Minimum shutter speed on the deck of a cruise ship?

What I am really asking is whether I should rent or buy a used 100-400mm Canon lens for my upcoming Alaskan Cruise. I am carrying a Sony RX-100MII for everyday use for personal pictures. When I know there will be something good to shoot for my microstock I have my Canon 5D MarkIII with an assortment of lenses to the f2.8 70-200, filters, and tripod. So some of that stuff will come on some of the excursions.

I have read that many times you can see whales and other wildlife from the ship which made me think of the 100-400. Maybe that is not big enough except I refuse to carry anything larger.

And if the 100-400 would be of some value.... is it too hard to overcome the sway of the ship. I would think that you would be shooting at speeds of at least 1/100 sec with IS on. I would think that would overcome the swell of the seas on a big ship but I do not know?

If the weather is good, in the center of the boat, in the lowest deck will not have problems .. Read the manual to ensure witch IS function is correct. Also many tours that justify the lense.

Read the manual to make sure which IS Function is adecuate.

If you are shooting something like whales that are moving and use a shutter speed sufficient to stop that movement, the average movement on a cruise ship is not going to be an issue.

Now.. you mention something about using 1/100... maybe when shooting at 100mm or so but if you start shooting handheld at 400mm even with IS I'd keep the shutter speed much faster than that. If there is any action I'd want a minimum of 1/400.

Concerning the IS mode on the 100-400L: If you set it on mode 1 and leave it there you will never have any problem. I'm talking panning left-right, up-down, tripod monopod or handheld. I've shot 10s of thousands of pictures with mine and I've found there is no benifit in changing and no harm in any condition... despite what the manuel and others might say... but that is me.

Have fun!

Richard

You're shooting with a 5DIII, just crank up the iso so you can shoot with a good shutter speed and a sharp aperture. I'd also leave your filter off the 100-400 and use the hood and prepare for a little exposure compensation depending on the reflection off the water.

Agree with other poster that you're unlikely to get good wildlife shots from the ship. Although you'll probably see whales and some eagles from the ship, they'll almost certainly be too far away, even for a 400mm lens.

Think about booking a whale watching trip. If you do, a 100-400L will serve you well.