Ideals for Turkey (Istanbul/Coastal Ruins)

I'm finalizing my plans for my upcoming trip to Turkey. For my trip to Africa last year I decided to rent rather than purchase new glass, and it worked out great for me. I plan on doing the same for this trip.

My most widely used lens is my Tamron 17-50, though I'm not blown away by it. Don't get me wrong, it produces some great results, but compared to a quality L, it doesn't hold its own. I was thinking of grabbing a wide prime, though I'm not sure how wide I should go. The majority of my shots will be of buildings, architecture, and landscapes, so I will probably be spending most of my time sub 35.

Any suggestions? Would you suggest anything longer than 50? Thanks for the advice.

Buildings architechture and landscapes, I think of the Sigma 8-16, Its probubly your best bet as otherwise you're not going to get very wide on your 30D....

Also what are you not impressed by on the Tamron? Optically on a sub-frame camera its one of the better options out there

And if i was going to pack a second lens, i'd grab a 70-200 f/4L, a longer lens can add an interesting perspective for landscapes and other interesting things...

I'm off to Turkey on Tuesday with these guys:

www.feztravel.com

Longest lens I will be taking will be the 50L. I took everything on my last vacation (Shanghai) but the longer lenses didn't get much use, so figured I would travel a bit lighter this time.

KenjiS wrote in post #12540108
Buildings architechture and landscapes, I think of the Sigma 8-16, Its probubly your best bet as otherwise you're not going to get very wide on your 30D....

Also what are you not impressed by on the Tamron? Optically on a sub-frame camera its one of the better options out there

And if i was going to pack a second lens, i'd grab a 70-200 f/4L, a longer lens can add an interesting perspective for landscapes and other interesting things...

Thanks for the suggestions. As for the 17-50, it's probably more an issue with my copy... I find it's a bit soft at times. It's not a HUGE deal, and I've had a great deal of success with it, but I would rather use a dedicated wide for the shots that require it.

You'll have a great time, Turkey is an amazing place, I visited several years ago.

The below would be my personal choices for any similar trip that includes time composed scenery captures & they all can be rented:

5D MKII FF
Zeiss 21/f2.8 ze
Sigma 50/f1.4
Canon 70-200/f2.8 MKII
Monopod with a tilt-head

But thats just me !

Regards & Have Fun !

Eclyps19 wrote in post #12540229
Thanks for the suggestions. As for the 17-50, it's probably more an issue with my copy... I find it's a bit soft at times. It's not a HUGE deal, and I've had a great deal of success with it, but I would rather use a dedicated wide for the shots that require it.

Ah alright, Could be misfocusing at times thus the softness, I know none of the Tamron lenses I've owned have had the best AF in the world..Especially on my Canon cameras

And I understand the desire for a dedicated wide, The 8-16 is awesome for that, Its the widest thing out there, very sharp and overall just a fantastic piece of glass, the only downside is that its a bit slow, But for landscapes and architechture slow doesnt matter as those are usually done with smaller apertures for DoF purposes

I traveled these places - Istanbul, ruins, and a few days on a Turkish gulet between Greek islands. Out of a thousand or so shots, maybe a dozen with a telephoto. Almost everywhere you will see either narrow streets, like in Istanbul or on the islands, or wide spaces like Pamukkale or Pergamum. There is just nothing to use a telephoto for!
A similar trip a few years ago was a vacation of a lifetime! I still have the photos from it as my screen saver, and sometimes I just stare at the screen remembering those places. Have a good trip, you will enjoy it!

Last time I was in that area, I took my G10...it did a great job in Ephesus, Istanbul, Athens, Rome, and a few Greek Islands. Next time, I'll take my 50D, my Sigma 10-20, and my Canon 240-105. I'd leave my 100-400 behind as not needed.

Regards!
Don

I pretty much used a 12-24 exclusively. I did take a 70-200 and used it for maybe 5 shots. If i were you i would look at the canon 17-55IS and the 10-22 or 8-16.