Ireland and Iceland photography and general tips?

[red2thebones]

Hi all,
I'm heading to Ireland then onto Iceland this October, roughly 2 weeks in each country.
So I'm wondering if more seasoned members may have a few photography and also general tips to share?
Capturing the Northern Lights, staying alive/sane... etc?

Thanks,

red.

[Grant S]

If you are going outside at night and its cold, wear lots of layers. Or go back inside where its warm.

[John King]

Gidday Red

What gear do you have? What are you contemplating taking?

Remember that Li-Ion batteries do not like the cold, so keep your spares in an inside pocket, close to your body warmth .

[ricktas]

check our our major competition sponsor udesignphototours. They do an iceland tour, and you might be able to find out more from them.. or join one of their tours

[red2thebones]

Thanks gents, I appreciate your insightful advice

Gidday Red

What gear do you have? What are you contemplating taking?

Remember that Li-Ion batteries do not like the cold, so keep your spares in an inside pocket, close to your body warmth .

I'm planning to take my 7Dmk2, 11-16, 24-70, 70-200, a few spare batts, lots of mem cards and a tripod - this last item is proving to be difficult to decide on.
Can't take my larger sturdier tripod, so I'm looking for a decent travel sized one, the Manfrotto compact that I've been using on my travels, I fear isn't going to cut it in Iceland.

On the subject of batteries, do you have any advice on 3rd party replacement packs? They area bout 1/4 the price of the original Canon pack, with higher capacity (2200 vs 1850mAh) I figured even if I get half the use out of them, it's still a good deal?

[Sdison]

Sirui make excellent carbon travel tripods. In fact many of their full size tripod easily work for travel. I have the W-2204 and it'll travel with no issues with me. I took my old Manfrotto 055XPROB to Iceland last year which is a massive hunk of metal compared to the Sirui. Lens choices for Iceland are good. I went with a similar kit. 11-16 and 80-200 stayed on the camera most of the time.

[Brian500au]

I like your set up - I think you have the body and lens well covered. Are you just going with the one body or do you have a back up - of course this also depends on are you going for a photography purpose or are you on vacation just carrying a camera? In the second instance a good P&S or IPhone works but in the first instance ..... well things can go wrong with something electrical.

As for the tripod, it will depend on your budget - there is a wide range of options out there now. This is one area where we tend to skimp a little bit, but do not under estimate the value of a good quality tripod and just as important a good quality ball head. I personally use Gitzo but I bought them second hand. I have Sirui monopods and I cannot praise them enough - not just good value for money but outstanding quality, dare i say as good if not better than a Gitzo monopod. The Sirui range of ball heads are just as impressive.

Best of luck and have a great trip.

[Grant S]

Assuming you are taking a remote shutter release? In that case, is it cabled or an IR remote? If its IR, remember to keep that ones battery nice and warm as well.

[red2thebones]

Thanks Brian and Sam, I'll be sure to check out the Sirui range, I had been looking at the Mefoto Roadtrip too, which seem to be in the same price range.

Assuming you are taking a remote shutter release? In that case, is it cabled or an IR remote? If its IR, remember to keep that ones battery nice and warm as well.

I have a cabled Hahnel remote as well as a TriggerTrap... probably gonna take them both, as they are both small and light.
The Triggertrap I find has a slight lag... probably due to the app on the phone rather than the trigger itself - so it's great for more "static" situation where I don't need to time the release precisely, but needs to program intervals and allow more experiments. The Hahnel on the other hand doesn't have any lag, which I find better for fireworks, waves..etc.

I can see myself struggling with the phone and Triggertrap in cold weather though... fingers frozen stuck to the screnn... that would be fun