TheOldBear

1 hour ago, peety3 said:

If the sun is always going to be 93 million miles away, and the whales are not likely to hide under a shade tree, what's variable here?

Clouds [nice dramatic, high contrast lighting]

Sun angle & compensating polarizer rotation

The background [dry land, glacier, rolling waves]

I have a souvenir Cunard apron and several photos from a QM2 behind the scenes tour.

The overall itinerary was similar to the one described for Princess - the medical center was omitted as they were dealing with an emergency. It was explained that anything below the waterline was off limits due to insurance regulations - so no engine room or cold storage stops on the tour.

The bridge was fascinating - up close the consoles made a FFG-7 bridge look almost as antiquated as the bridge on the original Queen Mary 😉 [and much better visibility than a warship's bridge]

Why manual?

When there is uncontrolled variability, some auto mode would make sense. 

There are multiple motions to consider - you, the ship or small boat, the ocean surface & the whale. Image stabilization only compensates for camera movement [you and the ship] but can be useful.

Will you subjects be distant [shooting from the ship] or closer [shooting from a smaller 'whale watch' excursion boat]?? What angle of view - close up / wide angle; distant telephoto?

Are your available lenses fast [f4 or smaller] or typical 'kit' lenses [f5.6 or higher]?

I would tend to use:

• RAW format [allow maximum manipulation if the rest of the settings go astray]
• Auto ISO
• Programed Exposure - keep an eye on what the auto camera settings are, and work to select the proper shutter speed / aperture pair from the program's settings - In P mode, one dial will adjust the program changing both the shutter speed and aperture keeping the exposure constant.
• Single point AF, in the middle of the frame [not continuous / tracking focus]

If you want to stop motion, you will need a fast shutter speed - 1/500 or faster. If you want a deliberate blur you can go slower [how slow depends on a multitude of variables].

If you camera has exposure compensation, you may need to adjust that depending on the prevailing background brightness - e.g. the camera will try to render an expanse of sunlit snow as 18% neutral grey instead of bright white.

As I have mentioned up thread, the two surviving larger sensor 'bridge' cameras are the Panasonic and Sony models.

Sony's strategy for the RX-10 series seems to be keep the older models available as the lower priced models in the series - so while all are quite capable, the newer models add features and software revisions. I think the model 'IV' added some weather sealing.

The other camera in this niche is the Panasonic FZ-1000. This also has a medium size [so called 'one inch' ] sensor and a bright fixed zoom lens. A 'mark II' version was recent released, and the original was available for about $500 [this is less that I paid for my FZ-50 back in 2008] 

You may want to consider a 'bridge' camera [fixed lens camera] with a fairly long zoom, and a fairly large sensor.

Both Panasonic [FZ1000, FZ1000 mark2] and Sony [RX10 series] have cameras in this category.

Another option is the Olympus EM5 mark 2, bundled with a travel zoom lens [14-150mm,  provides a similar angle of view to 28-300 mm for a 'full frame' camera].  Olympus is releasing a 12-300mm zoom this spring - similar angle of view to a 24-600 mm full frame lens, but that would likely exceed your budget [and be bulky/heavy]

This combination is weather sealed [ok in the rain or snow - don't dunk it] unlike most of the other options [I think some of the later Sony RX series cameras are also weather sealed]

Back in 2017 we each purchased a 6 day spa pass, and used days from the pass on both the eastbound and westbound legs.

We will likely use this approach again for this year's round trip. 

54 minutes ago, Wordzz said:

The complaints have been ongoing for some considerable time now, and rightly so - the new site is still terrible. I wonder if they are actually heeding this and doing anything about it?

Usually an IT disaster like the Cunard/Princess/HAL website rollout results in a promotion for the manager, and continued contracts with the outsourcing company responsible for the update. Scot Adams' Dilbert is usually a reliable guide to this

On 2/19/2019 at 12:58 PM, cruise kitty said:

 

Thanks Simon, it looks really interesting, but yes, I'm blocked as I'm in the U.S. 

I was able to watch that show last night - via BBC's "Acorn" service. We have that as an app on our Amazon Fire TV

Confusingly BBC has two competing so called 'over the top' streaming services 'Acorn' and 'BritBox' with slightly different content on each.

7 minutes ago, pengu1n said:

  I don't know, compared to the price of a cruise,  I don't think $325 is too much. (when it would cost around $80 to rent).

https://www.cccamera.com/shop/Used-Olympus-M.Zuilo-75-300mm-F4.8-6.7-ED-II/c28637c0-a231-0136-f712-00163e90e196?variation=1896387

That seems to be a good option - but I was thinking about renting a combo like one of these

• G9 + PL 100-400
• M1.2 + Oly 40-150 + TC [Lensrental's 'wildlife kit']
• M1.2 + Oly 150 - 400 [new 'pro' level lens]

Plus bringing my existing small setup

I also have the pair of 'R' lenses [14-42 & 40-150] and was happy with the results on our 2017 cruise. This included some photos taken in the 'Royal Court' theatre of the National Symphony & passenger chorus. 

