Key takeaways
- A 70-200mm lens captures whales and puffins from a safe distance on a moving boat. Wider angles work for surface activity and seabirds in flight.
- Use a UV filter on your lens as sacrificial protection. Bring a microfibre cloth and sealed bag. Rinse gear with fresh water immediately after the 2-hour tour.
- Start at 1/1000th of a second to freeze movement on the RIB. Increase to 1/2000th for breaching whales or fast-moving puffins overhead.
- Phones work at speed if held firmly or mounted on a stabiliser. A waterproof case protects against spray. Avoid shooting exclusively through the screen.
- Drone use is not permitted on this tour. Binoculars and a camera with telephoto capability serve better for observation and photography from the boat.
Lens choice for shooting from a moving RIB
A RIB speedboat's motion and spray create unique challenges that rule out some gear and demand others. Telephoto lenses are essential here: whales and puffins stay at distance, and the boat's movement means you cannot close the gap like you might from a stationary position. A 70-200mm lens is the minimum starting point; 100-400mm is far more practical for the typical distances you will encounter. Zoom range matters more than maximum aperture on this tour because you will be tracking moving subjects from an unstable platform, and the extra reach saves you from constant cropping.
Prime lenses sound tempting for their optical quality, but they lock you into one focal length on a boat where subject distance changes constantly. The 2-hour duration and the unpredictability of whale behavior mean you will regret committing to a single focal length. Bring a second body with a different lens if you have one, but if choosing one setup, the versatility of a modern telephoto zoom outweighs the sharpness gains of a prime. Avoid ultra-wide lenses unless you are specifically composing the boat experience itself rather than documenting wildlife.
Protecting your camera from salt spray and cleaning it after
Salt spray on the North Atlantic is not a minor concern; it is corrosive and accumulates invisibly. Moisture gets into mechanisms, corrodes electronics, and degrades coatings. A protective rain jacket designed for camera gear should be your first layer of defense. Wear it even when skies are clear, because sea spray does not wait for clouds. Secure your camera strap so the gear stays attached if spray or a sudden boat movement catches you off guard. Keep your lens cap within instant reach; replacing it between subjects prevents salt from settling on the front element.
After the tour, rinse your gear with fresh water immediately if possible. Use a soft brush or air blower for the exterior before touching anything with cloth. Salt crystals can scratch lenses, so never wipe dry without first removing loose particles. If your camera has weather sealing, trust it, but still clean the exterior salt deposits within hours of returning. Store the gear in a dry place with silica gel packets for the rest of the day. Delaying cleaning can allow salt corrosion to take hold, so this is not optional maintenance but urgent care.
The moment you lower the camera and simply witness the whale
Camera settings to freeze a breaching humpback
A humpback breaching is among the fastest animal movements you will photograph. Your shutter speed must be at least 1/1000th of a second to freeze the motion; 1/2000th is safer and becomes necessary if the whale is truly airborne or rolling. Start at ISO 400 to 800 even in daylight, because the ocean reflects a lot of light and you need headroom to prioritize shutter speed over noise. Use aperture priority or shutter priority mode, setting your minimum shutter speed and letting the camera manage exposure. Continuous autofocus (AF-C or AI Servo) with a large focus zone is non-negotiable; your single focus point will lose the whale in the chaotic spray and motion.
Burst mode is your only realistic strategy. Whales breach unpredictably and last only seconds; firing single shots means you will miss the climax. Shoot at 5 to 12 frames per second depending on your camera's capability. Use back-button focus to separate focusing from the shutter release, so you can keep autofocus tracking without firing frames you do not need. On a moving boat, your camera is fighting stabilization at two scales: your own body shift and the boat's roll. A faster shutter speed compensates for camera shake better than any tripod could on a RIB.
Using a smartphone safely at speed
Smartphones are tempting because they are always in your pocket and capable of decent images in good light. The RIB's speed and the wet deck present the real danger. A phone lost overboard is gone forever, and a fall from a moving boat while reaching for a shot is genuinely hazardous. If you bring a phone, use a lanyard and secure it to your body or the boat itself, never to a loose pocket or bag strap. Sealing it in a waterproof case reduces handling flexibility but ensures it survives spray.
The phone's autofocus and processing lag mean it will not capture a sudden breach or fast-moving puffin with the precision your telephoto and proper settings deliver. Use the phone for documentary shots of your group and the boat experience itself, not for the wildlife encounters that are the tour's focus. Even excellent modern phones struggle to track fast motion from an unstable platform. Reserve the phone for moments when you can stabilize it and your subjects are moving slowly. This keeps you safer and frees your hands and mental energy for what a dedicated camera does better.
Drone regulations and what you cannot bring
Drones are not permitted on this tour. Operators have strict policies because aerial devices can disturb marine mammals, create safety hazards on a small boat, and violate aviation rules in Icelandic waters. Even a small consumer drone introduces risk in close quarters with multiple passengers and moving equipment. Do not plan a drone flight around this tour; the regulations are firm, and you cannot launch or recover one from a RIB in any case.
Binoculars: complement your camera, do not replace it
Binoculars are useful for spotting whales and puffins before they are close enough to photograph, and they restore a sense of perspective that a camera lens narrows. 10x42 binoculars are the practical choice: 10x magnification finds distant spouts, and 42mm objectives gather enough light for the variable conditions at sea. Avoid massive 15x binoculars; they are tiring to hold on a moving boat and their narrow field of view makes locating subjects harder. Strap them around your neck so they are ready when your guide points out a whale in the distance.
Do not put the binoculars in front of your camera lens as a workaround for magnification; that defeats their purpose and produces blurry images. Instead, use binoculars to scan, spot, and confirm sightings, then lower them and move your camera into position. Binoculars also let you watch whales and puffins without the pressure to photograph every moment. This balance, between documenting the experience and living it, is one of the tour's hidden gifts.
How close puffins come and when to stop shooting
Puffin Island is the primary puffin destination, and birds sometimes approach the boat closely enough for 70-200mm lenses to fill the frame with detail. Distance is never guaranteed, and a 100-400mm lens eliminates the guesswork. Puffins are not reliably predictable; some individuals stay far offshore while others seem curious about the boat. Plan for a range from 50 to 300 meters, meaning you may need your full zoom capacity. The birds are small in the water and even smaller in flight, so longer lenses are a genuine advantage, not overkill.
The final guidance is the hardest to follow: there is a moment when you should lower your camera and simply watch. This often comes after you have collected strong images and the light is fading, or when a whale surfaces at an unusually close range and you realize you are watching something exceptional rather than optimizing your next frame. Photography is the tour's allowed purpose, but the experience of being on open water surrounded by wild animals transcends the memory card. A 2-hour tour evaporates fast. Save time toward the end to absorb what you are witnessing without the mediation of a lens. Those moments often become the memory you treasure most, precisely because you chose not to frame them.