I had a set of Tasco armored 10X50 binoculars . A tad bulky but they worked really well . I left them somewhere I should not have and somebody walked off with them ...

Video taken with iPhone 11 from the back of the Cruise Ship open and watch on utoob for better resolution.

Well, it didn't happen on MY deck watch, but I'd say the most important part of binoculars on a ship is the strap around your neck.

Funny answers, all of which conflict with what I know. I use my binoc's every day. I live on the Ohio river with a view upstream. I bet I pick mine up at least a dozen times a day, every day. What I have are Canon IS, and use 15x. No, not too powerful because of the stabilization. Couldn't use 10x without it. They're beyond great. I can see all kinds of things you can't see with your own eyes.

Did you know the young babes sunbath without bikini's? Good viewing. The more power the better, but I'm old and I shake. The IS stabilizes that to rock steady. I'm amused at the guys who say foolish things like buy 7x or stuff like that. If I had it to do over again, I'd buy the 18x ones. With magninfication, more is better, but only if its not moving. Buy your low power shaky ones if you want. That;s stupid.

Out to about 1/2 mile, your eyes can't identify stuff without binoc's. At a mile or two, even the 15x seem to lose the ability to see clearly.

My travel binocs are Nikon 8x25. Roof prism design which is superior for clarity. For daylight and dusk they are great. I've used them at night but they aren't the brightest.

A good compromise would be 8x40. The slightly larger lens will improve brightness, and still a reasonable cost. For stargazing or other very dim light applications the added weight of the larger lens would be worth it. For strolling around a cruise ship or an all day walkabout in port I don't think the weight of anything bigger is worth it.

My better binocs are Zeiss 10x ?. But bigger and heavier, not great for a cruise ship scenario.

I can't comment on higher power or image stabilization. For me the biggest factor is image clarity. I'd rather use a really crisp 8x than a blurry 10x. I'd spend more money and get slightly lower magnification but a sharper image.

Binocs for a once-in-a-lifetime event like an Alaska cruise are definitely not something to go cheap on.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Video taken with iPhone 11 from the back of the Cruise Ship open and watch on utoob for better resolution.

Wow! I have the 14 Pro, so hopefully I have the opportunity to record something like that.

I'd recommend a good set of 10x42's. I've had a pair of Nikon Monarchs now for over 20 years and they've been great. The smaller binos provide a lot of shake and can be difficult to see images clearly because of movement. That will be compounded by the movement of the ship. If using really small binos, I wouldn't go any larger than 8x, at that size there's too much movement and difficult to see anything at higher magnification.

Most important, get something that is waterproof, you'll need it in Alaska. Here's the thing on a big cruise ship, you will not be close to shore, so if a bear, goat or sheep is spotted the shoreline, you're going to wish you have binoculars to get a view of it. I've got a pair of small Steiners in 8x30 that basically live in the bottom of my camera bag. They work great when I'm walking around and need to take a quick look, but they don't do that well on boats.

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Originally posted by holdem:

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Video taken with iPhone 11 from the back of the Cruise Ship open and watch on utoob for better resolution.

Wow! I have the 14 Pro, so hopefully I have the opportunity to record something like that.

We saw several calving while we were there, a tip for you, when you hit the passage to the ice it will get very very cold, so have your jacket, hat ready. Also move to the back of the ship, we chose the deck level with the bar, got all the guys on the rail and the gals behind us at a table, they all had blankets as well.

You'll get the best view from the rear of the ship and the longest time exposed as the ship rotates to go out.

What's really interesting is while you are on the way to it, at some point you'll see the ocean change color from a deep blue to a greenish color, that's the ice cold water coming out of the passage.

For sure: Image stabilization. I have these Canon! They were great on our two Alaska cruises on the Eurodam.



These waterproof Canons would be nice.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/19575...7Ctkp%3ABFBM5s_M6a1i

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
We saw several calving while we were there, a tip for you, when you hit the passage to the ice it will get very very cold, so have your jacket, hat ready. Also move to the back of the ship, we chose the deck level with the bar, got all the guys on the rail and the gals behind us at a table, they all had blankets as well.

