Iceland tips please

[marcr1230]

So I’m going next month to Iceland
I will present the usual travel questions re sites and gear

Main camera Olympus OMD E-M1.2
Lenses 7-14/2.8 , 12-40/2.8 25/1.2
I’d think the 7-14 would be the main lens for the landscapes
25/1.2 for portraits

I have the beautiful 40-150/2.8 but pretty sure I wouldn’t use it much here - what say you?

Thinking of taking a tripod for HDR sets and waterfall shots. Night sky might be limited due to the 22hr daylight 🙂


I’m crazy-thinking of getting a second body

Taking the ring road - stopping at major sites, any special suggestions or timing to catch the right sun angles?

Second camera - film, maybe the OM-4t with 50mm/1.4
Maybe a Nikon SP w 35mm - the film is mostly for the fun of it, family pics etc

Waterproof camera - Olympus TG-5, maybe for swimming and hikes behind waterfalls

My understanding is that it rains a lot, so the rangefinder might be pushing it - don’t want to damage it

My experience on trips is I usually overdo it gear-wise, lately I use the phone and primary camera a lot but not much the secondary

I also tend to leave one lens on the camera and don’t swap much - so if anything other than backup - a second body lets me have easy access to another focal length range

We are planning on going w just carry on but could check a bag if needed ( for extra $$$)

Thanks

 

[NY_Dan]

Carry up to 4 percent of your body weight in camera gear. Less if possible.

 

[marcr1230]

Carry up to 4 percent of your body weight in camera gear. Less if possible.

Sound like investment advice too - invest no more than 4% of your assets in a single stock

 

[seany65]

Don't go climbing down inside any volcanoes, you won't get to the centre of the earth and see lots of dinosaurs.

Don't even go near Eyjafjallajökull 'cos if you get injured or stranded there you'll die of exposure before help arrives as you'll never be able to tell anyone where you are.

 

[FujiLove]

A couple of years ago I only took a standard lens, and found I generally missed having a longer lens, not a wide angle. This year I took an Xpan with 45mm and 90mm and used them equally. There are a lot of views on the ring road where you will either need to hike for two hours or use a telephoto.

Yes, take minumum gear, but do pack the tripod.

Take a good waterproof cover for your camera bag. It can rain any day of the year in Iceland, and can really come down hard and soak you through.

If you’re planning to stop at Myvatn (recommended), pack insect repellant and head nets. The midges will be out in full force in July.

Make sure you have a debit or credit card with a PIN number. Many petrol stations are unmanned and you need a PIN to operate the pumps.

Don’t skimp on the hire car. A good SUV or full 4x4 is worth the extra money when you end up on long gravel roads.

Buy alcohol in the duty free at the airport when you arrive. Booze is expensive and it’s annoying when you realise the bottle shops close early and they don’t sell alcohol in supermarkets.

Don’t stress about the weather. It will rain. You will have plenty of dry hours. The light will change like crazy, but give you a hundred great opportunities every day.

Have a really great time.

 

[ktmrider]

I would think a couple zip lock bags would handle the rain problem and are a lot lighter then a waterproof camera. Have been there twice in June each time and did not have problem with rain. It is WINDY though.

If a tripod for time exposure of waterfalls, don't forget the neutral density filter. Don't take too much as you will be humping it all over. And perhaps buying a nice scenery photo book for when the light just does not work.

 

[rumbliegeos]

You have received good advice so far. Everybody composes and shoots differently, but I spend a lot of time in the North Atlantic islands, including Iceland, and I have always liked to use telephotos on wide open, especially mountainous, landscapes and long coastlines for their ability to compress space and details dramatically. The downsides are the weight and bulk. There are going to be a lot of vistas. And the comment on insects at Myvatn is spot-on. The name means "midge lake".

 

[Phil_F_NM]

One of my favorite focal lengths to take when hiking up in the high mountains of Colorado is a 135mm (Leica Hektor) or 200mm Nikkor Q. Both light and very good lenses. As was mentioned, you may want to get some compression on your landscape as well as the occasional wildlife shot. I used to think shooting a wide was where landscape was but a 4x5 with a 180mm lens cured me of that. I found I was always wanting a longer focal length. Now I wish I just had enough bellows draw for a 300mm Fujinon. Anyway, I digress.
the light up there is special and you'll have hours of magic hour to play with. Have fun.

