What to take to Alaska

[gottagoacruzn]

Hey guys, maybe Crew News or somebody else might know the answer to this. When coming into Sitka, right before gettin into town, there's a lake an was wonderin if anybody knows what is the name of the lake? If not, thats ok too. Thanks, Virginia

[Crew News]

35 minutes ago, gottagoacruzn said:

Hey guys, maybe Crew News or somebody else might know the answer to this. When coming into Sitka, right before gettin into town, there's a lake an was wonderin if anybody knows what is the name of the lake? If not, thats ok too. Thanks, Virginia

A close look at the Sitka map indicates Swan Lake.

[gottagoacruzn]

Hey guys, one more quick question. When on the ship, be in princess or royal, and at night, when things are jumpin at the centrum, which scene on the camera would one use? Indoor or just what? Inquiring minds would like to know. Thanks.

[Debate]

I’m trying to decide if I should take my Nikon D5100 on an upcoming trip to Alaska or just use my iPhone 15 pro max?  If I take the D5100 I have a Nikon DX - AF-S Nikkor 55-300mm and a 18-55mm lense.  Do I need a more powerful lense to capture wildlife, whales, glaciers, etc?  What do you recommend? 

[KYBOB]

2 hours ago, Debate said:

I’m trying to decide if I should take my Nikon D5100 on an upcoming trip to Alaska or just use my iPhone 15 pro max?  If I take the D5100 I have a Nikon DX - AF-S Nikkor 55-300mm and a 18-55mm lense.  Do I need a more powerful lense to capture wildlife, whales, glaciers, etc?  What do you recommend? 

I would take the Nikon and 55-300  then let the phone cover the lower focal lengths. The phone’s resolution is little better and will cover the focal distance of the 18-55 better than the Nikon D5100 but at a distance the Nikon with the 55-300 will be better as the phones resolution falls off the more you ‘zoom’ in. That is how the phones work; close up with no zooming the iPhone 15 has around 48 mega pixels but the more you zoom it reduces the resolution, basically it is ‘in camera’ cropping of the 48mega pixel image. So with the camera at 300mm you will still have the full resolution of your cameras sensor and a sharper image with more detail. 
 

The wild life in Alaska tend to be a long way off and the longer the lens the better. But for glaciers and landscapes the iPhone you have will work great as long as you are not wanting to do large prints for wall art.
 

This is also depending on what your interest is; if you are really going to go for the purpose of hunting for wildlife with the purpose to photograph and capture “great images” (ie taking excursions designed to look for wildlife animals and birds) then you will find the camera body and lenses lacking: resolution, speed (in focusing and frames per second)and accurate focus on the subject. This will take a significant investment in camera equipment in both the camera body and lenses (along with lots of practice with them) Or if just while on a tour and happen to see a bear, eagle, etc. to get a decent to good shot then your cameras and lenses are adequate. 

 

Hope this helps and have a great time. 

[Debate]

Thank you for your response!  This is very helpful.  Would it make any sense to rent The Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6E ED AF-S VR?  We are going on a photo safari excursion and I’d love to get some wildlife photos.  Would this lens be significantly better than what I already have? 

[KYBOB]

Ok, which photo safari excursion are you taking? I have reviewed a couple in this thread as well as comments from others about those tours are here. If one of those two tours; nope a complete waste of money the lens you have will work for those tours with the camera body you have. If it is a whale watch and wildlife walk tour in Juneau? Then renting the lens plus a D500 would be better combination to capture the action of whales jumping out of the water. I am suggesting the D500 in that it is similar to the camera you have; I think they still rent those. Going to a Z system camera body would be a whole new menu system and the way the camera would function and would take practice with before going on the trip. 
 

Now here is were I will probably get some flak from others on here but to me renting the 200-500 and putting it on the camera body you have would be like renting a tux to go to a Metallica concert. It can be done but way out class the event. But that is my opinion and maybe a bit camera snobbish.  Some hold the opinion that anyone can take a great picture of anything regardless of the camera, it is the photographer and knowing how to exactly use the camera they have. Which is true but the key point is “knowing exactly how to use the camera”, something that takes practice and knowledge of how that camera works. But as the saying goes you do not take a knife to a gun fight or a hammer instead of a nail gun to install shingles on a roof; once again you can do it but you will have a sore arm. I always go back to what my dad taught me you get best tool for the job and it will give you a better product. Sorry to go off on my soap box.

