crbuckjr Loc: Naples FL

we are going on a family vacation to the Galapagos over Xmas. I'll take my D750 and 28-300 lens. I am thinking that will be just fine. But, is there another lens that I should seriously think about buying??? thanks

Robert R Loc: Indianapolis and Naples

That lens should be fine. You will be surprised how close you can get to the birds.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Don't buy things...take pictures. You'll be happier in the long run.

LXK0930 Loc: Souh Jersey

I went to the Galapagos a number of years ago. Your lens is probably fine.
However, be aware that there will probably be some "wet landings" which can damage your equipment. For those instances, I recommend taking a small, inexpensive P&S camera (some have pretty long zooms) that you can double seal in a plastic baggie.
Results may not be up to DSLR quality, but at least you will have some images.

Enjoy your trip.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

I agree with what has been said for your current kit. No fussing with the camera on this trip. Take photos but also just observe with your eyes and not the viewfinder and get the feel of the surroundings.

Margate-Scott

I was there about 10 years ago. Spectacular place! That lens is plenty - please be aware there are strict laws requiring you to remain on well marked paths and no flashes are allowed to photograph the animals. A monopod would be helpful if you have a small one. I took a spare battery and was glad to have it.

magpix Loc: St. Michaels, MD

I've done that trip and what you have is excellent. I would only add a wider lens for shots that allow getting close to interesting foreground elements while showing the overall, spectacular landscape. I chose Nikon's 18-35 (without VR) for its reasonable cost and light weight. Very sharp, too.

ramblinmen Loc: Manassas, VA

Having recently been to the Galapagos Islands I concur with other readers that your kit is fine. Most animals (except flying birds) can be approached close enough even if you remain on the approved trails and areas. You might take along cotton balls or q-tips or a fiber free cloth and some rubbing alcohol to wipe down your camera/lenses after a day in the field as you will be traveling from ship to shore by zodiac type raft for your expeditions. I took many photos (dolphins, birds, penguins, iguanas, etc.) while on the rafts and the salt water spray can play havoc with electronics. I wiped down all the exposed surfaces at the end of every day. I might also suggest several extra batteries, charger with appropriate plug addapter AND small sized memory cards not the 64-128 gig type but use 8-16 gb. Why? Because if a chip goes bad you may lose thousands or all your accumulated photos with larger cards. I have seen this happen to other photographers more than once. I took enough cards for a thousand photos/day/camera and backed them up to a laptop every night.
Lastly, format your cards then take test photos with each lens and make sure your batteries will charge and discharge before you leave home .... make sure everything works appropriately before you leave home on a once in a life time $$$ trip like a Safari or Galapagos. I don't remember any camera shops in the islands that carried parts other than overpriced memory cards and aa type batteries or could do repairs.
Don't get so hung up on taking photos that you miss observing the marvelous creatures that exist around you. Most do not have any natural predators and show no fear of mankind. So cool!

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Since you have a 28-300, and accustomed to using it, that's all I'd take. I use one on my D700 or D800e 95% of the time. The other 5% is for specialty photos that I doubt you'd be taking on your trip.
--Bob

edhjr Loc: Needham, MA

Your camera and lens should be fine. Suggest you go to an outdoor store and buy a couple of dry bags where the top of the bag rolls up several times to make a completely waterproof seal. When going ashore on zodiacs use them to make everything waterproof but they are easily stashed once your gear is out of them. If you are on a ship remember not to take your gear from a cold air conditioned area outside into the humidity or you will have lots of condensation. Most ships have a place to store cameras outside of the air conditioning. I also agree with whoever suggested a point and shoot that can be used in the water if you will be snorkeling!! Have fun, great place

Jwshelton Loc: Denver,CO

Good advice re: waterproof bags for cameras and equipment.
We were there in April/May last year.
If you have a 17-35 or 28-80 that would be worth taking.
Agree with not going out and buying another lens.

Can you borrow or rent?

