Galapagos bound - Need suggestion lens-wise

A friend is bound for the Galapagos later this year.

She shoots a D300 in a Nexus housing w/170mm port.

She's planning to bring he Tokina 10-17 and a 60mm or 85mm macro lens.

She's wondering which lens would help complement her setup for creatures that would not be close enough for the 10-17.

Any suggestions for her?

I have not been there so I rely on the WP community's infinite wisdom...:-)

Thx

Michel

The 10-17mm will work for the Big Schools of Hammerheads and Whale Sharks but is a little wide for day to day shooting. I used the Sigma 17-70mm for shark, manta, and general shooting.

10-17 is a great lens. may do ok at a hammer cleaning station but for other big animal shots there, generally get cautious distance swim by's. agree with other post. fixed lenses a bit limiting given how quickly things change there. hope she can spend most of her time in wolf and darwin.

I've used the 10-17, 12-24, 17-55 & 60. Sharks can get pretty close sometimes but not always, so a zoom comes in handy. They don't like bubbles so hold your breath. I wouldn't worry about small stuff that might require a 105.

There was really only one site where macro was useful -- I think that was at Cousin's Rock. Seahorses and Sea Stars, Octopi and other stuff there. 60mm territory.

The rest could certainly be shot with the 10-17mm. 12-24mm might be nice to have too. When we were there the hammerheads just about give you a haircut on most dives, no problem getting close.

enjoy,

JP

I did most of my shooting there with a 12-24mm, but then switched to the 10-17mm. On one trip, I didn't even take a macro setup.

The biggest issue with a mid-zoom is water clarity. If you need to shoot a shark at 70mm, it's probably going to be washed out. I've had very clear to very soup conditions. Soupy conditions meant anything more than 5 ft. away was not particularly sharp.

So, a mid-zoom can be handy, but don't use unless the visibility is good.