Nagare Posted June 19, 2018 #1 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Hello everyone. We are going on an Alaska cruise at the end of August and are looking at a river float excursion in Skagway -- either the Eagle Preserve and Chilkat River float from Haines, or the Taiya River float. For those with experience on either of these, would you say they are "safe" for an avid photographer with a DSLR and shoulder camera bag? Is there much splashing water? And sitting on the edge of an inflatable raft trying to capture photos, will it be bothersome for others on the raft? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KYBOB Posted June 19, 2018 #2 Share Posted June 19, 2018 We just returned from on the Coral on June 6th and took the Eagle Preserve and Chilkat River float. We had a great time and really enjoyed it. Was a very different perspective floating along the river, unfortunately it was not the right time to see any eagles (was told 3-4 weeks later when salmon are running, etc....) I too am an avid photographer too; took three DSLR camera bodies, various lens, GoPro and Canon G7X Mark II. I had planned out every excursion ahead of time and what equipment is was going to take. For this excursion I bought a drybag you can get one from amazon or Cabelas for around $20.00 that will fit a DSLR and some other items, I bring this up because I am glad I did. The bottom of the boat has a little water in it. It also rained while on the river. For this excursion I brought a small DSLR Nikon D7200 with a 28-300 zoom lens along with the Canon G7X. My experience on this tour was the DSLR was kind of difficult to use (IE hang on to the camera, push the button and stay in the boat, good thing staying in the boat) then, did I mention it rained, I did have a rain cover for it (ThinkTank hydrophobia), did mention it rained, but found that since there were no birds to shoot, mainly landscapes the Canon G7X (not your mom's point and shot) worked great and was easier to shield out of the rain, did mention it rained. I will say you will find out what the difference is in Alaska between waterproof and water resistant. We learned anything "water resistant" ment if it rained longer than 10 minutes it was soaking wet. We had on layers, topped with waterproof jacket w/hood, waterproof pants. They do give you waterproof boots to wear. Our gloves where water resistant, we ended up buying another pair to cycle between used today and let dry out today pair. We could not find a waterproof pair that you could still work a camera, etc. unless the it was the kind to wash dishes with and I wanted to stay away from those, no use giving DW any ideas. Did mention it rained. My wife learned on an earlier tour that a 'water resistant' jacket means if it rains you have 10 minutes or less to get in out of the rain otherwise you will be wet, nobody has or will explain that to you in the "lower 48". I will try to post some photos when I get them uploaded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KYBOB Posted June 20, 2018 #3 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KYBOB Posted June 20, 2018 #4 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Just before the rain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nagare Posted June 20, 2018 Author #5 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Thank you for the reply, and sharing some of your photos. Very nice! I hadn't really thought about rain since at home I usually just don't go out with the camera on rainy days... but not much choice on timing during the Alaska cruise. I should definitely pick up a rain cover for the camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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