Juardis Posted November 3, 2017 #1 Share Posted November 3, 2017 We're headed to Anchorage next June, going to Kenai Fjords and taking an 8 1/2 hour small boat cruise as well as the Prince William Sound 26 Glacier Cruise before boarding our large cruise ship headed south to Vancouver. Will pass by Hubbard Glacier and go through Glacier Bay. Other stops include Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, but none of the excursions we have planned there require a telephoto. We have a balcony room on our ship and I plan on taking my tripod. I have a Canon 80d. I have a 70-300L. For Kenai Fjords, Prince William Sound, Hubbard Glacier, and Glacier Bay, I am seriously considering renting something longer to take in place of my 70-300. At this point, 100-400L II, but could be talked into something longer I suppose. I see the value in having a longer lens, but not sure I'll need it. A question though. If I rent a 100-400 (or even a 150-600), is 100 TOO long. I mean, in Kenai Fjords we could, theoretically, be within 100 yds of whales (or closer) and I'd hate to have a lens that was too long in that situation. Maybe that's a problem while on the big ship too? That would kinda steer me to a 18-400 for example if 100 is too long (or 150 if I rent a 150-600). My main lens is a 15-85 so I'm covered on the short to medium length. Just questioning my long lens choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framer Posted November 3, 2017 #2 Share Posted November 3, 2017 The difference between the 70-300 and the 100-400 is minor I'd go for the 150-600. You can always switch the lens to the smaller one if you need to. You can never have enough lens in Alaska. framer 2nd thought if the D80 is a crop sensor then the 70 - 300 is cool. framer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare havoc315 Posted November 3, 2017 #3 Share Posted November 3, 2017 On a crop body, I really think you're fine with the 70-300. Don't underestimate wide angle -- I found Alaska cruise presented far more opportunities for interesting ultrawide landscapes than for telephoto. I barely touched by telephoto in the end, but used utrawide constantly. So I'd consider something wider than the 15mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zqvol Posted November 3, 2017 #4 Share Posted November 3, 2017 You will need a wide angle much more than you will need a long lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandallFlagg Posted November 4, 2017 #5 Share Posted November 4, 2017 I would highly recommend something like an 18mm-55mm and then a 70-300mm. Honestly, those two lenses should serve you for the entire cruise. Anything larger than a 300mm WILL need a tripod (at the very least) and probably a remote trigger as well. If you are on a small boat excursion, good luck! I recently got back from England, Ireland and Scotland - took those two lenses with my Nikon D810 and they worked like a charm. Good luck and happy shooting!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juardis Posted November 6, 2017 Author #6 Share Posted November 6, 2017 Thanks all. The 80d is a 1.6x crop camera and I will be bringing my 10-22 and 15-85, just wondering on the 70-300. I think you guys answered it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juardis Posted November 6, 2017 Author #7 Share Posted November 6, 2017 If you are on a small boat excursion, good luck! What does that mean? Good luck getting photos? Not getting sick? something else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peety3 Posted November 6, 2017 #8 Share Posted November 6, 2017 70-300 is plenty long for glaciers and whales, especially on crop. On our recent cruise, the only times that a longer shot worked at the glaciers is if we sandwiched it amongst others around 200mm on FF, and those longer shots are few and far between as keepers. The challenge with glaciers is you never know where they'll calve, so you either commit to one spot and miss out on others (or reacquire FAST), or zoom out and crop as desired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loonbeam Posted November 6, 2017 #9 Share Posted November 6, 2017 If you didn't have the 300 I would have said rent a 150-600. If you were doing denali I would have sent rent a 150-600. I think you will be fine with what you have but I might also suggest renting the Tamron 18-400. It did a real nice job on a recent trip to europe and covers the full range of what you may need (I did a post on it with some samples in this thread): https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2526543 Then again, for Alaska I would dual body if I could for the boat trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byargertx Posted November 11, 2017 #10 Share Posted November 11, 2017 The longest lens I took last year for my Sony full frame was the 24-240mm. The excursions I took didn't really require anything longer. And I echo the previous comments about the wide lenses, the bulk of my pictures shaded to that side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandallFlagg Posted November 11, 2017 #11 Share Posted November 11, 2017 What does that mean? Good luck getting photos? Not getting sick? something else? It means that when you are on a small vessel and you are using a long lens - the smallest movement will take your shot away (make it blurry at the very least) Small boats tend to bounce and yaw a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juardis Posted November 18, 2017 Author #12 Share Posted November 18, 2017 It means that when you are on a small vessel and you are using a long lens - the smallest movement will take your shot away (make it blurry at the very least) Small boats tend to bounce and yaw a lot.oh yeah. gotcha. Hopefully IS (or VR if you're a Nikon guy) will help a lot with that, but yeah, certainly would need to put the camera in shutter priority mode, preferably at 1/1000th if conditions allow it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peety3 Posted November 18, 2017 #13 Share Posted November 18, 2017 oh yeah. gotcha. Hopefully IS (or VR if you're a Nikon guy) will help