Talk of The Villages Florida - Camera advice for Alaska Cruise/Tour

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We went with our phones. iPhone 14 and Samsung 20. No problems at all. My wife had a clip on telephoto lens the really worked well for the long shots ($40).

With all the scenery and animals in Alaska you will want to get up close in many situations. The versatility in the Panasonic LUMIX FZ-80 is a winner. Under $400.00.
The most camera for the money available today.
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=d88bc...LWZ6ODBr&ntb=1

Quote:

Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 2225581)

Note that...the digital zoom setting reduces the number of pixels in the photo, and is basically the same as "cropping" the photo.

Bearing in mind this fact, it is better to take the photo without zooming in and crop it on your computer once you have downloaded it.

May seem counterintuitive, but you're more likely to do a better job of it by taking some time, rather than when "on the hoof".

You can, of course, zoom in to see what the shot will look like, but zoom back out to take the photo.

My “opinion” is DON’T do it !

While there is no doubt that a stand alone camera with a telephoto lens will take better pictures, also consider the inconvenience of having to carry it around with the telephoto lens and possibly other lenses as well .

Then consider that getting enthralled with taking pictures will have a negative effect of you enjoying the scenery unhindered by the desire to continually taking pictures.

Your smart phone , for the most part, will give you excellent results without the extra hassle .

As for those long distance shots you would be taking with a telephoto lens, I’m sure that you can find a variety of photos posted online while using professional grade equipment of the exact same thing you’re looking at ……

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjdmlhw (Post 2225243)

My wife and I have an Alaska cruise tour scheduled in August and we think that we probably need a better camera than the ones on our phones. We have Samsung A13 5G phones which take fantastic pictures, but when you try to zoom in the shots become pixelated. Our daughter (who is going with us) has a Samsung S21 and the camera is better, but I'm not sure if it is good enough.

Do any of you have suggestions about what type of camera we should buy? Will a point and shoot be good enough or should we get a DSLR? I really hate the idea of paying a lot of money for a camera that will likely go in the box wih my 40 year old Nikon 35mm camera to never be used again, but Amazon has Canon Rebel camera kits for $400 which is cheaper than what I am paying for most of the excursions that we will be taking in Alaska.

I have ordered one of the monoculars which can attach to your phone and used as a zoom lense, so that might solve the problem. I'll test it tomorrow when it arrives from Amazon.

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

There are two sites that I will post. The first is the best Bridge cameras for 2023 and one is the Amazon link for the Canon SX70. A bridge camera has a good zoom but only one lens. No worrying about changing lenses. When I went to Alaska, I had multiple lenses for my DSLR camera but I wouldn't recommend a DSLR for someone who doesn't have experience with cameras and you stated that after the trip you probably won't use it. For quite a few years I traveled with a Canon bridge camera and took some great photos. Reviews:The best bridge camera in 2023 | Digital Camera World and the link for the Canon camera: Amazon.com

We did Alaska last year, all the way up the inside passage, then the overland journey to Denali and Fairbanks.

If you were a photographer, you'd already have the camera. So my advice is to upgrade your phone, if you think it's inadequate. If you're like me, you're not taking "photographs", you're just preserving memories. For that, you just want you phone handy. Unless you're a pro, you'll never do the scenery justice, regardless of the camera.

There were two times when I wish I had a telephoto lens. One was at Glacier Bay, when the boat didn't get close enough to see the glacier calve. But I never would have caught it, anyway. A good pair of binoculars would have been more useful. The next day we were in College Fjord and got very close, and watched lots of calving glaciers.

The other time was on the Denali tour, when they kept point out bears and elk so far away that they were just dots. Once again, though, I think binoculars would have been better, because they'd just be fuzzy at that range in the camera.