Choice of Photography Equipment

[EnidSooner]

Thanks OldCodger. I have a 70-200 F4L that worked great for the flashless shows on our Freedom of the Seas cruise last year. I am fixed for CF cards, 8 Gigs. I normally take about 2,000-3,000 pics per cruise; but I anticipate a lot of burst sequences in Alaska. Can't wait.:)

 

The 70-200 F 4L Rules! Tack sharp and not too heavy. I took my new one to the Galapagos and couldn't believe some of the shots this amateur returned with. I can't wait for August and Alaska.

 

I'm considering a 400 F 5.6L and or a 1.4x tele extender. Any thoughts? All mounted on a 30D

[fti]

The 70-200 F 4L Rules! Tack sharp and not too heavy. I took my new one to the Galapagos and couldn't believe some of the shots this amateur returned with. I can't wait for August and Alaska.

 

I'm considering a 400 F 5.6L and or a 1.4x tele extender. Any thoughts? All mounted on a 30D

 

I have a 70-200 f2.8 that I haul with me though it is not that huge compared with some lenses. I love it though.

 

Re: teleconverter do some research about them. Some are better than others and the 1.4x is supposed to be better than 2x. With either the teleconverter or the 400mm lens you will probably need a tripod/monopod to keep it steady.

 

I am considering asking a friend if I can borrow his 500mm lens for my July trip to AK. But that will be a big lens to be hauling around.

[OldCodger73]

Thanks OldCodger. I have a 70-200 F4L that worked great for the flashless shows on our Freedom of the Seas cruise last year. I am fixed for CF cards, 8 Gigs. I normally take about 2,000-3,000 pics per cruise; but I anticipate a lot of burst sequences in Alaska. Can't wait.:)

 

Wow Mike, I'm surprised that f/4 worked. RC must really have the lighting cranked up in their showroom. On HAL's Veendam for solo performers I was using a 135L at f/2 800 ISO and had shutter speeds ranging from 1/60 to 1/125. For the musical revue the lighting was brighter and I was shooting f/2 800 ISO at speeds ranging from 1/250 - 1/400, which was great for stopping action.

 

The 70-200L f/4 is a great lens. I had one for a while but found it wasn't long enough and I really needed IS, so I sold it and went with the 100-400L. The new 70-200L f/4 IS is reputed to be even better than the non IS version.

[MVPinBoynton]

OC,

Most of the show pics in the review were taken with my 17-85 IS. If you looked at the review, I only used the 70-200 F4L for the Nelson show. I was up in the balcony so I could get clear views. Most of them were taken at 400 ISO at 1/100 - 1/200. Here is one of them.

 

 

I was surprised I could shoot that fast, since the lighting wasn't that bright. It was the first time I had used manual for a show like this. It really made a difference. I did use 800 ISO on some of the other show pics.

[picture time]

Hi-Thanks to all that have posted. I have been reading your posts and I am getting excited for my cruise to Alaska this summer. I am an amateur and I am bringing a Canon 5D and a 70-200 2.8 L IS lens. I will bring another lens but I am unsure of which one. I love taking pictures and it is great to read the advice from everyone. I just thought I would say hi and let you know I appreciate the information that I read.

[JohnQ]

I have the Nikkor 28-85,70-210, 20mm, 50mm and Tokina 400mm. So far I have not used anything other than the VR18-200. With the stablization, I can shoot at a slower speed if I am not carrying tripod or monopod. I will probably take my 400mm as that should present some awesome possibilities. Assuming I have time and place to change lenses if I am too close to my target. That happened on Katmai with this lenses w/o the 1.5x digital factor! I had to switch to my small digital backup when the bear got within about 15 feet! It should fill the frame as long as I can keep it steady.

 

The new D80 is looking pretty good out there if I can find excuse to buy it.

[kwall17]

Plantlady - yes I do have a swivel head from Manfrotto that mounts on my monopod or tripod. Can't remember the model # but it can rotate & lock both horizontal and verticle. Really nice when you want to take a series of verticle pictures.

 

Since you are from Houston like me, I suggest you head over to Houston Camera Exchange on Richmond. That way you can do a look & feel, then buy from them or get online. These people really know their camera stuff and are a wealth of knowledge

[qiangf2]

Hi-Thanks to all that have posted. I have been reading your posts and I am getting excited for my cruise to Alaska this summer. I am an amateur and I am bringing a Canon 5D and a 70-200 2.8 L IS lens. I will bring another lens but I am unsure of which one. I love taking pictures and it is great to read the advice from everyone. I just thought I would say hi and let you know I appreciate the information that I read.

