Camera recommendations

[monana]

Hey everyone,

I was wondering what camera would you suggest is the best to bring to the cruise? I want to make sure that I get as many pictures and video possible. And hopefully one that has a good battery life.

Thanks in advance.

 

[dreadpiraterose]

I love my Lumix waterproof camera. Great for cruising.

 

[truck1]

Depends on how much you want to spend, and what are you looking to do. Personally I have 3 cameras I take with me. I have a dedicated JVC video camera, Sea Life waterproof camera that double as a point and shoot, and a Nikon D3000 DSLR with a external flash and 18-55, and 70-200mm lens. With the Nikon I can take pictures in just about situation, and any distance. The Sea Life works great for keeping in my pocket walking around the ship, and in its housing, can use it in the ocean pools, etc. The video camera does great in just about any situation also.

Heres the differences in some of the cameras out there.
Point and shoots, are good for spur of the moment pictures or walking around and finding a character in an unlikely spot. They normally come with a digital zoom, but the digital zooms past a certain point tend to distort the pictures.
DSLRs like the Nikon D3100, can do a lot more, but they come with a cost and weight. They typically are in the 7-800 dollar range for a good setup. But heres the big advantages. You can change out the lenses based on what you are trying to do. For example, I have a 18-55mm lens that has vibration reduction and image stabilization. This lens works great for close up work etc. like character greets, general pictures, things like that. The 70-200mm lens, I can reach out and touch a subject. You cant do that with most point and shoots. With the external flash, I can take somewhat professional pictures in any condition. After a certain point, the point and shoots wont be able to provide enough light.

I'm not advocating that you go out and buy a DSLR setup. Just pointing out some differences. Cameras are simply one of those preference things. I like to play with pictures and cameras. So the extra weight of my DSLR doesn't bother me at all. If your going to be using a camera for vacations only, point and shoots might be a better option. Olympus and several other manufacturers have cameras that are drop proofed, and also water proof up to a certain depth. They also take great video.

Whether its a DSLR or a point and shoot, the cameras all have either micro sd cards or sd card slots, and almost all you can get extra batteries for or carry spare AA or AAA, or the appropriate sized spare. On my cameras, using 2 and 4 gb sd cards I average between 500 and 1200 pictures and video capability. A lot of it also depends on what your camera settigns are but that's a whole different ball of wax.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I love my Lumix waterproof camera. Great for cruising.

That's what I've got, also. Takes video, works underwater, and is always in my hand.

 

[asunutgirl]

Depends on how much you want to spend, and what are you looking to do. Personally I have 3 cameras I take with me. I have a dedicated JVC video camera, Sea Life waterproof camera that double as a point and shoot, and a Nikon D3000 DSLR with a external flash and 18-55, and 70-200mm lens. With the Nikon I can take pictures in just about situation, and any distance. The Sea Life works great for keeping in my pocket walking around the ship, and in its housing, can use it in the ocean pools, etc. The video camera does great in just about any situation also.

How do you like your Sea Life? I'm looking into buying one. Do you use it for snorkel or SCUBA? I have a housing set up for a point and shoot but the camera just doesn't take great photos. And I don't really want to invest in a housing for one of my DSLR cameras. Too much $$$

 

[truck1]

How do you like your Sea Life? I'm looking into buying one. Do you use it for snorkel or SCUBA? I have a housing set up for a point and shoot but the camera just doesn't take great photos. And I don't really want to invest in a housing for one of my DSLR cameras. Too much $$$

I love it. I'm on my 2nd generation, I started with the DC600 and moved to the 1400. I used to use it for both. I gave it to my son when he learned to dive and I use my GoPro for diving and some snorkeling. On the 7 foot pole it works great.

As far as the Sea Life goes, its a great beginners camera. Its really simple to use, and relatively lite weight. The piano keys on the housing make life real easy, and the large shutter button and zoom buttons are in your hands natural position. When it was mine, I used it to dive with, snorkel, and use it as a point and shoot on the ship. Its naturally buoyant in the housing, so if you let it go, its going to the surface. Id leave it in the cargo pocket of my shorts just in case I ran into a character with my kids. Saved my butt more then once with it.

All of the associated add ons, (strobes, arms, video lights etc) compared to some of its competitors, are good quality, and inexpensive. There also esy to use and have large buttons and knobs. On a personal level, Ive dealt with Sea Life for minor issues and questions and never had a problem with there support.

Heres a couple of pictures from my Sea Life cameras.

 

[truck1]

The small pictures are videos off my Sealife








This one is probably my favorite:

 

[asunutgirl]

Thanks - this is helpful info. Are you using a strobe with the camera?

 

[truck1]

Most of the time no. I usually have it on the camera, but in most cases I don't need it. I do have pictures from the inside of some of the Keys wrecks where most of the above pictures were taken, that Ive used the strobe on, but for the most part I don't need it. The 1400 has 3 different color corrections based on what type if diving your doing.

 

[Quellman]

This is the LINK to the photography board. But it seems like you are really interested in a point and shoot that works well on auto mode. You will trade off some flexability in low light and potentially fast moving objects, but will work for most applications on a cruise. Most consumer level cameras will last for a full day of shooting. Once you start adding external lighting, reviewing pictures on it all day, etc, you will eat up battery life. If you will be taking usually over 400 photos a day with extended video you may want to consider a second battery.

