Planning to go Iceland in Feb - advice?

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Going to try and go to Iceland in the middle of Feb next year, to try and catch the lights but also do some general landscape stuff. A few Q's:

1) Is this an OK time to go? Will be travelling across the whole country I imagine.

2) How about the weather? Any chance of clear skies?

3) Will a 50D/5DII be able to operate in the -5ish temps?

4) Anywhere particularly worth going? Looking for landscapes/waterscapes

Love to see some snaps.

Many thanks
 
I took my 450D to Norway last November and that was fine around the freezing mark. I only have the one battery, but just made sure it was fully charged before going out for the evening.

If you have not already booked the trip, look at going around New Moon time. That way, if you only get a low level light display, you'll still get some shots without them being washed out by a bright moon.

Whilst I have only seen the lights once in November, I understand it is better to go around February/March time, something to do with the position of the Earth in relation to the solar storms.
 
I've not been to Iceland but took my 50d to alaska last year for dog sledding , temperature was -25/-30 and had no problems at all except batteries drain faster so take spares and keep them in an inner pocket for warmth.
 
I went in July this year but only for four days.

In answer to your questions:
1) - DO take a serious outdoor coat. If you are going into the interior without a guide be VERY careful. Terrain can be difficult, snow covered crevasses etc, and the weather can chance VERY quickly. Also some backroads can be quite dodgy if you are not used to offroad driving. Also be aware that in Feb you will have very short days and unless you are very luck light will probably be dusky at best even at midday.

2) - See above

3) Don't know about this. I think my mkIV will but that is fully weather sealed. I don't know if a 5D is sealed. Batteries might suffer a bit in those temps.

4) - I guess you will be going to Reykjavik. If so drop into the tourist info place, they are very helpful and will tell you all you need to know. Reykjavik on paper looks and sounds a bit uninteresting but I was very surprised and it is now one of the nicest cities I have been to. Mind you this was during the summer and they were having the best sun for something like 10 years!
The rest of the country is FULL of STUNNING scenery. Pretty much everywhere you go it will inspire you. I'm not sure what the must do bits are really. Even if you just drive around at random you will doubtless come back with lots of great photos.

Hope that helps somewhat.
 
Hi there, glad to hear you're going to Iceland, I'm sure you're gonna have a great time! My girlfriend is Icelandic so I go about 5-6 times a year. February is an amazing time to go, infact I'm going there in feb as well! It is almost garunteed to snow in feb, a lot! So pack very warm things and a serious outdoor coat like mentioned. If you're going lights hunting you will need VERY warm clothes, as it can easily reach -15 without windchill!

Your camera should be fine but batteries are an issue in very cold weather, just remember spares and your charger!

Places to go, right there's a lot! If you're hiring a car which is the absolute best thing to do out there definitely visit some of these places, they arn't that far from Reykjavik:

Gullfoss waterfall

Geysir (right next to gullfoss)

Þingvelli national park (this should be on the way to gullfoss&geysir absolutely stunning her, but beware in feb the road gets closed a lot due to snow!)

Seljalandsfoss (a bit further but an absolutely stunning waterfall that you can walk behind, a must see!)

I recommend if you're going to Seljalandsfoss you might as well make a day of it and go to Jokulsarlon a glacial lake at the bottom of Europe's biggest glacier, Vatnajokull. You can also see Skogafoss on the way, my personal favorite waterfall! It's a long trip down south to Vatnajokull but very much worth it, they do coach trips if you don't feel like driving it!

There's so many beautiful places to see, trust me you will want to stop every 2 seconds to get out and take pictures.
I've rambled on a bit but if you want any other places to see, things to do or advice etc just ask!

EDIT: You also have to stop off in the town of Vik, it has about 300 people living there and is absolutely breathtaking it's on the road to Vatnajokull :thumbs:
 
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The places that Lukas recommends are all easily accessible from Reykjavik in a day, so there's no real need to travel across the whole country. I've been twice, both in the winter and it's fantastic. The weather on the two trips couldn't have been more different. On the first, over Xmas, the weather was cold but bright, with snow everywhere. The second trip, in February was warm and wet with very little snow and only one clear night.

For the aurora, you just need to get a dozen miles, or so, from Reykjavik.
 
most of the highlands/interior of the island will be inaccessible in February I would say. Coastal roads and the ring road should be fine though I would imagine.

I was there early June this year and most of the roads passing through the highlands were still closed.

Other than that, your biggest worry should be the lack of daylight but shouldn't be too bad if you are going towards the end of february.
 
If you want waterscapes. Then snorkell/dive the Silfra rift. Its the mid Atlantic rift running through Iceland, you diving between the tectonic plates and the water is amazingly clear, but not much in there but a few trout. Its dry suit diving so you nice and warm, apart from frozen hands and face!

Temps are quite variable, the last time I was there it didn't fall below 0'c and the ice we tried to climb became very unstable.

If you have the funds a personal guide is very good as they have the best knowledge to find what you want.

Glymur is fantastic if the ice is good.
http://[url=http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=99046][/URL]

or



Its fun to try climbing on the glaciers too.

 
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Yes definitely go on a glacier walk/climb! A cheap one is sólheimajokull which is a glacial tongue of eyjafjallajokull, which you may recognize as being the big volcano that erupted! Loads of fun :thumbs:
 
Iceland sits right int he gulf stream so stays warmer than it should for being so far north. We went in january and it never went below freezing.
 
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