[Debate]

On 7/13/2024 at 10:41 AM, KYBOB said:

Ok, which photo safari excursion are you taking? I have reviewed a couple in this thread as well as comments from others about those tours are here. If one of those two tours; nope a complete waste of money the lens you have will work for those tours with the camera body you have. If it is a whale watch and wildlife walk tour in Juneau? Then renting the lens plus a D500 would be better combination to capture the action of whales jumping out of the water. I am suggesting the D500 in that it is similar to the camera you have; I think they still rent those. Going to a Z system camera body would be a whole new menu system and the way the camera would function and would take practice with before going on the trip. 
 

Now here is were I will probably get some flak from others on here but to me renting the 200-500 and putting it on the camera body you have would be like renting a tux to go to a Metallica concert. It can be done but way out class the event. But that is my opinion and maybe a bit camera snobbish.  Some hold the opinion that anyone can take a great picture of anything regardless of the camera, it is the photographer and knowing how to exactly use the camera they have. Which is true but the key point is “knowing exactly how to use the camera”, something that takes practice and knowledge of how that camera works. But as the saying goes you do not take a knife to a gun fight or a hammer instead of a nail gun to install shingles on a roof; once again you can do it but you will have a sore arm. I always go back to what my dad taught me you get best tool for the job and it will give you a better product. Sorry to go off on my soap box.

I appreciate your response and agree that the 200-500mm looks very heavy and a bit overkill!  Is there another lens that might be easier to manage? Or do you think the 55-300mm I have will be sufficient.  I'd prefer to just rent a lense and not another camera. 

[KYBOB]

5 hours ago, Debate said:

I appreciate your response and agree that the 200-500mm looks very heavy and a bit overkill!  Is there another lens that might be easier to manage? Or do you think the 55-300mm I have will be sufficient.  I'd prefer to just rent a lense and not another camera. 

There is a Sigma or Tamron 100-400 that might not be too bad but that is only going to get you a little more reach over what you currently have. I found most lens rental places it is less than 100$ / 7 days. I would rent it several weeks before your trip and practice shooting with it before your trip to see how it handles and get used to it. You still have not said what photo tour you are taking so if it is any of the ones I took the lens you have will be significant with the exception of a whale watch and the 100-400 would be nice to have and then use your phone for close and wide angle range. If you are really serious about getting into wildlife photography it would worth trying out the D500 you will find a marked improvement over your camera in focusing on the subject,( and the subject being sharp in focus)  higher frames per second and overall image quality. It would work with the lenses you have and would go great with the 100-400 for about the same price as the 100-400. 
 

There is a tour, or was a tour, that goes to Pack river where the bears are in number when the salmon are running that would be a great tour to take. I would definitely rent a better camera and lens for the longer the better. Like something in the 500 to 600 mm range. 

[Debate]

4 hours ago, KYBOB said:

There is a Sigma or Tamron 100-400 that might not be too bad but that is only going to get you a little more reach over what you currently have. I found most lens rental places it is less than 100$ / 7 days. I would rent it several weeks before your trip and practice shooting with it before your trip to see how it handles and get used to it. You still have not said what photo tour you are taking so if it is any of the ones I took the lens you have will be significant with the exception of a whale watch and the 100-400 would be nice to have and then use your phone for close and wide angle range. If you are really serious about getting into wildlife photography it would worth trying out the D500 you will find a marked improvement over your camera in focusing on the subject,( and the subject being sharp in focus)  higher frames per second and overall image quality. It would work with the lenses you have and would go great with the 100-400 for about the same price as the 100-400. 
 

There is a tour, or was a tour, that goes to Pack river where the bears are in number when the salmon are running that would be a great tour to take. I would definitely rent a better camera and lens for the longer the better. Like something in the 500 to 600 mm range. 

Thank you!  We are doing the Small Group: Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier Photo Safari.  It appealed to me most because it is a small group. My mom and my teen daughter are also going and will be using iPhones for photos.  I so much appreciate your help! 

[KYBOB]

8 hours ago, Debate said:

Thank you!  We are doing the Small Group: Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier Photo Safari.  It appealed to me most because it is a small group. My mom and my teen daughter are also going and will be using iPhones for photos.  I so much appreciate your help! 

I have taken that very tour. The 100-400 would be good for the whale watch part, the 200-500 would definitely be kind of ungainly to handle in the boat. For the nature walk part you go on a trail at the Mendenhall Glacier for that I would switch to your 18-55 lens. Our guide was great and was one of the best and memorable tours we have taken.  

[Debate]

2 hours ago, KYBOB said:

I have taken that very tour. The 100-400 would be good for the whale watch part, the 200-500 would definitely be kind of ungainly to handle in the boat. For the nature walk part you go on a trail at the Mendenhall Glacier for that I would switch to your 18-55 lens. Our guide was great and was one of the best and memorable tours we have taken.  

