Lenses Needed for Rhine River Cruise?

In a few weeks I will be taking a river cruise on the Rhine River
between Basel, Switzerland and Antwerp, Belgium with a side trip on
the Mosel River. I have visions of sitting on deck leisurely taking
photos of castles and the like as we drift by. My question is given
the width of the rivers, what lenses do I have to take to do this. My
basic kit includes in long lenses a Nikon 80-200/2.8 AFS with Kenko
Pro 1.4x and 2x extenders. But I can also take my Sigma 50-500 AFS,
which can also produce good results with the 1.4X even at 700mm.
However, given its weight and all the other photo equipment, I would
prefer not to unless really necessary.

For those who address the photo aspects, can you give me some idea how
wide the rivers are at various points?

Thanks in advance for any advice that can be provided.

john chapman wrote:

For those who address the photo aspects, can you give me some idea how
wide the rivers are at various points?

The Rhine is about 400 to 600 yards wide, somewhat narrower in the
Southern part of your journey until around Bonn. This is the more
interesting part (castles, vineyards etc.). In this section, the river
mostly flows in a rather deep valley so your objects are rarely more
than a mile away, often much less. Beyond Bonn, the valley widens and
turns into an open plain by the time you reach Cologne. The country is
flatter and the landscape is more industrialised.

The Mosel is a mere 200 to 300 yards wide and also flows in a deep and
narrow valley, so nothing much beyond a mile or two there, either.

I have visions of sitting on deck leisurely taking photos of castles and the
like as we drift by.

On deck? You mean outside? In a few weeks from now....?!?

You might want to have a look at this:

http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/Germany.htm

Whatever lenses you chose, bring warm cloathing and do enjoy your visit.

Ralf

--
Ralf R. Radermacher - DL9KCG - Köln/Cologne, Germany
private homepage: http://www.fotoralf.de
manual cameras and photo galleries - updated Apr. 11, 2003
Contarex - Kiev 60 - Horizon 202 - P6 mount lenses

On 6 Oct 2003 04:10:14 -0700, (john chapman) wrote:

For those who address the photo aspects, can you give me some idea how
wide the rivers are at various points?

At the "Mittelrhein" between Bingen and Koblenz and Mosel the valley
is narrow and there are lots of castles, these are quite near but
nearly always on top of steep hills. So its a direct line of maybe
about 500m to 2 km from ship to castle.

Castles at the other areas (Heidelberg ...) are so far away that no
lens can help you, if visible at all.

Wolfgang

I could not begin to tell you how wide the river is; but I can tell you that
I got some decent pictures of the castles in the Rhine Gorge with a 35 to 80 mm
lens that I travel with; had I had my 80 to 200 zoom and 2x convertor (the
former was accidentally left behind) I could have gotten any photo I wanted.

Mine was a day cruise from Koblenz to Bingen. I could have hoped for a closer
shot of the Lorlei. You can see a few of the photos I took that dat at:

http://www.dragonsholm.org/DE01RPT8.HTM

Julie

In rec.travel.europe john chapman wrote:
In a few weeks I will be taking a river cruise on the Rhine River
between Basel, Switzerland and Antwerp, Belgium with a side trip on
the Mosel River. I have visions of sitting on deck leisurely taking
photos of castles and the like as we drift by. My question is given
the width of the rivers, what lenses do I have to take to do this. My
basic kit includes in long lenses a Nikon 80-200/2.8 AFS with Kenko
Pro 1.4x and 2x extenders. But I can also take my Sigma 50-500 AFS,
which can also produce good results with the 1.4X even at 700mm.
However, given its weight and all the other photo equipment, I would
prefer not to unless really necessary.

For those who address the photo aspects, can you give me some idea how
wide the rivers are at various points?

Thanks in advance for any advice that can be provided.

--
Julie
**********
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

In article ,
(john chapman) writes:
In a few weeks I will be taking a river cruise on the Rhine River
between Basel, Switzerland and Antwerp, Belgium with a side trip on
the Mosel River. I have visions of sitting on deck leisurely taking
photos of castles and the like as we drift by. My question is given
the width of the rivers, what lenses do I have to take to do this. My
basic kit includes in long lenses a Nikon 80-200/2.8 AFS with Kenko
Pro 1.4x and 2x extenders. But I can also take my Sigma 50-500 AFS,
which can also produce good results with the 1.4X even at 700mm.
However, given its weight and all the other photo equipment, I would
prefer not to unless really necessary.

For those who address the photo aspects, can you give me some idea how
wide the rivers are at various points?

Thanks in advance for any advice that can be provided.

The 80-200 should give you plenty of reach for overall castle shots
and maybe "large" details for the castles. (In addition to the width,
most of the castles are high up on the hillsides.) The extenders
should give you plenty of reach for details. I would not add the
50-500. However, given the time of year, the reach may be the least of
your worries as the weather has been quite dreary, so you'd need fast
film (400+ I would guess) to be out out 320/4.0 (i.e., 200+1.4 ext). A
bigger problem than light may be haze/mist/fog. You can always use
faster film if it's too dark, but nothing is going to get you around
the amount of moisture in the air when using long lenses along the
river.

