Best lenses for cruise/ vacation Istanbul, Myconos, Valetta, Pompei & Rome

Pietro Marchesi wrote:

Thank you greatly for the beautiful Istanbul photos Orange88!! From were did you get them, a tower?

Did you mainly or only use the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM? Equivalent of a 27-88mm on FF? Did you really miss not having a wider or longer lens? Should I leave the 70-200 on the ship or even at home?

My wife thinks the 6D + 24-70/2.8L II + 70-200/4L IS is max, perhaps even to large & heavy.

She says very wisely that 24mm is wide enough wider only gets easily distorted and less IQ.

I don't have to get everything in one single photo. All these buildings have been photographed millions of times and can easily be found on the net. Our main reason to take photos is to capture the life and spirit of the culture of the local people. I really enjoy doing it and I love to to have great memories of our vacations. I try not waste valuable family time to get the best ever picture of Hagia Sophia, my wife's and son's happiness are far more important to me.

I really like to travel with a minimum. We made a 5-6 week trip visiting 11-12 countries in Europe driving +6500km by car using only a Canon 5D MK II and a EF 50/1,4 (left six L lenses at home) my wife had her trusty LX3 and my son used my old G7. Another year using only a Fuji X100 and LX3 three weeks in DC and FL in USA.

I have seen Caleb Keiter "35 Days of 35mm" wonderful review of the small Canon EF 35/2 IS USM

I am really tempted to buy it as a complement or perhaps even only use that for this trip, creasy? Have to decide soon now.

Thank you. Those evening photos were taken from the rooftop lounge of my hotel which was located on a hill very near the Blue Mosque.   I was there on a business trip rather than holiday and so only had the 17-55mm lens. I would have liked a wider view for some of the interior shots and a longer zoom would've been nice to get closeups of some of the mosaics on the walls/ceilings.

I agree with your wife about keeping your kit light; two lenses should be enough to carry around. I'd go with an UWA rather than the 24-70mm, though. Standard traveling precautions for keeping your wits about you while carrying expensive camera equipment should apply here. I never felt unsafe walking around central Istanbul by myself during the day or evening but I did get approached many times by people trying to lure me into their shops (rugs, mostly).