That’s great to hear!!! We are looking forward to it!  

[peety3]

On 7/15/2024 at 5:09 AM, Debate said:

Thank you!  We are doing the Small Group: Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier Photo Safari.  It appealed to me most because it is a small group. My mom and my teen daughter are also going and will be using iPhones for photos.  I so much appreciate your help! 

JNU-700? It's an awesome excursion. We've done it three times, plus JNU-670 two times and one other whale watch bundled with a salmon bake once. The boats on 700 are fantastic (and 705/670 are a very close second). 55-300, 100-400, 200-500 are all reasonable options for that tour. And, do what I say, not what I've done: you want a zoom lens for this tour. I've done this tour with a 500mm f/4 prime, a 200-400 (with 1.4x built-in, so it becomes a 280-560 at the flip of a switch), and a 600mm f/4 prime. Using a long prime is tough because of the challenges of aiming it quickly (whales aren't above the water for long). My wife tended to get better shots with "just" a 100-400 or 70-300 because she could zoom out, whip around as needed, then zoom in as the opportunity presented itself.

 

There's also nothing wrong with doing that tour with an iPhone. You don't even have to listen to the photography education; the tour guides openly ask first and don't mind if you tune out, and they adapt their suggestions to the skill levels in front of them.

[Cdncruiser15]

On 7/15/2024 at 3:02 PM, KYBOB said:

I have taken that very tour. The 100-400 would be good for the whale watch part, the 200-500 would definitely be kind of ungainly to handle in the boat. For the nature walk part you go on a trail at the Mendenhall Glacier for that I would switch to your 18-55 lens. Our guide was great and was one of the best and memorable tours we have taken.  

We did that exact tour last year.  Loved it.  Took 900 photos that day with the R6 and 70-200 f2.8. I wished I would have had the 100-500 for the whale watching portion. 3 pounds in the back pack would have been worth it. That was my mistake.   I switched to the 24-105 f4 for the glacier walk.  
 

We will likely do the same tour next and will definitely be bringing the 100-500. I was told it was always better to be looking at it rather than wishing for it.  3 pounds isn’t a big deal for the little time you have actually pack it around. 

Hopefully the new R5 Mk II is here in time to go to Hawaii in October. 
 

Brad 

[Cdncruiser15]

[Jon054]

On 2/28/2024 at 1:44 PM, David416 said:

Gorgeous. I still might try the polarizing filter. I have had luck with it in other situations before.

Somewhere I have a similar photo taken about 25 years ago.  On the top of one of the glaciers were a pair of eagles.  One benefit of having a long lens.

[agape01]

After following this thread from time to time, this is what I would be taking with me to Alaska.

Other than my main camera, I am taking a super ultra wide 9mm from 7Artisan, a 24-120 for a walk around lens and a Super Telephoto Zoom 60-600 from Sigma and maybe a occasional TC. I would have everything covered from 9mm to 600mm.

 

[Cdncruiser15]

Alaska next summer will be 15-35, 24-105 and 100-500. 

[peety3]

Wasting some time at the office while "taking some training", and wanted to add my two cents on a few things.

 

First up, the Skagway In Focus tour. I can't speak for it directly, but I suspect it's a good compromise between "price and performance". However, we did some research years ago, and uncovered that Rainbow Glacier Adventures is the operator for Skagway In Focus. They also offer private photography tours, primarily in Haines (via the ferry, and they include the ferry ticket in your tour price). We've done private tours with them twice, one in Haines (via the ferry) and one in Skagway, and had fantastic results with each. For the one in Haines, we coordinated ahead of time for an option to extend our tour, and that gave us enough time to see bears (that another couple on another RGA private photo tour didn't see because they left at the appointed time). For the one in Skagway, we got to see the gravesite of the late great scammer (Soupy Sales??? I forget who it was), some great landscapes to make my wife happy, some awesome shots of the train returning, moose, and eagles.

 

Monopod on whale watches: we primarily stick to the Gastineau Guiding Photo Safari (JNU-700 if you're sailing on Princess). Small boat (14 pax) but far more stable than the other small boats. Plate glass windows that swing up and pin out of the way (by the crew) so zero obstructions for your photos. Forward viewing platform if you're mobile and/or prefer to stand; their larger (20 pax) boats also have an aft viewing platform so no contention "for the front row". As a result, as long as you're OK with moving your stance to balance well on a mildly rocking boat, I had no difficulties with a monopod on this tour.

