Cruise Optics? (camera lens & binoculars)

[robert32asp]

Going on my first cruise. It is to Alaska and I have a balcony on the Princess Diamond.

 

Long ago, I use to use a 35 mm film Cannon AE-1 with various lens, but over the past 20 years have given up and fallen in love with various point & shoot digital cameras.

 

My current favorite is a little Kodak with 3x optical lens. I really love its size and it does well for most photo situations.

 

I anticipate a huge number of wide-angle appropriate photos of panoramic views.

 

I also think that I might want some real telephoto pictures of animals. If that is the case and I want to keep with a point & shoot digital, would a 6X or 10X be most realistic for what I might see on my balcony?

 

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Next, I have two pair of binoculars, a really nice pair of Steiner Military and Marine 8 power binoculars and a low end, but adequate pair of Simmons 10x binoculars. My wife has claimed the Steiners (according to her, she has good taste in everything).

 

I sort of think that I will probably be more interesting in watching wildlife with binoculars more than I will be interested in photographing them. That is leading me to think about getting another pair of Steiners rather than spending money on another point and shoot camera with a more powerful lens.

 

I would appreciate any thoughts from those that have done the trip. I realize that the above questions are really matters of choice, but I thought I would ask for feedback anyway.

 

Thanks

[Napi's Mom]

I have 2 cameras that have 10x Opt. zoom and with the wildlife out there I wouldn't use less. My other suggestion is make sure it has a viewfinder. You can't see squat from those screens...useless except for reviewing, especially outside! Also not less than 7mp, then you have plenty of leeway to crop your photos, and gain more XX that way. Someone suggested they had purchased a 16 gb memory card to make sure they had enough memory. At 7mp that would give you over 8,000 photos...over 1000 per day??? I can't use higher than 2 SD not HC, my camera and several others won't take it, but am investing in the Pro or Highspeed that processes faster, more pics in shorter time. I'm no pro by any means & now my DH's doing much of our pics as My legs are giving out! But we get asked "what camera do you use (Kodak that nobody else likes, and does have drawbacks I don't like) these look like postcards." They have very good color!

[sailor602]

You also have to balance portability versus resolution. We found that on the ship we wanted both wide photos of things like glaciers and tight close-ups of individual ice sections as they fell. On the excursions we prefered to travel light and sacrificed the zoom lenses.

[ginjer2911]

I'm not sure how the conversion works, but I had a 300mm telephoto lens that I took with me and even at 300mm the animals all look like dots. I actually stopped taking photos of animals that I couldn't see really well through the lens because I'm just not sure how the cropping will look and for me its just not worth it. I ended up looking through the binoculars more on the ship than my camera. My did use my camera on my excursions where I was getting a lot closer to the animals.

[robert32asp]

I ended up looking through the binoculars more on the ship than my camera.....did use my camera on my excursions where I was getting a lot closer to the animals.

 

I was wondering about that.

 

My experience from hunting and hiking is that anytime I try to take pictures of distant animals is that unless I have a huge telephoto the animals seem like really small dots on the picture.

 

For my Old Cannon AE-1 I bought a cassegrain lens, that finally pulled things in close. I gave that lens to my daughter-in-law.

 

My suspicion is that with most lens, that eagles unless pretty close will appear as white dots in the picture. I was hoping I could get feed back from folks as to their experiences.

 

Thanks

[robert32asp]

I have 2 cameras that have 10x Opt. zoom and with the wildlife out there I wouldn't use less. My other suggestion is make sure it has a viewfinder

 

 

Good photos and good advice. Thanks

[oceanbabe]

Hi Robert: I have a Panasonic 10xzoom, which is really good for just about everything. My problem is that when sunny, cant see the screen. Anyone know what to do about this? Really want to take good shots of the whales, thanks

[donaldsc]

Hi Robert: I have a Panasonic 10xzoom, which is really good for just about everything. My problem is that when sunny, cant see the screen. Anyone know what to do about this? Really want to take good shots of the whales, thanks

 

Buy a camera with an eye level viewfinder. In the case of a superzoom, it will be a EVF.

