Coming home to Fuji

Fujifilm has been a part of my shooting history for a long time. My first film SLR was a Fujica ST-605n, in all its match needle glory. That was followed by an AX-5, the poor man's Canon A1. I loved the multiple exposure modes of that body, and its small, 1980's modern design (despite what Fuji says, I don't see the resemblance in the X-T10). I only had two lenses (the kit 55mm and a 200mm), but managed to take some good photos with it. I also preferred the warmer skin tones of Fuji for color negative film over Kodak film (they haven't aged well though, losing the blue channel on my older strips).

My first digital camera was a Fujifilm MX-1700. A compact camera with a huge 1.5MP of resolution, it served me for a little while, but at its heart it was a p&s. My next p&s was a Fujifilm F45fd, gifted with a sensor that had decent high ISO capabilities for a p&s. I considered some of the Nikon-bodied Fuji DSLRs, but their higher price and weaker specs made them a poor choice. 

But now with the X-trans bodies, it's time to go back home. I whetted my taste for a smaller system with the V1, and got good pictures out of it. Its poor high ISO IQ and limited lenses (where is that 35mm-equivalent lens, Nikon?) made me look at Fuji's X system, with its 16MP X-trans sensor. Scouring craiglist, and doing some negotiation, snagged me an X-E1 body, an 18-55mm kit lens, and 27mm prime for a small amount of money.

The body and lenses are bigger and heavier than my V1 kit, but a lot smaller than the D3 and FX lenses. The battery doesn't last that long because of the EVF, akin to the V1 experience. The lenses mount in the opposite direction to a Nikon F-mount or CX mount.

There's quite a learning curve with the X-E1. The UI isn't as familiar or developed as that of Nikon. For example, you can only zoom in if the focus mode is set to MF, even if the body knows it doesn't have an AF lens connected. There's no mode to allow the rear LCD to come on for menu use yet restrict shooting to the viewfinder. The 27mm doesn't have an aperture ring, so you have to use the command dial to set the aperture (similar to a Nikon DSLR). The 18-55mm on the other hand has an aperture ring, which threw me off one day as I tried to set the aperture using the command dial. The aperture ring is also very loose and electronic with no fixed click stops, requiring constant verification that the aperture hasn't moved by accident. 

Being part of the original X-trans bodies, AF on the X-E1 is a leisurely affair. It is faster than I expected it to be, but it's still a slug compared to Nikon's 1-series, let alone a D3. Native lenses are a bit on the expensive side, even used ones due to the young age of the system. The lenses I have are very good though, and haven't disappointed (although the 27mm needs a hood, something Fuji hasn't released).

The image quality is also very good. High ISO results are up there with the D3200 and D5200 that I've used recently. Colors are on the vibrant side. I haven't played too much with the film simulations; something to do in the future. Out of camera JPGs are excellent, sometimes better than what I get from converting RAW files using ACR. There's a little grittiness to converted images that I have yet to figure out. 

The fun part with the X-E1 is using older lenses. Switching to MF with an EVF requires you to slow down and focus. It's not the run and gun camera like the V1 and D3; it's a throwback to my film days. Not always a good thing, but not always a bad thing either. So far I have an F-mount, an M42, and an X-Fujinon adapter. There's a bit of play with all the adapters I've bought, and my 55mm f/1.2 will only go on the F-mount adapter with a lot of force. I almost bought a Metabones Speed Booster, but after thinking it over, I'm better saving up for the Fujinon 23mm instead of adapting my Nikon 35mm without AF.

I would love to have the Fujinon 23mm f/1.4 lens for general shooting, but at this point in time it's a bit too expensive. Down the road I can see myself upgrading to an X-T1 or X-E2 for the faster AF, but for now I can make do with slow AF.

Additional nits to pick:
1. The lens release button is too small and too close to the lens mount. I have small fingers, and I still have to use two hands to release the lens, unlike with my Nikon bodies. Not very convenient for lens switching.
2. The viewfinder is all the way off to the left, another thing to get used to.
3. I haven't found much of a use for the shutter speed dial; Nikon's command and control dials make switching aperture and shutter so much easier without having to look away from the viewfinder (in fairness the X-T1 has two dials).
4. The battery door is hinged on the wrong side and makes it difficult to remove the SD card (again, despite my small fingers).

Overall, I am enjoying the X-E1, and am looking forward to getting the most out of it. It's been a long time, but it's great to be back.

Olympus body cap fun

Craigslist can sometimes be a source of fun spending. I ran across an Olympus 15mm f/8 body cap for a good price, and found a Panasonic Lumix GF2, also at a good price, to mount it on. 

I decided to set the camera to a square crop as a challenge. It's been a little difficult. I started out shooting obviously square things, but that didn't really work out. I've tried different things such as centering the subject, offsetting to the bottom or to the side. I'm not that happy with the results, but this is an ongoing challenge to stretch. 

 The body cap is an odd lens. There's some distortion, the corners aren't that good, and shooting at f/8 is best left for bright sunlight or web viewing. I've also cranked up the saturation to give the images that playful, toy camera look. 

Using the GF2 reminded me of why I gave up on the Olympus EP-1 a few years ago: I still can't compose using the rear LCD screen. But the combination of the two can be fun. Small and very pocketable, more so than the V1. Not having to worry about focus can make for some fast, discreet shooting.

