What gear do you take?

[nevin-deb]

Cruising to the Bahamas in May 2017 and wondering what gear to take?

 

Gonna be shooting with my canon t3i (hoping I get the 80d next spring)

I typically use the 18-55mm kit but am wondering about my other lenses. I have a 50mm f1.8 prime and a 55-255 kit lens too

 

Would a tripod and speedlite be overkill?

 

What about video camera, go pro?

 

This will be my first cruise, and I want to have tons of photos to remember the fun times in addition have great photos for framing.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Kamloops50]

Cruising to the Bahamas in May 2017 and wondering what gear to take?

 

Gonna be shooting with my canon t3i (hoping I get the 80d next spring)

I typically use the 18-55mm kit but am wondering about my other lenses. I have a 50mm f1.8 prime and a 55-255 kit lens too

 

Would a tripod and speedlite be overkill?

 

What about video camera, go pro?

 

This will be my first cruise, and I want to have tons of photos to remember the fun times in addition have great photos for framing.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

The one that you can carry easily is the best.

[flatlander321]

I mostly caught hell for what I took, but it worked out well for our spring Alaska cruise. Skip to the end of the thread to see what was used and what wasn't.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2348110

Edited November 21, 2016 by flatlander321

[peety3]

Cruising to the Bahamas in May 2017 and wondering what gear to take? Gonna be shooting with my Canon t3i (hoping I get the 80d next spring). I typically use the 18-55mm kit but am wondering about my other lenses. I have a 50mm f1.8 prime and a 55-255 kit lens too. Would a tripod and speedlite be overkill?

 

What about video camera, go pro?

 

This will be my first cruise, and I want to have tons of photos to remember the fun times in addition have great photos for framing.

First things first, let's get the video topic out of the way. Do you regularly shoot video? Do you regularly edit video? Are you experienced with shooting video with only a GoPro? If you're not answering a resounding yes, skip the video. It's gigs and gigs of data, resulting in countless hours editing the footage down to something palatable; otherwise, everyone will head to the microwave to make you a bowl of popcorn and then disperse.

 

Lens-wise for stills, give us more info on your excursion choices. My experience to date is Alaska, where I often win "the award" for being "that guy" who looks like he shoots for NatGeo/BBC/etc. For our upcoming Mexican Riviera cruise, the ONLY reason I'm taking a 100-400 is the two whale watches we're doing. Otherwise, it'd nothing more than the 14-70mm range (on full-frame), and the question is just zooms, primes, or a mix of the two.

 

Tripod shouldn't go unless you can make a good case for it. If it's for remoted selfies and such, are you SURE you can set it up and pack it down FAST? Otherwise, just hand your camera to someone and "git 'r done". If you're really going to do ND-filter dreamy waterfalls or disciplined panoramas, bring it. If you have an excursion where you think there's a clear reason, bring it. Otherwise, leave it. Consider a monopod as an alternative if suitable.

 

Speedlight: are you well-versed in using it effectively, presumably as a bounce flash, etc., and could gel it and adjust WB to suit so it'll "mix" with existing ambient light? If so, bring it, otherwise park it. I guess I should toss in a disclaimer that I'm a big believer in off-camera flash, so direct on-camera flash just doesn't do it for me. If that's good enough for you, ignore my opinion.

 

A few more random thoughts: don't be afraid to rent if there's something that makes great sense to use for the cruise but not buy for the long haul. I frequently rent a fair amount of gear for our Alaska cruises. Remember to enjoy your cruise. It is OK to take too much gear; it's OK to leave some of it in your cabin only to realize it never got used on the cruise; it's OK to take gear for which you only foresee it getting used once. It's your cruise, in the end.

[framer]

I think there is a big difference between going to the Bahamas and taking photos in Alaska.

 

From my Bahamas trips I'd say UW wides and normal zooms 24~100ish are needed. Unless you are planning something that requires a telephoto I'd leave it home.

 

As peety3 said, leave the tripod/monopod unless you know you will need it.

 

framer

[Mr. Click]

I take a 16-35mm, 24-104mm and 70-200mm, 5D Mk III and a 580exII. The 70-200 spends a lot of time in the safe but I like knowing it is there when I needed it. The tripod or a monopod are dead weight 99% of the time so they stay home.

[Bimmer09]

 

A few more random thoughts: don't be afraid to rent if there's something that makes great sense to use for the cruise but not buy for the long haul. I frequently rent a fair amount of gear for our Alaska cruises. Remember to enjoy your cruise. It is OK to take too much gear; it's OK to leave some of it in your cabin only to realize it never got used on the cruise; it's OK to take gear for which you only foresee it getting used once. It's your cruise, in the end.

 

I would agree with Peety on the rental if the location is unique and warrants it. On a recent Alaska trip I rented a Canon 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM zoom to get close-ups of wildlife and glaciers, neither of which would be factors in renting the same lenses in the Bahamas. As I couldn't get close enough to the glaciers in Alaska and may not be back there for a few years it made sense. It also confirmed to me that the lens was too heavy and expensive to have at this time in my camera bag.

 

 

For my next cruise in the Caribbean I am renting a camera body (6D) to see if I need full frame and to take photos of islands I haven't visited in 30 years. I have upgraded to L lenses in the meantime, since Alaska in September.

