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galapagos islands
Mar 19, 2018 08:00:12   #
st218
 
I will be going in 4 months and was wondering which lenses to take for my Canon 5D mark III. I own 16-35 f2.6, 24-70 f2.8, 28-300, 70-200 f2.8 and a 300 f2.8: Do I need a tripod or monopod?

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Mar 19, 2018 08:29:18   #
Goober Loc: Southeastern PA
 
With a FF body I would take the 16-35 and your 28-300 and you should be pretty well covered. Pack as light as possible. Don’t bother with the tripod as it will slow you down and just get in the way of others as well as yourself. Yes a tripod will certainly help get nice sharp images but there is so much going on around you there you will miss many opportunities setting up a tripod for each shot. You will be amazed how close the wildlife will be to you. I used a 24-70 and a 70-300 which I found to be perfect with FF. You will need dry bags to protect your gear during wet landings in a zodiac and also if you are there during the rainy season.
Check out last week’s discussions as this same question was just addressed in detail by several folks here. May have been last Thursday.

Have fun...you will love the Galapagos.

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Mar 19, 2018 16:33:40   #
Dickt Loc: Central Massachusetts
 
Also a waterproof P&S would be handy

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Mar 20, 2018 05:47:12   #
mikegreenwald Loc: Illinois
 
Goober wrote:
With a FF body I would take the 16-35 and your 28-300 and you should be pretty well covered. Pack as light as possible. Don’t bother with the tripod as it will slow you down and just get in the way of others as well as yourself. Yes a tripod will certainly help get nice sharp images but there is so much going on around you there you will miss many opportunities setting up a tripod for each shot. You will be amazed how close the wildlife will be to you. I used a 24-70 and a 70-300 which I found to be perfect with FF. You will need dry bags to protect your gear during wet landings in a zodiac and also if you are there during the rainy season.
Check out last week’s discussions as this same question was just addressed in detail by several folks here. May have been last Thursday.

Have fun...you will love the Galapagos.
With a FF body I would take the 16-35 and your 28-... (show quote)


This is correct without modification. As a Canon shooter,I elected the 24-105 F4 II and the 100-400 IS II - very close to those recommended above. I never felt I needed anything else.

If I had a longer time with the wildlife, a closer focusing lens might have been fun to experiment with.

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Mar 20, 2018 09:18:34   #
magpix Loc: St. Michaels, MD
 
I shot a couple of travel magazine assignments there years ago and found that about 80% of my shots were with my Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 because much of the wildlife was so close and approachable. The other shots were a mix of 70-200 f/2.8 and 80-400 f4.5-5.6. But I was using a body with a crop sensor, so I had some extra reach with the tele when I couldn't get close to some of the wildlife. I was surprised that I hardly ever used my wide zoom (12-24mm.) If one of your longer Canon lenses can utilize a teleconverter, I'd consider one for those special situations...but it's not necessary. I carried a tripod but rarely used it. Most important, as others have mentioned, is a dry bag of some type because the landings from inflatable boats can be very wet. I had an extra, older body with me just in case. You'll be doing lots of hiking, so don't overpack. Have a great trip. It's an amazing place.

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Mar 20, 2018 12:56:20   #
jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ
 
st218 wrote:
I will be going in 4 months and was wondering which lenses to take for my Canon 5D mark III. I own 16-35 f2.6, 24-70 f2.8, 28-300, 70-200 f2.8 and a 300 f2.8: Do I need a tripod or monopod?


Yes, you need a tripod. There are many opportunities to get nice sunsets, landscapes etc. in the Galapagos Islands. I brought my 16-35, 24-70, 70-200 and my 300mm f/2.8 with a 1.4x and 2x. I brought 2 bodies; a 5D Mark III and the 1D Mark IV. This was back in 2014. I packed them all up in the Pelican case on wheels that fits into an overhead for carry-on. I packed the 300mm lens in a small case I got from B&H and then put that in the bottom of my sisters carry-on bag. I put the tripod in my checked luggage. I didn't bring my large Gitzo tripod, just the smaller Manfrotto that I used with the smallest of the lenses I took for mostly landscapes and portraits of some of the people on the voyage and myself by using the timer.

One thing you should also bring is a GoPro camera with the water tight enclosure. You will be snorkeling twice a day and the creatures you see underwater are just as cool. I took lots of video footage while snorkeling and I'm glad I did. We went with Galapagos Travel on their yacht called the Tip Top IV. 16 tourists, about 5 crew, and 2 naturalists of which one was Tui de Ray. She was born in the Galapagos Islands and her mother still lives there. She is a renowned photographer and naturalist for the Galapagos islands with probably more experience and knowledge than any of the other naturalists that are licensed by Ecuador. Make sure you reserve a weight belt for snorkeling. You'll need it to go down and stay down 10 feet or so while exploring the ocean for wildlife.

Good luck and have fun.

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Mar 20, 2018 13:00:24   #
gutdoc
 
Can you tell me the model of your pelican case that fits the overhead bins of commercial planes?

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Mar 20, 2018 13:37:05   #
Nalu Loc: Southern Arizona
 
24/105, 100/400 with teleconverters should cover it. I took a f/4 400mm DOII for flight, specifically in low light. I toook a tripod with gimbal head, found it useful. You can pack your tripod on my checked bag.d

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Mar 21, 2018 19:05:43   #
jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ
 
gutdoc wrote:
Can you tell me the model of your pelican case that fits the overhead bins of commercial planes?


Pelican 1510

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/866301-REG/Pelican_1510_007_130_1510SC_Studio_Case_Green.html

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