[Lisanp@aol.com]

It’s not so much the camera that you need as it is the power of the magnification of the lens in Alaska. The best photography investment we ever made was a Tamron “vacation lens” for our Canon EOS Rebel. It is the Tamron 18-300mm lens and handles what the stock lens that comes with the camera body does plus significant telephoto range. It is the only lens we bring when traveling. I highly recommend this lens (Father’s Day is coming). My best advice is also to bring extra batteries and memory cards for whatever camera you do choose to bring, and change the memory card out every couple of days. This way if something should happen to the camera or the card you only lose part not all of your vacation memories. We leave tomorrow for another Alaskan adventure- this time to our two remaining Alaska National Parks Kobuk Valley and Gates of the Arctic. Enjoy every second of your Alaskan adventure! It truly is the trip of a lifetime!

[Villages Kahuna]

I can’t opine on Android phones, but iPhone 14’s have cameras with resolutions equal to or better than “regular” cameras costing $200-300.

You used a key word—zoom. When you zoom the camera in a phone or even a real camera, you are actually discarding pixels, making enlargements look more “pixelated”.

I’d recommend getting the most current version of an Android or iPhone. Then when you take pictures, don’t use the zoom feature. If you think you’ll need to photograoh a subject a long ways away, buy a small accessory telephoto lens. There are several manufacturers—Moment is a good one. You’ll need the accessory lens plus a phone case to mount it on. Then use the accessory lens, NOT the zoom feature on either the phone or camera.

Unless you don’t print your photographs larger than 8x10 or maybe 11x14, and if you avoid zooming, you’ll produce prints that aren’t the least bit pixelated.

Save your money as well as the space needed to lug a full-sized camera on vacation. Get a current version of a phone camera.

[Sully2023]

Originally Posted by tjdmlhw

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.

Take two sets of binoculars! You will wish you did. When you are up very early in the mornings and outside with the park nature guide, you will only be able to see things with them. If not, it’s a waste of time to get up early.

[toeser]

Originally Posted by tjdmlhw

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.

I have taken many trips globally where I wanted a serious zoom lens, particularly for animals. I used to drag along all kinds of camera equipment including big cameras and big lenses. The problem is that a significant amount of my time and effort was lugging this stuff around.

Today, I have a Canon PowerShot SX620 Digital Camera w/25x Optical Zoom. It's so small it can go in my pocket. My last big camera had a 50X zoom lens, but 25X ain't bad for an optical zoom, plus this camera also does a pretty good wide angle shot for landscape pictures.

If you are anything like me, I would take a serious look at the new, really small pocket cameras with a high zoom lens. The convenience is wonderful.

[Gerrys]

We use our iPad for pictures. They really look great.

[Snowbirdtobe]

A few years ago we took a May cruise and I took this picture with an iPhone 6. Having an iPhone means never looking for a camera.
You do need to move up close. I have a Nikon digital camera with a 300mm lens but I left it back in TV since I had a lot to carry. I don't think I would have dragged it onto the foredeck in the rain.

[Keefelane66]

Keep it simple I don’t think one needs a digital SLR camera there are many quality digital pocket cameras with high pixel count

[Velvet]

I think it is more important to know how to take pictures than the camera itself. A class might help. Not that the camera is unimportant but just think Lewis Hamilton in a Honda Civic would still beat me in a race even if I was driving a Lamborghini Huracan.

[Mpphred]

Originally Posted by tjdmlhw

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.

When we went we used Smart Phone and a GoPro. GoPro was handy for more active things. Both came out well. Enjoy your trip.

[tunderw1]

I used my I pad that took some fabulous pictures.. if you choose to buy a camera I have a tri pod for sale .

[tjdmlhw]

Several people asked what kind of pictures we would be taking, landscape or wildlife. The answer is hopefully both. 80% or more will probably be landscape and our cell phones can do a good job on these, but we do have several excursions scheduled that will offer opportunities to see wildlife (bears, elk, moose, whales, seals, etc...) and this is where a camera with a good zoom is a must.

My wife and I are not camera buffs, and although I'm sure it is a wonderful hobby, I don't see either of us ever being interested in it. This is the main reason that I don't want to invest very much in a camera and will probably end up going for one of the cheaper options.

Someone else mentioned booking our tours with locals instead of going through Princess Cruise Lines. The tours that interested us were offered by groups other than Princess, so we don't have any excursions booked through the cruise line.