You'll get the best view from the rear of the ship and the longest time exposed as the ship rotates to go out.

What's really interesting is while you are on the way to it, at some point you'll see the ocean change color from a deep blue to a greenish color, that's the ice cold water coming out of the passage.

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/yCCSAdTl.png[IMG]

We noticed that too, very distinct transition where the glacier silt starts/ends.

We were in the front on the port side of the ship, up on deck. Jackets, hats and gloves are definitely recommended.

Once the ship started to turn we thought we were out of there, then it turned into a 360, then another and another. Captain did that at the Marjorie glacier and the Hopkins glacier. Pretty sweet, made sure everyone got a view.

We will do an Alaskan cruise next year, and I’ll probably bring my Minolta 12x50.

You might consider a small monocular to keep in your pocket as well. A lot easier to carry around and it will always be with you.

quote:

Originally posted by skywag:
For sure: Image stabilization. I have these Canon! They were great on our two Alaska cruises on the Eurodam.



These waterproof Canons would be nice.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/19575...7Ctkp%3ABFBM5s_M6a1i

Be careful about eBay binoculars. Used binoculars often have misaligned (tubes? prisms? Not sure but I’ve experienced it). You can’t tell by looking at them, and you may not notice right away, and may not know what it is when you do, but it kind of hurts while looking through them for long.

quote:

Originally posted by Fly-Sig:
My travel binocs are Nikon 8x25. Roof prism design which is superior for clarity.

I’ve always heard the opposite. I at least know that roofs are much harder to make well. There are more places where it you can get interference or lose light.
Are you sure you aren’t comparing higher-quality roofs with bargain porros?

If you’re still looking, you might consider some of these monoculars. https://www.opticronusa.com/our-products/monoculars
I haven’t seen the IS one before—I don’t even think I’ve heard of an IS monuocular before! Not sure if there’s a strap. But it should provide some nice views from a boat.
The other one that’s a bit different is that big Marine one. I think it’s basically half of a good marine 7x50 binocular. If I’m right it should have great eye relief—really nice if you have glasses.
But any of them are worth considering and might be a lot of fun elsewhere too.

7 or 8 power is about all you can use handheld. 10 power is too much and all you get is shake. In 7/8 power, 42mm is the optimal objective lens diameter, as anything smaller will be dimmer, and anything much larger is not needed unless you will be observing at night.

In mid priced binos, the Nikon Monarchs are quite nice. They make two or three price level models, and all are as good as it gets at their price level.

With binos, you do get what you pay for. $500 models are much, much better than $100 models. $3000 binoculars are much, much better than $500 models, although not as much better than $500 models are better than $100 models.

quote:

Originally posted by Dilettante:

quote:

Originally posted by skywag:
For sure: Image stabilization. I have these Canon! They were great on our two Alaska cruises on the Eurodam.



These waterproof Canons would be nice.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/19575...7Ctkp%3ABFBM5s_M6a1i

Be careful about eBay binoculars. Used binoculars often have misaligned (tubes? prisms? Not sure but I’ve experienced it). You can’t tell by looking at them, and you may not notice right away, and may not know what it is when you do, but it kind of hurts while looking through them for long.

You must not shop much online. The VAST majority of stuff sold on eBay is brand new!

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Originally posted by holdem:

quote:

Originally posted by Anush:
A good telephoto lens on a camera was best for me.

quote:

Originally posted by Fly-Sig:
Consider a pretty good camera with an optical zoom lens.

This I have. Nikon D500 with a 70-200 2.8 and 2X teleconverter. I have access to borrow my mother's 200-500 5.6 lens, but that thing is huge, so I do not think I want to take it.

Maybe I should just use my camera and skip the binoculars?

I have a pair of binoculars somewhere but have never used them. My D7100 camera with 18-200VR2 lens does it for me. I took a second D7100 with the 200-500VR lens to Africa and got good use of it, but that was riding in 4WD vehicles, not carrying it. If your Alaska tour includes a visit to Denali, you might find the 200-500 lens useful while riding in the bus. Most tours do attempt to get the travelers closer to the wildlife.

flashguy