I continue to visit the Galapagos every few years, also teaching workshops there.
So what's my ideal Galapagos kit these days?
- Two full frame Nikon bodies. This tends to change with whatever is the latest and greatest at the time of my trip. These days, that’s a pair of Z8 bodies.
- Something compact. For several trips this was a Sony RX-100 (whatever was the current model). These days, I just use my underwater camera (see next).
- Olympus Tough TG-6. This compact camera has raw support, and works great for snorkeling.
- Three lenses: wide angle zoom, mid-range zoom, and telephoto zoom. For my Z System I bring 14-30mm f/4 S, 24-120mm f/4 S, and 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 VR S. The 24-120mm and one of the bodies stays on the boat most of the time simply as backup.
- Support. monopod and monopod head. Groundpod.
- Aquapac 25L backpack. An inexpensive way of carrying things from the boat to shore on the panga that provides some protection. I put my own cobbled together camera storage system inside the drybag portion of the backpack.
Yes, I’m carrying a bit more than I suggested in the camera article.