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Cruise to Alaska from Seattle

trip

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12 replies to this topic

#1
Steve M

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After many years of discussing this cruise with my wife and hearing nothing but good things about it I pulled the trigger.  I did this last April but our date is coming up.  I am excited as it is going to be a photography trip for me.  I plan on taking as many photos as possible.

 

List of items going,   D7200,  18-55mm lens, 55-300mm lens, and my most used 80-400mm lens. Two sets of SanDisk Date cards holding up to 3600 pictures of both raw and jpg files

 

I am hesitant about taking my tri-pod since it is junk and I think I will be taking mostly animal pictures moving.  

 

 

Anything I am missing?


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#2
ScottinPollock

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Anything I am missing?


Something to back up your SD cards. Trip of a lifetime deserves no less. This could be a laptop, data bank, tablet or phone with huge amount of storage, etc.

 

If your glass is all VR, I suppose you could get by without a tripod, but not having one could lead to regret with not getting really glassy long exposures. But in a pinch, you can simulate this with image stacking. Have a look at TN's vid on this for the number of exposures you'll need.

 

https://youtu.be/YcZkCnPs45s


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#3
Ron

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An extra battery and, of course, your charger.

 

It's hard to make a recommendation on whether to take a tripod or not. As Scott said, a lot depends on whether your glass is VR. There have been times when I dragged a tripod around for days and scarcely used it. That gets old in a hurry. There have been other times when I needed it and didn't have it. That sucks too.

 

However, there is no reason why you can't find room for a good table top tripod/and or clamp pod, and a beanbag. These items take up very little space and can be life savers in a pinch.

 

As many SD cards as you can carry although I would be willing to make a small (as in tiny) wager that SD cards will be readily available.

 

--Ron


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#4
Steve M

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Something to back up your SD cards. Trip of a lifetime deserves no less. This could be a laptop, data bank, tablet or phone with huge amount of storage, etc.

 

If your glass is all VR, I suppose you could get by without a tripod, but not having one could lead to regret with not getting really glassy long exposures. But in a pinch, you can simulate this with image stacking. Have a look at TN's vid on this for the number of exposures you'll need.

 

https://youtu.be/YcZkCnPs45s

Yes I probably should look into something to back up the SD cards.   I have a fairly large iPad and probably can get about quite a few pictures but if I back up both Raw and Jpg it won't hold many pictures.   I do have a dropbox account but then I am not sure how fast the internet will be.   I best take your recommendation and find something to back them up.

 

This is my lens that I favor using mostly   Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED AF-S VR

 

My Tri-Pod is ok is I put my camera on a 10 second delay as it takes that long for it to settle down from bouncing.  If the ship is moving I fear it would never settle down. 

 

I am a newbie here or to photography.   Glassy Long Exposures?   New term to me.    LOL

An extra battery and, of course, your charger.

 

It's hard to make a recommendation on whether to take a tripod or not. As Scott said, a lot depends on whether your glass is VR. There have been times when I dragged a tripod around for days and scarcely used it. That gets old in a hurry. There have been other times when I needed it and didn't have it. That sucks too.

 

However, there is no reason why you can't find room for a good table top tripod/and or clamp pod, and a beanbag. These items take up very little space and can be life savers in a pinch.

 

As many SD cards as you can carry although I would be willing to make a small (as in tiny) wager that SD cards will be readily available.

 

--Ron

Yes I have two batteries.   Based on my experience one will last me a day easily.  

 

I probably will need to rethink the tri-pod and bite the bullet and get one.



#5
ScottinPollock

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I am a newbie here or to photography.   Glassy Long Exposures?   New term to me.    LOL

 

Lower shutter speeds to blur motion...

Elakala_Waterfalls_Swirling_Pool_Mossy_R
 

My Tri-Pod is ok is I put my camera on a 10 second delay as it takes that long for it to settle down from bouncing.  If the ship is moving I fear it would never settle down. 
I probably will need to rethink the tri-pod and bite the bullet and get one.


Of course the tripod will not be very useful on the boat with the exception of interior and other shots of the boat itself. But I am assuming you'll be going ashore in a number of places. Not sure when your trip is; now is not a good time for northern lights as the days are so long, but things get better from September on.


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#6
Steve M

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Lower shutter speeds to blur motion...

 

Of course the tripod will not be very useful on the boat with the exception of interior and other shots of the boat itself. But I am assuming you'll be going ashore in a number of places. Not sure when your trip is; now is not a good time for northern lights as the days are so long, but things get better from September on.

Awww I have done some of them shots before.  Mostly in the evenings.  Not sure what ISO I should be using on sunny days?

 

Yes I am sure we will be out on tours from off the boat.



#7
Merco_61

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Sanho make a good on-the-go backup solution and viewer.

 

https://www.bhphotov...ace_udma_3.html


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#8
ScottinPollock

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Awww I have done some of them shots before. Mostly in the evenings. Not sure what ISO I should be using on sunny days?


Lowest ISO possible... and in some cases you'll need ND filters or multiple exposures stacked in median. Did you check out the TN vid I linked to?
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#9
Steve M

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Lowest ISO possible... and in some cases you'll need ND filters or multiple exposures stacked in median. Did you check out the TN vid I linked to?



I started it. But have not watched the whole ing yet

Sanho make a good on-the-go backup solution and viewer.
 
https://www.bhphotov...ace_udma_3.html


I saw that and it looks interesting.

#10
Ron

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Lower shutter speeds to blur motion...
 

 

What a cool image!

 

--Ron


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#11
Steve M

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Something to back up your SD cards. Trip of a lifetime deserves no less. This could be a laptop, data bank, tablet or phone with huge amount of storage, etc.
 
If your glass is all VR, I suppose you could get by without a tripod, but not having one could lead to regret with not getting really glassy long exposures. But in a pinch, you can simulate this with image stacking. Have a look at TN's vid on this for the number of exposures you'll need.
 
https://youtu.be/YcZkCnPs45s



A good video. Glad I watched it! Thank you

#12
ScottinPollock

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A good video. Glad I watched it! Thank you

My pleasure. (c;

Since you'll most likely be among ice and snow, have a look at my vid at: Getting Bright Whites Right - Tutorials & Tips - NikonForums.com
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#13
steve 2

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Steve;  Just saw this post now. My wife and I took this trip in 2013 with Princess Cruises. Flew from Halifax to Vancouver, to Anchorage, to Fairbanks, and Princess took over from there. We did a 4 day land tour staying at Princess owned lodges, and took 1000 images in Denali NP of Mt. McKinley (with no clouds). Then the train back to Anchorage, and from there, the 7 day cruise back to Vancouver, stopping at Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, and many glaciers. Trip of a lifetime with thousands of images.  Thanks,  Steve S. 


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