a lot with that, but yeah, certainly would need to put the camera in shutter priority mode, preferably at 1/1000th if conditions allow it. IS/VR/OS/whatever is not nearly enough to counteract the rocking of a small boat - you've got to keep the lens generally aimed at the subject for IS to have a chance to help you out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framer Posted November 21, 2017 #14 Share Posted November 21, 2017 IS/VR/OS/whatever is not nearly enough to counteract the rocking of a small boat - you've got to keep the lens generally aimed at the subject for IS to have a chance to help you out. IMHO IS/VR/OS should not be used if you are shooting above 1/500th of a sec. Depending on the generation of VR it may cause issues. I would push my shutter speed to min of 1/2000th or higher if able. I'm a fan of Aperture Mode and would use ISO to get my shutter speed up. framer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peety3 Posted November 21, 2017 #15 Share Posted November 21, 2017 IMHO IS/VR/OS should not be used if you are shooting above 1/500th of a sec. Depending on the generation of VR it may cause issues. I would push my shutter speed to min of 1/2000th or higher if able. I'm a fan of Aperture Mode and would use ISO to get my shutter speed up. My original point is that you can get yourself to a nice fast shutter speed, and VR or not, the rocking of the boat will mean you'll get a lot of shots of the water. Or the sky. Or the beach. But...not the whales. The longer the lens, the tougher it is. That said, I do wholeheartedly agree with your comment about aperture priority. I'd much rather set my aperture (wide-open, in this case) and ISO (as high as needed) to get a shutter speed in the ballpark (or faster) than what I wanted, and let the shutter speed wander as needed to get a properly-exposed shot, than I would set my shutter speed (to an arbitrary value) and ISO (as high as needed) to get a viable aperture value, as a little moment of unexpected "darker-ness" will put your camera up against its aperture limits, and therefore result in a dark photo (unless you have some sort of "safety shift" setting, in which case it'll override that shutter speed you so carefully set anyway). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharod Posted December 4, 2017 #16 Share Posted December 4, 2017 I went to Alaska a few months back with my Canon 70D. Did everything from bear viewing in Lake Clark, halibut fishing, Alaska Railroad that included a Resurrection Bay cruise, Denali flight tour, and much more! I took along my Tamron 17-50VC, Canon 18-135 STM, and rented the Canon 100-400 II. They all came in handy! I don't regret taking any of them! I did fine with hand holding my camera with the 100-400 attached. Just made sure my shutter speed was accurate to avoid blur. I think you may find many cruises do not allow tripods, I believe it may be a trip hazard. Monopod maybe? I would call and ask. Have a great trip! Alaska is AMAZING!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framer Posted December 4, 2017 #17 Share Posted December 4, 2017 Never ask, just beg for forgiveness. I've normally had a lower balcony and use the tripod from there. It gets used mainly in GBNP. It sits with a 400/2.8 I sometimes have a 1.4 extender on it depending on what I'm seeing. I then walk around w/70-200/2.8 for glacier viewing. I have seen a few tripods on the promenade but you really need to work faster when out with the wolfs. framer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharod Posted December 4, 2017 #18 Share Posted December 4, 2017 Never ask, just beg for forgiveness. I've normally had a lower balcony and use the tripod from there. It gets used mainly in GBNP. It sits with a 400/2.8 I sometimes have a 1.4 extender on it depending on what I'm seeing. I then walk around w/70-200/2.8 for glacier viewing. I have seen a few tripods on the promenade but you really need to work faster when out with the wolfs. framer I never had an issue on a cruise ship. It's the glacier cruises I was referencing. Some of the walking areas from front to back (I'm sure it has a name, I just don't know it, lol!), are narrow. I am only guessing the charters feel that they are a tripping hazard. I could see it happening on a not so smooth ride with someone's tripod taking up most of the walkway, and people trying to maneuver past. That's why I suggested a monopod. Smaller footprint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loonbeam Posted December 4, 2017 #19 Share Posted December 4, 2017 When we did Alaska the Coral made an announcement that Tripods were not permitted in certain narrower deck areas on scenic cruising days but otherwise ok (of course, the don't be a jerk rule applies too). They were NOT allowed on the cruise/flight excursion we did out of Ketchikan or some of the whale watching excursions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juardis Posted December 4, 2017 Author #20 Share Posted December 4, 2017 The glacier cruises we're taking do not allow tripods. However, my tripod does have one of the legs that can be used as a monopod, but I doubt I even take that since I typically hand hold and I want to be able to point and shoot quickly. The tripod is mainly for our balcony on the big cruise ship and maybe out on the deck just so I can use a cabled shutter release and keep my hands in my pockets :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmjivey Posted December 5, 2017 #21 Share Posted December 5, 2017 If you looking to rent and not just use what you have, remember you can get really nice glass for Alaska by renting. A Pro grade lens versus a consumer grade is a huge difference Just my 2 cents John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photo Andy Posted January 14, 2018 #22 Share Posted January 14, 2018 Use high ISO for fast shutter speeds /auto iso if possible with max 1/8000 and slowest speed 1/2000, motor drive 2-3 fps, monopod on land not on deck as danger with vibration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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