There were a couple of occasions I would have liked to have had a slightly wider perspective, there are lots of options from adding the 8mm 'body cap' fisheye - to the 12-100 f4 or even the new 12-200 f3.5-6.3 lens. Any of the travel zooms might be a bit unwieldily on the M10.2 body, so getting a grip might be useful.

For Alaska, if I need some extreme reach - looks like rental is the only option short of winning a lottery prize.

4 hours ago, resjes said:

I have a Passport Booklet and Passport Card. I would prefer to bring the Passport Card at port, and leave the Passport Booklet in my room, to minimize damage (e.g. getting wet). Will the cruise allow me back on with just a Passport Card? I'm told a Passport Card is like the smaller version of the Passport Booklet but I don't want to be the idiot dealing with staff because I left my Passport Booklet on the ship.

The passport card would serve for a government / photo ID that some ports require to admit you to the port area [they can't scan your ships card to fetch a picture like the do on the ship]

If the cruise is one where non-passport alternate id is sufficient, the ship's id + the government photo id would suffice for all routine uses.

There are some cases where you need to bring a passport book with you. Fox example, at LeHavre France I needed to have my passport stamped leaving and returning to the ship on a one day port visit. Needless to say, that was not a cruise where driver's license + birth certificate provided sufficient id to board the ship in Brooklyn.

We had a couple who were upgraded to Queen's Grill at our Britannia dinner table for both legs of our 2017 transatlantic round trip. 

So it should be possible to join folks in Britannia - but likely not the reverse [but it can't hurt to ask]

3 hours ago, LocoLoco1 said:

First QM2 Transatlantic for us in April. Is use of Gym and Exercise Equip. Free? How about a Sauna?? Ice cream??  LocoLoco1 TOM

Nothing is $free - but there's a lot included in the fare. The exceptions are noted every time you need to sign something [Spa access & treatments and I think the golf simulators are about it for pools and sports extra charges]

Ice cream is sometimes a dining room desert, and soft serve is usually available in the Kings Court - both are included. I think Sir Samuel's has some extra cost ice cream [adult milkshakes]

1 hour ago, Host Bonjour said:

 

I feel like such a git for asking and I suppose I could google for a wiki answer but I'm wondering why? I love that Guernsey has it's own currency (kind of like Scotland except yes, I know, it's so not Scotland) but if it's of course equal in value to the GBP then why ever wouldn't it be accepted in England or elsewhere in the U.K.? Too many different currencies to account for? I can appreciate this having had to account for large amounts of cash in a big bank once upon a time - send out the old money, unpack the new money every week. Only....and I suppose it doesn't compare, we had quarters (25 cents) with all 50 states on one side fora good part of the aughts and they were good in every state.....ok say bad things about me, I know 😉

 

I was surprised, then amused by the reaction when I spent my first English sterling note in Edinburgh - perhaps because I was obviously a visitor - the part chortle, part the struggle is real - "here, this is better money" when handing me some change for whatever it was I was purchasing. Still.....he accepted the money. I'd have been less amused if I learned the money wasn't even accepted although it's likely, as with our OP is planning to prepare for their trip,  that I'd have arrived unprepared. But then again, I do *totally* get the whole wanting a separate parliament, money and whatever else for a certain feeling of uniqueness and singularity. 

 

I suppose like everything wonderful with the U.K. there's a long, wonderful history that I haven't yet learned about that is always fascinating. 

 

On my first ever trip to Europe I departed with about US$50 in Swiss francs, French francs and German marks...more than I needed to manage and I ended up with a few lira too because I took a boat into Italy from Switzerland. The euro has been incredible in this regard! But then as mentioned, so have credit or debit cards with no fees. I carry almost no cash anymore even at home. A few years working at the bank during uni and it put me off money forever, so to speak :eek:

 

For anyone that indulges me on the currency curiousity beyond a wiki link, I'm grateful. It's always the context from a citizen and cc member that I'm most keen on and that I value most. Wiki won't ever have that 😄

 

(That's for when I lose track of which King, when....the Queens I know, Elizabeth I, Victoria and Elizabeth II because that's all there were/is and I have to know!!)

 

 

 

 

 

[Need someone authoritative to weigh in here - paging John Bull 🙂 ]

I think the currency differences are due to the legal status of the Channel Islands.

They are not actually part of the United Kingdom [England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland] but instead are remnants of the Duchy or Normandy

So Queen Elizabeth is their monarch, but she is wearing her 'Duke of Normandy' hat while in that role.

We booked the M929B round trip [via an $UNNAMED_BIG_BOX agency] soon after the 2019 voyages were announced [booked November 2017].

At that time, we could have booked any Britannia category, and ended up selecting a midships sheltered balcony on deck 5. 