 

wow.. 5D and 70-200 2.8 L IS are pretty good outfit for an amateur. :) welcome on board.

[OldCodger73]

Hi-Thanks to all that have posted. I have been reading your posts and I am getting excited for my cruise to Alaska this summer. I am an amateur and I am bringing a Canon 5D and a 70-200 2.8 L IS lens. I will bring another lens but I am unsure of which one. I love taking pictures and it is great to read the advice from everyone. I just thought I would say hi and let you know I appreciate the information that I read.

 

You definitely need a wide angle. Do you already have one? If not, a 17-40L, 24-70L f/2.8 or 24-105L IS certainly would fill the bill on your full-frame camera and fit right in with your other lens. BTW, you truly have a nice setup.

[picture time]

Thank you giangf2 and oldCodger73. I really enjoy taking pictures and I saved up and treated myself to a Christmas present(5D) a year ago.This Christmas I got the lens but I haven't used it a lot. I don't know all that much on how to use the camera to its best ability but I am learning as I go. I also have a lens- EF 28-200 3.5-5.6 that I will take with me. I can't really afford to buy anything else at this point. Any advice on how to use the camera to take better pictures in Alaska will be greatly appreciated.

[plantlady095]

Thank you, Kwall17! I look forward to visiting their store.

[EnidSooner]

You definitely need a wide angle. Do you already have one? If not, a 17-40L, 24-70L f/2.8 or 24-105L IS certainly would fill the bill on your full-frame camera and fit right in with your other lens. BTW, you truly have a nice setup.

 

I have a 24-105 L IS which I agree is a good choice and the IS lets you go down two stops. But, it is significantly softer than the 70-200. The new 16-35 2.8L II is out but no reviews at http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/

 

So many lens, so little time....

[AK Newbie]

I knew should not have started reading this thread.......

 

makes me want to buy a DSLR or a p&s Canon IS s2 ...we are going to Alaska in June and I have been wondering if we will just use our p&s digital camera (just a Kodak DX6490 4 megapixel, 10X zoom)

 

will have to investigate all those website bookmarks I just added and start talking my husband into a possible purchase!:p ;) :D :cool:

[MVPinBoynton]

will have to investigate all those website bookmarks I just added and start talking my husband into a possible purchase!:p ;) :D :cool:

 

What a fine wife he has. :) He will be very happy to have a better camera to capture the beauty of Alaska.

[OldCodger73]

I have a 24-105 L IS which I agree is a good choice and the IS lets you go down two stops. But, it is significantly softer than the 70-200. The new 16-35 2.8L II is out but no reviews at http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/

 

So many lens, so little time....

 

Or to paraphrase, so many lenses, so little money...

 

From what I've read on the Fred Miranda site the 24-105L IS is one lens that seems to have a high degree of sample-to-sample variation when it comes to image quality; some people feel that their 24-105L is the sharpest zoom they own, even better than their 24-70L and 70-200 f/2.8L, while others feel it's no better than Canon's non-L line. If your 24-105L is still under warranty, have you ever considered sending it to Canon for calibration? Some people have reported that after calibration the lens is truly exceptional. Doesn't say much for quality control does it.

[Denise40]

Plantlady - yes I do have a swivel head from Manfrotto that mounts on my monopod or tripod. Can't remember the model # but it can rotate & lock both horizontal and verticle. Really nice when you want to take a series of verticle pictures.

 

Since you are from Houston like me, I suggest you head over to Houston Camera Exchange on Richmond. That way you can do a look & feel, then buy from them or get online. These people really know their camera stuff and are a wealth of knowledge

 

 

I am also from the Houston area and going to Alaska in June. I have a Canon EOS Rebel XT. I have the kit lens, Sigma 10-22, Canon 50mm 1.4 and an old Sigma 75-300 Macro. I am thinking of getting the Canon 70-200 F4 with the teleconverter. Does the Camera exchange carry any of those?

 

Denise

[OldCodger73]

Denise, do check prices on-line at B&H Camera (do a Google for the url) so you have an idea if the Houston Camera Exchange prices are reasonable. Also, the 1.4X teleconverter seems to be a better choice as the 2X reportedly has a tendency to degrade images slightly.