I mentioned in my original post that I had ordered a monocular to try out with the camera on my phone. It arrived this afternoon and I tried it out. I said that I was expecting very much from it and I'll just say that I wasn't disappointed. It did do away with the pixelization, but the picture quality was not good and it was very blurry. A lot of this was probably the fault of the photographer, but I could tell that it was something that I wouldn't be able to master. I have already got a return code and just need to drop it off at Kohls later this week.

Thanks to everyone who responded for your input. Even though there was a lot of contradictory advice given, it was all given in a sincere and helpful manner and it helped me to see what all of you thought. I appreciate each and every one of you.

[bp243]

Originally Posted by MandoMan

I use an iPhone 13 max, and I bought it specifically for the camera. If I turn on the camera and press 3x, it turns on the sort-of telephoto lens that is the equivalent of a 100mm lens on a 35mm camera. By comparison, your Samsung—a good one!—has the equivalent of a wide angle 35mm lens and a super-wide 28mm lens. Yes, if you zoom on any phone lens, including the iPhone, it will pixilate or at least lose definition. But the iPhone telephoto is the real deal, just as sharp with most lens. If you are at the zoo, your photos will be much closer if you use 3x.

Did you order your telephoto lens for your phone on Facebook? I did that. It was a complete scam. A total piece of junk. It was not at all like what was on the ad, and the photos were so blurry that they were unusable. Getting a refund was a farce. If I wanted a 100% refund, I would have to ship it back to China, with postage costing as much as what I paid for the lens. I just threw it away.

The Canon Rebel is a good camera, but no sharper than my iPhone. Usually it comes with an inexpensive 50mm lens that is considered a “normal” lens. It will bring you a little closer than your phone, but not much. I edit all of the photos I keep on my phone or iPad, and I delete most of them and only save the best. Do you know how to use the advanced photo editing tools your phone has? They are amazing. I generally crop the photo, maybe adjust the exposure or color balance or saturation. I can make my photos look so much better. So can you. Learn how.

Here’s the big question to ask yourself before your cruise to Alaska: Do you want to take photos of majestic mountains and glaciers and beaches, or do you want closeups of bears and birds? If the former, then your phone and a knowledge of the photo editing tools is all you need. Don’t ever use the zoom function on your phone. Just crop the photo later. Below you can find a couple of my photos taken with an iPhone. (The bird is 3x, but the bird was only twenty feet away. The others were taken with an old phone. The originals are sharper than what you see here.) But if you want relative closeups of eagles and deer, the Canon Rebel will NOT do it unless you buy a very good zoom lens. At least 300mm. 500 mm is better. Think $2,000 for a good one, plus the camera. And then you need a good tripod or monopod, too—another $100 or more if you aren’t buying a toy. And then, when you have that lens on, you miss out on the wide angle shot. Instead, you stand at the deck rail with your expensive telephoto lens waiting for the right photo, then you miss it. Good wildlife photographers may wait for days for a good shot. You can’t do that. If you spend $2,500 on a decent quality camera and telephoto lens to take on this cruise, chances are you won’t get any amazing photos with it from the ship. Thus, I recommend that you stick to just your phone and don’t buy a camera. Just learn to edit your photos and improve them and stick to the big picture. If you see a bear a hundred yards away from the ship, just watch it and enjoy it and don’t waste your time trying to take a photo. Leave the astonishing wildlife photos to the pros.

You can find a book of my photos here. Forty year old slides taken with an Olympus OM1, but digitized, then edited on my iPad: Amazon.com

Love your philosophy and photos! Also, love using my iPhone on trips. So with my iPhone 14, I turn it on and press three times to see 1x. Is there a way to make it 3x or is your 13 max the key?

[Arctic Fox]

Originally Posted by Sandy and Ed

Just returned from our second Alaskan cruise. IMHO: use the phone camera unless you can get a small enough camera to fit easily in your jacket. I saw folks lugging around cameras - didn’t look like they enjoyed.

They often look pretty smug as they get off wielding their expensive monster, then very fed up lugging it back on board at the end of the day.

But, if your interest is in taking top-notch photos...

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by bp243

Love your philosophy and photos! Also, love using my iPhone on trips. So with my iPhone 14, I turn it on and press three times to see 1x. Is there a way to make it 3x or is your 13 max the key?

In the photo below, notice the 0.5, 1x, and 3 near the bottom of the photo screen (on the side if the screen is horizontal). Just press the 3 with your finger and you will be in optical telephoto.

[retiredguy123]

Note that cameras can have an "optical zoom" or a "digital zoom" feature. The optical zoom setting acts like a telephoto lens where you get the same number of pixels in the photo regardless of the setting. But, the digital zoom setting reduces the number of pixels in the photo, and is basically the same as "cropping" the photo.