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Archive 2016 · A quick snapshot of what worked for me in Icleand

rstoddard11
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · A quick snapshot of what worked for me in Icleand

Me and two companions just completed a week in Iceland, traveling the entire ring road, up to Husavik and up into the northwestern fjord regions as well as the Snaefellas Peninsula. We were on the go a lot, camping, hiking and this was not a primarily photography trip although it was one of our major focuses. Between 3 people we had the following:

4 Canon 6D bodies
16-35 F4 IS
24-70 F4 IS
24-105 F4 IS
70-200 F4L non-IS
24mm 1.4 II prime
100mm f2 prime
40mm 2.8 prime
100-400 II

In summary the 24-70 and 70-200 covered most of my shots. Some of my best keepers were with both and they are what came with me on the hikes. Some of the best shots of the trip were with the 100mm f2. It seemed to be the perfect focal length for compressing the landscape and was razor sharp as always. The 24-70 had a circular polarizer on it at all times, which really brought out the sky and clouds.

The 16-35 got some limited use on some close up portraits with the landscape in background. I could have lived without it, but would bring along next time as it came in handy for waterfall shots. I kept a 6 stop ND filter on it at all times.

The only other lens I used was the 24mm prime for some shots in the dark of some rivers with the midnight sun illuminating the sky enough to get some good handheld shots at 1.4. However, I found 24mm too wide for most of the landscape shots. Next time I would just bring the 50mm 1.8 STM along and not spend the money renting the 24. I initially had the 24 for aurora, but it was too cloudy and bright this time of year to see any.

My friend used his 24-105 for most of his shots and while people rip on this lens a lot, his shots are astounding. We were sitting somewhere between f5.6 and f11 for most landscape shots. I shot at 5.6 and 8 alot with the 24-105.

The 100-400 was absolutely stunning for both wildlife such as seals and puffins, but was too heavy to pack in for long hikes.

If I could have had one lens the entire trip it would have been the 70-200 f4. Not having IS was not an issue with the 6D which did great. I just set my shutter speed at 1/400 and never looked back.

Next trip I would bring the following

a 24-70 of some kind or 24-105 if that is what you have. I am a big fan of the f4 IS version.
a 50mm 1.8 for low light
the 100mm f2 (135L would be great) for portraits and some landscape
The 70-200L or possibly the newer 70-300L for added reach and compact size compared to the 100-400 II for landscape and wildlife

Anyway, what works for me, may not be best for you, but if you are planning a similar trip, I thought this may help out. If you knew you would see aurora, then go for a wider lens like a 16-35 f2.8 also.

May 11, 2016 at 12:40 PM

GC5
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · A quick snapshot of what worked for me in Icleand

Now how about some photos of Iceland?

May 11, 2016 at 01:30 PM

dhphoto
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · A quick snapshot of what worked for me in Icleand

Yes, photos would be good.

The 100mm f2 doesn't get the plaudits it deserves - poor man's 135L (except I prefer it to the 135L)

May 11, 2016 at 01:37 PM

rstoddard11
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · A quick snapshot of what worked for me in Icleand

I am new to FM and am not sure how to post the photos, but I will send a flickr link for now.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rcstoddard/

I will try to get some on here soon.

May 11, 2016 at 01:40 PM

rstoddard11
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · A quick snapshot of what worked for me in Icleand

Agreed. I picked up a refurbished copy 100 f2 a while back for $300. I prefer the smaller size as I can walk around town with a low profile setup of my 40mm 2.8 pancake and throw the 100 in my jacket pocket for a quick change if I see something farther away that catches my eye. Once you get to about f2.8-f4 you are in razor blade territory on sharpness. Its sharper than the 70-200 f4L IS, which gets tons of praise.

