What gear do you take.

Another thread has me thinking about what gear to select out of my photo arsenal for my next cruise. I am sure this kind of thing has been discussed before, but I am 2 months out - and am starting to think about it.

I am thinking of taking:

• Nikon D7100 DSLR.
  
• Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
  
• Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8
  
• Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.8 (new lens, want to play with it)
  
• Nikon AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5~5.6 (only for excursions)
  
• Nikon AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5~5.6 (shared with V1 for long reach solution)
  
• SB700 speedlight
  

• Nikon V1 (backup camera)
  
• 18.5mm f/1.8 prime (equivalent to 50mm)
  
• SB-N5 speedlight
  
• FT-1 adapter (so I can use the DSLR lenses) Last cruise, I used DSLR lenses about 75% of the time on the V1.
  

• Nikon P310 pocket camera (always need a pocket camera)
  
• Olympus 8010 waterproof camera
  
• Sony Action Cam HDR-AS15 POV video camera (for wife and son's zip line adventure)
  
• Sony HDR-CX260 video camera (wife's job is to take video)
  

• Benro Travel Flat Tripod
  
• Sunwayfoto Panoramic Clamp with "L" brackets.
  
• netbook
  
• small android tablet and ipod touch (which is used for other things as well).
  

And of course, all the miscellaneous batteries, chargers, and cables.

So that is 6 cameras, 5 DSLR lenses and 1 V1 lens. I suppose if you add the Android tablet and Touch - that is 8 cameras, but I hardly if ever use the cameras on those gadgets.

On one hand, it seems like I am taking a lot of junk, but for the most part, all of the cameras but the DSLR are fairly small. Everything fits into a non-photo backpack or a 20" wheeled backpack, depending on which one I want to take.

I put the DSLR, two lenses, and speedlight into a very small camera bag (Think Tank Change Up) that I use as an excursion/day bag, and the other DSLR lenses into a small Clik Elite cube. The Sony Action Cam, Sony Camcorder, and Nikon V1 all go into small camera bags that are just the right size for a minimum amount of gear. And the two compact cameras go into small pouches.

I use Think Tank cable management cubes for all of the cables, batteries, and chargers.

Everything fits into one of the two non-photo backpacks I will be taking.

But I am also thinking of buying a new backpack - a Gura Gear Bataflae 26L, and I should be able to get everything inside that as well.

However, I may have to pack the Think Tank Change Up empty and flattened as I still need a photo excursion/day bag to carry a minimum of gear for the day.

One one hand, I am thinking this is too much, but on the other hand it seems manageable. I have taken 4 out of the 5 lenses many times on cruises, and that is the most bulk, and I know that is manageable. But it seems on every cruise, I take more and more stuff.

I am more concerned about weight than bulk. And even though I am driving to the cruise port, I still don't want to get loaded down like a pack mule.

I might end up leaving the Sony CX260 video camera and the 85mm prime home. If I leave the Sony camcorder home, I might take the V1 video lens.

I guess it will come down to packing and making a decision what to leave behind then.

So, do any of you take a lot of gear?

Mines rather simple

Nikon d5100

18-55

55-300

3 memory card 2-8gb , 1-16gb

Monopod w/ballhead

Lens pens

Blower

Microfiber cloths

Cleaning fluid

Nd filter

Uv filter

2 batteries and charger

Black rapid strap

Looking to add

Tokina 11-16

Sigma 17-50

I tend to figure out what I might want to photograph before I get there. Then just take what I really need. Every cruise is different. 90+% are shot with one body and two lenses, a FF body w/17-35 and a 105. AK is the only place to bring it all. W/your DX body that would be close to your 11-16 and 85.

framer

I just took my Canon G12 with a polarizer filter w/adapter and my benro travel tripod with a remote shutter release cable and some portable light modifiers on the trans Atlantic cruise. I brought along a half dozen or so of 4 and 8 gig SD cards and used iPad with Snapseed app to post process on the go. This set up worked quite well for me.