The challenge continues. In the end I'll probably give up on the GF2 as I don't need a fourth system (hmm, F-mount, CX, m43, and what's the fourth?). But the two cost so little that it's fun just to have another option.

Manual focus for sports

Make that for one sport. I snagged a trio of Nikon E lenses a few months ago (the collection is growing), and finally had time to give one of them a try. With the 100mm f/2.8E in hand (along with the 35mm f/1.8G ED), I did my usual tour of the city.

The lens is tiny, as are most MF lenses compared to their AF counterparts. It's a bit unbalanced on the D3, and would make a better fit on a DSLR without a vertical grip. Using the aperture ring on the lens to set the aperture brings back fond memories of the old days with my EM and Fujica film bodies. The focus action is smooth, although not up to the level of a Nikkor lens. The E lenses were Nikon's attempt at challenging the proliferation of third party lenses, and so don't have the same build quality and optical performance of their regular lens line.

Nikon 105mm f/2 DC and 100mm f/2.8E with HB-31 hood

As I wandered through the city, I decided to zigzag around Chinatown to look for some corners that I hadn't photographed before. I ran across several volleyball games going on at the Willie "Woo Woo" Wong Playground, and thought I'd try to take a few shots.

The only time I tried MF for sports was a painful 30 minutes trying to capture surfing with the V1 and Sigma 500mm. Painful because that combination results in very, very tight framing, and is unwieldy when you're trying to MF.

I did a lot better this time. Yes, I missed focus quite a lot, shooting at f/5.6 through the fence. Timing of course is an issue, but I never said I was a pro. Some of the shots have the player's hand right on the ball, making it look more like a basketball game than volleyball. It took me some time to remember that I was shooting action and switch to manual exposure to keep the shutter speed up.

But I did snag some keepers, leaving me pretty happy. 

More images can be found here.

Hit rate: 27/732, or 4%

First outing with the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G ED FX

After over a month of waiting, the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G ED FX lens finally arrived. I had already sold my 35mm f/2 AF, and have been making do with the DX version. Oddly enough, I hesitated on buying the lens when the sale started in February, and by the time I did buy it, the lens was out of stock. Snooze you lose.

So it's off to the How Weird Street Faire (my first time) with the challenge of using a 35mm lens instead of the usual 70-200mm. It's difficult for me to get that close to a subject when taking a photo as I don't like to be in your face, but it's good to push yourself every now and then.

The results weren't bad. There were a few times when I was too far for my taste, and I had to crop the images to get the result I liked. The lens didn't disappoint though, with nice sharpness, acceptable OOF, and spot on AF. I like the results better than the AF version.

Next step is to try it out on the V1.

In the meanwhile, here are some choice shots from the event.

DX travel

I recently had the opportunity to spend a little over a week in the island paradise of Bali. Since this would be my first (and probably last) time there, I obsessed over what kit to bring for this one shot deal. I settled on bringing both the V1 and the D5200. 

Lenses became the next issue. I had two options for a wide lens on DX: the Sigma 12-24mm and the Nikon 18-55mm VR. I chose the latter as it gave me the option to go really wide (18mm FX equivalent) if needed. I ran a few tests at home and was satisfied with the result. For reach, I chose the 70-300mm VR as this would work well with both cameras.

Off I went on my long journey. First thing, the Sigma is a heavy lens. I'm used to traveling with the V1, which makes for a light and small kit. The Sigma weighs about as much as the whole V1 set. I did manage to fit most of the kit in a Lowepro Transit Sling 250.

Second issue: The Sigma has problems in the corners. The results were all over the place, varying with aperture and focal length, corner to corner. Sometimes one corner would be OK, then it would be bad on another photo, with the difference between the two being one or both of the two parameters. Yes, I should have tested this more before I made the trip, but I was pressed for time. And looking back at the test shots that I made, I can see the same issues, although not as bad.

Here's a sample taken with the Sigma at 24mm and f/8. Note how the three photos from the lower part of the image don't have the amount of detail that can be seen in the upper corners.

Third issue: Flare and the lack of a polarizer. The Sigma with its huge, curved front element is plagued by flare, even with the extra hood. This is a problem in an always-sunny, tropical location like Bali. I was also surprised to see vignetting in two corners with the extra hood attached. Keep in mind that I use this lens mostly on an FX body, and rarely use the extra hood. I thought it wouldn't be an issue on DX because of the sensor crop, but again I should have done more testing. Thankfully the lack of having a polarizer for the Sigma was solved by using the V1.

In hindsight, the 18-55mm would have been the better choice. There were very few instances when I needed to go really wide, and I could have just done a stitched shot instead.

Fourth issue: My 70-300mm VR won't VR with the D5200. Turns out VR doesn't work on the D3 either. It works fine on the V1 (which was the last body on which I used this lens); something to do with having VR always active that forces it to work. Not too much of an issue as I didn't hit any good surfing spots on this trip.

Overall, the bodies and lenses that I brought accomplished the task. Could the photos have been better? Yes, but it's too late for that. Lesson learned: don't use a once in a lifetime opportunity to test lens and body combinations.