Iceland Questions

I will be leaving for Iceland in less than 48 hours, and am unsure what to do about a tripod to shoot the northern lights. I have two tripods, a Gitzo travel tripod which is easy to pack, and super light. I also have a full-size Gitzo which is incredibly stable, but 33" long and despite being carbon fibre quite heavy. Iceland air has already told me it is too long to be a carry-on, but if disassembled it will fit in my check on bag, barely. Am I overthinking this, will a lightweight tripod be ok in the Iceland winds, or take heavy duty deal with those complications? Ive never been to Iceland before, so I appreciate all feedback.

Thanks in advance!

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Erich

Dosquattros said:

I will be leaving for Iceland in less than 48 hours, and am unsure what to do about a tripod to shoot the northern lights. I have two tripods, a Gitzo travel tripod which is easy to pack, and super light. I also have a full-size Gitzo which is incredibly stable, but 33" long and despite being carbon fibre quite heavy. Iceland air has already told me it is too long to be a carry-on, but if disassembled it will fit in my check on bag, barely. Am I overthinking this, will a lightweight tripod be ok in the Iceland winds, or take heavy duty deal with those complications? Ive never been to Iceland before, so I appreciate all feedback.

Thanks in advance!

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Hello Erich,

my recommendation would be to go for the sturdy one, most definitely. No questions in my mind

Best regards,

Vieri

I would take the full size Gitzo. Iceland is known for strong winds and rough weather in which your travel tripod probably will suffer. It might be inconvenient to travel with, but there's nothing more annoying to see that your shots are blurry.

Just to clarify, northern lights require a clear sky..... not quite what you expect in a storm !

Take the other one for this , however if you want to shoot otherwise in a windy area ( THE ENTIRE ISLAND) go for the heavier one. Don't know who you are flying with but I have never been allowed to take a tripod on as hand luggage, they seem to think you will bludgeon staff with it ! I asked if they wanted to remove my fingers so I could not poke eyes out .

I tend to break my tripod down and store in between my clothes in main luggage. THink about your lens and how you will find perfect infinity focus in total darkness .... bear in mind the NL turn on and off in a second , and you have to be able to react instantly or not at all. Some pre focus a lens ( fast w/a ) in daylight and then tape it to lock the focus. So I would suggest a taped f2.8 or faster, and then a great f4 for landscapes.

Thank you, that is the direction I am leaning as well. I appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks Ken! The consensus is unanimous to take the more HD one. I was concerned about trying to carry it on for fear the TSA would take away my $1200 tripod thinking I would attack the pilot. With the ball head removed, it just fits in my check-in luggage, and hopefully, Iceland Air won't lose it. I am taking 3 lenses, my new Nikon 14-24 f2.8, Nikon 24-70 f2.8, and my 70-200 f2.8. I have larger lenses but don't think I will need them.



Thank you again for your thoughts!

Thanks, Simon for your thoughts. The next 14-day forecast is for high winds and snow. Not ideal conditions for sure, but I've just got to play with the hand I'm dealt!

If you can take the one you prefer take it, if you can't, there is still time to google how to make a lightweight tripod steady as a rock. Even use the search function here, its been discussed a lot.

Requiring a platform anchored to the core of the earth in order to get a sharp long exposure is a really not reality, there are millions of compelling images created on lightweight tripods by photographers who understand how to mitigate the limitations. If the only way to take pictures of the northern lights was with a heavy tripod there would be a lot less pictures of them that have already been taken, because its a small percentage of photographers who are lugging big heavy tripods around.

If you can manage to get your heavy one there, then alls good, but it's not the final option and shouldn't be a deal-breaker. (don't tell anybody, but - I knew a guy who as just one tiny part of his plan, took his lightweight tripod and poured concrete in the hollow bottom legs, and the center column)

Another vote for the heavy one. The only time I visited Iceland in the winter I made one stop and found I literally couldn't close the boot/tailgate of my hirecar again, not even when I tried hanging from it... I had to wait for a lull before I could close it again! To say it can be breezy at times is an epic understatement.

If you do take the travel tripod you'll need to find a very good way to ballast it when you get there

Unfortunately I didn't see the aurora at all either; as it was too cloudy for the four days I was there. I hope you have better luck!

I've actually got everything (plus the big tripod) stuffed in and am still 10 lbs underweight. I had to divide my camera gear up into 2 bags which I will carry on. Finally, and after 3 bag changes, I think I am ready.

Recently I've gone to AK several times and enjoy shooting Aurora. Last couple of times I didn't even bother to take my tripod (Feisol - no mid column) and used a beanbag, that I placed it on a rock. At times one could also use a clamp that attaches to various surfaces.

It's up to you. Here is one from using the beanbag.

I'm not really adding much with this comment, but the heavier tripod (or additions to make the lighter tripod more sturdy) are the way to go. For my first tripod to Iceland, I wanted a lighter, more compact tripod. Had the largest MeFoto tripod, and ended up getting one of the smaller models. The lighter tripod did pretty good for the most part, but ended up falling over while I turned my back watching aurora one night. Lens went into the mud, but seems like everything was otherwise fine. On my trip this year, I took my old, heavier tripod.