I am often asked what kind of camera to take on a cruise holiday and my answer is always the same - take the one you are most comfortable with and that gives you pictures you like. The camera may not have all the features you want or have the ability to zoom in on a goat half-way up a mountain, but if you know the strenghts and weaknesses of you camera, you will create beautiful pictures within that range. When Jan and I started to go to Alaska in 2001, I took along a state of the art digital camera - an Olympus D-620L 1.4MP SLR. The pictures were great (some of them are on display on this site). It had a moderate wide to telephoto 3X zoom lens and took remarkable photos. It was slow to use indoors and couldn't magnify a moose standing out in a field, but with that camera captured some stunning images. I still wish for an SLR as small and light as that camera.
Of course, if you feel you want to replace that older camera of yours for an upcoming cruise, think about the kind of pictures you like to take, your tolerance for fiddling with buttons and how much you want to carry. If you enjoying photographing landscapes, a fixed lens or wide angle may be all you need. If you want to capture wildlife from a distance, you will want a telephoto. Oddly enough, you may want a telephoto for landscapes as well. Many photographers make the mistake of trying to take in an entire range of mountains in a single wide angle shot and come home with mountains that look like bumps on a log. Picking out details the represent the entire scene will give your photos more impact and detail.
One of the thing I tell people interested in buying a new camera is to hold it in your hand and try out the controls. Do they feel natural to you? Are the control settings buried in menus on the display screen or are there actual buttons to push? Today, almost any camera randomly picked up from a dealer's shelf will produce decent images. What you need to decide is if the camera is comfortable and logical to use.
An other camera consideration is how large and heavy the thing is. Will it fit in a pocket or purse? Inside a jacket pocket? Does it have to hang around your neck? A camera that is too heavy to bring with you off the ship is the same as no camera at all.
Choose based on what you want to photograph and what feels good and logical in your hands - you will rarely go wrong. And don't worry about what new camera may come out tomorrow (and they always do) - if the camera you just bought meets your needs today it will tomorrow as well - unless your needs change!
Of course, if you feel you want to replace that older camera of yours for an upcoming cruise, think about the kind of pictures you like to take, your tolerance for fiddling with buttons and how much you want to carry. If you enjoying photographing landscapes, a fixed lens or wide angle may be all you need. If you want to capture wildlife from a distance, you will want a telephoto. Oddly enough, you may want a telephoto for landscapes as well. Many photographers make the mistake of trying to take in an entire range of mountains in a single wide angle shot and come home with mountains that look like bumps on a log. Picking out details the represent the entire scene will give your photos more impact and detail.
One of the thing I tell people interested in buying a new camera is to hold it in your hand and try out the controls. Do they feel natural to you? Are the control settings buried in menus on the display screen or are there actual buttons to push? Today, almost any camera randomly picked up from a dealer's shelf will produce decent images. What you need to decide is if the camera is comfortable and logical to use.
An other camera consideration is how large and heavy the thing is. Will it fit in a pocket or purse? Inside a jacket pocket? Does it have to hang around your neck? A camera that is too heavy to bring with you off the ship is the same as no camera at all.
Choose based on what you want to photograph and what feels good and logical in your hands - you will rarely go wrong. And don't worry about what new camera may come out tomorrow (and they always do) - if the camera you just bought meets your needs today it will tomorrow as well - unless your needs change!
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