 

DON

[Road Pirate]

First I'd replace those 10x Simmons with a 7x50 or 8x42 waterproof pair. I have a nice set of bushnell 10x50 I use for birding and such but they are not waterproof or fogproof. I bought two pair of waterproof/fogproof 8x42's.

 

As to cameras I'm bringing my Canon S5IS and my new mono pole. It's an 8mp and has a 12x optical zoom. It takes wonderful pictures and is easy to use.

[nothriver]

I spent months researching these same two purchases. I used spreadsheets to compare various options, and in the end purchased:

 

ZenRay Vista, 8x42 for my father, 10x42 for myself

 

I really liked the Nikon Monarch's but went with a less expesive binocular, and bought two pairs.

 

Canon SX200

 

I really wanted a camera that fit in my pocket, the sx200 barely qualifies but technically, I can fit it in my pocket. No viewfinder, I either use one hand to shade the screen so I can see, or just shoot blindly. It sounds crazy but honestly, I don't mind not having the viewfinder at all. I really wanted the most features in the smallest possible camera so I'm willing to sacrifice the viewfinder. I really love this camera. My local camers shop still can't keep them in stock, I bought mine at Costco.

[Napi's Mom]

I watched our fellow Cruise Critic members on our last trip to NZ/Oz (where those photos I posted were taken) Shooting with those cameras, got raves from them about how portable they were,Hoe easy to use the screen, holding the camera out at arms length sometimes. Don't have ANY idea how they know what they're getting. These same folks, after I emailed then a link to my online gallery...promptly bought 50 pictures (Yeh I know I hate the fact Kodak gets the money for OUR photos!) "Your pictures are SOOO much better than ours"...

[plenox]

When we first went to Alaska two years ago, we got ourselves an inexpensive digital Rebel with a $200 300mm telephoto lens, which worked wonderfully for wildlife shooting. We also bought waterproof zenray summit binoculars for the trip.

[Chat Noir]

I have this little Canon.

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=144&modelid=17480

I like it, and was concerned that not having a viewfinder would be a problem. In fact, when I purchased I made sure I could return it if the viewscreen washed out in sunlight. I am surprised at how well I can see when I take photos even in bright sunlight. I also like that it just uses AA batteries (I use lithium).

 

I have eyeballed this little number, also from Canon (and am not a Canon fan in particular). I really like the wide-angle, but the 5x zoom just wasn't enough for Alaska, I didn't think. And it needs it's own battery/charger.

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=144&modelid=17624

 

I'm not professional by any means, and just like a good little point and shoot. I also have a Kodak that's several years old, and a Sony Cybershot, both take excellent photos... but the AA batteries are what ultimately won me over to the little Canon that I recently purchased. Having to carry a special battery charger just became too much of a nuisance.

[robert32asp]

My wife and I had dinner with another couple this past Saturday, who just got back from an Alaska cruise. The husband of this over couple is an avid photographer. On a cruise tour the the Baltic/Russia and then land tour through German and France, he took over 9.000 images. His wife said that she used binoculars almost all the time. He confessed that on the boat he used his binoculars most of the time also.

 

After this feedback, reading a lot of reviews on this website, and some binocular reviews on other websites, I made a deal with my wife that since she opted for my Steiner Military & Marine water proof 8X binoculars, I was going to get a Zen Ray Summit waterproof 8X for fathers day. Logged onto the Zen Ray store and they even had an extra 20% off and some free goodies. I got the confirmation today that the order has shipped and should be here in time for fathers day. It will be interesting to do a side by side comparision of two 8X binoculars the Steiner and the Zen-Ray. I have had my Steiners for several years and got them for hunting, they have been really great.

 

So, one decision down and one to go.

 

I looked at some cameras today that were crosses between point and shoot and SLR digital cameras. They both had image stabilization and 20x zoom lense. They were both a "little" bigger than I would prefer to carry, but I was impressed. I'll have to see how things go and if they go on sale.

