Dan_K

Chapter 2 of my photo project: diners of New Jersey. This is the Seville Diner in East Brunswick at twilight.

We users of high-resolution electronic viewfinders are mildly offended by your glass and mirror-based bigotry.

 

;)

 

Dave

Oh Dave, Dave. I know you post in jest. You know what I mean. Of course, I didn't mean to exclude modern mirrorless cameras that have electronic viewfinders that you hold up to your eye. I meant to compare to smartphones that you hold away from your face. Again, perhaps just me, but I prefer to hold the camera up to my eye. :)

One more point on the DSLR vs. smartphone camera discussion. I almost always seem to get better photos with my "big" camera for another reason. Maybe this is just me. However, I find framing my shot much more challenging without an optical viewfinder. With an optical viewfinder and the camera held up to my eye, I find it easier to run my vision around the perimeter of the photo to frame the shot and hopefully exclude extraneous objects at the edges of the frame that detract from the main subject of the photo. I don't do as good a job of this while holding the camera away from my face. Again, maybe this is just me.

I accept your adjustments! :)

 

You were correct in assuming that I was actually referring to shooting actual "manual only". Waste of a couple billion dollars worth of research IMHO!

 

I've never heard someone refer to Aperture- or Shutter-priority mode as "manual", but I can see them being perceived that way if the user is not yet knowledgeable about settings.

 

Dave

When I suggested earlier that an entry-level photographer should not use the manual exposure mode, I was referring to purely manual, where the photographer choses both the shutter speed and the aperture. I agree with you Dave, that this is a waste of good technology. More importantly, it is far too easy for a beginner to get this settings wrong, and end up with a horribly exposed, and therefore unusable, photo. If the camera is set to AUTO (or A or S), the photo will be properly exposed most of the time.

I stick to my position that a DSLR is superior to a smartphone camera for vacation pictures (even an outdated one like a D40) if one is serious about getting good vacation pictures. My opinion in this regard is grounded in two things - one very important, and one perhaps less so. The important thing is optical zoom as compared to digital zoom on a phone. It is sometimes simply not possible to zoom with one's feet (i.e. walk closer to the subject.) In this situation the ability to zoom optically is a distinct advantage. The other thing that an SLR does better than a camera is focus quickly. Although this is not important for purely landscape shots, it is critically important where moving subjects are to be photographed. For example, if there are people or animals in the frame, a DSLR offers this distinct advantage.

Any modern DSLR is far better than any smartphone camera. Even the D40, which is an older unit, will outperform even the best camera phone. This is particularly true in challenging lighting situations or where focusing quickly is important. Also, paired with the kit lens, the D40's optical zoom will give it a distinct advantage over a smartphone camera.

A beginner should not set the camera on manual exposure. I am an experienced photographer and rarely use this setting unless there is a very good reason. Setting the camera on auto will work fine until you learn to use the camera settings.

I am taking on a new photo self-assignment - diners of New Jersey. This is the first installment. Skylark Diner at Twilight.

Check to be sure that this lens is compatible with your camera. My understanding is that these Nikon P lenses will only work with the very latest models.

I have one more piece of advice. Print photos! Another bit of exaggeration, but to me a photo is not really a photo unless it is printed on paper (canvas, metal, etc.) Frame them. Put them on the wall for all to see and enjoy.

Great advice given so far. I am going to exaggerate a little bit. Don't worry about camera settings. Even on fully auto, and using the kit lens, the Nikon is capable of stunning results.

Instead, concentrate on what makes a good photo, most notably lighting and composition. Look at other people's photographs. Take an art class (yes, an art class.) Have other photographers critique your work. Ask yourself what would make a photo better.

The single most important thing I ever did to improve my photography had nothing to do with equipment. That single thing was joining our local photography club. Every month we enter photos and have a photographer critique them. Hearing other people's comments about my photographs over the years has vastly improved my photo taking skills.

After you have gotten better at the art of photography, then start playing with camera settings and buying better gear.

Atlas at Rockefeller Center.

Another vote for Lightroom. I subscribe to Adobe's Creative Cloud which gives access to LR and full Photoshop for $10 a month. I rarely use PS. Lightroom does most everything I need on a day-to-day basis. I use it to open raw files, organize photos into folders, tag photos with keywords to find them at a later day and photo editing. Most of the editing I do is cropping and color correction. You can remove small objects, although PS probably makes object removal easier.

The best thing about LR is that all corrections are non-destructive. Nothing you do actually changes the image - everything is easily undone.

Also, unlike Photoshop, Lightroom is intuitive and easy to use. There are multitudes of videos out there to teach you.

Lightroom is really a very powerful program.

