UWA for Alaskan Cruise

My family has scheduled an Alaskan cruise for summer 2014 and I am preparing for what equipment to take on the trip. I know that this is SO much more important than what clothes to take!
I have the zoom taken care of with a 100-400 and a 1.4 teleconverter so my question is really how wide of a lens do I need? I have two bodies, a 5dmkii and a 50d so I plan on using the 50d with the 100-400 for the reach and the 5d for the wide angle. I have a 17-40 and was curious if that is wide enough for taking landscape shots in Alaska? I previously owned a 10-22 but sold it when I purchased the ff body. I am considering the Sigma 12-24 but would like to hear from others if it is worth the money over just taking my 17-40. Thanks for your feedback.

17-4 should work well on the landscape shots.

I would think that the 17-40 would be plenty wide for any landscape shots that you're wanting to do. 17mm would be the same as 11mm on a crop. Plenty wide!

Just did an Alaskan cruise last month with Princess Cruises... Sailed out of Seattle and made stops at Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Tracy Arm Fjord, and Victoria (BC)... I'm sure yours maybe similar... With that said, I tried to bring gear that would cover both reach and width... So I packed the following in my backpack (Lowepro CompuRover AW)...

Camera: 1D4 and Canon G15 (P&S)
Glass: 400 4L DO IS and 16-35 2.8L
Teleconverters: Kenko Pro DGx 1.4x and 2x
Filters: Hoya Pro Digital CPL, Lee ND's and GND's
Support: Gitzo CF + RRS BH-55 + Wimberley Sidekick

We had a mini-suite (with a balcony) stateroom and it helped alot with shooting landscapes while the boat was maneuvering from port-to-port... There were instances where I'd capture sea life (whales, birds, sea otters, killer whales, dolphins) from my balcony... But the excursions is where you get up close and personal with the wildlife...

I never had an issue with being too close @ 400mm... NEVER!!! So your 100-400 should suit just fine... You'll probably be using the longer end, most of the time anyways... Hehehehe... The 16-35 2.8L was perfect for everything I need, width wise... Granted I had a 1.3x cropped body, that didn't hinder it one bit... It was the filters that brought the images to the next level... If you don't have any (CPL, ND, and/or GND), I highly recommend you invest in a set... Truly brings all the details, tenfold!!!

Anyhoo... Here are a few examples from last month's Alaska Cruise Vacation...

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/airbutchie/9652​205183/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/airbutchie/9669​664883/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/airbutchie/9661​565681/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/airbutchie/9647​319164/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/airbutchie/9714​776009/

Your 17-40 should be fine. Alaska is very expansive in lots of ways. You are probably going to use your longer lenses more. And be prepared for lots of clouds, overcast, low light and rainy weather. It makes wonderful moody light but can be difficult to work with.

Are you going to Denali? If so, be prepared for a really unique look. Here's Polychrome Pass shot with 135 on a D60. http://www.luminous-landscape.com …2874.0;attach=8​9409;image

Airbutchie. Beautiful work. I am impressed.

Dang those are beautiful pictures, well done...

Heya,

Your 17mm is more than wide enough, I think you'll find. Wider and you'll just be taking a lot of photos of the sky more than anything else. I use a 11mm ultra wide, because I like extra ultra wide before getting to 8mm fish eye stuff, where it looks weird. I think the 16~18mm range is pretty wide in general for landscapes. So you should be fine I wager. No need to spend on anything.

Just make sure and take a tripod! Lots of low light ahead.

Very best,

rgs,

I am going to Denali,

MalVeaux,

I purchased a small travel tripod just for this trip. I didn't want to take my large one on this trip. Is there a specific one you would suggest?

airbutchie,

I do have a full load of filters that will be taking the trip with me!

The very reason I own the 17-40, was images that were posted from a forum member of his Alaskan Cruise. They were outstanding...

Butchie, did I see you shooting the Clippers preseason game on the tube a couple days ago.

DaddyinKC wrote in post #16391242
rgs,

I am going to Denali,

MalVeaux,

I purchased a small travel tripod just for this trip. I didn't want to take my large one on this trip. Is there a specific one you would suggest?

I took my Bogan 3022/Manfrotto 055PROB. But I wasn't on a cruise ship. I shipped it ahead to Anchorage and picked it up on arrival. It wasn't too heavy to take, just too long to pack in a suitcase and I didn't have a case.

You'll love Denali. There is just no place like it. You probably won't want anything wide there, the place is just so vast it's hard to describe. And the cruise ship lines have a hotel right on the edge of the park that's really plush. Have a great trip!

rgs wrote in post #16391033
Airbutchie. Beautiful work. I am impressed.

budcam wrote in post #16391061
Dang those are beautiful pictures, well done...

Thank you, gents!!!

DaddyinKC wrote in post #16391242
airbutchie, I do have a full load of filters that will be taking the trip with me!

Good to know... They'll definitely help!!!

Bianchi wrote in post #16391463
Butchie, did I see you shooting the Clippers preseason game on the tube a couple days ago.

Possibly... Hehehhee...

rgs wrote in post #16391023
And be prepared for lots of clouds, overcast, low light and rainy weather. It makes wonderful moody light but can be difficult to work with.

Richard does have a point regarding unpredictable weather... Before we departed from Seattle, we looked at every single port our cruise was going to take... In a nutshell, forecasts of rain, rain, and more rain... We expected those condition and embraced it... HOWEVER... Every port we went too had beautiful sunny/high cloud conditions; NOT ONE DROP OF RAIN... We were truly blessed in that regard... The only precipitation we did encounter was our ocean route to Skagway...

So take the weather forecast with a grain of salt... Expect the worst, but hope for the best...

One of those ports you'll be taking is considered to be classified as "rainforest" due to a lack of dry days throughout the year.

I used my 16-35Lmk2 when I did my Alaskan cruise. What you'll find is your 100-400L is not long enough and your 17-40L is not wide enough

IMAGE LINK: http://s378.photobucke​t.com …ay_2012/IMG_124​1.jpg.html