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Napi's Mom]

I watched our fellow Cruise Critic members on our last trip to NZ/Oz (where those photos I posted were taken) Shooting with those cameras' date=' got raves from them about how portable they were,Hoe easy to use the screen, holding the camera out at arms length sometimes. Don't have ANY idea how they know what they're getting. These same folks, after I emailed then a link to my online gallery...promptly bought 50 pictures (Yeh I know I hate the fact Kodak gets the money for OUR photos!) "Your pictures are SOOO much better than ours"...[/quote']

Nice to "Quote" myself...

Today I received a e-ad from Kodak...was really set to purchase a Canon for my next camera...but they have a BRAND new camera...the Z980 with 24 zoom,12 mp. (yup a bit bigger than point & shoot but depends on how you view picture taking too...just snaps or ones you look to put on your walls). MY present "Z" cameras give us brilliant color and hate to give that up (saw someone posted photos from an expensive Nikon..VERY sharp focus...veryblandcolorwise!) Review from a Pro Phototog saying it was great. Sale tomorrow!!...here I go again. & extra $$ for the shipping to get it here by next week!(We leave on Thur.):rolleyes:

[SoBaycruiser]

I bought a new Nikon coolpix L100 (just released in Mar) for our May trip. It has a 15x optical. It does not have a viewfinder (which seems standard with most non-SLRs). The display was bright enough but the biggest problem was that when I was waiting for a picture, the display would go into sleep mode and in the seconds it took to reawake it, I'd lost the picture. There probably is a way to change this but I didn't bring the manual. I lost a lot of whale flukes and glacier calving pictures this way. However, I did learn for the whale pictures if I used the sports-continuous mode when taking pictures of the whales...it took many pictures in succession and I got some good fluke pictures that way. I then had a lot of deleting to do, but a lot of people were complaining of missing the photo because of the delay from when they pushed the button and the pictures is actually taken.

[plenox]

I bought a new Nikon coolpix L100 (just released in Mar) for our May trip. It has a 15x optical. It does not have a viewfinder (which seems standard with most non-SLRs). The display was bright enough but the biggest problem was that when I was waiting for a picture, the display would go into sleep mode and in the seconds it took to reawake it, I'd lost the picture. There probably is a way to change this but I didn't bring the manual. I lost a lot of whale flukes and glacier calving pictures this way. However, I did learn for the whale pictures if I used the sports-continuous mode when taking pictures of the whales...it took many pictures in succession and I got some good fluke pictures that way. I then had a lot of deleting to do, but a lot of people were complaining of missing the photo because of the delay from when they pushed the button and the pictures is actually taken.

 

When I took the picture with the digital rebel, i used the shutter priority mode so it can gurrantee enough speed so not to blur the image when the animal was moving.

[born2cruize]

I did a test of my lens from 18 mm, 55 mm, 70 mm, 140 mm and finally 300 mm. that would be about 16 x zoom. You might be surprised at how much you can see.

 

You can check the results at http://web.me.com/borntocruise/Northwest_Photos/Photos.html

 

By the way the mountain (Mount Rainier) is 35-40 miles from where I took the pictures.

 

Click on the pictures to get a larger view.

[robert32asp]

Ok the Zen-Ray 8x's showed up today. That was incredibly quick service. They included a 10x monocular, wide next strap and lens brush pen.

 

I took the Zen-Ray 8x Summits out on the back porch with my Steiner 8x Military & Marine. Wow, the Zen-Rays are very good optics. I am totally satisfied. The shape of the Zen-Ray summit is longer and the separation of the optics at the larger lense is less so there is a bit less stereoscopic effect, but wow. The Zen-Ray's have a very nice crisp clear image and the light gathering ability is just great.

 

I would strongly recommend them if your price range is in the slightly under $200 range. With the 20% off sale price they were a very good price and they got here in just a few business days. I purchased on the weekend, it was shipped on Monday and arrived US Postal Service Priority Mail today (Tuesday) I am amazed, it may take longer for the rest of you.