Phil Forrest

 

[dmr]

Carry up to 4 percent of your body weight in camera gear. Less if possible.

I like that one! 🙂

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

I walked north-south across Iceland in 2015, so my thoughts are based mostly on that.

So I’m going next month to Iceland
I will present the usual travel questions re sites and gear

Main camera Olympus OMD E-M1.2
Lenses 7-14/2.8 , 12-40/2.8 25/1.2
I’d think the 7-14 would be the main lens for the landscapes
25/1.2 for portraits

I have the beautiful 40-150/2.8 but pretty sure I wouldn’t use it much here - what say you?

I would take it. Iceland has a lot of 'big' landscapes, and lends itself to longer lenses that can compress a scene.

If I wanted to save weight/space and leave a lens at home it would probably be the 25/f1.2 - I didn't find Iceland a particularly interesting location for portraits, and as I mention below, I would avoid changing lenses.

*edit* Also, if you're going in summer there will be so much light that you really won't need f1.2.

I’m crazy-thinking of getting a second body

If you have the means to do so I would consider it. Very fine, volcanic dust is ubiquitous is many parts of Iceland, particularly in the Highlands, and it gets everywhere. The less you can change lenses the better.

Second camera - film, maybe the OM-4t with 50mm/1.4
Maybe a Nikon SP w 35mm - the film is mostly for the fun of it, family pics etc

For the reason above, I probably wouldn't bother. I took my M2 along on my trip and barely used it.

 

[lemalk]

I would definitely recommend a second micro four thirds body. I had the frustrating experience of having my M8's shutter break during a once-in-a-lifetime trip and would hate for that to happen to anyone else.

Your lens setup sounds just right - and besides, it's a small kit that shouldn't take up too much room. I second Nick, the 25mm 1.2 would be the one lens I would pass on. I would also leave the film gear behind, unless you planned to go ALL film and carry a second film body. It would also be heavier, and bulkier, therefore defeating the purpose of traveling light.

I took my rangefinder to Iceland a couple of years back, and while it was nice, I definitely think an SLR with a wide angle would have done the job. I also should have packed a small tripod for the long exposures (I traveled in Winter).
The weather is erratic - the rain will come, and it will be sudden. Just be prepared and take care of your gear. Enjoy your trip!

 

[marcr1230]

Does anyone here use the 7-14? Is there a good ND filter option?

 

[Out to Lunch]

Rain gear -I prefer ponchos since you don't heat-up so much, a tripod, and as others have commented, you'd probably be better off with longer lenses.

 

[d_c]

The comment about fine black dust getting everywhere is one you should bear in mind if you're going into the central highlands, so two bodies with primes permanently attached might work well there. If you are going to the centre I also wouldn't rule out a small light meter as so many of the landscapes you will encounter there are either predominantly black or white.

I'm not sure I'd bother with a tripod unless you really want those long exposures for blurred water, in which case maybe take something sturdy but compact. With regard to waterproof cameras, there aren't that many waterfalls you can get behind - most of them are too fierce, and while you might get caught in the rain once or twice , you're going at the same time we went in July - August, and we had very little in the way of serious rain.

It sounds like you're only going for a few days so try to see as much as you can and keep it simple.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I'm not familiar with your particular zooms but I am familiar with fine dust. When I was deployed to Iraq in 2004, the Nikon zoom I was issued was the type that expands its overall length from wide to long focal lengths. After about a month into the six-month deployment in the sandbox, the autofocus failed due to dust and the zoom function was what I would call "crunchy" at best, eventually locking up, thankfully at the wide end. I also carried a 50mm prime with me, so I was still good to do my job but I'll never carry a lens that sucks dust into itself and the camera anywhere again.

Phil Forrest

 

[marcr1230]

Ok - so
1. It rains a lot - we have rain gear and will take ziplock and covers for day pack
2. Tripod - will bring it
3. Will bring 40-150
4. Considering 2nd Body
5. Film camera - prob leave at home
6. Waterproof camera - prob leave at home - the Olympus E-M1.2 is “weather proof”
7. Might still bring the 25/1.2
8. Bug nets will be ordered
9. ND filter - the 7-14 is hard to fit w a filter

Half the fun of the journey is the selection and packing of gear

 

[d_c]

[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]In our experience you'll only encounter midges in a few inland areas like Mývatn, otherwise most places are too windswept or thinly populated for them to thrive.

