BMiller447

When my wife and I went to the Galapagos a few years back half of the day was a guided tour of the islands and another half was skin diving. Although I did not use a waterproof bag, a rain shield would not be a bad idea to protect your camera from the spray of the zodiacs. If possible take a waterproof point and shoot camera would also be helpful for when you are skin diving. You are correct, you will not need telephoto lens because all of the animals are very approachable. Good luck and enjoy the blue footed boobies.

george19

Snorkeling was amazing, especially around Pinnacle Rock, so you might consider a capable point and shoot.

I used a Swiss Army Gear computer knapsack with rubberized bottom. No problems.

I used my 24-85 on a D200 (this was 12 years ago...no snickers) for almost everything...a few shots with the longer lens, and I would bring it again, but also would probably not miss it much.

2 bodies = good plan.

You might consider knee pads for getting down low.

bweber Loc: Newton, MA

You should bring your walking sticks. We went two years ago. My wife had both of her knees replaced and while some of the trails were smooth, walking on the lava was very uneven. She borrowed a walking stick from the boat and it made the trip much easier. I carried a 20L back pack that fit into a large dry bag for use on transfers on and off the boats. The water was smooth and I really did not need it, but if the water is rough you may want the dry bag. They can be easily packed and do not take up much space. You will not need anything longer than your 200mm on a crop camera. I would bring a wide angle lens. You can see some of my shots on my web page bweberphotographs.com. You will find a page on the Galapagos.

ppkwhat Loc: Gibsonton, FL

I've been there a couple of times also taking a couple of "side trips" on a small boat with a dozen tourists. My experience is: take one camera, your Nikon D7200 will do very fine; on the first trip I took my D-300 with the 24-120mm lens and did very well with it I did not need any longer lens. Last trip I took my D750 and the 28-300mm Nikon lens. It also performed very well. Now: your D-7200 (crop sensor) will do excellent with the 24-120mm lens. You will not need anther lens. Remember you will be in a "salty" environment with ocasional ocean spray to booth. Also count on the humidity, therefore "changing lenses" will not be a good idea. And yes I would take a water proof camera bag so your equipment won't be exposed to the salty environment all the
time. My spare camera was my I-Phone. By the way, I was 75 yrs old at the time. Have a great trip, protect the local environment, and have lots of fun.

Linda S.

I looked at the link. Why would someone use that? I am wondering if it would be useful for my trip to Iceland 2/2020.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Linda, I use one when I shoot EXTREMELY low angle (literally lying flat in the sand with the bottom of my camera on plastic on the sand). With the RAV attached, I am able to look down through the viewfinder to compose my shot. Without it, I would never be able to get my chin low enough to site through the regular viewfinder. I’m sure someone will point out that some cameras have articulating LCD screens. While that is correct, it would be necessary to shoot using Live View. That is not acceptable to me for 2 reasons: 1) the focus is way too slow, and 2) Live View drains batteries far too quickly for my taste.

IMO, you do NOT need a RAV for your trip to Iceland. I’ve been there and I can tell you very honestly that I would not have used a RAV there. Even if I’d had one for our Galapagos trip, I would NOT have taken it, nor would I have taken ANY type of tripod. There simply is NOT enough time to set up. As someone else pointed out, you are in a small group with a guide and there are strictly enforced time limits. I did take a monopod as was advised by a member. I did not use it even once - never wven thought about using it!

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

When I went, I took my Canon 5D Mk III with a 28-300 attached. It was fine. I needed water protection for my camera in one of the boats and didn't have any, so another traveler loaned me a plastic shopping bag. The terrain is uneven, but not difficult anywhere. I wished for my 1D which shoots a lot faster, but it's heavier, so perhaps it was just as well. I'm not much of a birder, so a longer lens wasn't needed except when I found a couple of boobies a long way off the trail. I did get them, but I had to crop quite a lot. Other than that, the animals were quite close.

