Taking Pictures

[chaperonemom]

Have you even gone on a vacation and come home only to find out your camera didn't capture the same things your eyes did? This Alaska trip is a once in a lifetime adventure for us, and I want to be able to share it with family and friends. To complicate matters, I need a point and shoot camera! To capture all of the Alaska beauty, do any of you have a recommendation for a camera to capture the trip? Thank you!!!

[ikirumata]

Have you even gone on a vacation and come home only to find out your camera didn't capture the same things your eyes did? This Alaska trip is a once in a lifetime adventure for us, and I want to be able to share it with family and friends. To complicate matters, I need a point and shoot camera! To capture all of the Alaska beauty, do any of you have a recommendation for a camera to capture the trip? Thank you!!!

 

Come ask that question over in the Photography section of the Cruise Critic Forums!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=118

 

You will get all kinds of helpful answers!

[biojeep]

I bought a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS19 at Best Buy for pretty cheap. It takes great pictures & video & is small enough to fit in a pants pocket. It does not have all the bells & whistles of some cameras but does a good basic job. I have also used a Canon powershot in Alaska & it was more than adequate. I did not want to have to tote around an expensive, large camera so the point & shoot was more than adequate. Got good video of whales breaching & glacier calving.

[UPGrandma]

Although I've taken some good pictures over the years while traveling, Alaska (and New Zealand) is place where pictures often don't do the "real thing" justice.

 

The photo forum on Cruise Critic is a good place to get started and if you have a camera shop in your area, be sure to stop and "pick their brains" for ideas too. Neighbors and co workers who have traveled and shared pictures are also good to go to.

Edited May 2, 2014 by UPGrandma

[RoxnDox]

While you will get good info about cameras, there's one thing that hardly ever gets said. It's darn near impossible to capture on a camera what your eyes and memories are recording! And, believe me, that goes for serious photographers just as much as it does for the occasional point-n-shooter. The technology in a camera just isn't the same as your eyes. Those who can truly capture great scenes are a tiny percentage - the rest of us just practice, practice, cuss out our limitations, and then go practice some more!

 

So get into the camera discussions, think about what you'd like to do with your images (email them, post to facebook etc, prints, view on a computer, etc), and practice as much as you can. But realize that reality will exceed our grasp :p

 

Jim (been practicing and working on my skills for wayyyyyy longer than I care to admit!)

[Okie1946]

On our last Alaska cruise (September 2012) I used a Sony Cyber Shot and got some really good photos. But we are going to Denali for 3 days on this next trip and I wanted something that had a decent zoom lens, but did not want to fuss with interchangeable lenses.

 

I am not a professional and don't profess to be one. My camera shop recommended two different cameras - both Canon's. I wound up purchasing a Canon SX 520 HS. It is very light - and so far I have been very pleased with what photos I have taken.

 

I know older CCr's get tired of repeat threads and try to send you over to older ones and then you get lost. I tried a few of those when I was looking for a new camera and gave up.

 

Would recommend that you go into your local camera shops and ask one of the photographers for help. They really are the best sources for information.

 

Have a great trip.

 

Okie

 

Previous Cruises:

 

Alaska - Westerdam - September 2009 - 7 days

Alaska - Rotterdam - September 2010 - 7 days

Mexican Riveria - Oosterdam - April 2011 - 7 days

Alaska - Amsterdam - September 2012 - 14 days

[Potstech]

See plenty of people taking picture with their Ipads and Iphones. Did that on a recent Caribbean cruise with my Iphone and got some great pictures. No other camera needed. Can do videos also.

[Giantfan13]

I also favor a Canon. I used a Canon Power shot on our last

Alaska vacation and just got amazing pix. I have now switched to a Canon Rebel because I wanted to be able to change lenses and just do more with a camera. But a good point and shoot is highly recommended. If you are serious about pix, a phone or tablet just won't cut it.

