Planning to visit Iceland in July and confused about the lenses I should take. This is going to 8 day trip where we will be driving from Reykjavik to other locations. This is family vacation so most photos will include environmental portraits and landscapes.
I am thinking 14-35 f4 + 24-120 f4 should cover most everything. I would love to take some pictures of Puffins but I am not sure if it is worth lugging the heavy lens for one scenario. Other combo that I was thinking was 14-35 and 70-180 f2.8.
One other possible option is to get Tamron 35-150 and pair it with 14-35 f4. That would cover landscape and low light.
I've been to Iceland on 3 occasions... June, early August, and November.
Unless you are planning on doing a puffin trip or search for reindeer and foxes, I'd definitely leave the 180-600 home. If this is a family vacation, that lens will get in the way.
Iceland is famous for its sweeping landscapes, and you will definitely see them. On the other hand, there are opportunities to do some extractions. Given the nature of your trip, I'd stick with your plan, but I think you will miss not having 200mm. With that said, you can shoot at 120mm and crop later, or just rely on crops to compose as you like. A DX crop with the 24-120 = 180mm and this will help you compose.
My family and I went last August. I took the following.
- Z7ii
- Z 24-120 f4 - every where else.
- Z 28 f2.8 - Used in Reykjavik because I feel self-conscious with big lens, then never again. Now that I have a Ricoh GRIV I'd probably take that instead, but I'd be wringing my hands with doubts.
TLDR; Given your gear.
- I'd certainly take the 24-120 f4 for sure.
- Then either 14-30 or the 35 1.8.
- If you're good with a UWA here's your chance in to go wild in Iceland. It maybe the lens you use most.
- I'd only take the 35mm if I wanted something smaller at some point in the trip than one of those zooms.
- This could be a great excuse to buy the Z 28mm 2.8 ($224 refurb).
- I would not lug the 180-600 all the way to Iceland for a few puffin pictures. I'm not a bird person so it didn't bother me that I never got a great shot of a puffin. I cut my losses with a couple of meh pictures and called it a day.
- I would not take the Tamron 70-180 since 180 isn't going to be much different that the 120.
- I would not take the 85 either.
I used the 24-120 at 120 on DX mode during a puffin boat tour from Reykjavik. I did not get very good shots. It was near the end of their season and 120 wasn't long enough. That being said. I'm glad I didn't lug my 70-200 2.8 and TC2 out to Iceland for a few shots from a really rocky boat. In addition, we didn't see a lot of wild life, unless you count the sheep .
Once we left Reykjavik I switched to my 24-120 and never looked back. For me it was perfect. I only zoomed out to 50mm for a few portraits and some panoramas I stitched when I got home. Most of my shots were at 24, 28 or 35. I wouldn't changed what I picked for that trip.
I had the Z 14-30 f4 at a few years back, but I'm not good with UWA. Some people are fantastic with UWA, but I don't have enough interest in that FL to practice. So I traded it in.
OwlsEyes wrote:
I've been to Iceland on 3 occasions... June, early August, and November.
Unless you are planning on doing a puffin trip or search for reindeer and foxes, I'd definitely leave the 180-600 home. If this is a family vacation, that lens will get in the way.
Iceland is famous for its sweeping landscapes, and you will definitely see them. On the other hand, there are opportunities to do some extractions. Given the nature of your trip, I'd stick with your plan, but I think you will miss not having 200mm. With that said, you can shoot at 120mm and crop later, or just rely on crops to compose as you like. A DX crop with the 24-120 = 180mm and this will help you compose.
I used 100-500, 200-600, and 500/4+1.4TC quite extensively. I hardly used 16-35, but used 24-105 failry.
The 400/4.5 is nice small lens for it's speed and focal length.
Don’t think my 24-120 came off my camera the whole 6 days I was there, other than in Reykjavik when I used my 35 1.8 at night.
All I would caution is don’t over plan. Iceland is a place where getting anywhere takes a while and you easily miss out on some things or be rushing around.
