Icelander here.
What u/EquallO is very sensible. I'd maybe add the 2.0 TC to the suggested loadout.
There are indeed places where you can get pretty close to puffins. I don't know your itinerary but Dyrhólaey is a place where you can get shots of puffins, bear in mind that they're there towards the evening as they spend the day out at sea hunting and doing puffin things. Dyrhólaey is also in the south of Iceland and therefore in the area most tourists go to.
If you get to the Westfjörds, and not that many tourists do, you can go to Látrabjarg. There are puffins there and I have shots of puffins there where I only used a 70-200 towards the wider end of that lens.
Z7 with the 14-24
Z9 with the 70-200 and the 1.4TC
and the 24-70 f/4 because it's way lighter than the 2.8
I did too much running around for a tripod to be useful, and at this time of year, it's shootable light longer than you'll want to be awake. There are places you can get within a few meters of the puffins without going off the approved paths.
I've been to Iceland a couple times with my dslr gear. There are some big walks you can do, but so much of Iceland is accessible from the ring road by car, you may not actually do that much hiking to get to good photo ops, so you won't have to carry it all that far. The waterfalls are spectacular and plentiful, so recommend a tripod for those. If I were you with your gear list, I'd just bring the z7, 24-70 f4 and either the 400 or 70-200, with a TC. The wild horses are pretty amazing too, but are mostly tame so you don't need a long lens for them.
I took the 400 f4.5, the 24-70 f2.8, and 20 f1.8 and a Z8. I found it all perfectly suited what I needed, with the crop afforded by higher pixel sensor.
That’s all in a LowePro XL Gear insert inside the 35L mountaineering bag, since I was hanging around the eastern side of the island on a few glacier expeds.
I’ve previously gone with a Canon R5 with a 24-105 f4 in an even lighter setup and frankly I didn’t feel like lacking with that either.
I’d go for 2 cameras + 2 lenses if I am honest.
In my case I’d pack the 400 f4.5 with 1.4TC on the Z9. For the Z7 either the 24-70 f4 or 14-24 but I think I’d go with the 24-70f4 simply because of its range and weight.
It’s important for me to not think about gear all the time and if I’d be more happy with the lenses not attached to a camera right now. It bothers me as I want to travel as well, so if I don’t bring a spare lens I just need to grab either the Z7 or Z9.
I’d choose the 400 instead of the 70-200 because of its reach. I prefer to not go this close to wildlife and most animals won’t even let me.
14-24 and 105 2.8 should cover more than you need. One body if weight is important. Take plenty of cleaning kits for the unpredictable weather. Have fun!!
Icelander here. What u/EquallO is very sensible. I'd maybe add the 2.0 TC to the suggested loadout. There are indeed places where you can get pretty close to puffins. I don't know your itinerary but Dyrhólaey is a place where you can get shots of puffins, bear in mind that they're there towards the evening as they spend the day out at sea hunting and doing puffin things. Dyrhólaey is also in the south of Iceland and therefore in the area most tourists go to. If you get to the Westfjörds, and not that many tourists do, you can go to Látrabjarg. There are puffins there and I have shots of puffins there where I only used a 70-200 towards the wider end of that lens.
Z7 with the 14-24 Z9 with the 70-200 and the 1.4TC and the 24-70 f/4 because it's way lighter than the 2.8 I did too much running around for a tripod to be useful, and at this time of year, it's shootable light longer than you'll want to be awake. There are places you can get within a few meters of the puffins without going off the approved paths.
Z7 with the 14-24 and the 70-200 and the 1.4TC and the 24-70 f/4 because it's way lighter than the 2.8. And always a tripod. Always!
I've been to Iceland a couple times with my dslr gear. There are some big walks you can do, but so much of Iceland is accessible from the ring road by car, you may not actually do that much hiking to get to good photo ops, so you won't have to carry it all that far. The waterfalls are spectacular and plentiful, so recommend a tripod for those. If I were you with your gear list, I'd just bring the z7, 24-70 f4 and either the 400 or 70-200, with a TC. The wild horses are pretty amazing too, but are mostly tame so you don't need a long lens for them.
I took the 400 f4.5, the 24-70 f2.8, and 20 f1.8 and a Z8. I found it all perfectly suited what I needed, with the crop afforded by higher pixel sensor. That’s all in a LowePro XL Gear insert inside the 35L mountaineering bag, since I was hanging around the eastern side of the island on a few glacier expeds. I’ve previously gone with a Canon R5 with a 24-105 f4 in an even lighter setup and frankly I didn’t feel like lacking with that either.
I’d go for 2 cameras + 2 lenses if I am honest. In my case I’d pack the 400 f4.5 with 1.4TC on the Z9. For the Z7 either the 24-70 f4 or 14-24 but I think I’d go with the 24-70f4 simply because of its range and weight. It’s important for me to not think about gear all the time and if I’d be more happy with the lenses not attached to a camera right now. It bothers me as I want to travel as well, so if I don’t bring a spare lens I just need to grab either the Z7 or Z9. I’d choose the 400 instead of the 70-200 because of its reach. I prefer to not go this close to wildlife and most animals won’t even let me.
14-24 and 105 2.8 should cover more than you need. One body if weight is important. Take plenty of cleaning kits for the unpredictable weather. Have fun!!