Iceland, Part II

[LePetomane]

Our Iceland trip for next summer is becoming a reality. We would be flying from Minneapolis to Reykjavik, renting a car and either circling the island or going up one side, back to the city and then up the other side. My wife is doing a lot of research and I am left deciding what gear to take. I posted this a year ago and received some good advice but need more.

My camera choice has been complicated by the addition of a Sony Alpha 7ii with a 24-70 mm f/4 lens. I would think that this lens would cover all situations I may encounter. My other option is my Fujifilm XT-1 with a 32 mm f/1.8 lens. Taking that camera would require a charger whereas I can plug the Sony into a wall outlet with a cord. I'm tempted to leave the Fuji home.

Tripod or monopod? I am leaning toward the monopod because of space and weight and I don't plan on doing any long exposures, or should I?

Filters, I plan on a CPL. Anything else?

My wife says I'm nuts and she plans on taking her X100T and that's it.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Shadowman]

Hi Paul,

I would build your gear choice around what is available to shoot in Iceland, how comfortable you are with getting down on the ground (think bean bag rather than tripod), will there be any glare factors in summer, what excursions you plan to experience.

[rpcrowe]

Congratulations on your forthcoming trip. I would suggest that you Google Iceland images and peruse these in making any decision on what to bring or not to bring. MURPHY'S LAW states that if I don't bring a piece of gear, I will end up needing that gear

[Manfred M]

Paul - we have been to Iceland twice and if things had gone to plan, we would be there right now, rather than in the Baltics.

I assume you will be renting a car rather than taking a tour? If you are planning to get off the beaten track, then a 4x4 would be my suggestion. The first time we went, we had a normal car and that meant we could not too far off the Ring Road. When we went back on our second trip, we rented one as that is the only way one can get out on the "F" roads (4x4 is mandatory) and there will be river crossings if you do. Some of the sites we really loved can only be reached by "F" road.

You will primarily be shooting landscapes once you get out of the Reykjavik (and Akureyri, if you are heading that way). There is little wildlife, apart from sea birds although a few shots of the Icelandic ponies are not going to hurt. Very little good street photography or people shots. Mountains and waterfalls are definitely going to be the most likely shots; it's hard to avoid those.

Iceland can be quite windy (howling winds, not light breezes) and rainy (it rained on half the days we were there on both trips and it varies between light rain and absolute downpours), so rain covering for the gear would be a consideration and I would suggest a tripod rather than a monopod and some weights to anchor it and a remote release to take the shots. Polarizer would be useful, but you might want to consider both ND for some of the waterfalls.

Clothing - rain proof tops and bottoms, waterproof footwear, warm clothes (I prefer layers) hats (that go over your ears) and gloves. It can get quite chilly, even in the summers, especially if you are out shooting.


Vita Carter

[Stagecoach]

Tripod or monopod? I am leaning toward the monopod because of space and weight and I don't plan on doing any long exposures, or should I?

You may not plan on doing any long exposures but you will kick yourself if you see the perfect opportunity and don't have a tripod

I didn't have one on my last trip and ended up buying this and struggling

[george013]

My camera choice has been complicated by the addition of a Sony Alpha 7ii with a 24-70 mm f/4 lens. I would think that this lens would cover all situations I may encounter. My other option is my Fujifilm XT-1 with a 32 mm f/1.8 lens. Taking that camera would require a charger whereas I can plug the Sony into a wall outlet with a cord. I'm tempted to leave the Fuji home.

.

Does that mean no spare battery and you can't use the camera when loading the battery??

George

[LePetomane]

Thanks for the tips. I wanr to travel as light as I can but don't want to leave anything. I think the Sony with the 24-70 lens, a few extra batteries and charger is a better idea than the Fujifilm. I can borrow a lightweight carbon fiber tripod from a coworker.

We plan on a car rental, not a tour.

George, your assumption is correct. I will take an aftermarket charger and spare batteries.

Thanks again for the tips and keep them coming. Any help is appreciated.

[DanK]

You've gotten great advice already. Based on my one trip so far, I can only offer a few suggestions.

First, re Manfred's comment about a 4x4: absolutely. The ring road is fine, but conditions deteriorate quickly when you get onto more areas, and some of the roads barely deserve the name--for example, this one, which terrified both me and my son:



We were driving some sort of small Toyota, not a 4 x 4, and we had to turn around because we bottomed out on another dirt road and broke a pan on the bottom (fortunately, not the oil pan, just a protective shield).

During my time there, wind was more of an issue than rain, although we had ample rain too. I would make sure that your tripod has a hook for hanging weights and that you bring a nylon bag or something else you can hang from it.

I went with only a small waterproof P&S with a modest zoom capability--partly to travel light, and partly not to slow us down. It was an enormous mistake. If I were doing it over again, I would take a real camera. Personally, I would not consider going with a fixed-focal-length camera, as the scale of the views varies so dramatically.

[Manfred M]

Dan - some of Iceland's F roads are the only place in the world where I thought I was off-roading, even though we were driving along marked, official roads.

[LePetomane]

Dan, thanks.

Next question, are there any mosquitoes?

[rpcrowe]

Paul David... Have you viewed Iceland Photography Tips - on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...otography+tips

I have not viewed these but I would definitely if I were considering a trip to Iceland.

BTW: My standard kit for all travel photography is a pair of crop cameras (now I use the 7D and 7D2) with a normal angle zoom (I use the Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS) and a telephoto lens (I carry the 70-200mm f/4L IS lens) with at least one flash and a lightweight travel tripod (I modified a SLIK 330DX with a lightweight ball head and switched the stock center column to a shorter version) which weighs only a bit over two pounds.