 

As for capturing what you are seeing, never happen. remember we see things in real time, 2-D, 3-D, all a camera does is capture a flat image of what you see in depth of field. It is the entire aura of things, the smell, the breeze, things a camera simply cannot capture.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[fishin' musician]

I don't profess to be a photographer and use a Canon, a Panasonic underwater, my phone and a tab. My secret to getting a good shot is to shoot many pics of every subject then weed through them to sort out the best ones. Some day maybe I'll take some classes and cut down on the sort time, but for now I just make sure I'm loaded up on memory.

[TinCan782]

Regardless of what camera you have, get familiar with it and what it can and can not do. Don't buy a camera to take on a cruise next week, buy one to take on a cruise a few months in the future!

[takinpics]

All of the major manufacturers make great equipment. Go to as many stores as you can to actually pick up see how the size, grip, button placement fits your hand. You have to be comfortable using it. Buy extra memory cards. Set whatever camera you have to the highest resolution possible (biggest picture file size). Then, do like pros do - take tons of pictures and only keep the best ones. l take hundreds of pictures, then review them at home - on a bigger screen than the camera's - and select the best ones, and delete the rest. Remember, the "best" ones are the ones YOU like best - they are your memories.

[chipmaster]

Taking pictures for memory and sharing versus taking spectacular pictures takes good eye and lots of practice more then a specific camera.

 

Buying a camera can be daunting with soapy models and different prices. This link is a god one to read and decide what category u want to buy http://www.imaging-resource.com/WB/WB.HTM

 

Some can even get great pictures with an iPhone but the most important thing it right tool and lots of practice.

[DizzyDallasDi]

I took a photography class before my first Alaska cruise. I had already bought a new camera and wanted to learn more about capturing great shots. I found it very informative and there were several others in the class for the same reason -- going on a fantastic vacation and wanting to know how to take the best pictures. The class was only one evening but worth every second.

[Watson's aunt]

Have you even gone on a vacation and come home only to find out your camera didn't capture the same things your eyes did? This Alaska trip is a once in a lifetime adventure for us, and I want to be able to share it with family and friends. To complicate matters, I need a point and shoot camera! To capture all of the Alaska beauty, do any of you have a recommendation for a camera to capture the trip? Thank you!!!

 

Yes It happened to me when I went to Alaska in 90's.. I had two camera's and bothe fim and both failed. The first two photos of every picture came out all the rest did not something like 50's+ rolls of film gone.

 

then in 2011 Alaska cruise I sailed to Tracy arm I had a bad card and lost some of the photo's and then I really messed up I walked down to Mendahall Glacier with two camera's snapping as I walked I put camera down as the clouds came and started to rain. Both camers's did not have cards in them. The sun was gone and it was raining I lost of those beautyful glaciers. I am more careful I make sure I have enough crads and baterries and they are in the camers I only wiish I could get some of those photo's from someone on my 2011 cruise.

 

 

Mary

[Dismomx5]

I also favor a Canon. I used a Canon Power shot on our last Alaska vacation and just got amazing pix.

Len

Thank you for that information. The PowerShot is what I've been using for a while, and I love the pictures I get. I was worried that it wouldn't 'do the trick' in Alaska. I know that the Rebel would be my next, but it isn't in the cards, yet.

Have to remember extra battery and cards for the trip!

[peety3]

Have you even gone on a vacation and come home only to find out your camera didn't capture the same things your eyes did? This Alaska trip is a once in a lifetime adventure for us, and I want to be able to share it with family and friends. To complicate matters, I need a point and shoot camera! To capture all of the Alaska beauty, do any of you have a recommendation for a camera to capture the trip? Thank you!!!

 

We spent perhaps $800 renting additional gear for our honeymoon Alaska cruise in 2010, and came home with some really good pictures. Even so, we felt they didn't show the majesty of Alaska. See

for our photos from that trip.

 

We spent about $1300 renting additional gear for our 2012 cruise (which also meant we had more owned gear to pick from), and came home with really good pictures. Even so, we didn't think they truly captured the magic of Alaska. See

for our photos from that trip.

 

We have a rental reservation in place for about $1800 for our July 2014 cruise, though I may thin that down to $1100 if not less based on a variety of factors. Our personal camera insurance policy currently covers $41k in gear, and that rental reservation reflects another $27k in value.