Hope this helps and enjoy your trip.
--
Paul Sanschagrin
http://staff.uni-marburg.de/~sanschag
sanschag@ COMBINE
mailer. THESE
uni-marburg. LINES
de

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little
temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
++ Benjamin Franklin ++
To announce that there must be no criticism of the president or
that we are to stand by the president right or wrong is not only
unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the
American public.
++ Theodore Roosevelt ++

In article ,
(john chapman) wrote:

In a few weeks I will be taking a river cruise on the Rhine River
between Basel, Switzerland and Antwerp, Belgium with a side trip on
the Mosel River. I have visions of sitting on deck leisurely taking
photos of castles and the like as we drift by. My question is given
the width of the rivers, what lenses do I have to take to do this. My
basic kit includes in long lenses a Nikon 80-200/2.8 AFS with Kenko
Pro 1.4x and 2x extenders. But I can also take my Sigma 50-500 AFS,
which can also produce good results with the 1.4X even at 700mm.
However, given its weight and all the other photo equipment, I would
prefer not to unless really necessary.

For those who address the photo aspects, can you give me some idea how
wide the rivers are at various points?

Thanks in advance for any advice that can be provided.

I don't know your taste, but I don't travel w/out a 24mm or 28mm. I
always have long lenses with me... but I rarely use them

jay
Mon, Oct 6, 2003


--

Legend insists that as he finished his abject...
Galileo muttered under his breath: "Nevertheless, it does move."

In rec.travel.europe Go Fig wrote:
I don't know your taste, but I don't travel w/out a 24mm or 28mm. I
always have long lenses with me... but I rarely use them

Those would be great to catch the sweeping scenery, but would probably
render the castles as mere specks on the pictures.

--
Julie
**********
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

Oh, one other thing. Keep in mind you will be on a moving boat. There will
be a limit to what amount of magnification you can use and still keep the
camera steady enough to take a good picture.

Julie

In rec.travel.europe Juliana L Holm wrote:

I could not begin to tell you how wide the river is; but I can tell you that
I got some decent pictures of the castles in the Rhine Gorge with a 35 to 80 mm
lens that I travel with; had I had my 80 to 200 zoom and 2x convertor (the
former was accidentally left behind) I could have gotten any photo I wanted.

Mine was a day cruise from Koblenz to Bingen. I could have hoped for a closer
shot of the Lorlei. You can see a few of the photos I took that dat at:

http://www.dragonsholm.org/DE01RPT8.HTM

Julie

In rec.travel.europe john chapman wrote:
In a few weeks I will be taking a river cruise on the Rhine River
between Basel, Switzerland and Antwerp, Belgium with a side trip on
the Mosel River. I have visions of sitting on deck leisurely taking
photos of castles and the like as we drift by. My question is given
the width of the rivers, what lenses do I have to take to do this. My
basic kit includes in long lenses a Nikon 80-200/2.8 AFS with Kenko
Pro 1.4x and 2x extenders. But I can also take my Sigma 50-500 AFS,
which can also produce good results with the 1.4X even at 700mm.
However, given its weight and all the other photo equipment, I would
prefer not to unless really necessary.

For those who address the photo aspects, can you give me some idea how
wide the rivers are at various points?

Thanks in advance for any advice that can be provided.

--
Julie
**********
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

--
Julie
**********
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

Since I posted the initial message my main concern has now turned to
the water level and whether river cruise ships will be able to
navigate the river. Know anything about this aspect?


(Ralf R. Radermacher) wrote in message ...
john chapman wrote:

For those who address the photo aspects, can you give me some idea how
wide the rivers are at various points?

The Rhine is about 400 to 600 yards wide, somewhat narrower in the
Southern part of your journey until around Bonn. This is the more
interesting part (castles, vineyards etc.). In this section, the river
mostly flows in a rather deep valley so your objects are rarely more
than a mile away, often much less. Beyond Bonn, the valley widens and
turns into an open plain by the time you reach Cologne. The country is
flatter and the landscape is more industrialised.

The Mosel is a mere 200 to 300 yards wide and also flows in a deep and
narrow valley, so nothing much beyond a mile or two there, either.

I have visions of sitting on deck leisurely taking photos of castles and the
like as we drift by.

On deck? You mean outside? In a few weeks from now....?!?

You might want to have a look at this:

http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/Germany.htm

Whatever lenses you chose, bring warm cloathing and do enjoy your visit.

Ralf

john chapman wrote:

Since I posted the initial message my main concern has now turned to
the water level and whether river cruise ships will be able to
navigate the river. Know anything about this aspect?

No risk whatsoever. Recent problems with extremely low water levels have
only affected freight ships. It's been raining a lot, during the last
days, more rain has been forecast, and it is expected that the remaining
restrictions to shipping will be lifted next week.

The last thing you'll be complaining about in a few weeks time will be a
lack of water.... ;-)

Ralf

--
Ralf R. Radermacher - DL9KCG - Köln/Cologne, Germany
private homepage: http://www.fotoralf.de
manual cameras and photo galleries - updated Apr. 11, 2003
Contarex - Kiev 60 - Horizon 202 - P6 mount lenses