[kwall17]

Denise, I have no idea if Hou Camera Exchange has what you are looking for. They do seem more of a Nikon store, but they carry everything under the sun. Don't expect any deals, but again if you need more in the way of personal service, they are very knowledgeable and may be worth a few extra $ for the expert help. Generally they have lots of used equipment too. I also suggest B&H or Adorama online. Have bought from them in the past and they are very reputable NY stores.

[deadzone1003]

Maybe, you guys to answer this question for me. I'm planning a day cruise to Tracey Arms and currently deciding between two ultra-zooms, one with a Image Stabilization and the other that allows me to shoot at a higher iso. Aboard a bouncing 50 ft ship, how effective is the Image Stabilization compared to shooting at a higher speed (like two-stops)?

[donaldsc]

Hi there... I do not know if any one has started an Alaska Thread regarding their preferences with a camera?

 

Do you just take a digital? 35 mm slr? what extra lenses? if your using a film camera.. what film do you prefer?

 

 

Thanks, if it has been posted elsewhere, please direct me to that thread

 

I have not gone past pg 1 of replies but I did not see any mention of backing up your pictures. At a minimum, take a portable photo hard drive and copy all of the pictures that you took on a daily basis.

 

If you are paranoid as I am, take a laptop and a portable hard drive and a bunch of blank DVDs. That way, you have your pictures in 3 places.

 

When you pack to leave, hand carry one set, put one set in your suitcase, and the last one in your wife's case.

 

**** can happen.

 

DON

[OldCodger73]

Hey Don, keep reading. About everything imaginable dealing with photography has been mentioned in this thread!

[donaldsc]

Hey Don, keep reading. About everything imaginable dealing with photography has been mentioned in this thread!

 

I just did go through the entire 14 pg thread and there appears to be almost nobody addressing how to plan for the inevitable data disaster.

 

Hard cards do die, sometimes with your picture on them. If you have a laptop and the proper software, you can sometimes recover your pictures. However, if you backed them up, you would not have to.

 

CDs or DVD are not as reliable as a backup hard drive. Multiple backups are always better than 1 backup.

 

You really can not tell by looking at the camera LCD if your pictures are turnng out good. You need a laptop for that.

 

I forgot to add several other things to my litany of possible disasters. When I went on my Antarctica trip, I carried the camera off the boat in a dry bag. You can get small drybags at most outdoor supply shops for about $20. They do not replace your camera bag but they are much easier to carry.

 

Also, if you have the camera outside in a cold dry camera and you take it back to the ship where it is warm and damp, water will condense on your lens. You need a optical quality lens cleaning cloth.

 

DON

[plantlady095]

Donaldsc - Thank you for the great advice regarding dry bags and so on! Those are accessories I had not begun to consider. We carry a Wolverine for backing up our photos and have been very happy with it. Our friends on the tour are bringing a laptop, so one way or another, we should have some great shots! On our last international trip, our hotel fire alarm went off three times, and we always had our camera, backups and passports as we evacuated. Too exciting! A drybag would have been a swell idea for that trip as well. Keep those tips coming!

[OldCodger73]

Don I thought I was the only one paranoid about backing up my photos. I usually don't travel with my laptop, I'm on vacation after all. For a week or 10-day trip I have enough CF cards so that I don't have to erase them. When I fill the card I download the pictures to an Epson P-2000 and put the card away. The LCD on the Epson allows me to review the files in much greater detail than on the camera's LCD. When I get home the cards are downloaded by card reader to my desktop's main drive and are backed up to the second drive, my laptop and three external firewire drives. I also make a DVD copy that's stored in a safety deposit box. All this for a bunch of snapshoots, grin.

[donaldsc]

Don I thought I was the only one paranoid about backing up my photos. .

 

I read somewhere that there are 2 groups of computer users - one who have already had their first hard drive crash and one who have not yet had it. When you think of the irreplaceable stuff people store on their hard drives, it is frightening.

 

Re the laptop, I bought a Toshiba laptop with a 13.1" screen, just for trips. It weighs only 4.1 pounds w/o the brick and I can drop it with its case in my daypack, if necessary.

 

Now if I could only find a universal brick. If you count all the electronics I carry with me on a car or boat trip, it comes to about 7 - 2 cell phones, 1 MP3 player, 1 computer, 1 camera hard drive, 2 battery rechargers for my 2 digital cameras. It is a miracle that I ever get through the TSA screeners. Even worse, one of my devices works only on 110 so if I go to a 220V country or travel on a ship that only has 220V, I need to decide whether to take the converter or leave it behind.

 

Seems like we are prisoners of our electronics.

 

DON