 

Norris

[peety3]

For my next cruise in the Caribbean I am renting a camera body (6D) to see if I need full frame and to take photos of islands I haven't visited in 30 years. I have upgraded to L lenses in the meantime, since Alaska in September.

This is certainly off-topic for where the thread started, but it seems relevant enough that I should chime in here with at least my own two cents.

 

First, some history: I started with a Minolta crop DSLR, and then switched to Canon in 2007 with a 1D Mark III - in other words, with that "goofy" 1.3x crop (I call it half-crop: it wasn't full-frame, but it also wasn't APS-C so I couldn't use EF-S lenses). I usually had some sort of APS-C camera as well, but didn't invest in many non-L lenses as many were EF-S and wouldn't work on my "main" camera. My wife had a 40D, and we added two 7D bodies in 2010 or so. We started the migration to FF in 2013 with a 5D3, followed a few months later with two 1Dx bodies, and then added a 5DsR a year ago. In between, I rented a 5D, 5D2, 6D, and 7D2 on various occasions, so I've shot with a good variety of cameras.

 

For the longest time, I was anti-FF: "you don't need it", "you can do the same for cheaper with APS-C and the right lenses". Then I started to switch my tune, to "FF probably has better low-light performance" (a lot because the 7D was IMHO relatively weak at low-light for what the camera is/was supposed to be). Once we switched, I changed my tune in a hurry: it quickly became a race of "how soon can I sell every APS-C camera we have". You will miss the long end of your lenses, but you'll love the wide end of them, and most of your lenses will just "make more sense" on FF (except the EF-S lenses, which make sense on crop).

 

Amongst other observations: the 35/1.4 makes a lot of sense as a full-frame group portrait lens (rather than an awkward solo full-body lens). The 50/1.2 makes a lot more sense as a solo full-body lens or other random walkabout than it does on APS-C. The 85/1.2 is "clearly" a portrait lens, yet it always seemed oddly tight on crop, but really comes alive on FF. The 135/2 is a ton of fun as a candid lens to shoot unsuspecting children from across the room, with buttery bokeh. 70-200 lenses change from being moderate-field sports lenses to short-field/court sports lenses, and you could easily end up breaking the zoom function when you constantly hope for more focal length. The 100-400 changes from ridiculously long to just right as a long-field lens. The 11-24, and even the 16-35, become true wide-angle lenses. 24-x becomes a great starting point, rather than annoyingly long on crop (and you won't miss the 17-x or 18-x focal length TOO much, at least as a "first alarm" lens).

 

And yes, FF does tend to do a lot better in low light. The larger mirror does tend to drive sync speeds back to slower values, so if you're a heavy flash user, it can be a challenge.

[Bimmer09]

This is certainly off-topic for where the thread started, but it seems relevant enough that I should chime in here with at least my own two cents.....

 

For the longest time, I was anti-FF: "you don't need it", "you can do the same for cheaper with APS-C and the right lenses". Then I started to switch my tune, to "FF probably has better low-light performance" (a lot because the 7D was IMHO relatively weak at low-light for what the camera is/was supposed to be). Once we switched, I changed my tune in a hurry: it quickly became a race of "how soon can I sell every APS-C camera we have". You will miss the long end of your lenses, but you'll love the wide end of them, and most of your lenses will just "make more sense" on FF (except the EF-S lenses, which make sense on crop).

 

Amongst other observations: the 35/1.4 makes a lot of sense as a full-frame group portrait lens (rather than an awkward solo full-body lens). The 50/1.2 makes a lot more sense as a solo full-body lens or other random walkabout than it does on APS-C. The 85/1.2 is "clearly" a portrait lens, yet it always seemed oddly tight on crop, but really comes alive on FF. The 135/2 is a ton of fun as a candid lens to shoot unsuspecting children from across the room, with buttery bokeh. 70-200 lenses change from being moderate-field sports lenses to short-field/court sports lenses, and you could easily end up breaking the zoom function when you constantly hope for more focal length. The 100-400 changes from ridiculously long to just right as a long-field lens. The 11-24, and even the 16-35, become true wide-angle lenses. 24-x becomes a great starting point, rather than annoyingly long on crop (and you won't miss the 17-x or 18-x focal length TOO much, at least as a "first alarm" lens).

 

And yes, FF does tend to do a lot better in low light. The larger mirror does tend to drive sync speeds back to slower values, so if you're a heavy flash user, it can be a challenge.

 

Peety, thanks for taking the time to respond to my post.

 

You have certainly had a rich history of Canon products! In my case I went from a Canon pocket camera to my first DSLR( in the photo)-the T3i. I've had it 4 years and bought it to get better pictures on my vacations. In between it sits idle as I am not a passionate user who goes out to photograph street scenes etc (but that may come in time).

 

I was unaware of L Lenses and Full Frame until just a few months ago when I started surfing the Canon/photography area of Youtube(where I now live). I wanted to get better photos from our recent Alaska cruise on the Star Princess as my two previous AK trips used the Pocket SD 880 and rented a Canon 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM and was very happy I did so. I thought that I must improve my hardware to L lenses from here on in but of course that is costly. You get what you pay for applies.

 

When I began to read about Full Frame and focus (no pun) on the 6D as it's the most affordable for me I realized that my 3 APS-C lenses wouldn't be useable.

I also learned that my crop sensor on the T3i was giving me longer reach by a factor of 1.6 so my most used lens the 10-22mm Ultra Wide was really 16 mm at it's widest point.