Feiertag Loc: British Columbia, Canada

Cool. I'm going there in the spring. Did you upload any photos? I'd love to see them.

jtang2

You'll have a great time; been there twice.
1, Highly recommend a dry bag for the zodiac (panga) transfer from the ship to shore for both wet and dry landings.
2, Take 2 bodies as you will want one with a wide-angle zoom and the other with a telephoto zoom - 300-400 will cover most subjects.

A collapsible walking stick would be very useful, especially on the rougher terrain like lava and going up and down the slopes. Knee pads will be useful.

Have fun!

photoman43

I recommend you take a waterproof backpack to hold what you will be taking onto the Pangas. It can be smaller than your main backpack that holds all of your gear. You will rarely need to take everything you have with you on the Pangas--just what you need for that specific outing.

For Nikon shooters, I would take as my long lens the 300mm f4 PF and the Nikon 1.4x tc. And I would take a 70-200mm f4. Or a 70-300mm if you have that lens. And a shorter zoom like a 24-85mm or 24-70mm. And an extension tube for when you are very close. Two camera bodies are a plus. I also took a lightweight tripod that I used sometimes .

The most important accessories are strong knee pads like what tile layers wear. And good quality hiking shoes or boots with strong soles. Aside from sand, you will be walking or kneeling on sharp volcanic rocks which can ruin walking shoes and pants.

If you have knee problems, you may want to skip the long walk up and down the stairs on Bartolome Island. I ruined one knee doing this walk.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

Sent you a PM with some links.

Feiertag Loc: British Columbia, Canada

Thank you, I got them. Cheers.

photoman43

For Pangas--waterproof daypack. Something like this:


https://www.sierra.com/trekgear-25l-backpack-waterproof~p~627py/?filterString=s~daypack-waterproof%2F#specsSection

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

I went in Nov of 2014. I brought too much gear but yes, I'm glad that I brought two camera bodies since I did drop one on the deck of the yacht because the seas were rough that day as we were returning from the beach. The camera body got detached from the lens, which had the strap attached to the lens foot, and fell on the deck then as the boat (yacht) leaned it started to slide toward the edge toward the sea. I had to kick it to keep if from going in the drink. Luckily it still worked, but needed $600 repairs when I got back to the states. If I had it to do again I'd only bring my 100-400, 16-35, 24-70, 1.4x, and two bodies (1 APS-c, 1 FF). I'd also bring a better laptop. At the time I had a very slow netbook computer and it worked, but it took 2-3 hours to download images from each days shoot.

I also brought a GoPro camera for underwater snorkeling. I am very happy that I did. The snorkeling was probably about 60% of the fun of going since the sea life is very beautiful and capturing it was part of the journey. I also brought a wetsuit, fins, snorkel, and mask. I made the mistake of not reserving a weight belt for buoyancy control so it was difficult to go down and stay down.

I was on a small yacht too and I'm glad that I brought a lot of different sea sick meds and remedies. I used them all on the second day because the sea got a little rough. I brought the patches, pills, and bands for the wrists. Those bands for the wrists really work. I was on a 125' yacht called the Tip Top IV belonging to Galapagos Travel. We only had 12 tourists and 2 leaders in our group. Our tour was specially for photography as one of the guides was born in the Galapagos and she was also a Naturalist. So we actually had 2 naturalists. They took us to an island twice a day and took us snorkeling twice a day.

Have fun and post some pics when you get back.

PS - I have a bad back and one bad knee and I did fine. Some of the paths were strewn with lots of rocks, but I was fine; just had to take my time and pick a path that was best for me.

Here's some links to videos I took with my GoPro while snorkeling:

https://youtu.be/5Me8dx_yiFE

https://youtu.be/aqN4vo0dDd0

https://youtu.be/4iQgQm-NVFc

https://youtu.be/CkBson0Qtu8

george19

Something I wish I had: GPS logger, so you will have a clue where you took those pictures. Turn it on in the morning, charge it at night, download the files with your pictures.

It’s a little more complicated than that, but wish I had one then.

You want a logger, no subscription, NOT a tracker.