Holland America - July 5th. 7 days out of Seattle
Looking for best lens options. I switched to Canon from Nikon about 2 years ago. (its been awesome) I currently shoot an R 7. Initially I was going to bring a hard case plus backpack, I ditched that idea because I didn't want the hard case in checked baggage or have to lug it around waiting for the cabin. I have a Lowepro 35L protactic pack. I tend to bring "everything" but realize I cant, and shouldn't.
My go to lens is a 70-200 2.8 This being a trip of a lifetime, I do not want to miss anything. My options are a 24-105 F4.0 and a 100-500 F4.5-7.0 Multiply the focal lengths by 1.6 as it is a crop sensor camera.
Animals and landscape will be my primary interest. I think I have the rest of the gear covered.
Thanks for any advice or history with cruising and cameras.

Cheers

You’ll definitely want the 24-105 and the 100-500. The 24-105 as a walk around in port general purpose shoot anything anywhere lens. You won’t want to schlep around a big heavy bag of gear walking around in port. The 100-500 for the reach for far away wildlife.

I shoot Nikon so not familiar with Canon’s lenses and what is available. Believe it or not I use my 200-500mm quite a bit for landscape photography. Great for things like clear days and getting shots of the top of Denali. My 18-300mm is my walk around lens, it provides for a lot of versatility. My 16-80mm is a fantastic lens, 2mm extra wide is actually a pretty big difference over the 18-300, the lens is super sharp, fast at a constant 2.8 and has active vibration reduction in addition to the standard. That makes a big difference when on the pitching deck of a ship. I also have a 10-20mm, kind of a novelty lens but Alaska does have big enough landscapes to use it. For glacier cruising you’re going to want the wide angle to capture the glacier in its entirety, some like Humboldt are 14 miles across the face. Then you’ll want the big telephoto to get in close for calving events and individual formations and colors.

You’ll be in Southeast Alaska, it rains, a lot. Plan accordingly for both your gear and yourself. A good quality Goretex jacket with a hood is a must along with waterproof hiking boots. A wide brimmed hat like a Tilley is a good idea to keep rain off your face while shooting, a baseball hat underneath the hood of a jacket also works well. Have haze filters on the front of lenses for protection, also carry a good lens cloth for wiping the front of the lens from rain and spray. I’d also suggest a small camera bag/holster just for your camera with one lens attached just to keep the water off. I use a Think Tank for mine similar to this.

https://www.thinktankphoto.com...igital-holster-20-v3

Large capacity SD card for the camera with fast buffering speed. You’ll be wanting to shoot continuous shutter if you’re lucky enough to catch a glacier calving or a whale breaching. Binoculars, a small compact set is great for spotting. While larger ones are good, powerful binoculars are kind of a PITA on the pitching deck of a boat.

What ports are you going to and what excursions do you have planned?

How attached are you to your 100-500mm? I sold mine and replaced it with the 200-800mm. The 100-500mm limitation of only being able to use TC from 300mm and up was a deal breaker for me. 420-700mm with a 1.4x TC, but have to swap around for 100-300mm. I got some good shots with the 100-500mm in Africa, but really wished I could have gotten my hands on the 200-800mm before that trip.


On a crop body, I’d definitely want the 24-105mm if not even something wider.

I’m guessing you have the “original” RF 70-200mm f/2.8L so a TC is not an option?

The RF 100-400mm is decent and pretty compact if you want more reach and are space limited.


I’m doing an Alaska cruise end of July and am in the same boat of wanting to have everything, but also trying to keep it to a single bag. My 24-105mm f/4L is a definite. I expect I’ll bring my 200-800mm for Glacier Bay and whale watching at Mendenhall as I’m concerned the 70-200mm might not be “enough” on my FF R5.

I plan to also bring my R7 so I’m not trying to swap lenses and miss something. If I have room, I’ll bring my just ordered 10-20mm for on ship shots and big picture stuff.

Choices, choices, choices!

Like I said, not familiar with Canon. But if you shooting a 24-105 full frame lens on a crop sensor body, I think you may want to go wider than 24mm.

Timely thread. I'm doing an Alaska cruise in September and will need a lense with some reach.
My walking around ls a 24-120.
I'm trying to figure out the line between "enough" and "too much"

quote:

I'm trying to figure out the line between "enough" and "too much"

“Too much is never enough!!” Tillman

That 500 should work pretty well for wildlife. Especially if you've got a 1.6 crop factor.

Your wide end is going to be just under 40mm...that might be a bit tight for some landscapes. You might consider investing in a wider prime for the trip....some parts of AK have a big skyline and it's nice to be able to show more of the panorama.

I'm going back to AK in August, but we'll be backpacking, so size and weight are at a premium...moreso than they would be on a cruise. I'm taking an M43 setup (2.0 crop factor) with a 12-32 and 45-150, which will give me effectively 24-300. It's a little limiting, but a fair tradeoff for the small size.

Just a question because I really don't know much about cameras...... Does anyone worry about the salty, moist air damaging their cameras ?

quote:

Originally posted by mike28w:
Just a question because I really don't know much about cameras...... Does anyone worry about the salty, moist air damaging their cameras ?

I mean, I wouldn't leave it lying out in deck overnight or take it out in a storm, but I've taken mine to the beach plenty of times and never had a problem. I'm more worried about sand than the salt air. It's a tool to be used, much like a carry gun, and if you've got so much wrapped up in it that you're afraid to take it out into the environment, you probably should have bought a cheaper one.