 

I like to shoot ship interiors and get a lot in the frame.

I like to shoot ships in harbor and get the whole ship in the frame

 

 

I like to shoot all our meals on the ship

I like to shoot landscapes, the more sweeping the better.

 

Hence the love of the Wide Angle.

 

I like to shoot ship shots before and during sunrise and at dusk and in the night time when the lights are on.

 

I never use flash, so to refer to your red-highlighted part I am looking for improved high ISO performance which the 6D appears to offer.

 

My first L lens is the 24-70mm F4 IS USM (Bokeh isn't a consideration for me)

My 2nd which I will buy before my next cruise 6 weeks from now will be the 16-35mm F4L IS USM which will give me the angle of view that my 10-22mm now gives me.

My 3rd which I don't foresee me needing in the Caribbean, so can wait, is the 70-200mm F4L IS USM.

 

On the cruise I will be trying out a rented 6D with the two shorter L lenses which I use mainly-the EF-S 55-250mm zoom I rarely use in the Caribbean. This will save me carrying two cameras. The end results will appear in a CC review.

 

And although we may be off the original poster's topic I think that the first consideration is-what do you like or expect to photograph on a given trip?

I've listed what I like; I don't shoot portraits or sports so favor wide angles and bokeh or high shutter speeds aren't things I necessarily need.There's a lens for every occasion and you can always rent a specialty one if you see a need.

 

Thanks again for your response and for your validation of Full Frame!

 

Norris

[peety3]

I like to shoot ship interiors and get a lot in the frame.

I like to shoot ships in harbor and get the whole ship in the frame. I like to shoot all our meals on the ship. I like to shoot landscapes, the more sweeping the better. Hence the love of the Wide Angle. I like to shoot ship shots before and during sunrise and at dusk and in the night time when the lights are on.

 

My first L lens is the 24-70mm F4 IS USM (Bokeh isn't a consideration for me)

My 2nd which I will buy before my next cruise 6 weeks from now will be the 16-35mm F4L IS USM which will give me the angle of view that my 10-22mm now gives me.

My 3rd which I don't foresee me needing in the Caribbean, so can wait, is the 70-200mm F4L IS USM.

 

On the cruise I will be trying out a rented 6D with the two shorter L lenses which I use mainly-the EF-S 55-250mm zoom I rarely use in the Caribbean. This will save me carrying two cameras. The end results will appear in a CC review.

 

And although we may be off the original poster's topic I think that the first consideration is-what do you like or expect to photograph on a given trip? I've listed what I like; I don't shoot portraits or sports so favor wide angles and bokeh or high shutter speeds aren't things I necessarily need.There's a lens for every occasion and you can always rent a specialty one if you see a need.

You do know that your 55-250 won't work on a 6D? The simple "acid test" is to look at the camera mount at the back of the lens. If you see a red dot, it fits every Canon EF-mount DSLR. If you see a white square, it only fits DSLRS that also have a white square on the lens mount.

 

You'll love the 16-35/4IS. I bought one last year and liked it so much that my trusty 24-70/2.8 (granted, it was the old model and had seemed to lose some of its luster due to old age as there's a known manufacturing weakness in some plastic bushings) collected dust.

 

Yes, FF will do better with low light. I've taken at least some spectacular shots with my 1Dx at ISO 25,600, but I think they were survivable because it was a mostly-red theater interior so the noise disappeared safely. I try to not push it past 6400. That said, my 5DsR (which is known to not have great high-ISO performance) seems to get edgy at 800 with flash (though I'm rather picky).

 

Do consider renting the 14/2.8 II for your ship interior photos if you're willing. It'll give you a noticeably wider view than you're used to seeing, with a lot less distortion. The 11-24/4 is a great lens as well, but is slightly distorted at the widest angles, and is insanely huge and heavy: you have to be committed to want to take it along, and have to make a careful decision on where to park it (you can't just drop it into your bag...it's that big). We own all three (16-35/4IS, 14/2.8, 11-24): the 16-35 gets the most use, my wife uses the 11-24 occasionally, and the 14 comes out when there's disciplined shooting to be done or we need f/2.8.

[Bimmer09]

You do know that your 55-250 won't work on a 6D? The simple "acid test" is to look at the camera mount at the back of the lens. If you see a red dot, it fits every Canon EF-mount DSLR. If you see a white square, it only fits DSLRS that also have a white square on the lens mount.

 

You'll love the 16-35/4IS. I bought one last year and liked it so much that my trusty 24-70/2.8 (granted, it was the old model and had seemed to lose some of its luster due to old age as there's a known manufacturing weakness in some plastic bushings) collected dust.

 

Yes, FF will do better with low light. I've taken at least some spectacular shots with my 1Dx at ISO 25,600, but I think they were survivable because it was a mostly-red theater interior so the noise disappeared safely. I try to not push it past 6400. That said, my 5DsR (which is known to not have great high-ISO performance) seems to get edgy at 800 with flash (though I'm rather picky).

 

Do consider renting the 14/2.8 II for your ship interior photos if you're willing. It'll give you a noticeably wider view than you're used to seeing, with a lot less distortion. The 11-24/4 is a great lens as well, but is slightly distorted at the widest angles, and is insanely huge and heavy: you have to be committed to want to take it along, and have to make a careful decision on where to park it (you can't just drop it into your bag...it's that big). We own all three (16-35/4IS, 14/2.8, 11-24): the 16-35 gets the most use, my wife uses the 11-24 occasionally, and the 14 comes out when there's disciplined shooting to be done or we need f/2.8.

