lensprotogo.com and rent a 200-400F4. More reach than the 70-300 and a significant improvement in IQ on the D300 it will be a great set up. Hope you have a great trip.
jack
I did the inside passage cruise to Alaska in 2007 and 2008. I took both the 70-300 VR and the 80-400 VR. Besides the 70-300 being smaller (and much cheaper), I was really pleased with the quality of the pictures taken by the 70-300. Many of my pictures where hand-held, and the smaller lens just took sharper pictures in my opinion. For my tastes, I hardly needed the extra reach of the 80-400. On the second cruise, I hardly used the 80-400 at all. You can see photos from both of my trips at http://kwilliam8.smugmug.com/. For almost every picture in the website, if the focal length is over 200, it will have been taken with the 70-300. Take a look and see the quality for yourself (keep in mind I sharpened them in Photoshop). I am actually thinking of selling my 80-400. Enjoy your cruise - it will be a trip of a lifetime!
Keith W.
If you're after speed- Sigma 150-500 is f6.3 at 400 mm, Nikon 80-400 is f5.6 at 400, and 300 f4 with 1.4 tc is f5.6 at 450 mm. Pretty much a wash as far as speed is concerned. If you really need speed the (pretty expensive) Nikon 200-400 gets you one whole stop. (a bit more over the Sigma) That helps, but it sure doesn't get you into an entirely different world.
90 5.0 wrote:
Chris 1/50 is pretty slow for moving animals, I try to stay at least 1/100 if they aren't doing much and 1/500 if they're active. That's using short lenses or lenses with vr were the vr can take care of the camera shake sometimes but mot your or the animals movement. I see the bears were at iso 100, with the D80 I would have been comfortable shooting up to 800 in that scenario and gone for some higher ss.
Regardless looks like it was a fun trip!
Unfortunately, when on the Denali bus ride (the only vehicles allowed inside the park) you never know when you're going to see something. Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough to make the necessary camera adjustments and still catch the moment. The eagle encounter lasted all of 30-seconds, when it started with someone shouting "eagle at 3 o'clock". They were shot through the closed bus window because people behind me were complaining of about cold wind.
While I enjoy traveling and the photo opportunities that arise, sometimes the situations you find yourself in are . . . disappointing.
I parted ways with the D80 shortly after this trip because I wasn't pleased with the ISO 800+ performance.
The Alaskan cruise vacation was the best 10-day trip I've ever done. I went with Princess and would do that trip again in an instant!
Avi B wrote:
I would honestly pick up a used AFS 300 f/4 and the 1.7TC. After the trip, sell off.
This is exactly what I did after I got back from my Alaskan cruise . . . though I haven't sold them off. In fact, I've also added the 300 mm f2.8 AF-SII (but too big for for a cruise vacation, IMHO).
I'm still in the early learning phases of working with long focal lengths (>300mm), but the 300 mm f4 is an extremely versatile lens when you consider it's image sharpness/contrast, speed, ability to accept teleconverters and relatively compact size (the same size as the 70-200 mm). This would be the gear that I would take on another Alaskan cruise . . . especially if done in the summer months when you experience 18+ hours of good daylight.