This must have been one of those experiences where you are holding the camera, and praying. Please, no camera malfunction. Please no memory card malfunction. Please let me have my settings correct. Please let me get the exposure right. Am I composing well? Is it in focus? Then, you get back and look at the picture on the computer. Hallelujah! Great pictures!

Thanks for all the input so far.

Seeking advice on buying a printer. For many years (decades), I have been sending out photo prints to labs, drug stores, or the like. I have decided that I would like to buy a photo printer. Is anyone here printing their own photos, and willing to advise me? I see that Canon is offering a rebate. If you buy the Pixma Pro-100 there is a $200 rebate ($250 if purchased with as a bundle with photo paper.) This brings the cost down to about $150. Seems like too good a deal to pass up. Is anyone using this printer? Any general advice about choosing a printer and/or printing photos at home?

Addressing the initial question posed in this thread: I am a Nikon shooter. It not that I think Nikon is a better camera or system than Canon, Sony or any other. Actually, I think that similarly priced cameras, lenses, etc. from each of the manufacturers will yield very similar results under similar circumstances. I am a Nikon shooter because I always have been. 35 years ago or so, I purchased my first Nikon SLR (an FE2), and have since purchased many, many cameras, lenses, flashes and other Nikon accessories. I could not switch brands now without spending lots of money.

Sunrise over Holgate, Long Beach Island, NJ.

My daughter's bearded dragon having lunch.

Here is my take. I believe that if you are only going to own one camera, and you are interested in photography, want to learn about photography, and want to grow as a photographer, that one camera should be a DSLR. I don't say this because it will take better pictures than a point and shoot, or mirrorless. It won't. The quality of photos depends almost exclusively on the skill of the photographer.

I say this because of the flexibility of DSLS's. At this time, there is simply a much wider variety of lenses, flashes, and other accessories that are available from any of the major camera providers (Canon, Nikon, etc.) As one grows as a photographer, the flexibility will be appreciated.

I disagree that a modern DSLR will need to be replaced in two to three years. SLR's are a very mature technology. For the last few years, their picture taking ability has not improved greatly. Granted, a few years from now, the newest SLR's will have more and different features. But I doubt very much that they will take much better pictures.

This is not to diminish the value of having a mirrorless, point and shoot, etc. I own several DSLR's, a point and shoot, and use my iPhone on occasion. I am considering buying a mirrorless for the small size. But, in my opinion, if you are serious about photography, and only want to own one camera, it should be a DSLR.

Sorry for the delay in finishing this as I was away for the holiday weekend. Here is my impression of the ship itself.

This is a brand new, very clean and well appointed ship. It strikes me a huge. We were docked in Nassau next to one of Carnival's older ships, and she literally dwarfed her. Most of the public areas are on decks 6, 7 and 8.

With regard to cigarette smoke. I had read horror stories about how bad the smoke from the casino is in public areas. You can definitely smell it, but it was not as bad as I was expecting after reading about it. It seemed worse later in the week and particularly in the evenings, I suppose when the casino is most crowded. I would not have wanted to eat out at Le Bistro in the atrium, as the smoke smell would have detracted from the enjoyment of the meal. Inside the restaurants, there was no problem at all.

The main pool deck is overly crowded. It seemed to me that Norwegian devoted a huge amount of deck space to the ropes course and the water slides. The main pool is tiny and very crowded. My daughter and I enjoyed the water slides and the ropes course, but the top decks just don't have enough breathing room. That being said, as we were staying in the Haven, the lack of space on the pool deck didn't effect us as much.

The smoke, and the less than ideal design of the top deck are nitpicks. Overall, this is a beautiful and well engineered ship. By the way, I had read here about people thinking that the motion of the ship was worse than other ships. I did not experience that at all.

Next: food.

Nassau and excursion 3.

The next to the last day of the cruise was spent in Nassau, Bahamas. I have been to Nassau many times, and it is not my favorite port, so I didn't have high expectations for this port. My family did not want to leave the ship and my daughter wanted to stay onboard to ride the waterslides. (Port days are good for doing the waterslides and the ropes course, as the lines are much shorter.)

As we sailed into port, I got this shot of the Nassau lighthouse. Although I have photographed the lighthouse several times before, I liked the position of the yacht in the frame.

There were four (maybe five) large ships in port this day, so the streets of Nassau were very crowded. It was also around 90 degrees.

Immediately upon arrival in port, I left the ship to run quickly to the straw market. I have a tradition of always going to the straw market to purchase a straw-market photo album for my cruise photos.