With regard to a few recommendations for places to visit.

If you're only sticking to the ring road / main roads then:
- þingvellir
- Geysir
- The waterfalls at Gullfoss and Goðafoss
- Leirhnjúkur lavafields at Krafla
- Whale watching from Dalvik

If you have access to a 4WD and can go on the F-roads then:
- Do a day's walking, and bathe in the hot springs at Landmannalaugar. Get there via the paved section of the F26, the F208 and the F224. This is an easier route to get there than the alternatives, with only a couple of moderate fords at the entrance to the site, which you can avoid by parking up just before and crossing the river by footbridge.
- Askja crater from the north of the island via the 901, the F905, F910 and F88. This is a fairly gentle road with only a couple of really shallow fords. The other route which just comes down the F88 from Mývatn, and is taken by the big 4WD tour buses, has a couple of quite deep fords to negotiate.
[/FONT]

 

[Arbitrarium]

I took a 50mm, 24mm and 135mm to Iceland. I think I used the 24mm once and the 135mm twice. Everything else was 50mm. But then I generally prefer normal perspective photos.

Take some ND filters for long waterfall shots or dramatic shots of the black sand beaches. Long enough exposures will remove the tourists too!

Check out the area around the blue lagoon, where the geothermal plant is, even if you don't actually go into the pool. The mass of pipes and moss and clouds of steam are really otherworldly.

Really though, the midnight sun will just make everything you look at amazing so it hardly matters what gear you take. I need to go back when I can drive and do a tour of the ring road.

*edit* I see ND filters were already suggested, sorry

 

[marcr1230]

Great tips - re places to visit - thanks d_c and everyone else!

I now have about a week left before I go, so time to order the last minute gear I need -

Extra SD cards, ND filter ( Love the simplicity of the OM film line where 49mm covers most lenses)

On the fence about a second body

 

[marcr1230]

Iceland Summary

I’m on the way home

What an amazing place - so scenic, so diverse, lush and green, waterfalls and mountains
Black sand Beaches and dunes , horses, birds , sheep, more horses

Just visually stunning

So equipment wise - I used my 12-40 most often as general use
Followed by the 40-150 mostly for birds
The 7-14, used a couple times

Film camera - used once just to make it so I didn’t carry it for nothing

Tripod - took it, didn’t take it out

2nd body - would have been nice - I tended to take the camera, pick a lens and not change it at that location, a second setup would have been a good fit for how I like to work

First there’s the usual conflict of family trip vs photo trip, what was I thinking, there’s no way to devote the time you want to for picture taking when you are with a group that has other priorities

We did the Ring road, all the way around the island, in 7 days - which is ambitious

Things I knew or learned or relearned:
The EM1.2 is an amazing package, but it takes practice to be familiar with special shooting situations
Nice to see the EV adjustments in the EVF when you under or overexpose
Some situations- like long exposure with ND filter, or birds in flight, you really need to know or pre configure the custom presets - for example - with long exposure, you have to practice the right time, and turn off the image stabilizer

For birds in flight, various combinations of manual exposure, EV comp, Exposure lock, focus modes and focus tracking are crucial to good results - I can say I learned but if i do this again, I will go locally and practice beforehand - physically tracking birds in the viewfinder is challenging at times even when you haven’t pressed the shutter yet

Light - we had lots of overcast, rain the first day or 2
But not picture postcard blue skies most of the time
Hard to take get early morning glow and evening, when it’s 3:00 am and 10pm
And you need to sleep or eat too

iPhone - amazing camera, while I was fiddling with a long exposure attempt, juggling lens cap, filter, resting the camera on a scarf on a rock, my son took a single shot and did a post adjustment to “long exposure “ result wasn’t bad at all
My wife took great photos with hers - confirming that your vision and composition skills are most of the game - she got great results

One of the shots below is from an iPhone





Generated from my Apple iPhone using tools.rackonly.com


Generated from my Apple iPhone using tools.rackonly.com


Generated from my Apple iPhone using tools.rackonly.com


Generated from my Apple iPhone using tools.rackonly.com


Generated from my Apple iPhone using tools.rackonly.com


Generated from my Apple iPhone using tools.rackonly.com