I don't know the Canon lineup, but from experience, traveling to Alaska and places where wildlife is a big factor in what you see there, there is no such thing as too big a lens. Take your biggest wish, and at some point, you had something longer for wildlife. Then add a lens for walking around the city.

I've always used a backpack for such trips.

quote:

Originally posted by mike28w:
Just a question because I really don't know much about cameras...... Does anyone worry about the salty, moist air damaging their cameras ?

Be smart about how you store and use it. I've taken cameras on lots of boats. In Indonesia, I swam from our dive boat to an island we were going to explore with a DSLR in a waterproof bag over my head.

quote:

Originally posted by mike28w:
Just a question because I really don't know much about cameras...... Does anyone worry about the salty, moist air damaging their cameras ?

Not really. Mine has a sealed body, so I just wipe it down if I've been on the beach or the boat.
Like 92fstech said, it’s a tool. Take care of it and it will be fine.

Thanks 92Fs and Spin Zone for the input !

At this point, my only "data point" ( very loosley speaking) was a friend who traveled from Denver ( 5000 ft) to sea level for a cruise. After a couple of days he noticed moisture in his automatic watch. He has not been in the water with it. He used his wife's hairdryer to slowly warm it up and dry up the moisture. After hearing this, I assumed that a watch would be sealed tighter than a camera.... ( Obviously , his watch wasn't as sealed as tightly as it should have been.)

Over several trips to Alaska I've used a 21mm lens the most. Also a 500 mm mirror tele occasionally with a 2x converter for wildlife. I always take a 35-105 for a walk around lens on shore, all in an old Eddie Bauer backpack that I filled with solid foam with cut outs for the camera and lenses, and treated with lots of silicone spray to waterproof the exterior. Also used Kendall Door-Eze to lube and waterproof the zipper. Before switching to a mirrorless digital I used A series bodies and took several for redundancy. I still use FD lenses since I have a shelf full and they work well with the Canon R body.

For waterproofing the camera / lens I use a large gallon size food storage bag with the corners clipped to pass the camera straps. It's cheap, easy to pull the bag up out of the way for shooting, and very waterproof especially if you use tywisties to cinch the plastic down around the strap. You can zip the bottom closed if the weather turns really rough. A filter over the lens is a must; I typically use a circular polarizer. A large microfiber cloth is useful to dry the filter and camera / lens.

I second the recommendation of a waterproof windbreaker / raincoat and warm layers underneath. That will extend your hang time on deck at the glacier stop, as will gloves. Next time I go I'll use fingerless gloves. It's surprising how cold your hands will get even at air temps of ~58° when there is a 20 knot wind on deck blowing off the ice. I used lined leather gloves previously and they were a bit cumbersopme. I used a Greek fishermans cap under the hood to keep it away from my eyes.

My longest lens was the Soligor 500 mm mirror; I just found a Honeywell (rebadged Celestron C5 telescope) Lumentar 1250 mm f10 mirror lens at an estate sale. The bits to adapt it to a Canon R camera will arrive today. It's large and probably wouldn't be easy to carry on a cruise, but would be awesome for bears and other critters! I'll have to experiment today to see if it is feasible.

Enjoy the trip, it's a wonderful experience.

Some higher-end lenses are weather sealed, which should make them more tolerant of crappyvonditions. I'm a poor, and have never owned any of those. All of my lenses are on the cheaper side, but I've never had any problems with moisture getting inside. I just take basic precautions...don't leave them out in the rain, and I carry a ziplock bag to put the camera in when I'm backpacking in case I get stuck in a downpour. But I've been through a bunch of elevation changes, weather, and damp climates with it and never had a problem.

Thanks for all the responses. Looks like i need to add the 14-35 to the list.

Locations include Stephens Passage, Juneau, Endicott Arm/ Dawes Glacier, Sitka, Ketchikan and Victoria BC
Wildlife and whale watch excursions. Possibility of a heli excursion -wife wont go on that one.

I'm a former film photo enthusiast but haven't gotten into the digital SLR thing.

Alaska = rain. Expect to be rained on for half your days. You may get seriously lucky and have no rain, or you might get rain every day. So have a plan to protect your equipment while outside. Yes, you will get rained on.

For the most part you'll want a long lens. Long. From the ship there will be plenty to see as you're moving along, but it will be a mile or more away. Bears, whales, waterfalls, seals on ice, glaciers, glaciers calving, etc. For scenic landscape, it really loses impact in photos. In 35mm film parlance, a 24mm lens would be sufficient. Maybe slightly wider. The vistas are impressive but, for me anyhow, the interest was in the details that need a long lens.

Walking around town would be the typical whatever you like already. There will be people, buildings, a view down Main St, fishing ships in a harbor, a photo of your lunch, etc.

I went May of last year with a Tamron 28-75 2.8 and a GM 70-200 2.8. I could’ve used more zoom, but other than not having one, I probably wouldn’t have wanted to carry around extra gear other than my tripod. Anything wider, I used my iPhone.

I probably won’t go on a cruise next time, but will fly in/rent a car. With my new Cannon system, I may rent a larger zoom since I currently just have a 28-70 2.8. With a car, I can carry the extra equipment.

Mikus36 - check your email…