Iceland trip (Page 2): Unless you are planning on birding, then leave the long glass at home.

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

Lesm1 wrote:

I am for a six day trip to Iceland. I am shooting with a Nikon 850 . I have a large assortment of lenses, but would like to travel light. Any recommendations for what lenses to bring?

Unless you are planning on birding, then leave the long glass at home.

carney2

All of the above is good advice. One more thing - if you are renting a car make double dog sure that your credit card has a PIN or you won't get any gas.

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

carney2 wrote:

All of the above is good advice. One more thing - if you are renting a car make double dog sure that your credit card has a PIN or you won't get any gas.

Yes! Yes! and Yes!

Also, be aware that no insurance you buy will for a rental car covers and damage to the undercarriage. I learned the hard way and it cost me $1200 for a new straight drive shaft.

DHas

Lesm1 wrote:

I am for a six day trip to Iceland. I am shooting with a Nikon 850 . I have a large assortment of lenses, but would like to travel light. Any recommendations for what lenses to bring?

I was there for 6 days in early March and used a 14mm on my full frame 75% of the time. Then a 24-105 the rest of the time. The 14mm worked well for panos as long as you use at least 40-50% overlap. As mentioned by others, you unfortunately won't see the fabulous night skies and aurora when clear.

Enjoy!

Jrhoffman75 Loc: Conway, New Hampshire

BobHartung wrote:

Yes! Yes! and Yes!

Also, be aware that no insurance you buy will for a rental car covers and damage to the undercarriage. I learned the hard way and it cost me $1200 for a new straight drive shaft.

Check the kind of coverage your credit card might offer and follow its rules exactly.

Most credit cards require that you decline all insurance offered by the rental agency. An exception is sand and ash coverage, which isn’t really required in the summer.

dickparkans Loc: Arizona

BEAUTIFUL!! Thank you

Dat Quach Loc: California

Thanks Jrhoffman75 and dickparkans.

We were lucky because the weather was very nice almost all the time when we went in early June.

Certain roads are not reopened until after May and certain segments in the northwest are not paved (back then when we went). Many access trails to waterfalls are still covered with snow and slippery. FULL coverage insurance (liability, loss, damage) is a must. For gas, because our credit cards do not have the PIN, we bought pre-paid gas card N1 to gas up at unstaffed stations and there are a lot of them in Iceland. For added assurance, we gas up whenever the tank is half empty.

We stayed in airb&b the whole trip, except at Vik where there is none. For adventurous gourmet folks, horse meat, whale meat and puffins are served in restaurants in Reykjavik. I did not dare trying fermented whale/shark meat.

In short, we really enjoyed Iceland for its landscape and tons of photo opportunities.

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

Lesm1 wrote:

I am for a six day trip to Iceland. I am shooting with a Nikon 850 . I have a large assortment of lenses, but would like to travel light. Any recommendations for what lenses to bring?

I used a 24-105 zoom on a full frame camera. Didn't need anything else. I took a 14mm lens for Aurora/Milky Way shots but never used it.

Enjoy Iceland. It is a very interesting (and different) place!

bwa

Lorendn Loc: Jackson, WY

I agree with most of the comments. Credit card (not cash) and tripod are the most important things. I think you will go wide and not need anything beyond about 200mm (unless you like birds.) I used a 17-40 and 24-70 (on full frame bodies) for almost everything but had great fun with my 8mm fisheye. You need filters and extra batteries and plenty of cold and wet weather gear. Expect very, very strong winds and light rain every day.

I have visited more than 60 countries around the world and think Iceland is my photographic favorite when not shooting wildlife. Stay in the small towns near the best sites, be up before dawn, travel in mid-day, and enjoy!

dickparkans Loc: Arizona

I am going to try and go there next year in the Fall. It looks so neat. Thanks

ecurb1105

Jrhoffman75 wrote:

Iceland CAN be very expensive for travelers, but i... (show quote)

My son toured Iceland a couple years ago. He raved about Icelandic hot dogs from a 24 hour stand at the old harbor in Rykevick. They went in January and saw a lot of northern lights.

dickparkans Loc: Arizona

That's what I want to see also but I am also going to visit a friend in France first.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

Lorendn wrote:

I agree with most of the comments. Credit card (no... (show quote)

Wow. That is quite a statement. Out of the 60 countries you visited, Iceland is your photographic favorite. That is saying something. I might rethink Iceland.

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

Jrhoffman75 wrote:

Check the kind of coverage your credit card might offer and follow its rules exactly.

Most credit cards require that you decline all insurance offered by the rental agency. An exception is sand and ash coverage, which isn’t really required in the summer.

Hmm. I lived there for a year. During the summer we got caught in a wind storm on an ash field and I lost on the paint on the edges, hinges etc. of the upwind side of my landrover as well as etching of the upwind windows.

pbfuller

Lesm1 wrote:

I am for a six day trip to Iceland. I am shooting with a Nikon 850 . I have a large assortment of lenses, but would like to travel light. Any recommendations for what lenses to bring?

I took my 70-200 - heavy but worked well as a walk around. We only spent 4 days there but I plan on going back for at least one week if now longer. We were there late Aug last year and weather was wonderful.