Husbands camera for Alaska!

Thank you for all your help with my son's camera... now my husband wants to get in on the assistance. (and no, he won't ask for himself, thats my job as the "cruise director and chief planner of all things vacation and otherwise! LOL!)

His camera is a Nikon D80, and his considering getting a Nikon 70-300MMf/4.5-5.6GED IF AF-S VR Nikkor Zoom lens. He was wondering since his camera is a "full sized" camera as opposed to our son's mirrorless if his would do better with the longer zoom lens.

He will likely be taking SOME photos of animals and scenery (mainly as back up for what our son misses), but his job will primarily be taking photos of family (like our son taking HIS photos! Got some adorable ones at the various zoos and aquariums last year as he was setting up his shots...).

It is also fun for the two of them to compare photos to see how each camera does with the same general picture... we did that with the whale cruise in Monterey and I have to say my son's camera did pretty darned good!

Thanks for your advice,

heidi

I have that lens and it is fine. (It is starting to show it's age on the newest high mega pixel cameras, but on his will be fine). If he mainly is going to be taking pics of people and family it might be a little to long for that. Not knowing what lenes he already has, an 18-140 might work a little better. Or maybe grab a 18-300 if you want a general purpose all in one lens.

He has a lens that goes to 130 I think? I can't remember the lower number and he is out running right now... 35 maybe? He was thinking of getting this mainly to supplement our son's camera to get the long shots that he won't be able to with his Olympus EPL5. And for fun taking a few shots of his own.. thank you for the suggestion! I will pass it on to him... the all purpose might be a good idea for him to consider.

Heidi

His camera is a Nikon D80, and his considering getting a Nikon 70-300MMf/4.5-5.6GED IF AF-S VR Nikkor Zoom lens. He was wondering since his camera is a "full sized" camera as opposed to our son's mirrorless if his would do better with the longer zoom lens.

• I think the Nikon has a slightly larger sensor for better clarity... however the D80 CCD is an older sensor.
  
• I like the colors of the CCD.
  
• love the flexibility of the 18-300mm
  

Thank you for all your help with my son's camera... now my husband wants to get in on the assistance. (and no, he won't ask for himself, thats my job as the "cruise director and chief planner of all things vacation and otherwise! LOL!)

 

His camera is a Nikon D80, and his considering getting a Nikon 70-300MMf/4.5-5.6GED IF AF-S VR Nikkor Zoom lens. He was wondering since his camera is a "full sized" camera as opposed to our son's mirrorless if his would do better with the longer zoom lens.

 

He will likely be taking SOME photos of animals and scenery (mainly as back up for what our son misses), but his job will primarily be taking photos of family (like our son taking HIS photos! Got some adorable ones at the various zoos and aquariums last year as he was setting up his shots...).

 

It is also fun for the two of them to compare photos to see how each camera does with the same general picture... we did that with the whale cruise in Monterey and I have to say my son's camera did pretty darned good!

 

Thanks for your advice,

 

heidi

D80 and 70-300 VR is a good match. That is an older lower megpixel camera and thus won't stress the 70-300.

Remember the D80 is really a DX camera so the effective crop compared to film/FX is 1.5 so the lens from a equivalence point of view is 450mm FX.

Now compared to "mirrorless" you'll need to share what size the sensor is to get that equal focal length.

There are few better options to go longer for the Nikon, all very big or expensive!

I strongly encourage you to consider renting, as it may allow you to get much more <whatever> that you could justify purchasing. I always rent at least a long lens for our Alaska cruises, but what I rent has changed over the years (2010 was a 500 f/4, 2012 was a super-light 400 f/4 plus a 1.4x, 2014 was a 200-400 f/4 with a built-in 1.4x to make it a 280-560 f/5.6, 2015 was a 600 f/4 plus a 1.4x). Take a look at http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/nikon/lenses and browse anything/everything. Be sure to click on any lenses that are even a distant possibility, and read the "Roger's Take" (or someone else, though the vast majority are written by Roger, the founder). The RT is always what I consider a "man to man" (or woman!) chat about a lens, no punches pulled, no monetary influence, just the scoop, warts and all. Also, don't hesitate to call them and ask to speak with someone for lens advice. You can tell them where you're going, what he has now, what the goals/budget are, and they'll help you out. You can have the lens shipped to you (I suggest at least a day early for a cruise), or you can have it shipped to a FedEx Office location and pick it up with photo ID (signature is required either way, so if you're not home during FedEx time, best to go to FEO; it's the only way I do it). There are other companies out there, but LR's testing and repairs are distinctly well above the rest, and that makes a difference in the quality of what arrives for your rental IMHO.

Oh Awesome idea! Thank you for the link and suggestion...

For a D80 I'd just go on eBay and buy a used 70-300 AF-s VR. Be aware that there are several different 70-300 lens that Nikon made. The only one I would recommend is the "Nikon Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR", I would also double check that the D80 is fully compatible with the newer "G" lenses but I believe it is.

If I owned that body, I would use that lens.

framer

FWIW: One thing to keep in mind on taking pictures when on an Alaska cruise is the platform you will be shooting from. By this I mean, will you be shooting from a smaller boat (whale watch, etc.), while hiking on a guided tour, stuff like that. The reason I mention this is because it's harder to steady the camera on a boat, it's hard to use a tripod on a guided hike. This will make it hard to use a really long telephoto lens or if doing so maybe a monopod will help (if hiking). On a boat trip you may want two cameras, one with a regular lens and one with a telephoto. Anyway, good luck and I'm sure you will get plenty of great shots, I still look at my Alaska cruise and land tour pictures all the time!

I strongly encourage you to consider renting, as it may allow you to get much more <whatever> that you could justify purchasing. I always rent at least a long lens for our Alaska cruises, but what I rent has changed over the years (2010 was a 500 f/4, 2012 was a super-light 400 f/4 plus a 1.4x, 2014 was a 200-400 f/4 with a built-in 1.4x to make it a 280-560 f/5.6, 2015 was a 600 f/4 plus a 1.4x). Take a look at http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/nikon/lenses and browse anything/everything. Be sure to click on any lenses that are even a distant possibility, and read the "Roger's Take" (or someone else, though the vast majority are written by Roger, the founder). The RT is always what I consider a "man to man" (or woman!) chat about a lens, no punches pulled, no monetary influence, just the scoop, warts and all. Also, don't hesitate to call them and ask to speak with someone for lens advice. You can tell them where you're going, what he has now, what the goals/budget are, and they'll help you out. You can have the lens shipped to you (I suggest at least a day early for a cruise), or you can have it shipped to a FedEx Office location and pick it up with photo ID (signature is required either way, so if you're not home during FedEx time, best to go to FEO; it's the only way I do it). There are other companies out there, but LR's testing and repairs are distinctly well above the rest, and that makes a difference in the quality of what arrives for your rental IMHO.

I have rented lenses both times I went to Alaska and it was the best decision. I was able to use some really really high end lenses that I would have had few uses for back home and took some incredible pictures. I use a Canon, so can't be much help in specifics for a Nikon, but the advice I got from folks on renting lenses for Alaska was get one that has a good zoom (I used a Canon 100-400L) and get something that will do wide angle or ultra wide angle. I assume that Nikon like Canon has consumer lenses and professional lenses, go with the professional. Also, if you rent them, get them a day or two earlier so you have some time to play with them. Alaska is such a great place to take pictures. Went for 10 days, came back with over 3000 pictures.

Tim