The Camera Gear that I Use

First, let me clarify that this lens is not mine, unfortunately; I borrow it from a friend from time to time. This lens is on its way to becoming my recent favorite general-purpose lens. As you may know, Canon appends the "L" designation to its professional lenses, signifying their use of higher-quality optical materials and crowning them with the famous red ring (you can see the red ring in the photos of L lenses above). However, this practice applies only to the EF series, which is suitable for full-frame cameras. Strangely, they don't use the "L" category for crop sensor EF-S series lenses. But if this lens were an EF lens, it would definitely deserve the "L" designation. It has a fixed f/2.8 aperture, highly effective "IS," and a focal range equivalent to 27-88mm in 35mm terms. With these specs, it's comparable to Canon's famous EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens, which costs around $2,300, and the 17-55mm lens even has IS. When you combine f/2.8 and IS in low-light conditions, it produces impressive results. You can take a look at one of my favorite photos taken in low-light conditions with this lens, the Hagia Sophia photo, by clicking on this link. Without this lens, this photo wouldn't exist.

Tripods are essential for taking photos in low-light conditions. Especially during the "blue hour," which refers to the half-hour before sunrise and the half-hour after sunset when the light is at its most beautiful. However, during the blue hour, light is extremely limited, requiring exposures of at least a few seconds. With such long exposures, it's impossible to take vibration-free photos by hand, so we need to secure our camera on a tripod. When shooting on a tripod, it's important not to use the shutter button on the camera to prevent vibrations. Instead, you can use a wired/wireless remote shutter release or the camera's 2-second timer mode. A remote shutter release provides a more convenient solution. The key features of tripods are the weight they can carry, their own weight, and the maximum/minimum heights they can reach. The Manfrotto 190XPROB can carry up to 5 kg in weight while weighing 1.8 kg itself. The tripod's weight is quite important; most photographers opt for lightweight travel tripods instead of their main tripods during day-long trips. Quality camera bags have provisions for attaching these lightweight tripods. The 190XPROB doesn't fall into this category; I only take it with me when I go out for a few hours of photography. The build quality of the 190XPROB is excellent, and it has a unique feature with a patented center column that can be positioned horizontally, allowing for very low-angle shooting (as low as 8.5 cm) (click for an example photo here). Its maximum height is 146 cm. Another important aspect of tripods is the type of head they use. Different types of heads are available for different purposes. I use the Manfrotto 322RC2 joystick head. With this head, you can press the joystick to position it at the desired angle and release it to lock it in place. I find it to be the fastest and most practical solution. The head weighs approximately 635g. So, the total weight, including the tripod body, is 2.5 kg.

When you see a photo you like, you may sometimes think that you could take the same one. Perhaps you're right, but capturing a good photo requires serious effort and dedication. Luck factor is certainly important, but to seize that luck, you need to create opportunities. For sunrise photos, this includes setting alarms in the dark hours, carrying kilograms of equipment on your back, going to potentially risky places alone, and sacrificing the time you would spend with your family for photography. One of the most exhausting aspects of this is the weight issue. In your bag, you need to carry multiple lenses, the camera itself, chargers, filters, a remote shutter release, and as if all that weren't enough, your tripod. Especially when you travel abroad and take photos, you have to carry this equipment with you from the moment you leave the hotel in the morning until you return well past midnight. If you don't take the tripod with you in the morning, you'll have to come back to the hotel to get it in the evening, possibly meaning a significant loss of time, especially if it requires going back across the city. The best thing is to take the tripod with you in the morning... This is where my MeFOTO RoadTrip tripod comes to the rescue for situations like these. Although my Manfrotto tripod produces fantastic results, it's not a suitable tripod to carry with you all day. My Manfrotto 190XPROB tripod, along with the 322RC2 head, weighs 2.5 kg, whereas the MeFOTO tripod is much lighter at only 1.6 kg. However, its capabilities and capacity are, of course, not as good as the Manfrotto. It reaches a maximum height of 150 cm and has a minimum shooting distance of 40 cm from the ground. You need to be careful when using it, especially if your camera and lens are heavy, and particularly when shooting in a vertical position, there is a high probability of vibration. But for horizontal shots, it performs flawlessly.