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Galapagos Trip
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Apr 17, 2015 09:55:19   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
I look forward to your pictures.

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Apr 17, 2015 10:19:37   #
mrtobin Loc: North East Ohio
 
Tmischell wrote:
I'm in the planning stage of a family trip to the Galapagos Islands this summer. While I'd like to take every bit of Nikon camera equipment I own (way too much), has any one gone there and could give me some good advice? Holy Trinrity, or just a 28-300? We'll be traveling on a National Geographic ship.


I did the National Geographic tour some years back. The guides divide every one in to groups. When your group is called, you all pile in to one of those motorized Zodiac boats and motor to the island. The guides will tell you before hand if you are going to be doing a "dry" landing or a "wet" landing, so you can wear the appropriate foot wear.

You will move with the group and stay with the group on the marked trails. You will not have time to change lenses and you need to stay "nimble", (for the shore landings). So one camera and one lens.

I would suggest that you bring all three lenses, short, medium, and long, especially if you are going to other places in South America, and of course you will want to take photos while you are on the boat. But when you go to an island I suggest you take the 28-300. I used my 70-200 f/4. and it worked out well.

It was a great trip. You do get close to the animals. Birds in flight photos will be boring, compared to birds doing their mating dance. At night go on deck, the lights from the boat attract flying fish, witch in turn attract seals and sea lions, fun to watch the chase.

There will also be snorkeling opportunities, so you may want a small water proof camera as well.

Have fun, wear a hat and sun screen, the sun is strong.

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Apr 17, 2015 10:39:52   #
edhjr Loc: Needham, MA
 
I mostly agree except changing lenses is easily doable while walking. I mostly though took two bodies each with a lens to shore: most often D800 with 24 to 70 and D4 with 70 to 200. Had 2x converter in back pack along with spare battery for each camera and spare cards. Used a two camera "black rapid?" shoulder strap and just removed second strap when going out with one camera. Much better than neck strap. No need for tripod -- did take monopod but rarely ever even took it to shore. It was useful on the Amazon trip with a lot more long distance work.

A big guy and his mate
A big guy and his mate...

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Apr 17, 2015 10:58:49   #
Gaddysmom
 
Steffro1, I have been to Machu Picchu and the surrounding area three times and have never seen enough wildlife to justify toting a long lens. Once I stayed at the hotel near the sanctuary and they had wonderful hummingbirds in their garden, but I could get very close to them. That being written, if you take my advice the last ivory billed woodpecker will be spotted on your trip. With that warning, I still think you would be safe leaving the tele zoom at home. Should you ever get to go on the Amazon, then you will indeed need it. However, you may be young enough not to have to worry about weight.

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Apr 17, 2015 11:10:14   #
bigd7200
 
Thom Hogan has led several photo tours to the Galapagos. His recommendations are here:

http://www.bythom.com/photographic-travel/south-america/galapagos/

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Apr 17, 2015 11:18:19   #
Panthergirl Loc: Seabrook Island, SC
 
I returned from a 7-day Galapagos trip in February. It was a truly amazing and once in a lifetime trip that I shall never forget. I liken it to an adult Disney World! The wildlife you will see and experience is incredible and you will want to photograph everything and the beauty of it is that the Galapagos wildlife have no fear of humans. Believe me you will get amazing photos as I did.

I brought my Nikon 24-120 and my Tamron 70-300. I carried both on the first full day of expedition meaning a morning expedition and an afternoon expedition. I learned quickly that with the 4-6 daily embarkations and disembarkations on the Zodiacs with wet and/or dry landings, and the required wearing of life vests, carrying of snorkeling bags, my camera, backpack and additional lens, water, sunscreen, bug spray, etc... Well I learned that something had to give big-time. It was just too darn much weight to carry. Keep in mind that a trip to the Galapagos Islands means you are on the go constantly from about 8am- 9:30pm and it is physical- hiking, walking, swimming, snorkeling, planting trees etc. All very exhilarating and by the end of the long day, believe me you are exhausted.

From Day 2- Day 7 the only lens I carried was the one on my camera. There was always a morning and afternoon expedition and based on what they were and what we were going to see and/or do is what I let determine which lens I would use. Being “restricted” to just one lens forced me to be more creative and think outside of the box to get the shot. My pictures turned out fantastic regardless of which lens I used and all shots were hand-held as the use of a tripod is IMPOSSIBLE so do NOT even bother to bring one. Do bring however a water proof cover for your camera as it will get splashed on the Zodiac which again you will be riding at a minimum of four times a day.

Have a great trip and don’t pack too much. Shorts, shorts, shorts and more shorts! Ha ha of course a bathing suit…it’s very casual.

I will post some pics later.

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Apr 17, 2015 12:43:09   #
steffro1 Loc: Murrells Inlet, SC
 
Thanks for the info, I am considering taking the 70-300 instead of the 80-400. It is lighter and has a faster focus. I use it for hummers anyway because of the focus speed. If I don't need it in the Galapagos then I can't see dealing with all that weight around my neck!!

Robert

Gaddysmom wrote:
Steffro1, I have been to Machu Picchu and the surrounding area three times and have never seen enough wildlife to justify toting a long lens. Once I stayed at the hotel near the sanctuary and they had wonderful hummingbirds in their garden, but I could get very close to them. That being written, if you take my advice the last ivory billed woodpecker will be spotted on your trip. With that warning, I still think you would be safe leaving the tele zoom at home. Should you ever get to go on the Amazon, then you will indeed need it. However, you may be young enough not to have to worry about weight.
Steffro1, I have been to Machu Picchu and the surr... (show quote)

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Apr 17, 2015 13:04:08   #
jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ
 
I went last November. It was 15 days on a 125' yacht called the Tip Top IV arranged through Galapagos Travel. We went to many islands twice a day and snorkeled 1 or 2 times a day. If your ship does snorkeling, make sure you have access to a weight belt so you can dive 20 feet down and bring a GoPro camera.

