shots and post processing.

 

for lens it depends how or what kind of style picture you take. for me i prefer the wide angle that's why i got a sigma 10-20f3.5. if you want something a little bit all around look into the sigma 17-55 2.8 pretty sharp lens and can handle low light shooting with its fast aperature. i prefer sigma i like the colors and cost is cheaper than buying canon. prime lens is good for portraits, well for me i use it for the food pictures, get a nice close up to show its detail and have a nice bokeh with it as well.

 

hope you do a trip report for your upcoming cruises. our panama canal (HAL) cruise ended up being our engagement celebration cruise. just need 1 more rci crusie then we will be switching over to try celebrity

[mr.jdm]

good news fiance will upload our emerlad princess cruise (eastern carib), mariner of the seas (mexican riviera) pictures later. will send you the link. but i didnt start using the t1i until mariner of the seas, i had the canon 350d XT when we went on the princess cruise also back then my lens we were using was a canon 17-85is. good lens for travel but it wasn't as sharp as how i wanted the pictures to be

[bbdqsony]

Whoa I didn't know t2i has AEB bracket setting... I will be exploring that setting once I get on boat end of this month.

 

Lens are pretty pricey lol I looked up all 3 lens u suggested. I really like Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG IF HSM Aspherical Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras... I have that on my christmas list *chuckles*

 

I look forward to see emerlad princess cruise pics!!

 

It seem like we have 2 something in common... photographing and eating hee hee...

[mr.jdm]

Another suggestion for wide angle lens, Tokina 11-16 f2.8, they are all priced only few dollars difference. or even the sigma wide f3.5 version. it will come handy for indoor shots specially if you do not want to use flash. just bump the iso and you can shoot hand held with out the need of using a tripod or resting the camera somewhere for a longer shutter speed. I do also use a Gorilla pod, one of those flexible wrap it around something tripod. its cheap and pretty handy. if you saw the moon picture i did on this report. i used that placed the camera on the railing wrapped it around to be a bit stable.

 

 

anyways here's the link to our other cruise pic

Emeraldd Princess (used Canon EOS XT with Canon 17-85is)

-princess cay

-st maarten

-st thomas

-grand turk

https://picasaweb.google.com/107703993532806324743/EmeraldPrincess?authkey=Gv1sRgCOe5roa8mfbWMg

 

 

Mariner of the Seas (used Canon T1i with Canon 17-85is and Sigma 30mm)

-Cabo

-Puerto Vallarta

-Mazatlan

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/107703993532806324743/MarinerOfTheSeas?authkey=Gv1sRgCKW_yIGozY-rhgE#

[sorento]

mr.jdm,I love your photos on the Oasis.Just got off the Allure 2 weeks ago and my little cannon powershot sx120is did not due her justice.My

question for you is since I know nothing about cameras or the language-

but want a camera to capture the beauty of the my cruises and the cannon t1i seems probably out of my league and too complicated for me

to try to use-do you have a suggestion of what camera I can upgrade to for better pictures?Thank you in advance.

[MandyMommyof2]

Fantastic review and your photos are amazing!! I really enjoyed reading this review!! Great Job!!

[mr.jdm]

mr.jdm,I love your photos on the Oasis.Just got off the Allure 2 weeks ago and my little cannon powershot sx120is did not due her justice.My

question for you is since I know nothing about cameras or the language-

but want a camera to capture the beauty of the my cruises and the cannon t1i seems probably out of my league and too complicated for me

to try to use-do you have a suggestion of what camera I can upgrade to for better pictures?Thank you in advance.

 

the only way to get a really high quality pic is to use a DSLR camera. point and shoot camera will no where be close to it. also it requires some post processing in photoshop since the pictures were in raw format, then convert to a normal jpg file.

 

 

Fantastic review and your photos are amazing!! I really enjoyed reading this review!! Great Job!!

 

 

Thank you :D should have another report by december :)

[roe2ship]

I just came across your thread now and you are some photographer! Wow! Your pictures are like postcards....LOVE them!

 

Thank you for sharing!:)

[bbdqsony]

Looked at the links you provided... amazing pics :)

 

I've been looking around for lens and this had high review and wants your option on it. Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens for T2i

 

Is it any good?

[mr.jdm]

the sigma lens your interested in is a good lens. if its in your budget then go for it. but if you can, i say the sigma 10-20 f3.5, much better lens for night shots. less blurry pics..

 

7 more days and we will be in sunny FLL

[bbdqsony]

That lens looks good... If I'm not happy with that lens I'll send back to exchange for the one you suggested.

 

I also ordered new Digital camera since my has dead pixels in the pic/vid so it's annoys me. I wanted something that is small and very good that allows me to carry everywhere I go so I found good one and it's Sony Cybershot HX9v. I tested it at best buy and it looks good so I went ahead and order it from sony site to get 800 points instead of getting at best buy lol.