I purchased a Canon T4i and an 18-200 lens this spring and I'll probably take that combo with the aforementioned supporting gear along with a 50mm prime, a vari N duo polarizing filter and maybe a flash unit with a couple of Pocket Wizards for some off camera flash work, plus the G12 as a backup for the upcoming cruise in November.

On most of my cruises, I take nearly all of my photo equipment - with the easy reason being that most of my cruises depart and return to Florida where I can drive to and from the port, making packing for air travel a non-issue. However, if cruising out of another port that requires flying, I'll restrict my gear based on where I'm traveling, with some places requiring the big long primes (Alaska, for example), and other places not.

For my last cruise that I had to fly, I took:

Sony A580 DSLR

Minolta 300mm F4 APO

Tamron 10-24mm

Sigma 30mm F1.4

Sony 18-250mm

Minolta APO II 1.4x teleconverter

Sony NEX3 mirrorless camera

Sony 18-55mm

Sony 55-210mm

Sony 16mm pancake

Sony ECU1 .75x converter

Konica Hexanon 40mm F1.8

Konica Hexanon 50mm F1.7

Chinon 28mm F2.8

Chinon 135mm F2.8

Konica K/AR-NEX adapter

Pentax PK-NEX adapter

Slik Sprint Pro tripod

Full cleaning kit (microfiber, rocket blower, wet swabs, sensor brush)

3 extra batteries

Netbook

cables, filters, chargers

All of the above fit in my Kata R102 backpack, and I packed an empty shoulder bag and compact bag in my luggage for when I wanted to travel around with a handful of lenses.

My cameras and lenses have changed a bit, so if I was choosing again for an upcoming trip, I'd make the following additions:

Sony NEX-5N with EVF attachment replaced the NEX3.

Voigtlander Nokton 35mm F1.4 would join the lineup.

Leica M-NEX adapter would join the lineup.

Asus Vivo Tab hybrid laptop/tablet replaced the netbook.

In general, I always bring as much equipment as I can pack - for flights, it's what fits in my Kata backpack, and for driving to port, it's the Kata backpack plus a large shoulder bag stuffed. All the gear stays in the ship cabin, set up with the netbook/laptop on the desk, and each day I pick a camera (or two), and anywhere from 1 to 5 lenses that I'll need for that particular day of shooting, and the appropriate sized bag for that day. I bring 3-4 camera bags with me in varying sizes, allowing me to travel with a tiny bag that fits 1-2 lenses and my mirrorless, all the way up to a large shoulder bag that can handle two camera bodies and up to 5 lenses. I almost never walk around with the backpack and all the gear - it is more of a home-base.

Cruising I take

Sony Nex-7

Sony Nex-6

Panasonic FZ200 and FZ70 (due is Sept)

Panasonic DMC-ZS30 POCKET CAMERA

Sony SELP 1650

Sony 10-18mm love this lens

Sony 55-210mm

Sony 50mm

Sony VCL-DH1758 lens adapter

Filters, cards, monopod (walking stick TRACKS)

SIRUI tripod (great small tripod)

Ipad 3 6

Think Tank 7 + belt bags for each size camera to carry around town

Looking into a carry-all bag my Think Tank 7 is a hair small

any suggestions. Not to big and has a place for my Ipad.

Like the fact I can carry all this and does not require a LARGE backpack.

Tom :cool:

On cruise to Alaska this past June I took:

Canon 1D Mark III

24-70/2.8

70-200/2.8

15/2.8 FE

580 EXII flash

Canon S5IS (P&S)

Backpack camera bag

I went back and forth about taking my 400/2.8 with me, finally decided not to and go light. Taking the 400 meant taking a monopod and my TT roller, which is about 60 pounds loaded. In the end, I'm glad I didn't take it, it really would not have been used very much.

The battery life on the 1D is excellent so I didn't take the charger for it. I did take an extra battery but never used it. Also took two 32 gb cards and didn't come close to filling one of them. Since I had plenty of storage available I didn't bother taking a laptop.

Used the S5IS when off the ship and shoot panos with the iPhone. Didn't take a tripod, didn't see the need and didn't miss it.