As far as camera equipment goes, I brought 2 camera bodies, a 300mm prime, 70-200mm, 24-70mm and a 16-35mm lens and my 1.4x and 2x teleconverters and a GoPro 4 Silver. I wore a backpack camera case that that was designed to hold the 3 smaller lenses. I had a double strap for carrying two cameras. The long lens was nice for all the smaller birds that I took pictures of like all the Darwins finches, the Vermillion Flycatcher, Yellow Warblers, Yellow-crowned night heron etc. The 70-200 was useful for the larger animals like the Magnificent/Great Frigatebird, Boobies, Iguana', Galapagos Dove, Flightless Cormorant, Penguins, and more. The short lenses were good for all the landscape shots and pictures taken aboard the vessel and panga.














Tmischell wrote:
I'm in the planning stage of a family trip to the Galapagos Islands this summer. While I'd like to take every bit of Nikon camera equipment I own (way too much), has any one gone there and could give me some good advice? Holy Trinrity, or just a 28-300? We'll be traveling on a National Geographic ship.

Great Frigatebird
Great Frigatebird...
(Download)

Darwins Finch
Darwins Finch...
(Download)

Me sitting down - we were taking pictures of Pink Flamingos
Me sitting down - we were taking pictures of Pink ...
(Download)

Tip Top IV
Tip Top IV...
(Download)

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Apr 17, 2015 13:05:53   #
JD750 Loc: SoCal
 
Tmischell wrote:
I'm in the planning stage of a family trip to the Galapagos Islands this summer. While I'd like to take every bit of Nikon camera equipment I own (way too much), has any one gone there and could give me some good advice? Holy Trinrity, or just a 28-300? We'll be traveling on a National Geographic ship.


Your are going to have a perhaps a one in a lifetime opportunity to take outdoor photos of wild animals. Take the best gear you have that will allow you to maximize that opportunity. IMHO that means the best glass you have and at least two bodies.

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Apr 17, 2015 16:07:42   #
photosarah Loc: East Sussex, UK
 
Tmischell wrote:
I'm in the planning stage of a family trip to the Galapagos Islands this summer. While I'd like to take every bit of Nikon camera equipment I own (way too much), has any one gone there and could give me some good advice? Holy Trinrity, or just a 28-300? We'll be traveling on a National Geographic ship.


You'll have a marvellous time on a NG ship, lucky you! I took a 28-300 on a 5DMk11 and a Panasonic FZ200. I "threw" the camera and 28-300 into the sea two-thirds of the way into our trip (accidentally: we were on a zodiac and the zip of my camera bag wasn't done up securely) so was very glad to have a backup camera - and I recommend you should, too!
I had a 16-35mm lens with me, but with the sand and some wind, hardly ever changed lenses and, to be honest, really didn't need to with the 28-300. I think you have picked the best lens. Just make sure you can download your pics daily, or have a lot of memory so you can use a new card every day. Fortunately, I had downloaded all my pics to an external hard drive before my camera went overboard, so lost no images. Have a wonderful time

:-D

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Apr 17, 2015 16:53:36   #
edhjr Loc: Needham, MA
 
Another testimonial to getting and using some very strong roll top waterproof bags that canoeists etc use. once you roll them several times and click them shut you have made a loop that can go around your hand/wrist as you hold the bag.Dry and safe.
Also, the trip costs a lot, you are far away from everywhere and there is great stuff to photograph so take backup for everything. A second body is only a few pounds but...

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Apr 17, 2015 17:15:47   #
CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.
 
Tmischell wrote:
I'm in the planning stage of a family trip to the Galapagos Islands this summer. While I'd like to take every bit of Nikon camera equipment I own (way too much), has any one gone there and could give me some good advice? Holy Trinrity, or just a 28-300? We'll be traveling on a National Geographic ship.

That Nikon 28-300 is a fine piece of glass it will cover just about everything you'll want to shoot. If you have a Teleconverter and Tripod that would be the only things I would add to the bag.
Craig

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Apr 17, 2015 17:19:17   #
Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida
 
CraigFair wrote:
That Nikon 28-300 is a fine piece of glass it will cover just about everything you'll want to shoot. If you have a Teleconverter and Tripod that would be the only things I would add to the bag.
Craig


Don't use a Teleconverters with that Nikon 28-300.

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Apr 17, 2015 18:01:57   #
Algernon Loc: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
 
I am confident the many posters here have higher quality photos, but here are a few of my favorites:

















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Apr 18, 2015 01:49:19   #
JD750 Loc: SoCal
 
Gaddysmom wrote:
Steffro1, I have been to Machu Picchu and the surrounding area three times and have never seen enough wildlife to justify toting a long lens. Once I stayed at the hotel near the sanctuary and they had wonderful hummingbirds in their garden, but I could get very close to them. That being written, if you take my advice the last ivory billed woodpecker will be spotted on your trip. With that warning, I still think you would be safe leaving the tele zoom at home. Should you ever get to go on the Amazon, then you will indeed need it. However, you may be young enough not to have to worry about weight.
Steffro1, I have been to Machu Picchu and the surr... (show quote)


OP is going to Galapagos not Machu Picchu.

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