Back from Turkey - what worked and what didn’t
After nineteen days of travel in Istanbul, Antalya, and Cappadocia, we are finally back! Actually we got back a few days ago, but it has been difficult getting back to this time zone and taking care of various issues.
The trip was very interesting and was one of the better trips we have taken. Everyone had fun and I set a personal record with over 2000 pictures taken and 80GB of data. Rather than discuss at length what we did, I thought I would cover what went well and what did not in terms of the photography planning I did for the trip.
What went well
Canon 100-400 lens
This was my first vacation with this lens, and it was very useful. Admittedly, I did not use it nearly as much as my 70-200 F4 IS or my 16-35 2.8 II but I did use it about 15% of the time. In particular, it was very useful during the balloon ride and when on sightseeing boats.
Slingshot 200 bag
This was the first vacation where I used this bag and it was certainly very handy. I used it for walking around town and carried my 70-200 F4 IS, 16-35 2.8 II, and a 580EX II flash. Sometimes I also added my 50mm 1.4. The bag was very light and seldom caused problems.
Canon 5D Mark II
I simply cannot imagine what it was like now with my old 5D. The two features most useful were the high ISO capabilities - allowing me to photograph in dark caves and churches - and the video functionality. I took several videos while there that I know will be family classics.
Canon 70-200 F4 IS and 16-35 2.8 II
These are the main lenses I use for traveling and again they did not disappoint. I find that I need to go either very wide or need a medium telephoto. The IS of the 70-200 worked splendidly in museums, while the 2.8 aperture of the 16-35 worked wonders in dark caves and churches.
Nexto DI backup HD
I borrowed a 120GB unit from a friend and it turned out to be a very wise decision as my Digimate III died on the trip. I was a bit nervous, but this device read the cards quickly and worked like a champ. Without it, I would have been limited to the capacities of my flash cards.
What went just OK
ThinkTankPhoto Airport Accelerator v2.0 bag
I cannot trash this bag as it did fit easily into the overhead and IMHO is the best solution for transporting the maximum amount of equipment in the overhead. On our return flight, a Lufthansa representative almost did not let me take it because it weighed more than the allowed 8kg.
What really bugs me about this bag though is it is a very poor bag for the field. Its lack of pockets meant that I had to dig through the two pockets provided when I needed something. I rarely carried it in the field, but did take it on longer day trips. Some time in the future I will probably buy a different bag for use around Seattle and at times abroad.
Gitzo GM5561T monopod
I wound up finding my monopod useful only once - during an air balloon ride in Cappadocia. Although it was extremely useful there, otherwise I did not use it at all. I did try using it with my 100-400 on a boat, but the rocking of the boat caused all of my shots to be slanted. I obtained better results hand held. Also, the foot fell off the monopod and was lost, though I understand it is easy to replace.
What did not go well
Canon 180mm macro and macro flash
I took exactly three shots with my 180mm macro on the trip and did not use my MT-24EX at all. I did see a lot of interesting insects, but there were simply too many other things to photograph. For future trips similar to this, I will leave all of my macro equipment at home.
Pocketwizards
I played with them once but otherwise I didn’t need to bring them on this vacation. On future vacations, they will stay home.
Digimate III
I always try to bring two backup hard drives, and it turned out to be a very wise decision on this trip. My Digimate III died on the trip (wouldn’t stay on for more than a few minutes - even when fully charged) which would have been a disaster had I not borrowed a friend’s unit.
Turkish GPS
Though the GPS was in English, it drove us in circles for an hour and a half until we put it out of its misery and just used a map. I’m not sure what was wrong with it, but it clearly had no idea how to handle round abouts and sent us in the opposite direction from where we needed to go, but once we started using the maps it agreed with our course.
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