 

What's my point? You can take lots of great/big/expensive photo gear and still feel that you didn't capture it all. (Doesn't mean I'm willing to just leave it all behind though...)

[Crew News]

Thank you for that information. The PowerShot is what I've been using for a while, and I love the pictures I get. I was worried that it wouldn't 'do the trick' in Alaska. I know that the Rebel would be my next, but it isn't in the cards, yet.

Have to remember extra battery and cards for the trip!

 

My Canon Powershot S100 is my pocket camera that is always available for a quick picture of a delicious plate of food, a map on the wall, menus, etc. Take lots of pictures each day and even the same pictures for several days. Multiple copies of the same subject ensures you don't put all of your faith in a single shot.

 

After every few pictures, look at them on Replay. Download your cards every evening to a laptop and also backup them up on a USB portable drive. If you have any issues, you will see them each day and can change cards before you lose everything on your cruise.

 

When you take an auto-flash picture indoors, place your finger over the flash and take another without the glare of a flash. Sometimes the non-flash picture will be much better or just need a bit of software brightening.

 

Happy shooting. Canon Rules!!

[jimsig]

If you are bringing a laptop make sure to back up your photos each day as well. Just in the rare case of card failure, or loosing a card, etc. That way you only loose some and not all of your pics.

 

If in port and you have some time and free wi-fi upload them to a storage site as well. Back in 07 we went to London and every night I would save the pics to the computer and upload them. That way family members back at home can see them as your trip goes on.

[peety3]

If you are bringing a laptop make sure to back up your photos each day as well. Just in the rare case of card failure, or losing a card, etc. That way you only loose some and not all of your pics.

 

I'm planning on a 500GB SSD and two 1TB HDDs for backups - SSD stays in my cabin along with one of the two HDDs, and the other goes into my parents' cabin across the ship. I'm usually pretty good about holding the memory cards "aside" until I know that they've been backed up two places, but I may have to stock up on some more cards to make that a reality.

 

If in port and you have some time and free wi-fi upload them to a storage site as well. Back in 07 we went to London and every night I would save the pics to the computer and upload them. That way family members back at home can see them as your trip goes on.

 

Ha, I wish that was an option. Our last cruise was 145GB for 9400 shots. We normally shoot in RAW, but we'd rented one camera that was too new for our older version of Lightroom so that camera was shooting JPEG (a blessing in disguise, perhaps). Even so, we only had ~75GB room on my laptop plus at most 80GB of memory cards, so we throttled back a bit last time.

[chaperonemom]

I can't tell you how much I appreciate all of your responses and links to pictures!!! Full disclosure....Alaska was not on my "bucket list!" It is on my husbands! I was fully receptive to going on his dream vacation, but a funny thing has happened, the more I learn, read, see about this trip, the more thrilled I am that we will be going!

[world_traveler_et]

Have you even gone on a vacation and come home only to find out your camera didn't capture the same things your eyes did? This Alaska trip is a once in a lifetime adventure for us, and I want to be able to share it with family and friends. To complicate matters, I need a point and shoot camera! To capture all of the Alaska beauty, do any of you have a recommendation for a camera to capture the trip? Thank you!!!

 

I asked a similar question last year for my trip to Alaska in a thread "how to shoot a glacier" in the photography board. I wanted to be able to capture the blue shades in my glacier pictures. The answers I received were very helpful. I pictures turned out great! If you are interested you can do a search for this thread.

 

As far as a camera choice the group on this board will be able to offer some suggestions on a camera. The camera choice might also depend on what type of excursions you will be doing and what type of zoom factor you will need.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[disneybride96]

I took a photography class before my first Alaska cruise. I had already bought a new camera and wanted to learn more about capturing great shots. I found it very informative and there were several others in the class for the same reason -- going on a fantastic vacation and wanting to know how to take the best pictures. The class was only one evening but worth every second.

 

 

Great advise. Thousands of dollars worth of equipment will not guarantee good photos.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[kGCAL]

we just opened up the folder from our Alaska cruise a few years back. It brought back so much vivid memory. Bring camera!