I did take a 220 power strip and a plug adapter to charge the three iPhones and three iPads we had with us. Since the Apple chargers are dual voltage, and outlets are a premium on the ship, this worked very well.

Some of you folks are taking more camera than clothes!. Here is my very short list.

Canon T4i (replaced a XTS Canon)

18-135 IS EFS STM Lens (use off ship)

Tokina 10-20 MM lens

8 Memory Sticks 16-32GB.

Apple MacBook Pro to download to.

2 Canon Batteries for the Battery Grip adapter.

2 After market batteries for the BGA.

1 AA Battery tray for the BGA.

Blackrapid camera strap.

No spare cameras or spare lenses, they either work or get sold.

When going to Alaska I take the 28-300 IS lens, but not Europe.

Some of you folks are taking more camera than clothes!....

That's what I was thinking!

I'm not feeling I am going overboard so much by taking too much gear after reading some of the replies. I think I will probably cut down a little, but not much. Probably just not take the Sony camcorder.

I have reduced my cruise camera kit considerably.

5dMii

24-105

16-35

extra battery and cleaning equipment

430EX Flash

Depending on the cruise add:

Manfroto travel tripod

100-400 lens

Recently a little Canon EOS M comes along.

Guess I am getting older, hopefully wiser.

Larry

My usual cruise photographic packing includes:

2-Olympus bodies (I5 and I30)

2-Zoom lenses (12-62 and 50-300)

1-Canon P&S (S100)

1-Samsung HD camcorder

TL-36 flash

1-monopod

1-tripod

Assorted fliters, high-speed memory cards, cables, chargers, etc.

Camera bag

1-PC (Windows 7 with Adobe Cloud) to talk to my customers

1-Tablet (Windows 8 with Office 365)

1-Tablet (Android)

All cameras, lenses, and computers in a roll-on bag.

Light travel kit

D600 and 24-120F4 and SB600

Fully backpack, would include cruising

Two bodies: D600 and D4

Lense: 14-24, 24-70, 70-200 ( Holy Trinity ), and 24-120F4

Flash SB600

For Hawaii when I knew I was going to shoot portraits added to SB900s light stands and two umbrellas.

BTW I hit the gym hard :D

I went back and forth about taking my 400/2.8 with me, finally decided not to and go light.

A quick question...did you miss it?

I just ordered a Gura Gear Bataflae 26L backpack. I ordered the small size because I didn't want to over-pack. Hopefully I can get all of my photo and electronics gear into this bag. But when it's full, then that is the limit to what I am taking.

But I still need a day bag. I am thinking of something like a Think Tank Retrospective 5, Citywalker 10, or a Domke F4 or F6 that I can take the insert out of (which can pack into the Gura Gear backpack), and smash the day bag flat for packing.

I could use my Think Tank Change Up, but it doesn't smash flat very well due to the bulk of the permanently attached waist belt. On the other hand, I could probably pack some socks into the bag so that I don't have to pack it flat. Hmmm... socks or camera gear - what to leave behind?

Anyone have any other ideas for a day bag that can be easily squished flat?

I've got a Think Tank Retrospective that I use for my twin-lens day use, when I'm out birding and wildlife shooting - it's big enough to handle two very long primes, but comfortable enough and light enough to not get in the way...and I bring it on trips because it does flatten down very well in the luggage.

I also bring a shoulder bag and a small mirrorless camera bag both of which don't flatten down very well, but as you said, I just put clothes inside of the bag and pack them in the luggage, which works fine.

A quick question...did you miss it?

Nope, didn't miss it. It would have gotten very little use. Used the 70-200 and the 15 fish the most.

I've got a Think Tank Retrospective that I use for my twin-lens day use, when I'm out birding and wildlife shooting - it's big enough to handle two very long primes, but comfortable enough and light enough to not get in the way...and I bring it on trips because it does flatten down very well in the luggage.