Well, Zeiss was showing one https://www.dpreview.com/articles/1799282416/zeiss-zx1-hands-on-with-the-full-frame-android-camera?utm_source=self-desktop&utm_medium=marquee&utm_campaign=traffic_source

17 minutes ago, Mediterranean_Honeymooner said:

 

So this 70-300 would be a better choice?  Do you not recommend either of the other two?  Do you have any other suggestions to look for used?

Its a reasonable, consumer grade lens from a well known retailer. Consider it a benchmark price for comparison. I have a similar grade lens for my Olympus (and some old Canon lenses in FD and EF mounts around somewhere). 

1 minute ago, Mediterranean_Honeymooner said:

 

How does one go about either of these?

There are a few online vendors - Lensrentals.com is a site recommended over on dpreview.com. For used, keh.com is fequenly mentioned. If you have a local camera store, they may have some used equipment. Any EF or EF-S lens should fit your camera body. It’s a very common lens mount, and a check on B&H photo shows a Tameron 70-300 lens for $129.00

This lens does not have image stabilization - for EF mount lenses that is usually found on the next price tier upwards. This should not matter unless you are trying for a long handheld exposure.

You may want to consider renting a long lens, instead of purchasing a lens.

another alternative is purchasing used instead of new. 

5 hours ago, marysb said:

 

Glad I found this thread.  I am going to move to a bridge camera from an SLR for my next Med cruise.  I am sick of lugging a heavy camera and lenses everywhere.  I want a zoom with really good quality photos and is light to carry.  I was settled on the Lumix Fz1000,  but the price of the FZ300 is so much more appealing (and it is weather sealed).  Anyone have any opinions on these two.  The reviews of the FZ300 are quite complementary, so is the 1000 worth it?

I think there are quite a few shared features - the cameras are of similar vintage, and use the same generation Venus processing engine.

• The FZ1K uses a much larger sensor and lens, and features an in lens 'leaf' shutter that allows for some trick balancing flash with daylight that focal plane shutter cameras [Mirrorless, SLR] cannot match.
• The FZ300 has a small sensor - and that lets the entire package to be much smaller, and a longer range on the zoom [crop with the lens in camera, instead of cropping the image on a computer]

I would go with the FZ1000 - its a fairly natural upgrade from my ancient [and quite bulky] FZ-50. Either one would make a good complement to my Olympus mirrorless camera kit.

For pending cruises, you can use the 'booking reference' to set up the Voyage Personalizer. For past cruises, the World Club vanished from the web site a few releases back, so will need to call to establish an account

Just tried doing a search for cunard world club, clicked on the link, and got the new site's 'page not found' [status 404] page

You may want to check with CC about international rates - for 2017 I purchased an international SIM, and put it into my CC issue Android phone without incident [put the CC SIM back in on arrival back in New York]

I think CC's current terms include international service - but it a pay by the minute option, this allows you to use the same phone number, but it may be more expensive than a dedicated 'pre pay' SIM.

 CC's international roaming page is at https://www.consumercellular.com/Help/international-rates/rates

I think this fall I will just enable roaming - we only made one call with the pre-pay SIM last time [and that was mostly to test the SIM activation]

Just got an announcement from Olympus about a Micro Four Thirds 12-200 zoom lens [35mm angle of view equivalent 24-400mm]. Its likely to be mostly a daylight lens [f3.5-6.3 variable max aperture ]

As indicated - take a peek / join the roll call thread for your upcoming cruise.

Some cruise lines have dedicated spaces for Bridge [the 'Atlantic Room' on QM2 for example] and may arrange hosting for lessons and tournaments. (A friend's husband gets a 'free' cruise with various lines running their Bridge program for the cruise)

7 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

It is OP who keeps referring to Oceania a a "luxury" line while I (and pretty much everyone else on earth) always refer to it as "premium."

Of course, now that Celebrity TV ads self-identify that line as "premium," Oceania and Azamara will need to add "ultra" to their "premium" designation.

 

As for the R ships, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

 

Even though their spaces and amenities are already quite "luxurious" (remember that O spent 40 million only a few years ago to transform the former Ocean Princess "R ship" into Sirena), Oceania is now doing a complete interior remodeling of all four R ships (including bathrooms and showers in particular). 

 

Insignia (recently departed on the 2019 world cruise) was the first to get this "Oceania NEXT" interior makeover and the reports I've gotten are that it is just spectacular. Even so, those folks who may have "space issues" with cabin bathrooms have the two new 1100 passenger Allura class ships (2022 and 2025) on the horizon.

 

Meanwhile, with the unequaled quality of food, service, amenities and bottom line value on Oceania, I don't think they're worried about not filling any of the R ships.

 

BTW: as small sailing yacht owners, we always chuckle at comments by folks who think any accommodations on most cruise ships are "too small."

It that at the Gowanus Yacht Club?

😉