Monie71 Posted July 3, 2019 Report Share Posted July 3, 2019 Help! First timer! Should I invest in a good camera for our trip or just use my iPhone? Is it a pain to lug around a camera? Where do you leave it if you go swimming? Thanks for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyB Posted July 3, 2019 Report Share Posted July 3, 2019 I just use my phone...I have an iPhone XS Max. I think it takes awesome pictures. It's the only thing I use my phone for while on a cruise. It's in airplane mode the whole time. bhageerah, tiny blonde and Bbjunkie 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted July 3, 2019 Report Share Posted July 3, 2019 A nice mid-range DSLR camera is a great choice, but it's extra bulk to take around. It takes more time, but I find the quality of those photos to stand out. For capturing sweeping vistas, family photos, it's the kind of camera that gives that satisfying, crisp photo. The iPhone camera is quite good in its own right and so much more convenient. I think it really boils down to how serious you want to get with photography. Unlike 10 years ago, a DSLR camera is not absolutely necessary for good photos. You can definitely get by with an iPhone and capture great shots. In fact, most photographers would tell you it's less about the hardware you have than the techniques you use. tiny blonde, JennyB, ellcee and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdcackler Posted July 3, 2019 Report Share Posted July 3, 2019 39 minutes ago, Matt said: I think it really boils down to how serious you want to get with photography. Unlike 10 years ago, a DSLR camera is not absolutely necessary for good photos. You can definitely get by with an iPhone and capture great shots. In fact, most photographers would tell you it's less about the hardware you have than the techniques you use. This. I have taken great shots with all sorts of good and not so good equipment. I personally like to take a camera with me at times so I don't wear out my phone battery but I often just go with my phone. Monie71 and Matt 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted July 3, 2019 Report Share Posted July 3, 2019 33 minutes ago, Matt said: I think it really boils down to how serious you want to get with photography. Unlike 10 years ago, a DSLR camera is not absolutely necessary for good photos. You can definitely get by with an iPhone and capture great shots. In fact, most photographers would tell you it's less about the hardware you have than the techniques you use. This. I've done two cruises with my iPhone 6s Plus as my camera. Yes it's now a very old model with a lot more limitations than a Xs Max or Xr has; and yes, you can do a lot more with even my old model than is immediately obvious, especially if you invest in some good apps for better manual control or a good set of add-on lenses. But any phone is still going to have limitations over a dedicated camera. The biggest one being that both my "ancient" 6s Plus and the latest models still take only 12 megapixel photos, where a pocketable compact camera with good manual controls will get you at least 20 megapixels on a significantly larger sensor. That translates into way better low-light photography, which might be something you find yourself wanting to do as you wander the ship in the evening. @twangster's night photos of Central Park or Navigator's pool deck are stunning, and all taken on a camera with a big sensor. The other two big limitations with phones are no true depth of field (aperture control) and no good options for things like a polarizing lens to eliminate water glare or sky haze when shooting outdoors. The simulated depth of field the very latest phones offer with their camera software is amazing, but it's still not the same as being able to dial it in for a specific shot you see. If none of the above really matters to you personally, and what's most important is being able to quickly get a shot of what you're looking at right then, a modern phone camera will get you some very impressive results. If you don't have the very latest model and your phone is more than 2 years old like mine, I'd recommend investing in the newer model so you have all the advancements and features that have been made. If you're like me (somewhat serious hobbyist level), it's a toss-up between the phone or a small compact camera like a Sony DSC RX-100 series camera that provides good manual controls while staying pocketable, or at least throwable in a backpack. I kind of got dragged into the compact camera approach through a friend, but now that I've seen what it can do vs. my phone (especially in low light), I'm all-in on the stand-alone camera as long as it's not impractical to take where I'm going. I'd only recommend going the DSLR route with all its expense if you've already been taking a lot of pictures with your phone, you feel like you've learned some good basic techniques, and you just aren't satisfied with what it gives you at all any more. The learning curve of a full manual camera is steep (ask my 15-year old daughter who took Photography 101 this past school year), and not something you necessarily want to be figuring out while you're wandering an island or on a tour. Baked Alaska, ChessE4, Traveler and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monie71 Posted July 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2019 Thanks so much! Great advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChessE4 Posted July 3, 2019 Report Share Posted July 3, 2019 If you expect to take pictures underwater with your cell phone, be sure to get the appropriate lanyard that can accommodate the size of the phone. You can click buttons through the soft plastic of the "sleeve". Monie71 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xceed Posted July 3, 2019 Report Share Posted July 3, 2019 I plan on bringing my GoPro Session 5. Seems like a good option since it's waterproof and compact. I primarily use it for my motorcycle and it takes great 4k video. Monie71 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted July 3, 2019 Report Share Posted July 3, 2019 My Samsung Galaxy is awesome... It truly takes great pics and makes it easy to post. I recently replaced my real camera with a pretty easy point and shoot Canon.... There is no way I will have enough memory in my phone for 16 days in Europe and I just never trust dropbox. But it's what you want to do and where you want your pics! Have a great trip! Jane Monie71 and Baked Alaska 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Ogre Posted July 3, 2019 Report Share Posted July 3, 2019 This is what I use and it is great and if it gets wet so what. Great underwater shots too. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Fujifilm-FinePix-XP120-Digital-Camera-Sky-Blue/171077492?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=1458&adid=22222222227079101674&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=191996934378&wl4=pla-300158840302&wl5=9012233&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=113137501&wl11=online&wl12=171077492&veh=sem&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0Kub47iZ4wIVBODICh0LJgY4EAQYAyABEgKi9_D_BwE Monie71 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunkelBierJay Posted July 3, 2019 Report Share Posted July 3, 2019 If you typically shoot manual, aperture priority and/or raw, bring your good camera. If you would only use the automatic feature on a good camera, a good iphone camera works well and you're not lugging extra stuff. Baked Alaska, tdcackler, Monie71 and 1 other 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmoss Posted July 3, 2019 Report Share Posted July 3, 2019 I struggled with this for our Alaska trip. We finally decided to bring both. I can tell you we took maybe 10 pics with the camera. Our phones were handy and have excellent cameras. Ours are the new Pixels though. I would say it depends on which iPhone you have. The cameras did not reach great quality until the iPhone 7 . Baked Alaska, FL Lake Gal, Monie71 and 1 other 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJ1231 Posted July 3, 2019 Report Share Posted July 3, 2019 I've used both the iPhone and a Panasonic Lumix FZ70 with a 60x zoom. I do bird photographs and for Alaska there was no comparison between the iPhone and the Lumix in places like Hubbard Glacier where the Radiance didn't get to close to the glacier. If you're only going to post on social media and show from the phone you're fine. If you're going to print I would upgrade to a decent point & shoot. Carrying the camera was worth the effort to me. mom2mybugs, ChessE4, FL Lake Gal and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickinSTL Posted July 4, 2019 Report Share Posted July 4, 2019 I carry my Nikon D3300 on excursions with my camera backpack, and use my iPhone X on the ship.. FL Lake Gal and Monie71 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaosgirl426 Posted July 4, 2019 Report Share Posted July 4, 2019 19 hours ago, Jolly Ogre said: This is what I use and it is great and if it gets wet so what. Great underwater shots too. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Fujifilm-FinePix-XP120-Digital-Camera-Sky-Blue/171077492?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=1458&adid=22222222227079101674&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=191996934378&wl4=pla-300158840302&wl5=9012233&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=113137501&wl11=online&wl12=171077492&veh=sem&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0Kub47iZ4wIVBODICh0LJgY4EAQYAyABEgKi9_D_BwE i just bought one of these, the newer model... but id go with best buy rather than wal mart. the wal mart camera comes from someone other than the actual store, it comes refurbished and they didnt give me the sky blue when i paid extra for it. i returned it and went with best buy. got a new camera and a free floaty strap. :) (i did my research and settled on this after about a month) im with you on this one jolly ogre!! ChessE4 and Monie71 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted July 4, 2019 Report Share Posted July 4, 2019 It really comes down to your expectations for your pictures. Smart phones are great for convenience and outdoor daylight photography. Even the best and newest camera phones start to fall apart in darker conditions including ones that tout special dark picture capabilities. Point and shoot cameras offer portability but typically better performance over even the best and newest phone across the spectrum of photographic conditions experienced on a cruise. They typically come with the added benefit of a zoom lens. DSLR or mirrorless will produce the best pictures at the cost of size and lugging them around. I don't bring my expensive gear on cruises anymore with