Batteries and cards are important! You will have a great experience.

whitewolfowner

You might want something wider than 28mm, depending on your shooting style. I myself, love wide angle; at least out to 20mm, for the perspective they give.

jaybyrd Loc: Oceanside, CA

Made the trip in May with my P900 and am very pleased with results!

crow747

Just returned from the Galapagos and other areas of Ecuador. You will not be disappointed. The lens you mentioned will work just fine. I brought my Canon 7D and 2 lenses. A 70-200 F4 which is the equivalent of 112-320 since my camera is not a full frame sensor and a 1.4 extender. Using the extender was great for photos of the smaller birds and on the rare occasion when we we not quite close enough for the larger animals. You will be amazed at how close you will be to most of your subjects. The other lens I used was a 10-18 (16-28 equivalent) for some wide angle shots with close up foreground subjects. 90% of the photos were taken with the telephoto lens.
We also bought an Olympus "Tough TG4" waterproof camera which was fantastic for underwater photos. This also makes for a great backup camera should you have issues with your DSLR. So much of what you will see is underwater. Underwater photos are best taken using wide angle and not using the zoom, the turtles will come close enough most of the time to just stay on wide angle. Videos are best for underwater, happier with those than the still photos. Buy a floating wristband to attach to the Olympus.
An extra battery for each camera is a must, and more memory cards than you think you will use. Hard to find these once you are there. We went through 100 GB of memory cards on the Canon (shooting in RAW) and a full 16 GB on the Olympus.
Have a fun Trip!

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

I went in 2014 on a 15 day with Galapagos Travel on a 125' yacht. There were 14 tourists on this trip with 2 naturalists, one of which was Tui DeRay, renowned photographer who was born and lived in the Galapagos Islands. Her mother was still living there when we were there, but not in good health.

I took way too much gear. I took 2 bodies, 300mm prime, 70-200, 24-70, and 16-35. I used a 2x and 1.4x teleconverter sometimes when taking pictures of BIF or birds that were far away. I carried both cameras on a dual strap all the time so I could switch from the 300 prime, to a zoom on the other camera body. On some islands, I knew that I'd be doing mostly landscapes so I didn't bring the large glass.

The crew is usually very helpful when dong beach (wet) landings and the dry landings as well. They don't want anyone to get hurt. They will usually help with the equipment getting on and off boats.

If I had it to do again, I'd take my new 100-400 Mark II lens and a 24-70 on a full frame body capable of 6fps. I'd also bring a 1.4x teleconverter for the 100-400 lens since they work well together. I carried prefit plastic bags to cover my camera and lens when I knew that we'd encounter precipitation or misty weather. I fit them so that they would fit over the end of the lens, use a rubber band to keep it tight near the end of lens, and cover the entire camera so that it would stay as dry as possible.

The most important part is if you plan to do the snorkeling, bring a GoPro camera on a short stick. They won't allow the long 3 or 4 foot long sticks because they bother the sea life (they say). I brought the long stick and they were constantly telling me to put it away but I was not bothering the fish so I used it whenever I was out of sight of the naturalist (police). Also, if you plan to snorkel, reserve a wet suit and a weight belt. You need a weight belt to go down 10-12 feet and stay down while doing video of the fish, penguins, flightless cormorants, seals and turtles. They are fantastic. Also, if you have facial hair, consider shaving. The masks don't make a tight seal on your face when you have a mustache. The crew provided vasoline to smear on the mustache but it doesn't work the best but it's better than nothing.

I brought a small laptop computer so that I could upload all my images and format my cards. I used a small USB 512GB external solid state drive for storage because the laptop hard drive wasn't very large.

I brought with me a wetsuit, fins, snorkel, mask, and GoPro with all my other camera gear. On the last day of the trip I sold the wetsuit gear and GoPro to one of the staff members because I knew that I wouldn't have use for them again and didn't want to lug them home. You can arrange to just rent the snorkeling gear and that is what I'd probably do if I did it again. I'd should have kept the GoPro because later I found a good use for it and had to buy another.

Good luck and have fun.

PS - carry on all your camera gear. Wear a jacket or vest with large pockets so that if you are told that you must check your bag(s), which could happen, you can just put your lenses, and bodies in your pockets and still carry them on the jet. Under no circumstances should you check your camera or lenses. Take one change of clothes and any meds on the plane with you too in case they lose or steal your checked luggage. Do not drink any water or eat anything that could have water on it except for bottled water, or boiled water, coffee and tea are ok, and make sure the ship or yacht has filtered water. I wouldn't even use tap water to brush my teeth. I learned this from my sister who has traveled extensively in the past.