 

Peety, thanks for the swift response.

 

Re the highlighted in red...yes, none of my EF-S lenses will fit the 6D or any Full Frame Canon camera. If I leave the zoom at home there is no need to take the T3i along unless to do comparison shooting using the two L lenses on both cameras. I might still do that as it's a test run to see if I can justify spending $1500 on a new body. I can always trade my T3i and the three EF-S lenses in with Amazon and take some of the sting off the price of the 6D. I am expecting to like it (a lot)

 

The 14mm F2.8 II gets rave reviews but at $2100 I will avoid the temptation! It would add another $200 to my rental bill. Maybe someday, maybe a used one?

Thanks for the glowing recommendation though!

 

Do you have any cruise photo reviews you could link me to? I would like to see what kind of results you are getting with your top of the line gear.

 

I am always excited to have a cruise on the horizon but doubly so this time as I'll have more advanced hardware in tow. January 14th, Celebrity Reflection.

 

Thanks again.

 

Norris

[peety3]

Do you have any cruise photo reviews you could link me to? I would like to see what kind of results you are getting with your top of the line gear.

No specific reviews, but here's Flickr albums and info to match:

 

Alaska 7-day Seattle RT on the Ruby Princess with stops in Ketchikan, Tracy Arm Fjord (scenic cruising, but we added the small-boat tour that finishes on the "wet side" of the Ruby docked in Juneau), Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria BC.

Gear includes 5DsR, 5D3, 1Dx, 1Dx, 7D2 with 11-24, 16-35/2.8 (I think), 24-70, 24-105L, 70-200/2.8IS, 70-200/4IS, 70-300L, 100-400, 600/4IS II, 1.4x TC III, Tilt-shift 17, 100/2.8L IS Macro, Zeiss 50/2 Makro, and a Profoto B1 with OCF 1x3 softbox.

 

Alaska Sampler on the Ruby Princess, a 4-day run from Vancouver to Ketchikan to Seattle to start the Alaska season:

This one has a really neat series towards the end that shows the differences between 11mm and 840mm progressively. Gear includes 1Dx, 1Dx, 1D3, 5D3, 7D2, 11-24, 16-35/2.8, 24-70/2.8, 70-300L, 100-400, 600/4IS II, 1.4x TC III, 100/2.8L IS Macro, and I don't know what else off the top of my head.

 

Alaska 7-day Seattle RT on the Grand Princess with stops in Ketchikan, Tracy Arm Fjord (scenic cruising, but we added the small-boat tour that finishes on the "wet side" of the Ruby docked in Juneau), Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria BC.

Gear includes 1Dx, 1Dx, 1D3, 5D3, 7D, 14/2.8, 16-35/2.8, 24-105L, 24-70/2.8, 70-200/4IS, 70-200/2.8IS, 200-400/4IS (aka 200-560/4-5.6).

 

We have older stuff as well, that I'm sure you could find (August 2012 on Sapphire, September 2010 on Coral), but IMHO our photography continues to grow and those aren't as good since they're older. If curious, my long lens in 2012 was the 400/4 DO IS (a massively fun lens: just a hair over 4 pounds for a 400mm f/4 lens that has IS...so light that I went without tripod or monopod and had zero regrets, and it takes a 1.4x TC extremely well. The new model is reportedly a lot better too!), and in 2010 was the "old model" 500/4 IS (weighs as much as the new 600/4 IS II).

[Bimmer09]

Thanks for those Flickr links! I keep my photos on Flickr too as I like all the camera and lens info that comes with each photo. I have looked through 1500 or so pics this afternoon and enjoyed it immensely. It's like a buying guide for L Lenses and the three I am interested in are all put to use so it lets me see some real world use and in fact a world I am familiar with through three Alaskan cruises in the past 5 years with Princess. We have done many of the same excursions and enjoyed a few Ultimate Balcony Dinners, Sabatini's breakfasts and dinners and the aft-suite life.

 

How do you transport all of this metal and glass? Do you have a rolling Flight Case with padded compartments? I certainly don't need one for the tackle I take.

Do you ever travel with just one camera each and have to choose just a small army (platoon?) of lenses? I'll start with covering 16 to 200mm and rent longer lenses for my next Alaskan trip. I am planning to cruise the Norwegian Fjords next August. Do you have any interest in cruising other than Alaskan waters?

I know-it's a photographer's dream up there.

 

I was very impressed with the 600mm plus the 1.4x extender-that's what I needed for good eagle photos in September!

 

Thanks for sharing- I am even more excited at the prospect of Full Frame and L lenses than I was when I woke up this morning.

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

[peety3]

How do you transport all of this metal and glass? Do you have a rolling Flight Case with padded compartments? I certainly don't need one for the tackle I take.

We have the luxury of living about 40 minutes from the Seattle Cruise Terminal. Usually, we end up in two backpacks one rolling duffle, and a few miscellaneous items in a suitcase. The most recent cruise ended up being two rolling duffles, just because I went overboard on some stuff. We did private tours in Ketchikan and Haines (Skagway); for those we took one duffle off the ship. I'm sure you saw the shots of me "dressed for NatGeo" - that's a LowePro vest and belt, with a BlackRapid Double strap fastened into the vest so it stays put. I have an older Utility Pouch that sits on the right with batteries, cards, pen/paper, etc., and use one or more LowePro LensExchange 100/200 cases on the occasion that I want extra lenses.