Funnily enough I watched a YT video a guy called Dave Herring recently he put out about his disappointment when he visited Iceland and funnily enough it almost matched my experience there as well!
if you're serious about taking pictures of landscapes (like the awesome waterfalls), you need a tripod. if you're serious about taking pictures of puffins, you will need to carry your longest lens. since you're driving from Reykjavik i presume you're staying on west/southern area...puffin locations there including the Westman islands require long lenses for tight shots...IIRC only the northern and eastern locations is where you can see puffins standing literally next to you (Borgarfjörður Eystri)...which is a challenge to drive in terms of road conditions and trip duration
worth noting that if you're used to wide US roads, driving in certain areas of Iceland's Ring Road can be...well, eye-opening. ;-) Before i went there a friend of mine who was there the year before said "no matter what you do, keep your eyes on the road" i didn't understand what he meant until I was day 2 of my trip on the mountains of Reykyavik driving on a downpour on Ring Road.
i was there in 24 and took my OM-System gear so I can take my longest lens. still heavy AF but no regrets.
Thank you for all the detailed replies. Any thought on Tamron 35-150 and 14-35 f4 as two lens pair? That will simplify the kit and I can still get some reach in DX mode.
Lastly, how is the drone situation there? Is it worth taking Mini 5 Pro? I understand that it cannot be flown in touristy places but since I will be driving, I am thinking that I might get some shots at places with no crowds.
You may want a tripod for waterfalls but you don’t need one to get some wonderful images.
For landscape the 24-120 all day. If you bring many lenses you may find yourself doing lots of lens changes in the car. Weather, even in July can be severe and changeable. Hand held panos are your friend.
Honestly Iceland is one of those places I wouldn’t think of going without a backup body.
I was in Iceland last September and I agree that a second body is worth the effort. I took a Z50II, put it in automatic mode and my wife used it like a point and shoot. I agree that the 14-35 and the 24-120 would be the lenses to take if you weren't trying to get shots of wildlife. I took my 100-400 and it only came out of the bag once for 30 minutes for a few seals...wasn't worth the effort to carry.
It sounds like your trip will be similar in that you'll be balancing family stuff and pictures will be second to the family's experience of the trip. I found a small travel tripod to be invaluable for the waterfalls and it was super easy to set up and carry. What worked for us is I immediately grabbed my gear and walked briskly to the best photo spot while my wife paid the parking fees. She usually beat me back to the car by a few minutes and was okay with her audio book as long as I didn't take too long.
Make sure you take rain gear if you want to walk behind the waterfalls...it's worth the effort. A 3-6 stop ND filter is nice to have as well.
I found this guy's site to be very inspiring and well done for Iceland, and he has a cool interactive Google map that's about $20 and well worth the cost; it shows you most of the great spots for photography. His You Tube channel is pretty cool as well.
ajamils wrote:
That's weird. Not sure why it blocked you. What's the error? Maybe @Fred Miranda@ can look at it.
I sent you a message on flickr.
He is not individually blocked. The PM system is simply limited to members who have a bit more posting activity on FM. It's a safeguard designed to help protect forum members and reduce spam or scam accounts.
Ok that makes sense. I was surprised why I am blocked, as I've been here for years 🙂
Fred Miranda wrote:
He is not individually blocked. The PM system is simply limited to members who have a bit more posting activity on FM. It's a safeguard designed to help protect forum members and reduce spam or scam accounts.
What's the opinion about taking a drone? I have dji mini 5 pro. I understand that it cannot be flown in touristy places but can they be used else where?
When I visited for week in July '24, I took my Z8, 14-35, 24-120 and 100-400. But I didn't see any puffins and was told that they migrate to the mainland in the summer. I have not fact checked that but it was disappointing not seeing them.
We ended up booking couple of nights stay in Westman Islands, which has tons of Puffins. So i am hoping to catch some pictures of them.
dasams wrote:
When I visited for week in July '24, I took my Z8, 14-35, 24-120 and 100-400. But I didn't see any puffins and was told that they migrate to the mainland in the summer. I have not fact checked that but it was disappointing not seeing them.
ajamils wrote:
We ended up booking couple of nights stay in Westman Islands, which has tons of Puffins. So i am hoping to catch some pictures of them.
i would suggest to book a car or some kind of transportation accommodation, because the location of the puffins near the cliff is a tad too far for walking. for this location you don't need a very long lens for the nesting area (the house/hut thing is literally next to the nesting area and the challenge is to fighting with other tourists for a space :-/)
honestly though i think 2 nights is too much...there's really not much to do in Westman Islands other than the puffins...but YMMV
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