the exception of bucket list destinations such as Alaska, Hawaii, Europe, Panama, etc. Here is a live blog that was captured with a point and shoot camera, albeit an expensive one: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/9521-adventure-ots-13-night-snowbird-migration-quebec-to-ft-lauderdale-oct-8-2018/ This cruise was captured with an iPhone using some extra cost lenses: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/6297-adventure-5-nights-5518-repositioning-san-juan-to-bayonne/ Both have some good pictures but many of my iPhone pictures were not good enough to post to the second blog and I vowed I'd never do another cruise without something better than a phone. Even when I bring all the camera gear I own it doesn't always come on every excursion. Particularly if I've been somewhere before I'll just take my phone to a beach for example. At the end of the day the best camera is the one you have with you. Crabbycruiser, FL Lake Gal, Monie71 and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditchdoc Posted July 4, 2019 Report Share Posted July 4, 2019 No doubt you will get a different opinion form everyone. Personally I like my Nikon Coolpix A900. Its compact enough to slip into a pocket, cost about $300. The best feature other than being a 'Nikon' is the 35x optical zoom at the touch of a button. I have captured many wild life photos from a safe distance including bears, buffalo, mountain goats, ships in the distance and so on. Add a 128GB memory card and you can literally take over 10,000 pictures in high resolution. mrp4352 and Monie71 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillo Posted July 5, 2019 Report Share Posted July 5, 2019 15 hours ago, RickinSTL said: I carry my Nikon D3300 on excursions with my camera backpack, and use my iPhone X on the ship.. I do basically the same thing. If i was doing a port heavy itinerary, then I would take my "big" camera. If i am doing a smaller/sea day heavy itinerary, then i take the phone. On a recent trip to Europe (not a cruise holiday), i took photos over 3 devices - DSLR, snapshot camera & phone. Each has their particular use cases. RickinSTL, Monie71 and JLMoran 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Ogre Posted July 8, 2019 Report Share Posted July 8, 2019 On 7/4/2019 at 10:29 AM, Chaosgirl426 said: i just bought one of these, the newer model... but id go with best buy rather than wal mart. the wal mart camera comes from someone other than the actual store, it comes refurbished and they didnt give me the sky blue when i paid extra for it. i returned it and went with best buy. got a new camera and a free floaty strap. :) (i did my research and settled on this after about a month) im with you on this one jolly ogre!! Yeah i got mine at Best Buy too, but this was the 1st link that showed up when i googled it. You can get them anywhere and for the money you can't beat it. Great pics, waterproof, small and lightweight. Chaosgirl426 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrp4352 Posted July 8, 2019 Report Share Posted July 8, 2019 On 7/3/2019 at 4:05 PM, ckmoss said: I struggled with this for our Alaska trip. We finally decided to bring both. I can tell you we took maybe 10 pics with the camera. Our phones were handy and have excellent cameras. Ours are the new Pixels though. I would say it depends on which iPhone you have. The cameras did not reach great quality until the iPhone 7 . And to add to your confusion - I did the opposite on my Alaskan trip. I really liked having more zoom available on my regular camera (A Nikon point-and-shoot) in Alaska. I would use it instead of binoculars in many places. For a beach-y cruise, I travel iPhone only, but for more scenery-based cruises (Alaska, N.E. US and Canada) I liked having my camera with it's zoom. I have tried the attachable lenses on my iPhone, but haven't found one yet that I liked for zoom (wide-range, however, is great!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted July 8, 2019 Report Share Posted July 8, 2019 3 hours ago, mrp4352 said: I have tried the attachable lenses on my iPhone, but haven't found one yet that I liked for zoom (wide-range, however, is great!). Totally agree with this, and I spent some serious money on a set of lenses by Moment that included their tele lens. Lots of edge artifacting / color shifting along the edges, and even in the center area things look a little "off". Outdoors in bright light, it can work decently. But looking back on my photos from the time, I'm not 100% satisfied with how they came out. If I need tele, I'm using a point and shoot with a real variable optical zoom and forgetting about my phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveT Posted July 9, 2019 Report Share Posted July 9, 2019 Go with a waterproof point and shoot from, say, Nikon. These will take better than iPhone pictures, take a beating, and take a bath without breaking the bank. They have good OPTICAL zooms around 5x compared to an iPhone 2x. Also, most do standard 1080p HD or 4K 30fps videos on top of geotagging I have an iPhone I will use for most days but also have a Nikon D750 with either an 80-200 2.8 or 24-70 2.8 lens. These lenses are pretty big and not very practical for most photos you will never print or view on a screen larger than an iPad, except for depth of field. I am bringing the D750 for some family wedding photos...this camera stands