Consumer Electronics Recommendations for Cameras & Drones - for Europe Trip

[Judd2Sewell]

Hello BigFooty gang,

I've got a 6 week holiday to Europe coming up in October/November and I'm looking for some camera and drone recommendations from posters.

We will be going to Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and then England (London only).

More detailed Itinerary:

Spoiler

Italy

• Rome (3 nights)
• Florence (2 nights)
• Venice (2 nights)
• Milan (1 night)

Switzerland

• St. Moritz (1 night)
• Zermatt (2 nights)
• Grindelwald (3 nights)

Norway

• Oslo (2 nights)
• Bergen (2 nights)
• Reine, Lofoten Islands (3 nights)
• Solvaer, Lofoten Islands (1 night)
• Senja (2 nights)
• Tromso (1 night)

Iceland

• Reykjavik (4 nights)
• Vik (3 nights)
• Akyureyi (2 nights)

England
- London (4 nights)

We will be going on several mountain hikes across the Lofoten Islands and Senja in particular, and there are lots of amazing landscapes and Waterfalls in Iceland and Switzerland that we want to capture.

We have timed the trip so that we are in Norway and Iceland during peak period to see the Northern Lights.

So I'm hoping some amateur photographers here would have some recommendations for cameras and drones that could be used on our hikes, and also at low-light for the Northern Lights.

Does anyone have experience with taking shots and footage in those kinds of landscapes?

Cheers

 

[FreoGirl]

I've purchased an OM System 5 to take to Denmark, Iceland and Greenland this year. I love how much lighter it is than my Canon DSLR, how it is weather proof, and the pictures it's capable of. I am also hoping to see the Northern Lights - we will be on an expedition ship going to the far north of eastern Greenland.

Just curious - why three nights in Reykjavik? I feel like you can see it in half a day. We plan to do the entire ring road. Pretty much landing in Reykjavik then driving down to Vik the next day

1 night Reykjavik
1 night Hofn
! night Egilsstadir
2 nights Akureyi
1 night Holmavik
1 night Borgarnes
1 night Reykjavik

16 nights Greenland

then a night in Reykjavik before going home

we aren't going to bother with the overrated and busy human made Blue Lagoon

I have booked a tour on a snow mobile, a bus to the plane crash, some sort of excursion for the Jokulsarion Glacier Lagoon, a whale watching trip on an old wooden whaler out of Husavik. Borgarnes is one of the horse farms because I'm fascinated with Icelandic horses.


I will be working as a travel consultant when I get back

Here's some pics someone took in Iceland using the OM.

OM-1 in Iceland (photo heavy)

 

[Arkangel]

I don't have any good advice for you, but I'm in Iceland at the moment and have noticed that drones are either completely banned or require a permit to use at a lot of the more scenic locations. Something to keep in mind if you are planning on taking photos with one while here.

[Also, despite being close to mid-summer right now it's snowing here down to sea level and parts of the main highway (Highway 1) are closed off and impassable. Hope you get better weather in October/November!]

 

[FreoGirl]

I don't have any good advice for you, but I'm in Iceland at the moment and have noticed that drones are either completely banned or require a permit to use at a lot of the more scenic locations. Something to keep in mind if you are planning on taking photos with one while here.

[Also, despite being close to mid-summer right now it's snowing here down to sea level and parts of the main highway (Highway 1) are closed off and impassable. Hope you get better weather in October/November!]

it wouldn't surprise me if they are banned or if you need permission from some kind of aviation authority - a lot of other tourists and residents find them annoying, especially in a place that's so natural and beautiful.

Have heard it's unusually cold and windy in Iceland right now?

 

[Judd2Sewell]

I don't have any good advice for you, but I'm in Iceland at the moment and have noticed that drones are either completely banned or require a permit to use at a lot of the more scenic locations. Something to keep in mind if you are planning on taking photos with one while here.

[Also, despite being close to mid-summer right now it's snowing here down to sea level and parts of the main highway (Highway 1) are closed off and impassable. Hope you get better weather in October/November!]

Cheers, I hope so too.

I mainly want the Drone for when we are hiking around the Lofoten Islands, but I think I could use one for the black sand beach, some of the waterfalls and hopefully some lava flow. I'd be respectful with the Drone of course.

But I'm thinking it may not be worth the investment for something I'd probably only use on holidays.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

I've purchased an OM System 5 to take to Denmark, Iceland and Greenland this year. I love how much lighter it is than my Canon DSLR, how it is weather proof, and the pictures it's capable of. I am also hoping to see the Northern Lights - we will be on an expedition ship going to the far north of eastern Greenland.

