[Ryan Trevisol]

I have always advocated multiple small(ish) capacity cars instead of higher capacity. Should Murphy's Law be invoked, you'll loose fewer pictures.

100% agreed. And with 8GB UHS-I cards under $15, getting 3 or 4 is much preferable to one 64GB card that could die. I actually did my last Europe trip with 10 4GB Sandisk Ultras, because I got a fantastic deal on them.

[eddie1960]

I really appreciate all the info. I think I'll be much better prepared, especially about the bears.
Truthfully it's a cruise to Alaska wiTh stops in Ketchikan (halibut fishing) Juneau ( float plane fly fishing) and Skagway for a train ride. Sounds kinda touristy but hopefully I'll be able to get some landscapes and maybe a bear with the 50- 300. hopefully no closer.

I hear it is a good cruise. my sister and father took one up to alaska from victoria last year that covered some of the same territory (I was asked to come but couldn't get away from work

[Colbyt]

Sweet. The White Pass trainride out of Skagway is supposed to be phenomenal. Southeast Alaska is stunningly beautiful even if its rainy. Have a great time.

+1 on this day trip. It was my favorite.

[Medium FormatPro]

Will also be purchasing a new PC when I return. From a photographers viewpoint suggetions would be appreciated on MAC vs PC and software to be used to process the RAW photos

I'll start with an obvious question first; any budget restrictions? No matter which type of computer that you do go for it would be better to try to get one with 8gb of ram. Also preferably a 64bit o/s. I'd also strongly suggest a ssd drive; preferably the largest that you are able to afford. With ssd one won't have to worry about timely need for defrag; especially with larger camera memory cards. Also generally speaking; if you do NOT get an ssd; do not get a camera memory card of more than one half of your computer's built in hard disk - otherwsie there will most likely be issues.

That should be a good basis for starters

[tabl10s]

Here's what one of our guides told us about bears:

Wear bright clothing and carry a can of pepper spray. Also look for signs of bear activity. Looking at scat (bear poop) can help to identify bears. Black bear scat will be small and contain bits of twigs as their diet consists of berries. Grizzly scat on the other hand will contain bits of bright clothing and smell like pepper spray.

Funny.

[Francis]

Did a similar cruise out of Vancouver with Princess I think it was, last year. Very nice experience of nature.

Discovered my camera had stains only when I got back home. Photos were fixable, thankfully.

Bears were rare (except those mounted at the museums). Got a good enough shot at a bear from max 250mm.

Ketchikan - there is a particular walk through the forest. That's perfect for 55-300mm.
Juneau - take the cable car up the mountain. Nice landscapes to shoot and a bit of wildlife possible. perfect for 10-20mm but 18mm should be ok.
Skagway train ride - "white trail pass" or something? That's long and don't stay in the cab. Stay outside the back door. You can chat with the other camera buffs there. Rain is a bit of a dampener but with your WR body and lens, you're good to go. Most shots here will be 18-55'ish. That entire trip was nice.
Don't know if you're doing the glacier bay part - hopefully not foggy for you as it was for us. Nice possibilities for wide angle shots.


Depending on the weather outdoors, you may want to step down a little to avoid glary pics. I had a few (hundred cough cough cough) that were... well..... white.

Take care changing lenses.