Having been to Nassau before, I decided to try to do something different and take the excursion to the zoo and gardens to take photographs. Unfortunately, by the time I tried to book, surprisingly the excursion was sold out. I thought about taking a taxi and going on my own, but I had excursion credits that I did not want to lose.

Instead, I booked an excursion entitled Beauty and Grandeur of Nassau (I think that was what was called.) This turned out to be a disappointment as it was merely a bus tour with very limited opportunities to get off the bus and photograph. The most interesting stop on the tour was the John Wattling's distillery. Here, they pour very small free samples of the rum and you can make additional purchases.

Overall, I did not enjoy the excursion as much as I would have hoped. I should have asked more questions and I thought the excursion could have been explained better in Norwegian's excursion literature. I will know better for next time.

That is it for Nassau.

Next time, crew, cabin, ship and conclusion.

On our last sailing two weeks ago we skipped the Baths excursion since others complained about the mass of people. Did you find it to be overly crowded? After reading your review I'm thinking of doing the Baths excursion on our next sailing in September!!!

Great photo!!

Thanks for the compliment on the photo. Yes, it was crowded. Not overly so. We took the 9 am excursion - I had lobbied to take the earlier 7 am excursion, but I did not prevail. I am not sure if it would have been more or less crowded had we gone earlier. Even with the crowds, this is not to be missed if you can do it.

Excursion Number 2 - The Baths.

Let me say this up front. This was the absolute highlight of the cruise. We booked the excursion through Norwegian. From Tortola, you take a ferry to Virgin Gorda, another island in the British Virgin Islands. The ferry ride takes about 30-40 minutes and is fairly smooth. (That being said, someone got seasick on the trip, and left an inconvenient puddle on the deck.) Upon arrival at Virgin Gorda, it is about a 10 minute ride on open-air safari buses.

You have the choice of either taking the path to the left which goes directly to Devil's Bay, or take the path to the right which goes to the caves, and ends up at Devils Bay. The path through the caves is definitely one way. You don't want to try to go against traffic as it can get narrow and it is crowded.

If you have mobility issues, you shouldn't try to pass through the caves. It does require scrambling over boulders, and fitting through tight spaces. You also walk through water, never more than ankle deep. I wore water shoes, and these are highly recommended as the rocks can be slippery. You don't need to be young or athletic to go through the caves (I am neither.) My spry 82-year old mother in law did it! So glad she did.

Here is my favorite photo that I took all week from the excursion to the Baths.

As you can see, it is quite beautiful. Maybe I am exaggerating, but to me it seems like one of the most beautiful places to which I have traveled. Definitely the best day of the week-long cruise.

Next Nassau.

Is it just internet, as in data, or can you call, text, and use data on Verizon?

I heard it was all three but after reading other threads I'm not sure what is true or not.

I believe all three, but I am not certain. I only used the internet.

Excursion 1.

Our first port of call was Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. (Parenthetically, if you are on Verizon for cell service, internet works here with no roaming charges. Check with your carrier to confirm.) My wife didn't want to do an excursion, so my 12-year old daughter and I went for a snorkel and beach excursion. We had been snorkeling on a previous cruise at Norwegian's private island and greatly enjoyed.

We set off off on the catamaran called the Virgin Breeze to the snorkeling location.

Depending on where you sit on the catamaran, it can get VERY wet with water spraying up. Fortunately, I had brought along my boater's dry bag which kept my camera gear dry.

Once we got out to the snorkeling location, and after a brief instructional and safety presentation, we exited the catamaran and followed the guide to look for sea turtles. We did not realize, and the excursion literature failed to mention that it required quite a long swim in deep water with fairly strong currents to reach the sea turtles. We never made it that far. My daughter and I both got tired, and swam back to the boat. After resting a while, we went back in the water, stayed close to the boat, and snorkeled and saw some nice fish. Overall, we were both disappointed with the snorkeling portion of the excursion. If you are going on a snorkeling excursion and are not a VERY strong swimmer, please be sure to clarify how far you will need to swim and how deep the water is.

After the snorkeling portion, we spent about an hour or so at ABI Beach. This is a relatively secluded beach with lounge chairs. There is a bar, snack restaurant and you can rent kayaks, float mats, etc. We enjoyed this part of the excursion much more. My daughter and I rented floats ($10) and enjoyed floating in the warm water in a scenic location.

Overall, this excursion in Saint Thomas was enjoyable, but not as much as we had hoped. I wish we had done a different excursion where the snorkeling location was not as far a swim from the catamaran, and perhaps in shallower water. I guess it is somewhat my fault for not asking the right questions, but I also think that Norwegian's excursion literature could have explained this better.

Next, Virgin Gorda and the Baths.

A couple of photos of the waterfront on deck 8 at dusk.