Just curious - why three nights in Reykjavik? I feel like you can see it in half a day. We plan to do the entire ring road. Pretty much landing in Reykjavik then driving down to Vik the next day

1 night Reykjavik
1 night Hofn
! night Egilsstadir
2 nights Akureyi
1 night Holmavik
1 night Borgarnes
1 night Reykjavik

16 nights Greenland

then a night in Reykjavik before going home

we aren't going to bother with the overrated and busy human made Blue Lagoon

I have booked a tour on a snow mobile, a bus to the plane crash, some sort of excursion for the Jokulsarion Glacier Lagoon, a whale watching trip on an old wooden whaler out of Husavik. Borgarnes is one of the horse farms because I'm fascinated with Icelandic horses.


I will be working as a travel consultant when I get back

Here's some pics someone took in Iceland using the OM.

OM-1 in Iceland (photo heavy)

Firstly, thank you for the info regarding the cameras. I'll suss that one out.

That trip sounds amazing BTW. I'd love to go to Greenland and Svalbard next time.

As for Iceland - we were planning on using Reykjavik as a base for the first few days. We will be landing at 11:00pm on the first night, so straight to bed and then explore the town the next day.

We'd then drive out and spend the days out at the sites.

We'll do the same when we are down in Vik and up at Akureyi.

We've booked one of the ice cave walks (from Vik) and I presume the exact same whale watching trip as you out of Husavik (via Gentle Giants).

We are still working out everything else we will do and see in order to get the most out of the time we have there. I don't think we will have too much daylight through the days given the time of year.

Reykjavic:

• explore the City
• Fagradalsfjall
• Blue Lagoon or Sky Lagoon
• Urriðafoss
• Kerid Crater
• Gullfoss Falls
• Secret Lagoon (maybe?)
• Kirkjufell (maybe?)

Akureyi:

• Dettifoss Waterfall
• Godafoss Waterfall
• Lake Myvatn
• Hverir
• Whale Watching
• Dimmuborgir Lava Field (maybe?)
• Abyrgi (maybe?)
• something to the East of Akureyi

Vik:

• ice cave walk
• Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach
• Skogafoss Waterfall
• Kvernufoss Waterfall
• Diamond Beach
• Vestrahorn Mountain (drive out to Hofn)

We haven't ironed it all out as yet, so we may change a few things around.

Edit: if you have any other suggestions for Iceland in terms of sites and activities please let me know.

 

[FreoGirl]

I crossed the two lagoons off the list when I realised they were just man made swimming pools filled with water heater from thermal heated water, then full to the brim with US tourists. Having heated swimming pools is not a novelty to Australians. I initially believed the Blue Lagoon was natural.
The ice cave should be amazing. We have opted to do a snow mobile tour over Katla instead.

We are doing our whale watching with North Sailing

 

[FreoGirl]

Cheers, I hope so too.

I mainly want the Drone for when we are hiking around the Lofoten Islands, but I think I could use one for the black sand beach, some of the waterfalls and hopefully some lava flow. I'd be respectful with the Drone of course.

But I'm thinking it may not be worth the investment for something I'd probably only use on holidays.

I did a bit of research on drones in Iceland. It looks like you can use drones but not at waterfalls etc unless you apply to do so. My son has a drone so I thought about taking his, but thinking it might just be more of a hassle.

 

[Arkangel]

Firstly, thank you for the info regarding the cameras. I'll suss that one out.

That trip sounds amazing BTW. I'd love to go to Greenland and Svalbard next time.

As for Iceland - we were planning on using Reykjavik as a base for the first few days. We will be landing at 11:00pm on the first night, so straight to bed and then explore the town the next day.

We'd then drive out and spend the days out at the sites.

We'll do the same when we are down in Vik and up at Akureyi.

We've booked one of the ice cave walks (from Vik) and I presume the exact same whale watching trip as you out of Husavik (via Gentle Giants).

We are still working out everything else we will do and see in order to get the most out of the time we have there. I don't think we will have too much daylight through the days given the time of year.

Reykjavic:

• explore the City
• Fagradalsfjall
• Blue Lagoon or Sky Lagoon
• Urriðafoss
• Kerid Crater
• Gullfoss Falls
• Secret Lagoon (maybe?)
• Kirkjufell (maybe?)

Akureyi:

• Dettifoss Waterfall
• Godafoss Waterfall
• Lake Myvatn
• Hverir
• Whale Watching
• Dimmuborgir Lava Field (maybe?)
• Abyrgi (maybe?)
• something to the East of Akureyi

Vik:

• ice cave walk
• Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach
• Skogafoss Waterfall
• Kvernufoss Waterfall
• Diamond Beach
• Vestrahorn Mountain (drive out to Hofn)

We haven't ironed it all out as yet, so we may change a few things around.