 

For that tour in Haines, it was a private photo tour that included the fast ferry transit from/to Skagway. I took the time before the cruise to write up an "about us" letter which I forwarded to the tour's office manager, who then provided it to our guide before our tour. That worked miracles for us: I think they gave us their best guide, and assigned him a former mini school bus which gave us tons of space to set out our stuff: one seat was tripods/monopods, one was a shootsac with telephoto choices, one was a shootsac with wider choices, etc.

 

For our next cruise, a 7-day Mexican Riviera, we're going lighter on lenses but heavier on lighting. I want to pre-light our Ultimate Balcony Dinner because it's an aft suite (and because I can), and I want to be able to do some lit portrait work of my wife as she's done a fantastic job losing weight this year and this cruise was pre-planned to be a celebration of progress and onward journeys. I anticipate two backpacks to handle all of the cameras and lenses, which will be carry-ons for the flight to LAX. I'll also ship two Pelican cases (one 1610 for several Profoto B2 kits and related small parts, one 1740 for stands and softboxes) to a FedEx Office location between LAX and the cruise port, and pick them up after we land; I'll ship them back to a FXO near here when we head back to the airport. I did this recently for a reunion she wanted us to attend in Las Vegas, and it was about $200 round-trip for the cases. I could probably put media tags on one of them and check it aboard the flight, but the other one will have lithium ion batteries so it can't fly checked (and is too big to fly carry-on).

 

Do you ever travel with just one camera each and have to choose just a small army (platoon?) of lenses? I'll start with covering 16 to 200mm and rent longer lenses for my next Alaskan trip. I am planning to cruise the Norwegian Fjords next August. Do you have any interest in cruising other than Alaskan waters?

Our next cruise will be scaled down. I suspect it'll be three cameras (5DsR, 1Dx, 1Dx), seven lenses (11-24, 16-35, 24-105L, 70-300L, 100-400, 35/1.4, 50/1.2), and the lights. We love whales and I think we're doing two whale watches, so that's the only reason we're taking the 70-300L and the 100-400; I'd probably also switch it around to the 5DsR and either the 5D3 or one 1Dx if we were just being walk-around-town tourists. We each have a Shootsac for walking times.

 

I was very impressed with the 600mm plus the 1.4x extender-that's what I needed for good eagle photos in September!

I regret not taking the time to focus-calibrate the 600 with and without the 1.4x when we rented it, as I think it was a hair off, though still quite good. I found it to be reasonably mobile when kept on the monopod; with the straps the way I have them I can easily extend/retract the monopod when approaching a shooting spot, and can easily park it on my shoulder to resume hiking. I've somewhat settled into 16-35, 100-400, and 840 as my Alaska kit. I feel slightly silly going with three cameras on three lenses, but it's so nice to just take the lens caps off in the cabin and go. It's rare that there's an emergency shot with the 16-35, so it stays on the left, and the 100-400 is quite accessible on my right.

 

I hope there are more Alaska cruises in our future, and I'd also like to do some fall Canada/New England cruises as well.

[Bimmer09]

We have the luxury of living about 40 minutes from the Seattle Cruise Terminal. Usually, we end up in two backpacks one rolling duffle, and a few miscellaneous items in a suitcase. The most recent cruise ended up being two rolling duffles, just because I went overboard on some stuff. We did private tours in Ketchikan and Haines (Skagway); for those we took one duffle off the ship. I'm sure you saw the shots of me "dressed for NatGeo" - that's a LowePro vest and belt, with a BlackRapid Double strap fastened into the vest so it stays put. I have an older Utility Pouch that sits on the right with batteries, cards, pen/paper, etc., and use one or more LowePro LensExchange 100/200 cases on the occasion that I want extra lenses.

 

For that tour in Haines, it was a private photo tour that included the fast ferry transit from/to Skagway. I took the time before the cruise to write up an "about us" letter which I forwarded to the tour's office manager, who then provided it to our guide before our tour. That worked miracles for us: I think they gave us their best guide, and assigned him a former mini school bus which gave us tons of space to set out our stuff: one seat was tripods/monopods, one was a shootsac with telephoto choices, one was a shootsac with wider choices, etc.

 

For our next cruise, a 7-day Mexican Riviera, we're going lighter on lenses but heavier on lighting. I want to pre-light our Ultimate Balcony Dinner because it's an aft suite (and because I can), and I want to be able to do some lit portrait work of my wife as she's done a fantastic job losing weight this year and this cruise was pre-planned to be a celebration of progress and onward journeys. I anticipate two backpacks to handle all of the cameras and lenses, which will be carry-ons for the flight to LAX. I'll also ship two Pelican cases (one 1610 for several Profoto B2 kits and related small parts, one 1740 for stands and softboxes) to a FedEx Office location between LAX and the cruise port, and pick them up after we land; I'll ship them back to a FXO near here when we head back to the airport. I did this recently for a reunion she wanted us to attend in Las Vegas, and it was about $200 round-trip for the cases. I could probably put media tags on one of them and check it aboard the flight, but the other one will have lithium ion batteries so it can't fly checked (and is too big to fly carry-on).

