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05/25/2026 06:07:30 PM · #1 |
Heading to Iceland in July with a small group, so I probably will not have the luxury of slowing everyone down while I obsess over focus and lens swaps. I’ve also been wanting to go wider for a while.
Shooting on a Nikon D5. Given the endless daylight in July, I do not think I really need f/2.8 glass for this trip. Right now I’m leaning toward bringing the 24-120 (f/3.5-5.6) and possibly a teleconverter for some added reach.
Do I really need the 70-200? I’m not sure I’ll get close enough to wildlife for it to matter, though I could see some use for landscape compression.
Main debate is:
* Pick up a 14-24 to complete the set, knowing filters become a pain
* Or go with a 16-35 and bring the 24-70 since they share filter sizes
* Or simplify things entirely and run the 16-35 plus the 24-120, with filters for both
Thoughts?
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05/26/2026 06:05:52 AM · #2 |
You will do very well with a 24-105mm lens here in Iceland. Our scenery is vast and spacious making 14mm possibly too wide for most scenarios unless you love making stones on a beach your main subject or the aurora borealis (which you definitely not see in july), so a 24-105mm is 100% safe and a smart choice.
That being said, if I were you - I'd take the 16-35 and a 70-200 and borrow an extra body, maybe even borrow two small bodies so you can leave the bulky D5 at home. Compressing landscapes, shooting horses on a hill, boats and cliffs out on sea, far-away mountains is something you'll be likely to do.
Have a wonderful trip to Iceland, and I apologize in advance for the insane amount of tourists here and our criminally high prices. Be prepared to feel insulted by our high prices, especially when driving around the south coast. I have no excuses for us other than we have super high import costs and a very large infrastructure per capita to support, added on top of gold digging due to unlimited tourists.
Message edited by author 2026-05-26 06:15:29. |
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05/26/2026 10:12:42 AM · #3 |
So jealous!
Been twice and it's just a magical land.
I took two lenses: 17-35, 28-300. Wide enough for most general landscape, and a bit of fisheye distortion for super closeups of ice etc. And the long was perfect for stuff in the distance. The thing about Iceland is things can be faaaaar away with no way to get to whatever it is that caught your eye. |
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05/26/2026 12:54:14 PM · #4 |
It's a great trip. In terms of light, the sun is out a long, long time but it stays relatively low in the sky compared to being in New York. "Golden Hour" can last hours and hours. Is there room in the luggage for a tripod?
I was very fortunate to go in June of 2021. Iceland was just beginning to open up to tourists after over a year of COVID. We got swabbed getting off the plane and were required to quarantine in our room at the hotel until our test came back negative. But, on the upside, there were very few tourist there yet. We got to see many of the most popular spots in the country nearly by ourselves or with only a handful of others. It was amazing. At that time, Americans were worried about the risks of infection while traveling, but I figured a trip to Iceland was safer than a trip to the local grocery store. At that time, in the US there was 15,000-20,000 reported new cases of COVID a day. While we were in Iceland the daily new cases for the entire country were between 0 and 7. |
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05/27/2026 11:12:46 AM · #5 |
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I have been several times in Iceland, I spent a couple of months there (and even meet our Tanguera twice) and I can say that a 70-20m is a super useful lens because most of the landscape, especially in the south is super wide. This year I've been endorsed by Sigma and they gave me the 20-200mm and I used it at both ends. You will love Iceland :) |
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