 

[dreadpiraterose]

Just to piggy back on my earlier comment, I also carry three cameras with me on a cruise. I have my Lumix for underwater, my Nikon D300s DSLR for around the ship, and then I use my cell phone's built in camera a lot (I have a Galaxy S6 and the camera is pretty great provided it isn't crazy dark). But unless you're a photography enthusiast, your best bet is to grab a nice point-and-shoot that works well on auto mode. For me, that's the Lumix, which has the added benefit of being waterproof.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Piggy back onto previous comments as well- 2 cameras. Nikon DSLR and GoPro. Whatever you decide on, make sure you have enough space to store your photos and videos and a spare battery.

 

[JJsmama]

I am looking at the Nikon Coolpix and the Fujifilm finepix and similar $150 or so cameras for snorkeling/ beach, pool. I will never dive deeply with it. Iwant my 8 yr old son to be able to use it oo. Can anyone comment on these?

 

[Pooh2]

We have an olympus tg3 for water activities. Good so far!

 

[gometros]

Depends on how much you want to spend, and what are you looking to do. Personally I have 3 cameras I take with me. I have a dedicated JVC video camera, Sea Life waterproof camera that double as a point and shoot, and a Nikon D3000 DSLR with a external flash and 18-55, and 70-200mm lens. With the Nikon I can take pictures in just about situation, and any distance. The Sea Life works great for keeping in my pocket walking around the ship, and in its housing, can use it in the ocean pools, etc. The video camera does great in just about any situation also.

Heres the differences in some of the cameras out there.
Point and shoots, are good for spur of the moment pictures or walking around and finding a character in an unlikely spot. They normally come with a digital zoom, but the digital zooms past a certain point tend to distort the pictures.
DSLRs like the Nikon D3100, can do a lot more, but they come with a cost and weight. They typically are in the 7-800 dollar range for a good setup. But heres the big advantages. You can change out the lenses based on what you are trying to do. For example, I have a 18-55mm lens that has vibration reduction and image stabilization. This lens works great for close up work etc. like character greets, general pictures, things like that. The 70-200mm lens, I can reach out and touch a subject. You cant do that with most point and shoots. With the external flash, I can take somewhat professional pictures in any condition. After a certain point, the point and shoots wont be able to provide enough light.

I'm not advocating that you go out and buy a DSLR setup. Just pointing out some differences. Cameras are simply one of those preference things. I like to play with pictures and cameras. So the extra weight of my DSLR doesn't bother me at all. If your going to be using a camera for vacations only, point and shoots might be a better option. Olympus and several other manufacturers have cameras that are drop proofed, and also water proof up to a certain depth. They also take great video.

Whether its a DSLR or a point and shoot, the cameras all have either micro sd cards or sd card slots, and almost all you can get extra batteries for or carry spare AA or AAA, or the appropriate sized spare. On my cameras, using 2 and 4 gb sd cards I average between 500 and 1200 pictures and video capability. A lot of it also depends on what your camera settigns are but that's a whole different ball of wax.

A third alternative that gives you a camera with interchangeable lenses without the bulk of a DSLR, is a mirrorless camera like the Olympus E-M10. It's a micro four thirds camera that takes great pictures.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

I am not a huge photography expert, but assuming you want a compact camera and not a DSLR, I had a Sony RX100 (the original version) which was awesome (until it broke). The battery life was pretty good compared to my previous point-and-shoot cameras (I never carried spare batteries like I used to). I bought an RX100 Mark2 to replace it which is on its way.

 

[truck1]

A third alternative that gives you a camera with interchangeable lenses without the bulk of a DSLR, is a mirrorless camera like the Olympus E-M10. It's a micro four thirds camera that takes great pictures.

This is true. It all comes down to what the individual wants to acomplish and how much there willing to spend.

 

[cyclenut]

I always bring my DSLR and my Fuji XP70. The one thing that frustrates me with my Canon t2si is acclimating to the humidity. I take it out of my stateroom and the lens and mirror fog up. It takes about 30 minutes before I can get pictures.

To make it more portable I have a Lowe pro topsider carrier and I decide what lens to bring with me and leave the other in the safe. I get the quality and capability of the DSLR with a degree of convenience.

 

[truck1]

I always bring my DSLR and my Fuji XP70. The one thing that frustrates me with my Canon t2si is acclimating to the humidity. I take it out of my stateroom and the lens and mirror fog up. It takes about 30 minutes before I can get pictures.

To make it more portable I have a Lowe pro topsider carrier and I decide what lens to bring with me and leave the other in the safe. I get the quality and capability of the DSLR with a degree of convenience.

Something I have learned to deal with that, and seems to work, is I leave my camera in my backpack. Since we cruise on a balcony, before we leave, Ill put the back pack out on the veranda. Ive taken the camera straight outside also to use, straight from the backpack and have very few if any issues. The backpack seems to act like a insulator.

 

[cyclenut]

Good tip, but it seems the real trick is leaving it on the balcony to let it acclimate. Passing it through the inside of the ship for just a few minutes, while inside the backpack, should be enough to eliminate that fogging. Unfortunately, we usually sail in interior cabin. This may be the reason I need to insist on a balcony!