In October for our honeymoon we are going to Iceland for 15 days. During the trip we are going to do some astrophotography and aurora hunting.
We currently have a Sony 24-105 f4, a Voiglander Nokton 40mm 1.2 and a Sony 70-200 f4. With the excuse of the trip, we were thinking in adding 1-2 UWA lenses to our gear, either buying or renting them. We currently have the following options, but we would be open to hear new ones:
What a woman you have married ! What an awesome honeymoon too.
I tried out the 12/2.8 in a shop in Shanghai .. it is now on my list. Beautiful lens sharp to the corners. Not sure about coma.
On my two trips to Iceland (totalling about 6 weeks) by far my most used lenses were the Tamron 15-30/2.8 (on Nikon) and the Zeiss 100/2 (Nikon) on the first trip. For the second trip CV 15mm and Voigtlander 21mm plus 100-400mm.
I would consider the Laowa 12mm and hiring (or buying used and reselling on your return) the 16-35/2.8 GM. Along with your 70-200/4 you should be well covered. Hopefully the marriage will survive fighting over the lenses
For Iceland I would also seriously consider the 16-35 GM. Very extreme conditions and exposure to the elements suggest to avoid lens changing.
The CV21/1.4 would be my choice to go with the GM: excellent for everything including aurora and astrophotography. A bit of redundancy noting that the GM is a good night performer as well. Most of all enjoy!
Sidenote: Iceland has no night in summer, maybe dawn at best. So forget about stars and aurora unless you travel in the winter half of the year. To me, 12 mm + 18 mm sound like the best option.
jhg photo wrote:
Sidenote: Iceland has no night in summer, maybe dawn at best. So forget about stars and aurora unless you travel in the winter half of the year. To me, 12 mm + 18 mm sound like the best option.
True, but he's going in October It gets perfectly dark then.
My most used lenses in Iceland last year where the 16-35 f2.8 GM and 100-400 GM. I didn't feel like changing lenses all the time in the often difficult conditions (wind, water, sand,...).
The 16-35 did a great job with the auroras as well.
After that trip I even decided to sell all my Loxias.
From my experience shooting aurora/general landscapes in Iceland I honestly don't think you can go particularly wrong with any of those combos really. My choices for astro/aurora lenses are the samyang 14mm (cine is easier to focus) and the batis 18mm. I have shot with a zoom for general day time landscapes in the past as there is so much wind it is a nightmare for dust and grit when changing. Also fogging/condensation with lens changes is a real problem going from hot cars to cold outdoors.
Maybe you'd better rent a second body as well if environment is so harsh. I shoot with 2 bodies (Nikon D750) and couldn't be happier having no need in lens changes.
P.S. having more than 3 lenses is a pain in the ass to decide which one is better for the current task. A WA zoom on one body, a tele zoom on another and a normal prime in a bag for lowlight conditions handheld / portraits.
You want wider than 24mm in Iceland. Spont like Kirkjufell and Vestrahorn need something around 14 or 15mm.
My most used lenses were Voigtlander 15 and Loxia 21.
For landscape a 16-35 zoom or 12-24 zoom would be ideal. I do think you may want something that could take filters to use ND's. So if you go 12-24 plan for a second lens. 16-35GM might be a good all round rental.
For astro/Milky Way, you want wide and fast. The Laowa 15/2 would be tempting as it's fast, small and native. Might be a rental. Sigma is a little faster, but much bigger and has worse coma by the reports.
+1 on the take good rain gear. I'm personally partial to the Batis 18 for its excellent astro performance as well as its weather sealing. But, any of these lens options will give you great shots, as long as you're able to be out taking them. The weather in Iceland can very commonly get to another level of wet
Viramati wrote:
!6-35GM will cover most things and is just a superb optic ftllens wrote:
Sigma 14 1.8 for the best IQ. Zoom-wise a good copy of the 16-35 GM is also hard to beat!
I will definitively consider the 16-35GM.
Frogfish wrote:
What a woman you have married ! What an awesome honeymoon too.
I tried out the 12/2.8 in a shop in Shanghai .. it is now on my list. Beautiful lens sharp to the corners. Not sure about coma.
On my two trips to Iceland (totalling about 6 weeks) by far my most used lenses were the Tamron 15-30/2.8 (on Nikon) and the Zeiss 100/2 (Nikon) on the first trip. For the second trip CV 15mm and Voigtlander 21mm plus 100-400mm.
I would consider the Laowa 12mm and hiring (or buying used and reselling on your return) the 16-35/2.8 GM. Along with your 70-200/4 you should be well covered. Hopefully the marriage will survive fighting over the lenses ...Show more →
Thank you a lot for your nice comments
Unfortunately I don't think the trip to Iceland would be a honeymoon if I buy both the Laowa 12mm and the 16-35/2.8 GM
It would be a lot of difference if rent/buy the 16-35 f4 instead?