 

 

Our next cruise will be scaled down. I suspect it'll be three cameras (5DsR, 1Dx, 1Dx), seven lenses (11-24, 16-35, 24-105L, 70-300L, 100-400, 35/1.4, 50/1.2), and the lights. We love whales and I think we're doing two whale watches, so that's the only reason we're taking the 70-300L and the 100-400; I'd probably also switch it around to the 5DsR and either the 5D3 or one 1Dx if we were just being walk-around-town tourists. We each have a Shootsac for walking times.

 

I regret not taking the time to focus-calibrate the 600 with and without the 1.4x when we rented it, as I think it was a hair off, though still quite good. I found it to be reasonably mobile when kept on the monopod; with the straps the way I have them I can easily extend/retract the monopod when approaching a shooting spot, and can easily park it on my shoulder to resume hiking. I've somewhat settled into 16-35, 100-400, and 840 as my Alaska kit. I feel slightly silly going with three cameras on three lenses, but it's so nice to just take the lens caps off in the cabin and go. It's rare that there's an emergency shot with the 16-35, so it stays on the left, and the 100-400 is quite accessible on my right.

 

I hope there are more Alaska cruises in our future, and I'd also like to do some fall Canada/New England cruises as well.

 

Peety, I read this at 5.30 a.m today and had no time to answer as I was preparing to go to work.

 

Like your photographs your response is well-considered, meticulous and rich in detail.

 

Your passion for taking superb photos, regardless of the effort and expense involved is obvious. I am enthusiastic regarding photography and am standing on the shoreline, ready to dive into deeper waters, where I know passion will overtake me. Until now I have been relying on the youtube channel of Tony and Chelsea Northrup (Stunning Digital Photography) as my mentors in understanding just what a science and art taking good photos can be.

 

I saw the photos of you in your Lowepro vests and had to think-this guy is committed as you really tote a lot of weight around.

 

As I said I looked at each photo in the links you sent me, noting the cameras and lenses and in most of them zoomed in to observe the stunning detail that I wish for myself with L lenses and Full Frame camera. I was very taken by the shots using Zeiss lenses too-incredible glacier detail. My goal is always to show in a photo what my eyes saw at the time and your glacier photos struck a chord therefore. You can't blame the equipment when you use the best there is.

 

I am told I have a good eye for composition and thats the beginning of an upward curve as far as I am concerned. I would love to have a 5DS-R for the 50 megapixel count but what I would love and am willing to spend on totally changing my camera gear are two different things. I will proceed slowly but surely.

 

I have enjoyed two Ultimate Balcony Dinners on Princess -in my mind the best $100 dinner for two it's possible to enjoy. We did the Crown as it left Aruba with the sun setting and the Diamond sailing close to land after leaving Ketchikan with a whale breaching in the wake at one point . Good food and company in a glorious otherworldly setting. So I don't blink an eye when you say you intend to bring your own lights to make it a perfect evening for once in a lifetime photography with your wife. How will you power it all? (I've never used lights)

We are aft suite dwellers on Princess and usually book C749 if available.

 

I am familiar with Seattle as we have gone there for the Opera and the surrounding area, besides the city itself, is eye candy for someone with a camera.

 

My future holds a Full Frame 6D and 3 L lenses to put me on the right path.

 

I am standing on the edge of a Rabbit Hole.....

 

Thanks for the detailed response and for the Flickr links that show me what is possible. Like you I like to photograph big mountains and contrast them with some wild flowers that share the same zip code. It's a beautiful World and it needs to be photographed, relentlessly.

 

Cheers!

 

Norris, hoping you'll tune into my Celebrity Reflection review on January 23rd.

 

PS Don't you feel the urge to write CC photo reviews?

[peety3]

Until now I have been relying on the youtube channel of Tony and Chelsea Northrup (Stunning Digital Photography) as my mentors in understanding just what a science and art taking good photos can be.

I'm sorry to hear that. ;) (I'm not impressed with Tony and Chelsea, but alas I know that I march to different drummers than most.) I lean more towards the reviews at CanonRumors.com or whatever I can get my hands on from my main sources of inspiration: Peter Hurley, Robert Seale, Peter Read Miller, Andrea Belluso, Gregory Heisler. I felt like I had a serious Gregory Heisler moment just a week ago when I was asked (at noon) to shoot my sister-in-law and her family for a Welcome to Seattle "here's our new address" card: the four kids in "California clothes" huddling under umbrellas looking (intentionally) frowny/grumpy and the two parents joyful as can be in the rain. Mind you, because of our schedule, their schedule, and the rain's schedule, the shoot happened at 7PM, but I was asked to make it look like daytime. Let's just say it takes a pro to notice a few clues that it was shot in the dark, but Gregory Heisler is famous for putting several lights together to light different parts of the scene yet look like "it's one light". I'll try to remember to share the image once I know they've gone public with it.

 

I saw the photos of you in your Lowepro vests and had to think-this guy is committed as you really tote a lot of weight around.

Yes, but it's really "just" a BlackRapid double strap with two cameras and two lenses, plus a pouch for accessories (which have no business being on my back if I might need them), plus a bazooka on a monopod. The vest is just to keep the belt in place (the LowePro suspenders would ride up worse than a bad-fitting bra on DW) and to keep the double strap in place (it'd dance around my shoulders if not "tied in" to the vest). The belt is just to hold the pouch and maybe a lens case. All in all, it's just a careful evolution of carrying style that suits a "working photographer" far better than a backpack, and if I have sufficient cameras to keep mounted, I'll do it.

