Lens Advice and Tripods (yea or nay?)

DH and I are going to be cruising soon on RCI's Freedom of the Sea (Western Caribbean itinerary) and I'm trying to plan ahead and decide which lenses to bring with me. I'm currently using the Nikon D7000 and have the following lenses to choose from:

AF Micro 60mm f/2.8

AF VR zoom 55-200 mm f/4

Kit 50mm f/1.8

Nikor AF-S 18-70mmm

I was hoping to limit it down to two lenses and was wondering which 2 to bring. Thoughts?

As well....the tripod....yes or no? Was thinking it's a PITA (pain in the a**) to drag around and may impede on luggage weight limits. Do you usually bring your tripod?

Thanks for your input!

DH and I are going to be cruising soon on RCI's Freedom of the Sea (Western Caribbean itinerary) and I'm trying to plan ahead and decide which lenses to bring with me. I'm currently using the Nikon D7000 and have the following lenses to choose from:

 

AF Micro 60mm f/2.8

AF VR zoom 55-200 mm f/4

Kit 50mm f/1.8

Nikor AF-S 18-70mmm

 

I was hoping to limit it down to two lenses and was wondering which 2 to bring. Thoughts?

 

As well....the tripod....yes or no? Was thinking it's a PITA (pain in the a**) to drag around and may impede on luggage weight limits. Do you usually bring your tripod?

 

Thanks for your input!

I'm not a Nikon man but I'd be inclined to stick with the two zooms and as I recall the VR is an anti-vibration [image stabilisation] isn't it? If so I would certainly not take the tripod, in fact I now never take one on a cruise. However if you are into macro work, noting the 60, a tripod is really a must.

I do base this on an assumption that you are looking at general photography.

For what it's worth my general kit for a cruise is now a 24-105 IS and a 70-300 IS and a flash it gives me everything I need and with the IS I don't need a 'pod

I'm not a Nikon man but I'd be inclined to stick with the two zooms and as I recall the VR is an anti-vibration [image stabilisation] isn't it? If so I would certainly not take the tripod, in fact I now never take one on a cruise. However if you are into macro work, noting the 60, a tripod is really a must.

 

I do base this on an assumption that you are looking at general photography.

 

For what it's worth my general kit for a cruise is now a 24-105 IS and a 70-300 IS and a flash it gives me everything I need and with the IS I don't need a 'pod

Thanks for your advice!

What I did neglect to say is that next cruise, because I'm very familiar with the ports I think I'll just take a 28-135 I really don't think I'll need the 24-28 or over 135 ends, so really horses for courses.

Depends what you are hoping to photograph.

I do bring my tripod -- because I enjoy doing some night time long exposure shots. If you aren't doing that type of shot, you really don't have need for it.

I would bring the 50/1.8 -- it's tiny, easy to bring as a third lens. But I always like to have at least one super fast lens in my bag for indoor low light situations.

I don't always bring a telephoto lens-- unless I expect to be taking telephoto shots.

DH and I are going to be cruising soon on RCI's Freedom of the Sea (Western Caribbean itinerary) and I'm trying to plan ahead and decide which lenses to bring with me.

You don't need a tripod and of the lenses you listed these two would give the most flexibility of coverage. You'll need a wide angle aboard FOS.

AF VR zoom 55-200 mm f/4

Nikor AF-S 18-70mmm

I am another not a Nikon guy but from my own experiences I bring a 15-35mm 2.8 and either a 24-70 2.8 or a 70-200 2.8 depending on what my goals are for each trip. I do not bring a tripod, it is just too cumbersome and I know that I can hand hold down to about 1/4 second with some patience. Also remember that the newer cameras do fairly well at the higher ISO settings so that is another reason to not bring the tripod unless you have some specific use in mind.

If you need a bit of extra stability and do not want to bring a tripod, a monopod or even a chain pod will help a bit. Obviously not as good as a real tripod but better than nothing. One advantage of a monopod is that there are ones that collapse to a really small length. Even a bean bag is better than nothing.

One other trick is to use your self timer or the delayed shutter release option on your camera to give yourself a chance to brace your camera after you press the shutter button.

DON

As a Nikon D7000 user and frequent cruiser I think you should take it in this order: 18-70 most used, 55-200 some use, 50mm f1.8 because it is so small. I would advise tripod if you want to be in the picture and for better quality photography. I use Sirui T025 carbon travel tripod with C10 ball head and it weights only 0.6kg