Lens choices for Alaskan cruise

My family is planning a trip to Alaska this summer and I'm looking for advice on equipment to bring. Our tentative plans include a cruise through the Inside Passage and hopefully a train trip to Denali. I am particularly interested in getting some good landscape (Mt. McKinley, etc.) and wildlife photos (whales, bears, moose) . At a minimum, I plan to bring two camera bodies (6D and T2i) and three lenses (15-85, 70-200 f4, and 400 5.6). I'm debating on whether to also bring my Sigma 10-20. I like the lens but I've rarely used it since getting the 15-85, since 15 mm is usually wide enough for me. Still, I would hate to need it and not have it with me! Would you bring it if you had it or just stick to the 15-85? I also have a few primes (35 2.0 IS, nifty fifty, and 85 1.8), but I figured I would leave them at home. Also planned on bringing a monopod and tripod. Any advice on gear or photo opportunities would be appreciated.

That sounds like a solid combination of lenses to bring with you. The only thing I could say is you're limited to the long end on your 6D but the T2i with the 15-85 should be fine.

I did the same trip back when Hurricane Katrina hit N.O.
I was in APS C Canon 20 those days.
If I did it again and prob will ..
2 - 5D's , 24 - 105 L, and 400 or greater, tripod, and hiking stick Monopod **
** see this http://www.amazon.com …2&keywords=shoo​ting+stick

Use the V mount with your camera and forget time consuming screw mount

EL_PIC wrote in post #16693801
I did the same trip back when Hurricane Katrina hit N.O.
I was in APS C Canon 20 those days.
If I did it again and prob will ..
2 - 5D's , 24 - 105 L, and 400 or greater, tripod, and hiking stick Monopod **
** see this http://www.amazon.com …2&keywords=shoo​ting+stick

Use the V mount with your camera and forget time consuming screw mount

You can also use any number of quick release plates to adapt to most of those.

We are taking the same trip this summer ---- a week on land mostly at Denali and Copper River, then a cruise through the inside passage from Whittier to Vancouver. We made a similar trip 15 years ago, and this time I plan on taking the following:

5D3 & 7D bodies
17-40L
24-105L
100-400L
40mm f/2.8 pancake
assorted CPL, ND and grad ND filters
Feisol 3441S tripod

I am thinking about buying a smaller external flash for onboard the ship -- maybe the 270EX. My 430 EXII is too big to pack with all the above equipment, and it would be used mostly for just snapshots of us on the ship. Alternately, I could just live with the pop-up flash on the 7D.

i find it interesting that you are still using your 15-85 and 10-20 crop-only lenses now that you have a full frame. I use my 7D with the 100-400L exclusively for wildlife, and the 5D3 with the other lenses for everything else. I sold my two EFS crop-only lenses -- the 17-55 f/2.8 IS and 10-22mm.

vengence wrote in post #16693817
You can also use any number of quick release plates to adapt to most of those.

I already have a Manfrotto tripod and monopod and use the the Manfrotto QR plates on my cameras, so I think I'm set with those.

I did the trip you are proposing in 2012 with Celebrity Lines. Some general things is anticipate a decent amount of rain so bring plastic bags or similar. If not already booked, go earlier as opposed to later. From about late July onwards the weather can be cold, damp and windy. Checking email or using a cell phone from ship can be expensive. In several places we docked we found a public library near the dock that had "free" use of computers. That enabled my wife and I to check email several times. I also carried a couple of blank DVD's and was able to burn my images to disk and free up card space. Actually that I could do on ship but the lines were long. Before you go print the sunrise times for Anchorage. Our ship tended to enter places like the Inside Passage at sunrise. It was nice to know when that was in advance. A good ship will post that info, the trick is finding where it is posted. Have any small binoculars, if so bring them. Ships don't provide them anymore.

The Sigma 10-20 you could likely leave at home.

Some tips here http://pdxwolfy.org/al​aska/Tips.html.

Scott M wrote in post #16693856
We are taking the same trip this summer ---- a week on land mostly at Denali and Copper River, then a cruise through the inside passage from Whittier to Vancouver. We made a similar trip 15 years ago, and this time I plan on taking the following:

5D3 & 7D bodies
17-40L
24-105L
100-400L
40mm f/2.8 pancake
assorted CPL, ND and grad ND filters
Feisol 3441S tripod

I am thinking about buying a smaller external flash for onboard the ship -- maybe the 270EX. My 430 EXII is too big to pack with all the above equipment, and it would be used mostly for just snapshots of us on the ship. Alternately, I could just live with the pop-up flash on the 7D.

i find it interesting that you are still using your 15-85 and 10-20 crop-only lenses now that you have a full frame. I use my 7D with the 100-400L exclusively for wildlife, and the 5D3 with the other lenses for everything else. I sold my two EFS crop-only lenses -- the 17-55 f/2.8 IS and 10-22mm.

I debated on buying the 24-105 with my 6D, but opted for the body only. I figured I already had the range covered with my T2i and 15-85. In fact, the 15-85 stays on my T2i virtually all the time and I really like the combo. The 70-200 usually stays on my 6D. I can put the 400 5.6 on either camera but I would probably use it most on the T2i for the reach.

Bring all the gear you can. Rain gear for you and your camera. Mosquito protection. (They even show up in photos!)

John from PA wrote in post #16693888
I did the trip you are proposing in 2012 with Celebrity Lines. Some general things is anticipate a decent amount of rain so bring plastic bags or similar. If not already booked, go earlier as opposed to later. From about late July onwards the weather can be cold, damp and windy. Checking email or using a cell phone from ship can be expensive. In several places we docked we found a public library near the dock that had "free" use of computers. That enabled my wife and I to check email several times. I also carried a couple of blank DVD's and was able to burn my images to disk and free up card space. Actually that I could do on ship but the lines were long. Before you go print the sunrise times for Anchorage. Our ship tended to enter places like the Inside Passage at sunrise. It was nice to know when that was in advance. A good ship will post that info, the trick is finding where it is posted. Have any small binoculars, if so bring them. Ships don't provide them anymore.

The Sigma 10-20 you could likely leave at home.

Thanks John….I appreciate the tips! We haven't booked yet…we are still deciding on a few details.

Tapeman wrote in post #16693921
Bring all the gear you can. Rain gear for you and your camera. Mosquito protection. (They even show up in photos!)

I wondered about the bugs. Are they bad all summer?

fishbio wrote in post #16693933
I wondered about the bugs. Are they bad all summer?

First of all they aren't bad at all; I live in Philadelphia and doubt that I saw any more mosquitos in Alaska than I would have expected in my back yard. We purchased a bottle of bug stuff at a CVS in Seattle prior to departure and I don't think we ever used it.

Go to http://www.alaska.org/​advice/mosquitoes-in-alaska.

fishbio wrote in post #16693929
Thanks John….I appreciate the tips! We haven't booked yet…we are still deciding on a few details.

Highly recommend Celebrity Lines. They tend to have an older more mature crowd on board as opposed to the younger party type crowds. If you are under thirty, sorry if I offended.

You need something to cover between 15 - 800mm.