 

As I said I looked at each photo in the links you sent me, noting the cameras and lenses and in most of them zoomed in to observe the stunning detail that I wish for myself with L lenses and Full Frame camera. I was very taken by the shots using Zeiss lenses too-incredible glacier detail. My goal is always to show in a photo what my eyes saw at the time and your glacier photos struck a chord therefore. You can't blame the equipment when you use the best there is.

Yes, the Zeiss 15/2.8 is fantastic, utterly fantastic. However, when it's dangling around on the end of a strap, it's frequently misfocused when I pick it back up, and as the left-side camera it's a little tricky to hold and focus while keeping the monopod anchored in my left elbow.

 

I am told I have a good eye for composition and thats the beginning of an upward curve as far as I am concerned. I would love to have a 5DS-R for the 50 megapixel count but what I would love and am willing to spend on totally changing my camera gear are two different things. I will proceed slowly but surely.

The 5DsR is beyond amazing but I think moreso because of the effective lack of an AA filter. The 50mp is a blessing too, as it allows tons of cropping after the fact. A few days after I bought it, I shot a rugby match with a 100-400 from the endzone, and kept shooting if they were at the far end, knowing I could crop down to usable images. It has, in many ways, changed how I shoot for the better.

I have enjoyed two Ultimate Balcony Dinners on Princess -in my mind the best $100 dinner for two it's possible to enjoy. We did the Crown as it left Aruba with the sun setting and the Diamond sailing close to land after leaving Ketchikan with a whale breaching in the wake at one point . Good food and company in a glorious otherworldly setting. So I don't blink an eye when you say you intend to bring your own lights to make it a perfect evening for once in a lifetime photography with your wife. How will you power it all? (I've never used lights)

We are aft suite dwellers on Princess and usually book C749 if available.

How funny...we'll be in C749 on the Ruby for Valentine's Day. The lights I plan to take are the Profoto B2. It's essentially a light head that's about 5" diameter and can pack the punch of 5 speedlights, on a 6' cord that plugs into a battery/power pack that's smaller than a lunchbox. The power pack has all of the electronics and the battery, and it will accept one or two heads with complete freedom on how the two heads are set (as long as their total power doesn't exceed the pack's upper limit, about 5x a normal speedlight). I have three of the packs and five of the heads, along with four 10' extension cords so I can spread the lights out as desired. I'll have some stands, but also some clamps and I intend to "fly" a light almost directly over the table with a tight grid attachment so we can do food photography with an overhead accent light (and whatever else to the sides). I can remote-control the lights from atop the camera, or even from a USB attachment on my computer (and can shoot tethered from the computer, to review my work on a 13" screen). Aside from whatever I photograph, I can easily put one of the remotes on top of the ship's photographer's camera and "help them out" in taking better photos.

PS Don't you feel the urge to write CC photo reviews?

Not really...it's my wife's Flickr account and I haven't mastered the tricks of directly posting the photos in reviews (perhaps because I'm not logged in when I try to "get" the link to the photos). I also don't feel like I do a good enough job yet of documenting enough of the whole chronology to make a review have enough flow...I keep trying to get better on that, and don't succeed. *shrug*

[GUT2407]

Yep a great bit of kit, been playing with a mates, just can't bring myself to pull the trigger. Oops notice the quote didn't work, the 5dsr I'm talking about.

Edited December 3, 2016 by GUT2407

[GUT2407]

Yes, the Zeiss 15/2.8 is fantastic, utterly fantastic. However, when it's dangling around on the end of a strap, it's frequently misfocused when I pick it back up, and as the left-side camera it's a little tricky to hold and focus while keeping the monopod anchored in my left elbow.

 

 

Another sweet bit of gear.

[Bimmer09]

I'm sorry to hear that. ;) (I'm not impressed with Tony and Chelsea, but alas I know that I march to different drummers than most.) I lean more towards the reviews at CanonRumors.com or whatever I can get my hands on from my main sources of inspiration: Peter Hurley, Robert Seale, Peter Read Miller, Andrea Belluso, Gregory Heisler. I felt like I had a serious Gregory Heisler moment just a week ago when I was asked (at noon) to shoot my sister-in-law and her family for a Welcome to Seattle "here's our new address" card: the four kids in "California clothes" huddling under umbrellas looking (intentionally) frowny/grumpy and the two parents joyful as can be in the rain. Mind you, because of our schedule, their schedule, and the rain's schedule, the shoot happened at 7PM, but I was asked to make it look like daytime. Let's just say it takes a pro to notice a few clues that it was shot in the dark, but Gregory Heisler is famous for putting several lights together to light different parts of the scene yet look like "it's one light". I'll try to remember to share the image once I know they've gone public with it.

 

Yes, please do share that image.

Thanks for the detailed response as always and for alerting me to Canonrumors and the inspirational photographers. I spent some time on youtube looking at Heisler,Belluso,Hurley and Seale (sounds like a law firm) but they are all "plan photographers" in that they go out to shoot specific subjects and take assistants and lighting or shoot in studios for magazine assignments. I'm just someone who wanders around with a camera without a plan. Portraits, fashion or sports photography are not for me. Lighting not in my vocabulary. I shoot pictures of our cruises and land holidays and what I need at this stage is a good explainer and I find Tony Northrup to be just that. He has videos on every topic and a non-manic style. I am learning to walk, not fly. He also covers Lightroom which I rely upon.