I think that if I were going to Iceland, I would also bring my Tokina 12-24mm f/4 wide angle lens.

That would be quite a bit of weight but, I seem to remember that I carried that same package in China (minus the tripod) and was able to get under the five kilo restriction for domestic flight carry-on.

Whenever I try to cheat and go light, I end up regretting the decision.

Here's an example...

I attended my nephew's wedding and my wife's family reunion this weekend near Reno Nevada. I "thought" that I was only going to take a few family snapshots - so I brought only my SX-50 HS bridge camera to save weight...

Well, the groom's father, who lives in Oregon, had a heart attack a week or so ago and couldn't attend the ceremony. Anyway, on the plane ride to Reno, my wife said. My brother is really sad that he can't attend the wedding and it will be a while before the professional photography is available. So I told him that you'd shoot the wedding and send him the pictures early. I was stuck with a bridge camera to shoot a wedding in failing outdoor light AND, I knew I needed to keep out of the pro's way which meant shooting with a longer focal length.

The SX50 HS is a nice little camera but it is not meant for using a long focal length in failing light. I didn't even take a monopod to help me. So again, trying to save carrying came gear came back and bit me you know where. That's Murphy's Law

BTW: I did a fair to middling job but, really wished I had a more capable camera or set of cameras...

[Manfred M]

Next question, are there any mosquitoes?

Midges, yes, around Lake Myvatn, but that is seasonal; the name of the lake translates as "Midge Lake".

We did not run into any there in early July and did not go to that area when we were there in early August, but friends definitely encountered them in May, when they visited.

[george013]

I think you might see views that demand for panorama pictures. You still have time to try that. It's very easy. Just take some shots with an overlay, don't change focus and exposure so both on manual, and stitch them together. Use for that purpose Microsoft ICE. A wonderful program for that. Free and very easy. Even with shooting out of hand. Just using the gear you have at the moment.

George

[DanK]

I didn't encounter mosquitoes on late June, but I was only on the west coast, mostly in the fjord country in the NW.

Worse than the rough condition of some of the roads, in my opinion, was the fact that so many have no guard rails (like the one in my photo). I asked one Icelander whether many people end up driving off the roads in the winter, and he said no, because people are more careful in the winter. More likely in the summer, he said. Maybe pulling my leg, but I found it nearly impossible to drive on roads where the far side of the car bordered an unimpeded drop into the ocean, particularly given that I was driving a car that was unfamiliar to me. I think next time I will follow the advice people are often given when they drive around Cape Breton: drive clockwise so the you are on the edge farthest from the drop. (They drive on the right side in Iceland.) Then again, I am acrophobic.

[AlwaysOnAuto]

With that camera, if you have any favorite lenses you could always get an adapter for them and use them too.
I use an A7ii with mostly old legacy glass for lenses.

[Doctor Doog]

We were in Iceland last month; the kit I took was pretty much identical to Richard's standard kit plus CPL and ND filters. The only thing I wished I had taken was a waterproof covering - it only rained one day, but I could have got closer to some of the waterfalls. I found this e-book useful: https://www.hawk.is/books-on-iceland...de-to-iceland/

If you are going for less than a couple of weeks, there is plenty to see that is accessible without a 4 x 4. I would also say that Reykjavik is pretty good for street photography.

[LePetomane]

Hi Paul,

I would build your gear choice around what is available to shoot in Iceland, how comfortable you are with getting down on the ground (think bean bag rather than tripod), will there be any glare factors in summer, what excursions you plan to experience.

I'm very comfortable getting down close to the ground. It's getting up off the ground with two arthritic knees that is the problem.

No, actually I do a lot of shooting with the tripod close to the ground.

[Ken MT]

When we were there last July, weather was great with only two wet nights out of 16 days.
If you are shooting birds in flight then depending on situation at least 200mm, I used a100-400), but at the long end was impossible to focus on puffins.



Unless they are flying towards you



Don't forget the waterfalls



Or local images

[LePetomane]

Thanks again for the helpful tips but I had to put the trip on hold due to unexpected work commitments. I did plan an alternative trip in the fall that should be fun. I will be receiving a new bamboo fly rod that I didn't expect to get. The rod maker slowed down his production so I wrote it off. Well, it will be ready this summer. This fall I will be taking a side trip from Sheridan to Jackson Hole, fishing two rivers along the way. When I get to Jackson I will do two days of photography in the area. Then it is off to Idaho to fish a well known river, the Henry's Fork. Then I'm meeting my daughter in Livingston, Montana to fish some private water. Back to Sheridan and back to the grind. I'm taking this little one with me.

[rpcrowe]

I hope you have a wonderful fishing trip with your sweet little buddy - what a cutie! Nothing like a new flyrod, especially a custom bamboo stick, to make a fishing trip satisfying. If you catch some fish, that's simply a bonus

BTW: In line of your wanting to travel light to Iceland or any other place you want to travel. This type of gear could come in handy...



It is an old set of German made, Cullman, table top tripod legs with the addition of a Flashpoint F-1 Arca Compatible ball head. This tripod is heavy duty for its size and the legs are not the spindly little things you find on many table top tripods. In fact, despite weighing only 1-pound, 5-ounces, including the head, it can support a full-frame Canon 5D2 with a 70-200mm f/4L IS lens. It is only 13 inches long when folded (including the head) and, although it maxes out at 25-inches high when extended (without the center column extended), I can always find some place to set it up; a car hood, a picnic table or a rock can be a handy place. Also good for low level shots with a wide lens...

It helps when I want to shoot a pano. I "can" shoot panos hand held but, I would rather have a tripod and of course it can be helpful for night or other low light shots at slow shutter speeds.