 

I also bring a shoulder bag and a small mirrorless camera bag both of which don't flatten down very well, but as you said, I just put clothes inside of the bag and pack them in the luggage, which works fine.

I ended up ordering the Think Tank Citywalker 10 as it has a removable camera insert that will fit into the Gura Gear 26L. The bag looks like it will flatten out quite well - and if not, in go the socks. The Citywalker looks a lot like the Retrospective and even has the flap silencers. And while I really liked the Pinestone finish of the Retrospective, the Citywalker has thinner nylon so it should squish easier.

The Citywalker insert is the same depth as the GuraGear, and small enough to fit into the dividers as well. Be interesting to see how well this works out, but my plan is to pack the Citywalker flat with the insert holding the camera in the Gura Gear backpack. Then when I arrive to my stateroom, I can "assemble" the Citywalker.

Sometimes though, I think that I over-engineer this stuff...

It would be nice if a manufacturer made a travel bag that separated into two pieces. ApeCase makes a bag that comes awfully close, but the camera bag part is not quite large enough for my needs:

Used to take 2 DSLR bodies, several primes and an all-around zoom with flashes, tripod, monopod, etc.

Last year got a Fuji X100 with DSLR sensor. That's all I've taken the past 3 cruises and the photos are just as good. You really don't need a long telephoto unless going to Alaska or whale watching. The best option is a fast f1.8 lense and sensor capable of shooting at high ISO.

For Freedom last month, I took:

T2i

Canon 15-85

Sigma 17-50

Canon 430EXII (Unused)

S-95

Olylmpus TG-2 iHS (for water)

Honestly, I could have left the S-95 at home, but like RAW...

The most I've ever taken was Northern Europe last summer, which was the above kit, minus the Olympus and plus my Sigma 30mm f/1.4.

When and if we ever go to Alaska, I'll probably pick up something with some reach, but in the Caribbean, the DSLR never leaves the ship!

I sometimes get camera "envy", all I'll have to do is read this thread and I'll be over it quickly!

Vic

I take my Canon 5D MkII, a 27-105L zoom, 17-40L zoom and my 70-200L zoom. Always take extra rechargeable batteries and plenty of memory cards. Seems like its always more gear than I need, but it all fits in my Tamrac backpack camera bag.

I keep the list short since it goes in the backpack with my clothes:

-Nikon D90

-50mm f/1.8D AF

-18-200mm zoom

-SB400 speedlight + diffuser

-the usual filter array: UV, ND, polarizer

-Gorillapod

-waterproof pocket camera (Canon D10)

-backup point and shoot (Canon SX260)

-iPad for photo backup

-loads of spare memory

What gear? Depends on the destination.

(Current packing plan)

Caribbean:

- Sony HX5V

- NEX-7 w/16-50

- NEX-3 w/55-210

- Sigma 19mm for NEX

- Rokinon 8mm fisheye for NEX

- Batteries + chargers

- Netbook + external for backup

- more memory than I will ever need

Add-ons for Alaska:

- A77 DSLR w/16-50 f/2.8

- Sigma 70-200 f/2.8

- 50mm f/1.4 (possibly 50mm f/1.8 for NEX)

- some more memory to cover burst shooting for wildlife

Same as Alaska for Europe or Med less the 70-200.

Always take the LowePro FastPack 350 for travel and either a SlingShot 200AW or a little Amazon Basics pouch for excursion carry.

Dave

Here is what I have put together for security for my camera when out and around. I bought a Blackrapid RS4 strap. I then bought a PacSafe 100 Anti-thieft camera strap. Remove the neck pad on the Pacsafe and thread the PacSafe camera strap thru the RS4 Neck/Shoulder pad with pouch to hold memory sticks. Use the Blackrapid D ring on the bottom of the camera with the Pacsafe straps connected to the D ring using the 4 inch extensions from PacSafe. I have a Scottvest to hold the 10-20MM lens and spare batteries for the Battery Grip on the bottom of the camera. This is all I will take out on excursions. The microphone was $20 and runs on a AAA battery sitting on top of the T4i with the 18-135 IS STM lens.