May 11, 2016 at 01:48 PM

rstoddard11
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · A quick snapshot of what worked for me in Icleand

Some shots from the trip

100mm f2 at f2.5 and 1/640th of a second. ISO 100

70-200 f4L non IS at f14 and 1/400th of a second shot at 180mm. ISO 100

70-200 f4L non IS at f5.6 and 1/160th of a second shot at 140mm. ISO 800

100mm f2 at f2.0 and 1/320th of a second. ISO 4000

Edited on May 11, 2016 at 02:05 PM · View previous versions

May 11, 2016 at 01:50 PM

GC5
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · A quick snapshot of what worked for me in Icleand

To post a pic from flickr, you typically want the static address you can access when you click on share and embed (you don't need all the other junk that gives you though). It will begin with "https" and end with ".jpg"

For example, this is your first one:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/26652407820_22805daf98_c.jpg

If you hover over it, it should show the address at the bottom of your page. Happy to take it down - just let me know.

May 11, 2016 at 01:54 PM

rstoddard11
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · A quick snapshot of what worked for me in Icleand

Thanks. I got it figured out and edited my previous.

May 11, 2016 at 01:59 PM

rstoddard11
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · A quick snapshot of what worked for me in Icleand

Here is one of my best with the normal range zoom.

24-70 f4L IS a f5.6 and 1/200th of a second. ISO 640. Shot at 24mm.

May 11, 2016 at 02:13 PM

kevindar
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · A quick snapshot of what worked for me in Icleand

you forgot the miniature mule to carry all that gear for you. :-).
4 cameras? thats a lot.
nice shots.

May 11, 2016 at 09:23 PM

jcolwell
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · A quick snapshot of what worked for me in Icleand

kevindar wrote:
4 cameras? thats a lot.

Four cameras, three people. That's enough, ... barely.

kevindar wrote:
nice shots.

Yes, nice shots.

May 11, 2016 at 09:30 PM

kevindar
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · A quick snapshot of what worked for me in Icleand

I missed the two companion parts Jim. Makes more sense.

May 11, 2016 at 10:38 PM

dmahar
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · A quick snapshot of what worked for me in Icleand

Thanks for this post as we are off to Iceland for 2 weeks hiking and photography next Wednesday so this was very timely for me. I am very keen to nail some puffins in flight and was thinking about bringing my 200-400 as well as my 100-400ii (for use when hiking). Did you get a chance to get puffins in flight with the 100-400 and if so was it adequate? Also, any inside tips on must-do day walks?

Thanks in advance

Doug

May 12, 2016 at 02:51 AM

rstoddard11
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · A quick snapshot of what worked for me in Icleand

My buddy does wedding photography and offered us several lenses to bring. We couldn't say no. Otherwise, I usually just travel with my 24-70 and maybe the 100. The 100-400 was a rental. Most of them stayed in the car, but were used a few times here and there.

Doug,

I would say to hit the ring road counterclockwise. A 2 wheel drive will do fine. Note that some of the roads in the east and west are gravel, but it was no big deal. Don't hesitate the take the shortcut across the north to Snaefellas. Do the Golden Circle first as the other areas will make it seem unimpressive later, but it is still a must see. Skip the cheesy blue lagoon. There are natural hot springs elsewhere. The black sand beaches just before Vik are your best bet for puffins and are just a great place to spend time. There is a cafe there with homemade pie that is out of this world. The glacial lagoon just past there a bit is wild as well and of course the waterfalls. We camped by the lagoon the first night and saw several seals there. Skogafoss was my favorite. However, you will see hundreds of other waterfalls that are not on the tourist map. The east is very windy, but amazing and grand. I wish I had spent a bit more time there. Along the north, we were hit with several snowstorms, but it was intermittent. The weather changes every 15 minutes. The Snaefellas peninsula was great. Sort of offers a snapshot of each terrain type. What was amazing is that no part of Iceland looked like the other parts. It was all different. Hiking up to the glaciers is a must. Bring plenty of lens cloths and remember to leave the camera in the car every day for a few hours and just enjoy the scenery.

As for the 100-400, we didnt catch any in flight. We weren't around may puffins except at the black sand beach and took about 10 snaps of them. Where the long telephoto shined surprisingly was for landscape. The terrain there is so massive and so far away often that you really need at least a 70-200 to reach some of the mountains and compress things. I will post a few more photos below.

May 12, 2016 at 08:47 AM