First Timer What Camera To Take

[Thepominlaw]

Just booked up for my first ever cruise, not 100% sure what camera equipment to take (lightweight I know).

 

12 nights from Australia to Asia, how many memory cards needed. Planning on taking only Panasonic TZ40 travel compact camera and 128gb iPhone 6S Plus will that be sufficient. Don't want to lug around my old Nikon D200.

[Keith1010]

Always wise to take a few memory cards. No right or wrong. I take two backups per camera but most of my cameras already have two memory cards. I recommend backing up your photos. In my case I put them on your computer but either way back them up. You don't want to lose photos because of a bad memory card.

 

In my case I take a DSLR and a point and shoot camera. On long voyages I will take more than one DSLR but on a cruise of your length I take one of each. I am not taking photos with my iPhone. They look fine on the screen but to me if you want to print them out I am never pleased with the quality.

 

Keith

[donaldsc]

I always travel with every memory card that I own in sizes ranging from older 8 gig to newer 64 gig. It ends up being maybe 10 cards because that is what I have. Just remember, memory cards are small, cheap and weigh nothing; missed memories are expensive.

 

Re the camera, I always take 2 cameras just in case for the same reason. You can pack the Nikon but you do not have to use it. However, if the Panasonic should break during the trip, you are stuck with having to buy a new one on board w the limited selection that they have.

 

I totally agree with Keith re backups. I back up my photos on a daily basis to my Android tablet. I then backup from the tablet onto 2 flash drives. Call me paranoid but stuff can happen and having my photos in 3 places makes me feel secure.

 

Hope that this helps.

 

DON

[chipmaster]

Take the camera you already use. The worst thing is to take a camera, new more capable camera versus what you already have and don't know how to use it in the field.

 

Of course a vacation is a time where one my breakout of their current need, but I find that more rare than not.

 

A P&S and an good iPhone covers more ground than most already have with just their smartphone. Just make sure you have a backup for those once in a lifetime moments, both for your real camera and for the iPhone. I know many who don't backup their smartphone and only regret that big time once it is lost/stolen.

Edited December 13, 2015 by chipmaster

[tommui987]

Just booked up for my first ever cruise, not 100% sure what camera equipment to take (lightweight I know).

 

12 nights from Australia to Asia, how many memory cards needed. Planning on taking only Panasonic TZ40 travel compact camera and 128gb iPhone 6S Plus will that be sufficient. Don't want to lug around my old Nikon D200.

 

I usually carry a coupe of extra memory chips and I download my shots every night into my laptop and a small Toshiba external hard drive. Once that is done, I format the memory card for the ext day's shooting and carry the spare cards in my pocket.

 

You could also use thumb-drives in lieu of the external hard drive.

 

Everyone has their own methods but the backup is the main thing!

[Cabansail]

Sounds like you have answered your own question.

 

It will be an individual choice. It depends on what sort of photography you like.

 

I have just come back from my first cruise too. My gear was;

 

• D800 with Grip
  
• D600 with Grip
  
• 16mm f2.8 Fisheye
  
• 20mm f2.8 Wide
  
• 24-70mm f2.8 Zoom
  
• 70-200mm f2.8 Zoom
  
• 1.7x TC
  
• Gorillapod
  
• Monopod
  
• Battery Chargers
  
• SB900 Flash
  
• Canon G12 + U/W Housing
  
• Macbook Pro + Ext HDD + Wacom Tablet
  
• Spare CF & SD Cards
  

 

I was debating taking the big 150-600mm zoom but am glad I left it behind.

 

Out of the gear I took and did not use was;

• 1.7x TC
  
• Monopod
  
• SB900 Flash
  

However I did not leave anything behind that I missed.

 

Having a laptop along meant that I could back up and format memory cards on a daily basis. I do not like to rely on them long term. If you are not bringing a laptop then I would take plenty of cards and spread your shots among them, so one failure will not be a disaster.

[LilyN]

Get a Gorillapod if you don't already have one - they're awesome to have... I have a small one for the p'n's and just got the "big" one for my DSLR.

 

When I haven't carried my "big" camera on a trip, I'm always sorry, even though I have my Nikon P7000 p'n's with me. Bring it with you and if you don't use it, no worries, but if you want it - you've got it! And bring a tripod, too .....

 

With a cruise, you tend to be in 'safe' ports but if you're worried about a slice 'n grab of your gear, look at PacSafe camera straps (and bags and more). I have a PacSafe for my primary DSLR and feel better now that I have it because I tend to travel into dicey areas without a lot of gringos.

 

if you're not going to bring a laptop, go ahead and get a portable harddrive to dump your pics onto, too.

[mskaufman]

The previous posters should have you convinced to take multiple memory cards and back up your pictures. On a trip like yours I change cards every other day. Used cards get backed up to a tablet, then go in the safe. When there is free wifi, the tablet is set to automatically back up to the cloud.

 

As far as cameras - I take one that fits in my pocket for walking around the ship, my DLSR for most touring and a bridge camera with a long zoom.