[daacon]

We have booked our first cruise Pretty excited about it. Now I have a few months to decide what gear to bring. It is a Southern Caribbean cruise so I would assume mostly landscapes , people , ship shots, and some ocean sunrise, sunsets, astro photography if we get some clear skies.

I was thinking DA* 16-50, DA* 60-250, 1.7TC , DA 10-17. That should be nice and compact. I am terrible and trying to restrict gear Should I bring the DA 12-24 ? What about the DA* 300 ? The Bigma (that's a no!), DA 35LTD ? Sigma 105 (macro) ? ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh - accessories will be CPL's and ND's, wireless remote and a cable remote, cleaning gear, tripod and flash. (damn that does not sound 'compact' at all !

Or should I look at one the super zooms in the 18-135 / 18-250 range and maybe just bring the fish eye or DA 12-24 with it ?

Anyone here been on a cruise ship with their gear before ? What did you bring ? What did you regret not bringing ?

[crewl1]

We have been on a few cruises, we like going to the Caribbean out of Florida or Puerto Rico.

I find an all in one zoom and a fast lens for indoor low light is pretty much all I need.

Last cruise was to western Caribbean and I took the k5 with Tamron 18-250 and FA 50 1.4 since that's what I had at the time.

Now I have the 18-135 so will take that and maybe FA35 f2 (and Q with 01 02 03 06 since it takes up no space. )

If you are booking a wildlife viewing tour then you may want to take a longer lens, but for cruises i prefer to travel light.

Plus we usually book beach and snorkel tours which is our favorite activity in the warm turquoise water of the Caribbean.

On the boat we usually have plenty to keep us busy, I am sure you will fit right in.

[daacon]

Thanks Larry - yeah I will need to get a new underwater camera as well (my Canon D10 died on me). We will snorkel and I might even go on a dive. This one is out of Florida. I am thinking you are right - I may need to look at a all in one zoom and take my DA 35ltd. Have not booked anything yet for tours so unsure if I really will go out and see wildlife (as you are correct I have been to the Caribbean before in Mexico and the water / beaches are just soooooo tempting my never leave them )

[Colbyt]

Anyone here been on a cruise ship with their gear before ? What did you bring ? What did you regret not bringing ?

The good news is that most have small secure lock boxes in the cabins to hold the surplus you don't want to carry.

For evenings on board you will want something fast. What you need in the ports will depend on what you want pictures of. There is often a lot of walking so you won't want to carry everything you own everyday.

I took way too many last time. We are thinking about a mid winter jaunt to the same locale and I will probably just take the 40, 21 and 18-55 WR. There won't be many museums so I won't take the MF 50 1.4 or the longer lenses. The K30 seems to do much better with the 18-55 kit lens than the 2000 ever did so it may get some use. As crowed as the ports are I imagine the 21 will still be the most used.

[daacon]

I am even rethinking the tripod - maybe .... or maybe I will be one of those lager gorilla tripods ...ummm also rethinking buying another lens ....but do see a need for the DA35LTD or wider prime .....

[wsteffey]

Make sure you take something water-resistant and theft resistant, or at least something not so expensive that it's loss would spoil your vacation. Many shore excursions involve sand and salt water, something you would not want near expensive camera equipment. And, if you wander about ports of call unescorted (tours arranged through the ship are pretty safe) you will need something you can hide in a pocket. Remember, your expensive camera might equal a month's income for some residents. If you need to buy something be sure to check out duty-free shopping at almost any port of call. You can shop around throughout the time in port, but save the actual buying until two hours before departure. The crowds will be smaller, and you might get a slightly better deal (yes, haggling may lower the price) Cameras purchased in St. Thomas will carry the USA warranty, I'm not sure about the other ports, Most stores are chains, so prices are pretty consistent on all the islands. St Thomas is as good a place to shop for cameras as any. Prices on board the ships are nothing special.

[daacon]

Thanks for the advice so far all. As for theft I had considered that but decided to indeed take some expensive gear. I have traveled all over north and central america without an issue, however never had base camp of a cruise ship. Days that may involve snorkeling or diving I would likely leave it in the Cabin. Days that are just general walking around looking at stuff will carry it. I am hoping that most ports where there are beaches there may be a place to lock stuff up. Unsure. Don't really plan to buy any new gear but you make a point with Duty Free. I just need to make sure I bring a small enough bag / kit that would fit in a locker. If it were stolen it would certainly ruin the next several hours but I am pretty good at re-accessing the whole 'worst case scenario' and stolen stuff ranks pretty low.