out in low light and pictures in the setting sun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted July 9, 2019 Report Share Posted July 9, 2019 I'm thinking about getting a camcorder instead of a DSLR or mirrorless because I want to capture the action or just record the scenery. Would a DSLR or mirrorless camera be better than a Sony FDR-AX700? https://www.sony.com/electronics/handycam-camcorders/fdr-ax700 If there's a camera in the same price range and able to video equal to or better than the Sony please let me know as I would really consider it. I'm hoping that @twangster or @JLMoran might have some experience in this matter. Anyone else please give your input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted July 9, 2019 Report Share Posted July 9, 2019 19 minutes ago, 12thman said: I'm thinking about getting a camcorder instead of a DSLR or mirrorless because I want to capture the action or just record the scenery. Would a DSLR or mirrorless camera be better than a Sony FDR-AX700? https://www.sony.com/electronics/handycam-camcorders/fdr-ax700 If there's a camera in the same price range and able to video equal to or better than the Sony please let me know as I would really consider it. I'm hoping that @twangster or @JLMoran might have some experience in this matter. Anyone else please give your input. This video was captured using an iPhone, a point and shoot and a mirrorless camera. The mirrorless camera has lens stabilization that with a long telephoto lens made capture some action invaluable. This video was captured with just a mirrorless camera: The way I figure it, one camera that do both stills and video means one less device to carry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted July 9, 2019 Report Share Posted July 9, 2019 Thank you @twangster what mirrorless camera do you use? I'm not an Apple fan. Also the video looks great on my laptop but how is the video if you watch it on a 65" 4K screen? That's the reason for the camcorder (4K). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted July 9, 2019 Report Share Posted July 9, 2019 1 minute ago, 12thman said: Thank you @twangster what mirrorless camera do you use? I'm not an Apple fan. Also the video looks great on my laptop but how is the video if you watch it on a 65" 4K screen? That's the reason for the camcorder (4K). Sony A7III shoots in 4K. So can their RX100M6 point and shoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted July 9, 2019 Report Share Posted July 9, 2019 29 minutes ago, twangster said: Sony A7III shoots in 4K. So can their RX100M6 point and shoot. Thank you for the information! The Sony A7III seems to be the one closest to what I'm looking for that's in the price range of the camcorder. Only problem is I'll get the photo bug again and buy all kinds of accessories for my new toy!! LOL!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Ogre Posted July 9, 2019 Report Share Posted July 9, 2019 it is pretty but still looks cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raahc Posted August 16, 2019 Report Share Posted August 16, 2019 On 7/4/2019 at 10:29 AM, Chaosgirl426 said: i just bought one of these, the newer model... but id go with best buy rather than wal mart. the wal mart camera comes from someone other than the actual store, it comes refurbished and they didnt give me the sky blue when i paid extra for it. i returned it and went with best buy. got a new camera and a free floaty strap. (i did my research and settled on this after about a month) im with you on this one jolly ogre!! I remember buying those disposable waterproof cameras, the resolution was awful. I was going to get a waterproof sleeve for our iPhones, but they are fairly new and pricey and I'd be worried about damage. We do plan to bring one of our phones to take pictures at CocoCay, and then use the waterproof camera for when we're in the water. I need a zoom lens as well. This camera looks perfect. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaosgirl426 Posted August 16, 2019 Report Share Posted August 16, 2019 @12thman the fujifilm finepix XP140 also shoots in 4K, just so you know! :) raahc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo2slick Posted August 16, 2019 Report Share Posted August 16, 2019 Im bringing my GoPro Hero7 Black, shoots 4k video, takes pictures, waterproof......Does everything I need it to do. raahc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted August 17, 2019 Report Share Posted August 17, 2019 11 hours ago, Chaosgirl426 said: @12thman the fujifilm finepix XP140 also shoots in 4K, just so you know! Thank you for the information. I'll check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markm Posted August 17, 2019 Report Share Posted August 17, 2019 If you want to use your phone and take video consider a DJI Osmo Moblie 3 handheld gimbal. Its around $119 and works great with an iPhone and can be used with other phones. Zoom, stabilization, tilt, pan, slow motion, time-lapse and active tracking 4ensic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YOLO Posted August 17, 2019 Report Share Posted August 17, 2019 If a compact DSLR is more in your price range, then try the Canon SL3 which shoots 4K. I took the older SL1 to Alaska and loved it. It only shoots HD video though. JohnK6404 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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