jcwall396 Loc: Roswell, GA

We went in July last year. I took my Nikon Z50, the 18-140mm, and the 50-250. 95% of my images were with the 18-140; I used the 50-250 on the puffins (you can get pretty close) and it was a perfect combo. This wasn't a 'photography' trip per se, but a vacation and the Z50 really performed well. We were very active - horse back riding, glacier lagoons in a RIB boat, hiking, etc. and I wanted to travel light. Absolutely no regrets.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

When I went to Iceland, I only took two lenses, my 24-120 for almost everything, and my 500 5.6 for the Puffins.
All the images below were taken with the Nikon 24-120 except the Puffin, which was shot with the Nikon 500 5.6.
I like to shoot foreground/background using the wide end of the 24-120.
My wife and I found images around every corner of Iceland.
Good luck and keep on shooting until the end.

dbrugger25 Loc: Raleigh, NC

It would be useful to know what camera you are using. Does it have a full-freame sensor or some type of crop sensor?

bhapke

I was in Iceland in 2021 on a Viking Ocean cruise that went completely around the island. I took a Fujifilm XT-2 camera (APSC) with four lenses. I used the 10-24mm zoom for 50 shots, the 18-55mm for 950 shots, the 55-200mm for 328 shots and the 60mm macro for 41 shots. "Keepers" were in about the same proportion. Hope this helps, and have a great time!

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

24-120 sounds real good to me - with maybe with a close-up filter for macro type shots.

ksmmike

Yes, thanks.. its a Nikon Z8 and Z7II full frame

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

I toured Iceland with a Sony RX10 IV with its excellent 24-600mm zoom lens. Covered everything from wide landscapes to those Puffins and Whales.

bwa

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

and, I'll bet you ENJOYED the trip ..

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

It was indeed a great trip and the RX10 IV wasn't a burden to carry around.

bwa

User ID

Good tidy realistic directly useful reply ... kinda rare around these parts. Congratz.

CKAlbion Loc: Mendocino, CA

I don't know how much of Iceland you're planning on seeing. We tried to see the whole coastline in two weeks. It was barely enough. I found that we spent most of our time driving from wherever it was we had slept that night to the next place. Iceland will close highways during high wind events.

That's a roundabout way of saying that I rarely had to carry my big lens/camera for any distance. We'd stop wherever we were birding, get out of the car, admire the birds, take some photos, and get back into the car. My Canon and its 100-500 lens might have been carried a couple hundred yards. My lightweight Sony, as it was the official landscape camera, was what I lugged up trails to admire the waterfalls and views.

Have a wonderful time! The scenery is amazing, the people are friendly, the food's excellent, and there are puffins to photograph. Just in case you were wondering, you don't have to get any of their money ahead of time. We used our credit cards for everything. I asked at a couple of stores whether there was much of a cash economy, and the answers ranged from none to "just some of the locals."

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

I would consider taking the 24-120 on the body of most preference and the 70-300 on the other body. Based off of bhapke's info, I suspect you will use the 24-120 about 90% of the time. If you have the room and don't mind the weight, take the 20 also. But I would suspect you will not use it much.

ksmmike

Thanks everyone for the advice and suggestions. I'm so looking forward to this trip.
Mike

ColoPete

I went to Iceland with the family in 2016. I was shooting DX at the time, and Nikon's DX 18-300 mm was perfect for landscapes as well as whales and birds. On the whale watch, there was another photographer who had a professional set (24-70 and 70-200, I assume), and he missed a number of shots due to having to change lenses. The flexibility and lighter weight of a super-zoom was worth the compromise in image quality IMHO. At any rate, Iceland is magical and extremely photogenic. Enjoy!

Lagoonguy Loc: New Smyrna Beach, FL

My wife and I were there in late August in 2022 for 12 days and used M43 PL 12-60 & PL 50-200 with a 1.4 TC along with a Sony RX100 VII and she her Oly 12-100. Those lenses proved to be all we needed. Your 24-120 & 50-300 will be perfect. Have a great trip!