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Jochenb wrote:
True, but he's going in October It gets perfectly dark then.
My most used lenses in Iceland last year where the 16-35 f2.8 GM and 100-400 GM. I didn't feel like changing lenses all the time in the often difficult conditions (wind, water, sand,...).
The 16-35 did a great job with the auroras as well.
After that trip I even decided to sell all my Loxias.
If the 16-35 f2.8 GM does a good job both for the aurora and for astro I will definitively add it to my short list.
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Langran wrote:
From my experience shooting aurora/general landscapes in Iceland I honestly don't think you can go particularly wrong with any of those combos really. My choices for astro/aurora lenses are the samyang 14mm (cine is easier to focus) and the batis 18mm. I have shot with a zoom for general day time landscapes in the past as there is so much wind it is a nightmare for dust and grit when changing. Also fogging/condensation with lens changes is a real problem going from hot cars to cold outdoors.
Thank you, will take a mental note on this
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AlexDROP wrote:
Maybe you'd better rent a second body as well if environment is so harsh. I shoot with 2 bodies (Nikon D750) and couldn't be happier having no need in lens changes.
P.S. having more than 3 lenses is a pain in the ass to decide which one is better for the current task. A WA zoom on one body, a tele zoom on another and a normal prime in a bag for lowlight conditions handheld / portraits.
Yes, we to bringing two bodies, a Sony A7II and a A7RIII. I was planing to use the A7RIII with the wide angle and the other with the telephoto lens.
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nobody23 wrote:
Had the Laowa and I sold it right after my trip.
Not good for Aurora....
Best you can currently get is, Sigma 14 1.8 and Sony 24 GM
Thank you
I am really puzzled about the Laowa lenses, I continuously read contradictory staments about them...
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WestTexas Sky wrote:
You want wider than 24mm in Iceland. Spont like Kirkjufell and Vestrahorn need something around 14 or 15mm.
My most used lenses were Voigtlander 15 and Loxia 21.
For landscape a 16-35 zoom or 12-24 zoom would be ideal. I do think you may want something that could take filters to use ND's. So if you go 12-24 plan for a second lens. 16-35GM might be a good all round rental.
For astro/Milky Way, you want wide and fast. The Laowa 15/2 would be tempting as it's fast, small and native. Might be a rental. Sigma is a little faster, but much bigger and has worse coma by the reports.
In your opinion 16mm is not enough for some places in Iceland?
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chrodo7 wrote:
+1 on the take good rain gear. I'm personally partial to the Batis 18 for its excellent astro performance as well as its weather sealing. But, any of these lens options will give you great shots, as long as you're able to be out taking them. The weather in Iceland can very commonly get to another level of wet
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Yes, my biggest doubts about the Laowa and CV lenses are about the weather... I have already bought several rain covers for the cameras. I start to lean towards a Zoom lens for not having to be changing the lenses all the time and avoid headaches.
I would want at least 16mm wide. Both for landscape and Aurora they work great there.
While a nice 70-200 type lens can be great around a glacier, I found the wides best at the famous spots and anytime I had Aurora. Personally I thought the Loxia 21 was too narrow for aurora, especially when it fills the sky. I even used my fisheye.
You consider something like a Samyang14/2.8 which is wide, fast, sharp, low coma and cheap. But the mustache distortion is noticable on any ocean shot. A landscape image normally goes it but a seascape often has a wonky horizon.
I don't have a 16-35 zoom, but kinda wish I did when I was in Iceland.
The 1635GM might be a good one lens solution. Or a 1635/4 with something like a Samyang14 or Laowa 15/2 for aurora.
xfsalas wrote:
I will definitively consider the 16-35GM.
Thank you a lot for your nice comments
Unfortunately I don't think the trip to Iceland would be a honeymoon if I buy both the Laowa 12mm and the 16-35/2.8 GM
It would be a lot of difference if rent/buy the 16-35 f4 instead?
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If the 16-35 f2.8 GM does a good job both for the aurora and for astro I will definitively add it to my short list.
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Thank you, will take a mental note on this
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Yes, we to bringing two bodies, a Sony A7II and a A7RIII. I was planing to use the A7RIII with the wide angle and the other with the telephoto lens.
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Thank you
I am really puzzled about the Laowa lenses, I continuously read contradictory staments about them...
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In your opinion 16mm is not enough for some places in Iceland?
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Yes, my biggest doubts about the Laowa and CV lenses are about the weather... I have already bought several rain covers for the cameras. I start to lean towards a Zoom lens for not having to be changing the lenses all the time and avoid headaches. ...Show more →
Depending on performance you might also consider the new 14-24 2.8 Sigma to cover the range. Will be available mid August, so plenty of time to check images and see if it would do well for UWA landscapes and astro.