Edit: if you have any other suggestions for Iceland in terms of sites and activities please let me know.

I've spent a fair bit of time in Iceland over the past few years for work-related reasons, but have almost exclusively done my touristing in the summer (if you can call it summer!). With that disclaimer…

Reykjavík area:
- Kirkjufell and the whole Snæfellsnes peninsula is pretty cool. At the far (west) end it's lush and green in the summer, but I imagine might be pretty bleak (possibly in a photogenic way) by October/November. It's also possible to get a ferry from Stykkishólmur, on the north coast of the peninsula, to the islands between Snæfellsnes and the Westfjords (possibly just a summer thing?); though maybe this would be a bit much if you're coming from Reykjavík for the day.
- Þingvallavatn is not too far from Reykjavík, and might be worth your while. It's quite a pretty area, but also has some interesting history.
- I've always wanted to climb Esja (the mountain you can see across the water from Reykjavík), but have never gotten around to it. Maybe not a good option for that late in the year, but if it's been a warm autumn and there's not too much snow, who knows? I imagine the view over the city would be great from there.
- If you have any interest in ugly architecture, check out the old apartment blocks on Seltjarnarnes (the peninsula west of Reykjavík centre). They are some of the oddest-looking buildings I've ever seen. If I were a developer my life's goal would be to demolish them all!

Akureyri area:
- Dettifoss is awesome. I'd say this is a must, provided the roads are open. The road on the west side is paved and an easy drive, whereas the road on the east is a rough dirt road and probably better done in a 4WD. (I drove it in a rented VW Golf… not an experience I'd recommend.) The view from either side is spectacular, but you can get right up to the water on the east. If both options are open and you can choose, it could be a good idea to see which way the wind is blowing and visit the side where the spray won't drench you.
- Goðafoss is cool, but pales in comparison to Dettifoss. On the other hand, it's easy to get down to the lower level of the falls so you can look up at them (at Dettifoss from memory this requires clinging onto a rope and lowering yourself down some pretty steep rocks). If you go to both, I'd recommend seeing Goðafoss first!
- Mývatn is… a lake. It's nice, but nothing I'd write home about. On the other hand, it's right by Dimmuborgir and Grjótagjá, so if you go to either of those places you'll see it by default.
- Dimmuborgir is pretty cool, and somewhere that may actually be more picturesque at that time of year than in the summer. The lava structures are very black, so in the summer there's this weird contrast between the green of the birch trees and the black of the rocks; but once the trees are bare I imagine it could be much starker.
- Grjótagjá is a couple of km from Dimmuborgir. You can go into the caves where there are warm water pools---though they are too hot for swimming in---and/or straddle the continental divide above. Kind of interesting, and only takes a couple of minutes to see.
- Ásbyrgi is one of my favourite places in Iceland. Not only is the canyon impressive, but it's also heavily forested, which makes it seem like a real oasis in an area that is fairly minimally vegetated. That said, in October/November all the native trees (birch/rowans) will be bare, so perhaps there will be less of an oasis feel to it then.
- Between Ásbyrgi and Dettifoss there is a long-distance (32 km) hiking trail, which I did a few years ago as a (long) day trip from Húsavík. I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing the whole trail at the time of year you'll be there, but there are some sights along the way that you can drive to when the road is open, such as Hljóðaklettar (interesting basalt formations), and these rocks sticking out of the river, which from memory are called Karl and Kerling. They struck we as quite otherworldly when I saw them, though that may partly have been that I hadn't expected them at all.
- East of Akureyri, the drive around the Tröllskaga (Troll peninsula) is very scenic if the weather is okay. You can then get back to Akureyri via highway 1. I definitely wouldn't want to do it if there is ice or snow around, as you have pretty sheer and long drops down to the ocean for much of the route past Dalvík.

Vík area:
- Reynisfjara is beautiful. Just don't get too close to the water… I have definitely heard of people being swept away by waves there.
- Skógafoss is pretty. If you climb up to the top it's also the start of one of the most well-known hiking trails in the country, to Þórsmörk.
- If you're going to Höfn, I'd recommend stopping at Jökulsárlón (lagoon with floating icebergs---at least, assuming the lagoon itself isn't frozen) and Skaftafell (some good hiking trials) along the way.

Other than that, most of my Iceland recommendations would involve mountains and hiking, which is probably less of a good idea at that time of year.