 

Now to take all the camera advise and figure out what to do. The side by side up to 300 mm (16x) shots of Mount Rainier were very thought provoking. For most things, I probably don't need the full 16 magnification, but it is interesting to see that level of magnification. I will need to check out the various brands including Nikon Canon and Kodak.

 

Thanks

[Napi's Mom]

We went to the Binocular website, waded thru many midsized Binocs, looked at many you've listed, then saw a sale on a brand never mentioned...it had rave reviews (went online to do an independant search of reviews) Zhumell are particularly well known for larger versions and telescopes....actually most were in a very much higher price range than we wanted to pay, but then I found these 10x42"Short Barrell Waterproof" ones org. priced at 300$+ (400$+list) on sale for 84$, free shipping for 3 day ground, but we're leaving next week, opted for 2 day air...only $3.95. Shipping. Thought that was a great deal! Used to amazon's satallite deals charging $5.95 for every little thing (like a .01 oz. Memory card!) Anybody else heard of this Brand.??

[whale-watcher]

We went to the Binocular website' date=' waded thru many midsized Binocs, looked at many you've listed, then saw a sale on a brand never mentioned...it had rave reviews (went online to do an independant search of reviews) [b']Zhumell[/b] are particularly well known for larger versions and telescopes....actually most were in a very much higher price range than we wanted to pay, but then I found these 10x42"Short Barrell Waterproof" ones org. priced at 300$+ (400$+list) on sale for 84$, free shipping for 3 day ground, but we're leaving next week, opted for 2 day air...only $3.95. Shipping. Thought that was a great deal! Used to amazon's satallite deals charging $5.95 for every little thing (like a .01 oz. Memory card!) Anybody else heard of this Brand.??

We won a pair of Zhumell 10x42 binoculars, but were not impressed with the optics, and donated them to a charity auction.

[Napi's Mom]

We won a pair of Zhumell 10x42 binoculars, but were not impressed with the optics, and donated them to a charity auction.

Well they can't help but be better than our 40 yr old set!! They weigh a ton and I can't ever get them to co-operate. Wouldn't be willing to pay over 100$ for something we use rarely.:rolleyes:

[whale-watcher]

Well they can't help but be better than our 40 yr old set!! They weigh a ton and I can't ever get them to co-operate. Wouldn't be willing to pay over 100$ for something we use rarely.:rolleyes:

They will certainly be a step up, and seemed well made. I would not pay the original price, but the discounted price seems like a much better deal:)

[plenox]

Ok the Zen-Ray 8x's showed up today. That was incredibly quick service. They included a 10x monocular, wide next strap and lens brush pen.

 

I took the Zen-Ray 8x Summits out on the back porch with my Steiner 8x Military & Marine. Wow, the Zen-Rays are very good optics. I am totally satisfied. The shape of the Zen-Ray summit is longer and the separation of the optics at the larger lense is less so there is a bit less stereoscopic effect, but wow. The Zen-Ray's have a very nice crisp clear image and the light gathering ability is just great.

 

I would strongly recommend them if your price range is in the slightly under $200 range. With the 20% off sale price they were a very good price and they got here in just a few business days. I purchased on the weekend, it was shipped on Monday and arrived US Postal Service Priority Mail today (Tuesday) I am amazed, it may take longer for the rest of you.

 

Now to take all the camera advise and figure out what to do. The side by side up to 300 mm (16x) shots of Mount Rainier were very thought provoking. For most things, I probably don't need the full 16 magnification, but it is interesting to see that level of magnification. I will need to check out the various brands including Nikon Canon and Kodak.

 

Thanks

 

which 300mm lens do you use?

[robert32asp]

which 300mm lens do you use?

 

 

I don't have a 300mm lens.

 

I was looking at post 18 on this thread (born2cruise) where his website link showed comparative magnifications of Mount Rainer through various size lens. From the same spot, focusing on Mt Rainier he used 18 mm, 55 mm, 70 mm, 140 mm and finally 300 mm lenses. On the basis of this set of comparision photos posted by born2cruise I thought that a 300mm would meet my needs.

 

That was the source of my comment about looking into getting a camera with a 300mm for my trip.