 

I bet you are looking forward to come down here and get on cruise. How many days are you gonna be on cruise? Going alone? Where the cruise goes to?

 

I'll be on Millie Nov 28 and then Solstice in Dec :)

[Makaimom]

I love the sound of the private cabanas!! How much was the rental fee? I was just in Labadee in July off the Enchantment and did not realize there were private cabanas. Can't wait to indulge next time.

[Poorplaya]

Wow, I dont know if I missed this at all but your pictures look like something professionally done. Absolutely fantastic, I think RCCL needs to hire you to promote their cruises. You posted a wonderful review and the pictures were first class. Thank you so much for the time you put into this review for all of us to drool at.:D

[mr.jdm]

That lens looks good... If I'm not happy with that lens I'll send back to exchange for the one you suggested.

 

I also ordered new Digital camera since my has dead pixels in the pic/vid so it's annoys me. I wanted something that is small and very good that allows me to carry everywhere I go so I found good one and it's Sony Cybershot HX9v. I tested it at best buy and it looks good so I went ahead and order it from sony site to get 800 points instead of getting at best buy lol.

 

I bet you are looking forward to come down here and get on cruise. How many days are you gonna be on cruise? Going alone? Where the cruise goes to?

 

I'll be on Millie Nov 28 and then Solstice in Dec :)

 

Yes getting excited already but have not started the packing yet. We will be there on sunday pre-cruise and 2 days after our cruise ends. Nov 25-27? been checking the weather and we get to have another summer in florida. will be going with my fiance to celebrate our engagement :)

 

by the way went on ebay and picked up a pop-up flash diffuser for $3. hehe. got a new toy to play around. should help give better detail on food pics :)

 

I love the sound of the private cabanas!! How much was the rental fee? I was just in Labadee in July off the Enchantment and did not realize there were private cabanas. Can't wait to indulge next time.

 

we paid $175 the cheapest cabana. we just saw the message on the night leaving FLL. so had to act fast to score our cabana, well worth it IMO

 

Wow, I dont know if I missed this at all but your pictures look like something professionally done. Absolutely fantastic, I think RCCL needs to hire you to promote their cruises. You posted a wonderful review and the pictures were first class. Thank you so much for the time you put into this review for all of us to drool at.:D

 

and thank you for taking the time to read our trip report. come follow our next trip report on HAL board. should be up and posted early december :)

[BettyPC]

What a great review. Loved the food pictures most & then all the rest:p

 

From your pictures I got an idea of the scale of the Oasis - its scary big! What did you think of the crowds?

[will773]

Said it before and I'll say it again; your pictures are AMAZING!!!!!!!!! I can't stop staring at those pictures from Cozumel. If you haven't been there before, you'd think that they're fake, but they are just amazing!

[mr.jdm]

What a great review. Loved the food pictures most & then all the rest:p

 

From your pictures I got an idea of the scale of the Oasis - its scary big! What did you think of the crowds?

 

crowds were never an issue. only time we noticed it big time was embarkation day. it was like a zoo. but day 2 and on it slowly died down, dont really see that 6,000 passanger feel thru out the week.

 

Said it before and I'll say it again; your pictures are AMAZING!!!!!!!!! I can't stop staring at those pictures from Cozumel. If you haven't been there before, you'd think that they're fake, but they are just amazing!

 

thank you, too bad when we were in Cozumel it was a bit cloudy. I was hopping for a sunny day then the water will be 10x more inviting :D

[Duzzy]

Awesome photos!

 

Makes me want a wide angle and macro even more than I already do!

[mr.jdm]

Awesome photos!

 

Makes me want a wide angle and macro even more than I already do!

 

no macro lens for me.. just wide angle and a 30mm 1.4 prime :)

[Upandadam]

Oh man. I have to get a wide angle for my T2i.

 

Thanks for convincing me that I HAVE to spend a few hundred more than I already have!

[mr.jdm]

Oh man. I have to get a wide angle for my T2i.

 

Thanks for convincing me that I HAVE to spend a few hundred more than I already have!

 

 

hahah, but your spending on a better quality lens, which will result on a way better quality pictures than the stock 18-55 lens that comes with the camera and im sure it will be useful in the long run..ie. more cruise to take :D

[Duzzy]

no macro lens for me.. just wide angle and a 30mm 1.4 prime :)

I have a 50mm 1.8 that I love, as well as a 18-200mm 3.5/6.3 that I like. They'll be coming with me on the cruise. Every time I drool over new lenses, the Hubs doesn't get it. I compare it to his wanting new hunting gear all the time. ;)