 

 

 

The 5DsR is beyond amazing but I think moreso because of the effective lack of an AA filter. The 50mp is a blessing too, as it allows tons of cropping after the fact. A few days after I bought it, I shot a rugby match with a 100-400 from the endzone, and kept shooting if they were at the far end, knowing I could crop down to usable images. It has, in many ways, changed how I shoot for the better.

 

How funny...we'll be in C749 on the Ruby for Valentine's Day. The lights I plan to take are the Profoto B2. It's essentially a light head that's about 5" diameter and can pack the punch of 5 speedlights, on a 6' cord that plugs into a battery/power pack that's smaller than a lunchbox. The power pack has all of the electronics and the battery, and it will accept one or two heads with complete freedom on how the two heads are set (as long as their total power doesn't exceed the pack's upper limit, about 5x a normal speedlight). I have three of the packs and five of the heads, along with four 10' extension cords so I can spread the lights out as desired. I'll have some stands, but also some clamps and I intend to "fly" a light almost directly over the table with a tight grid attachment so we can do food photography with an overhead accent light (and whatever else to the sides). I can remote-control the lights from atop the camera, or even from a USB attachment on my computer (and can shoot tethered from the computer, to review my work on a 13" screen). Aside from whatever I photograph, I can easily put one of the remotes on top of the ship's photographer's camera and "help them out" in taking better photos.

 

 

Enjoy C 749!!I love those aft suites and that balcony will have enough room for all your lighting. I can't wait to see the results of your efforts! Have you picked a day and time when in your mind conditions are likely to be favorable or will you play it by the weather and sunset times? Port background or open sea?

 

I asked you about writing reviews on CC...

 

Not really...it's my wife's Flickr account and I haven't mastered the tricks of directly posting the photos in reviews (perhaps because I'm not logged in when I try to "get" the link to the photos). I also don't feel like I do a good enough job yet of documenting enough of the whole chronology to make a review have enough flow...I keep trying to get better on that, and don't succeed. *shrug*

 

Writing reviews with a lot of photos is very time consuming but for me worth it to remember our cruise and in doing so share with CC readers. Photo albums are out of the question-I prefer a URL.

 

I don't know if you mentioned it but do you shoot in RAW exclusively?

 

Thanks again for the time you take and the knowledge you impart in your responses. Watching Belluso I now know what a soft box is...but what is a bazooka?

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

[peety3]

I don't know if you mentioned it but do you shoot in RAW exclusively?

 

Thanks again for the time you take and the knowledge you impart in your responses. Watching Belluso I now know what a soft box is...but what is a bazooka?

We shoot RAW almost exclusively. The exceptions that I can think of are relatively obvious: RAW+JPEG if shooting large quantity but submitting precious few (this works well for sports photography classes: you might not know the sport, so you'll shoot a lot, but you'll only turn in or show perhaps 5 shots - do the picking with the JPEGs, then pull in only the relevant RAW images for edits), JPEG on the very rare occasion that I'm handing immediately to someone (Saturday, I helped a friend do Grinch photos at a nearby pet store; we (I) shot tethered and copied the best 3-8 images onto a thumb drive right there on the spot, so we didn't have the time or staffing to even consider any editing), or the rare occasion that our versions of Lightroom or Capture One aren't yet updated for a new camera model (such as our 2012 cruise when I rented a Canon 1Dx and hadn't kept LR up to date nor did I want to buy a new version a day before a cruise).

 

Can you give me a reference to where Andrea Belluso mentions a bazooka? Softboxes are my bread and butter. I'm doing a lot of headshot work nowadays, and my full rig involves eight lights with five softboxes (so as to minimize the amount of lights that need to be moved between men and women, "righty" and "lefty", or for white/grey backdrop or black backdrop. That said, I have several of the hard reflectors for my lights, and those came in handy a week or two ago when I did a Christmas card shot for some extended family: they wanted an outdoor daytime look, the forecast was awful for days, but the rain had subsided for a bit one evening, so I lit it to look like a sunny day, and there are very few clues that it's nighttime. ;)

[Bimmer09]

Can you give me a reference to where Andrea Belluso mentions a bazooka?

 

He didn't mention it. You did in your previous reply.

 

Norris

[peety3]

He didn't mention it. You did in your previous reply.

Oh that's just me referring to the 600/4 IS lens (plus a 1.4x teleconverter) on a monopod. By using a camera with the vertical grip, I find that the back half of the lens fits onto my shoulder somewhat comfortably, but I feel like I'm hoisting a bazooka onto my shoulder when I do that. ;)

[Glaciers]

Gonna be shooting with my canon t3i (hoping I get the 80d next spring)

I typically use the 18-55mm kit but am wondering about my other lenses. I have a 50mm f1.8 prime and a 55-255 kit lens too

 

Would a tripod and speedlite be overkill?

 

What about video camera, go pro?

 

If it's not a huge inconvenience, I'd take it all but the video camera and speedlite. Although I rarely use it, the tripod goes with me. Have to imagine you'll have many opportunities for some excellent sunrise/sunset photos. Much easier to do with a tripod.

 

I shoot a full frame Nikon with 3 lenses that cover a range of 16mm-500mm and I always use all three lenses when traveling.