[Colbyt]

I am even rethinking the tripod - maybe .... or maybe I will be one of those lager gorilla tripods ...ummm also rethinking buying another lens ....but do see a need for the DA35LTD or wider prime .....

I rethought the tripod thing to the extent that I bought a monopod / walking stick which weights in at just under a pound. I plan to take it for a test drive as soon as the mini ball head gets here.

[crewl1]

Dave, not sure what your plans for the tripod are but in my case I didn't see a use for it.
There isn't really time on the tours to set up any gear, and the night shots of port from the boat would not give the tripod a steady platform for long exposures.
If you just want it to be included in group shots you are better off handing it to a fellow passenger to take the shot for you.
There will be lots of Cruise photographers around to take the formal pics during the evenings too, just be ready to pay for them.

[daacon]

Dave, not sure what your plans for the tripod are but in my case I didn't see a use for it.
There isn't really time on the tours to set up any gear, and the night shots of port from the boat would not give the tripod a steady platform for long exposures.
If you just want it to be included in group shots you are better off handing it to a fellow passenger to take the shot for you.
There will be lots of Cruise photographers around to take the formal pics during the evenings too, just be ready to pay for them.

Thanks Larry I am pretty hard pressed to pay for a picture , especially one with me in it. Ummm I did not consider the boat would be too unsteady for a tripod. Guess I assumed a ship that size you would not move, but you are correct it would not take much movement at all to render a long shutter useless. I think I will still look at a Gorilla tripod for shore though. I was hoping to get some nice shots of the night sky and sunsets and sunrises (thus the tripod) might just have to enjoy them rather than photgraph them

[rbefly]

Hi Dave, hope you enjoy the trip!
I have a suggestion for you, another recommendation for a 'camera support device'.
I think of table-top-tripods as sort of portable (tiny) monopods. That is, they're really good for shutter speeds that might be marginal for handholding (1/60, 1/30s, etc) but not much longer than a second or two. When you get into multi-second exposures, a tripod is definitely the way to go. Better stability, bigger head, finer + more accurate adjustments, don't need a table!
But, that 1/30s to 1-second range of a TTT is still useful for many shots, including shooting from the pier to the ship in low light and vice-versa. Indoor exposures with a fast lens, twilight and dawn photos, group photos (including the photographer, using timed or remote release) etc. Very handy device and fits in a pocket.
However, many are rated for a weight-bearing of about a kilo or so, which is easily reached with a DSLR and medium zoom. I'd check the weight load rating carefully and beware of optimistic ratings.
One TTT I can recommend without reservation for DSLR use is the Manfrotto # 709, with ballhead. This is virtually the same as the old Bogen-labelled # 3009, which I've owned for many years. Just an updated version, including the supplied ballhead. They run about $45.00 - $50.00 on eBay, with head.
I've used mine many times for exposures up to 2 seconds with no problem, this is with (either) a K10D/BG-2 or K-7 and grip. Any and all primes and short zooms, up to 100mm.
You might compare the Gorilla TTT with the Manfrotto, see which seems better.
Good Luck!
Ron

[ToyTank]

I hope you have a good cruise. I've never been but think it would be fun. I think maybe a all in would get used more, and you can concentrate on having fun,

I've been very happy with the sigma DC 18-250 hsm macro. If you do any wildlife tours, or even just sea birds the 250 almost gets you there. I hope you don't mind a sample... 100% crop @ 250mm IMO pretty sharp for long end of an all in one.



I would think I good tripod would still be sturdy and move with the ship, I I don't think you could easily Isolate the camera from the ship movement, but except night seascapes I don't see an issue as anything on the ship is moving with you, and daytime shutter speeds should stop most movement.

Will the walls, railing, etc be steel? If so these magnetic camera mounts are about $30(no ball head) and takes up no space and are strong

[Colbyt]

. I was hoping to get some nice shots of the night sky and sunsets and sunrises (thus the tripod) might just have to enjoy them rather than photgraph them

The ships are quite stable when docked so figure out where you will be when. I managed to catch quite a few good images handheld when in Alaska and that was with a P&S canon. With a Pentax and image stabilization I bet you can get the sunsets and sun rises with a well braced hand held shot. May not be cover art but should please you. Ships mostly move at night so the stars aren't in your future. They have to get in International waters in order to open the casino.

[daacon]

Thanks Everyone - I have a few months to decide ....Leaning towards the DA* 16-50 and DA* 60-250 or borrow my daughters Tamron 18-250 (which was mine a one point ha!) either way I will bring a CPL / ND and some sort of stability device be it a gorilla or similar table top model.

[Kerrowdown]

Be aware also that ships do vibrate when they're under way, so sometimes hand held is better as your body acts as a natural shock absorber.