 

Ketchikan: we avoided the Aleutian Ballad for too long. Now that we've done it, I'm anxious to go back. As others have noted, position on the ship does matter. I went forward and camped out above the life ring. A monopod was fine here. I'm contemplating taking one of my battery-powered portable studio strobes to add a catchlight and pop to my eagle photos.

 

General gear: don't try too hard to cover every millimeter across your overall range. If you roll with a 15-35 and 70-200, don't worry about the 35-70 gap. If you have multiple cameras, use them to minimize lens changes. In years past (pre-kids, I'm still waiting to figure out what I can get away with now that we have a kid), I'd go with three cameras and four lenses for most things: 24-70, 100-400, and 600 with 1.4x on a monopod, with a 16-35 in a pouch in case I wanted something wider. For our next cruise, I'm dreaming of my 28-70/2 plus a rented 100-300/2.8 and 600/4, along with a 15-35 wide angle.

 

Filters: ND only if you plan to bring a tripod and will be in a position to get the classic "dreamy" waterfall shots. Circular Polarizer only if you are diligent to check it every time: CPLs have to be adjusted for the optimum position any time you change your composition/angle. CPLs also don't work well on wide-angle lenses (having too wide of a field of view means some of the sky will be a deeper blue than the other part of the sky, due to the variation in angles and what the CPL is blocking).

 

[donaldsc]

On 7/15/2024 at 2:02 PM, KYBOB said:

I have taken that very tour. The 100-400 would be good for the whale watch part, the 200-500 would definitely be kind of ungainly to handle in the boat. For the nature walk part you go on a trail at the Mendenhall Glacier for that I would switch to your 18-55 lens. Our guide was great and was one of the best and memorable tours we have taken.  

 

+1 on KYBOBs response.  I have done the same tour several times and it is an excellent tour but things happen rapidly on a moving boat and the longer lens will not be very useful.  Try using your long lens to take a picture of your dog running around from a moving car driving at 30 mph on a bumpy road and you will see what I mean.

 

Here is another thing to think that it is more important to have flexibility at the wide angle end than the telephoto lens.  If you can't get close enough with your telephoto you can always crop a bit,  Unless you are going to print 18x20 pics your loss of resolution by cropping will not be significant.  If you can't get everything you want because your wide angle is not wide enough it is gone forever.

 

One final thought and this is whether you are going to AK to see stuff or to see stuff through your photo viewer.  I have been to AK many times and I do take lots of photos but I just take 2 lenses, a really small tripod that I rarely use and a chain pod for a bit of stabilization when I need it.  No filters.  No flashes. No extra junk.  But I do get to experience AK.  I remember one time that we took the Seward full day but cruise and there was a guy who must have been taking 20 or 30 pictures every minute for th entire cruise.  He got lots of pictures but I doubt if he ever got AK.  

 

DON

 

DON

Edited September 11 by donaldsc

[Cdncruiser15]

I really think it will depend on the conditions that day. If it’s dead still the boats don’t move that much.  
 

I won’t go without my 100-500 as I’d rather be looking at it instead of looking for it.  

[agape01]

In my last post, I stated that I would be taking a "Big Ma" which is the Sigma 60-600 and it did deliver to expectations. 

 

The whale was coming in from distance to the boat and just before it dived, it flipped it's tail. This was captured at 60mm. If one had a 100-500 or something equivalent, the whale would overflow the frame.

 

[Crew News]

2 hours ago, agape01 said:

In my last post, I stated that I would be taking a "Big Ma" which is the Sigma 60-600 and it did deliver to expectations. 

 

The whale was coming in from distance to the boat and just before it dived, it flipped it's tail. This was captured at 60mm. If one had a 100-500 or something equivalent, the whale would overflow the frame.

 

Totally agree.  Sometimes enough lens reach is too much reach for the unexpected.

 

This ORCA suddenly appeared just a few yards from my Auke Bay, Alaska excursion boat and I was able to look down and capture most of it.  Fortunately, I was using an Olympus 40-150 mm lens and took this at 43 mm. 

 

[peety3]

Remember, you can always add an additional camera, even if it means renting one. Alaska is likely far different shooting conditions that what you encounter at home, so augmenting your kit temporarily is often a wiser decision than trying to buy new stuff.

Having that additional camera means you can have something wider at the ready. I've rented a long lens for every Alaska cruise we've done (500/4, 400/4 DO, 200-400/4 w/ 1.4x, or 600/4), but that's always been a third if not fourth lens for me, with 2-3 cameras.

[agape01]

I managed to get this shot with my long lens setup.