A trip down camera lane

Phew, I managed a new post without waiting a whole year! The truth is, I would like to put my work out into the world, but I’m not quite sure how to go about it. Social media, a blog.. Still working on this.

However, this was not what I wanted to talk about.
Ever since the Fujifilm X-E1 was launched in 2012, and I sold my Canon 5Dii, Fujifilm has been my main camera system. New generations of camera’s have been presented every few years, with the recently the newest of the family, the Fujifilm X-H2(s). Two cameras that are the ultimate in speed (X-H2s) and resolution (X-H2). As I’m mainly shooting with the X-H1, which is ancient in camera terms, being announced in 2018, and is still only a toddler in autofocus speed, I am sometimes tempted to upgrade to a newer, faster camera. The X-H2s, with a stacked sensor, is the speed king, but is way too expensive for me. The X-H2, which is slightly more affordable, is no slouch either. Both have a larger grip, which I have come to prefer over the years for professional use, and have an autofocus system which is more than sufficient for what I use my cameras for (let’s be honest, the X-H1 is already managing quite nicely). What’s keeping me back for now are the costs, and the fact that both cameras have a fully-articulating rear display instead of the excellent flipscreen that the X-H1 had, and which I prefer for photography.

What this mental discussion about autofocus speeds and megapixels is clouding, however, is that for most situations, those things are not necessary. I’ve managed perfectly well for many years with the X-T1, X-T2, and X-H1, with both of the latter cameras still very much in use! To drive this point home to myself, for the past few days I’ve been taking the original Fujifilm X100 with me on my daily walk. This camera was launched in September 2010, and has become something of a classic. Its a tortoise compared to modern hares, it misses many of the handy upgrades Fuji has added to the ergonomics in later cameras, but it is still a solid camera, and, handled well, it is still capable of taking great photographs. If anything, the process of photography is even more enjoyable, because you are not helped by ai-processing and eye-tracking, but have to think for yourself (there are some, as there are for any camera brand, that maintain that the Fujifilm X100, like for instance the original Canon EOS 5D, has some magic sprinkled over its sensor, and that the images from this camera have something special over their successors. This might be a result of the fact that these older sensors usually have a lower resolution, and therefore slightly larger pixels?).

I don’t know if this is the case. I know that in some situations I can enjoy the files that come out of a Fujifilm X100 very much, and that there is a certain feel to these first generation files that later cameras do not give me. Mind you, only in certain (wel lit) situations. Does this mean I’m not tempted by the Fuji X-H2 anymore. Of course not, but I’ve enjoyed this trip down camera lane very much, and my resolve to wait has certainly been strenghtened (at least I should wait until the announcement of the X-T5, which may bring back the flippy screen instead of that fully-articulating monster).

I’ll not bore you further, but will share some of the photos I’ve been taking the past few days.

A walk near home, taken with the Fujifilm X100 (yes, the original one)
Jpeg, straight out of the camera, as I forgot to set the camera to RAW+JPG

Vintage lenses: flawed but beautiful

Over the years I have acumulated quite a lot of gear. While I will probably never stop lusting for new shiny cameras and lenses, with my current collection I can fulfill any project to my, and my clients, satisfaction. From photography to videography, from macro to landscapes to watersports, it is all there. As the mirrorless photography world matures, upgrades are less interesting each year, and I will keep working with what I have for the foreseeable future. 

However…

Where the new modern models and lenses start to loose their attraction, the vintage photography world does not. Over the years I’ve bought and sold quite a few old vintage lenses, ranging from the 50s to the 80s and to modern non-autofocus products. When I started out with my very first dslr (the Canon EOS 1000D, for those interested), manual focussing was something from the stoneage. Outdated and obsolete. I’m from a generation that had never seen cameras without autofocus. As such, it was hard to imagine the tactile feeling of focusing a lens, and the joy that this can bring. It took me a while to get into the idea of using vintage lenses on modern bodies, and that this could give a different experience from using autofocus lenses. Not necessarily always better, but different and pleasing nonetheless. 

Over the years since my first MF lens, the Samyang 12 mm f/2 (which I’m still using professionally, in favour of the Zeiss Touit 12 mm with autofocus), I’ve collected quite a lot manual (vintage) lenses, and it is not seldom that I step out of my front door with a bag that contains more manual focus lenses that native autofocus lenses. 

A distinction must be made here between vintage and non vintage manual focus lenses. Some manufacturers still make modern lenses without autofocus (Leica, Voigtländer, modern companies like Samyang), which are manual focus but specially designed for modern digital bodies. These lenses are made with modern machinery and contain the newest coatings, and therefore deliver optimal image quality on a digital body. Vintage lenses are designed for analog cameras and are usually made without the newest developments in lens technology. As such, the usually have characteristics that would not be tolerated in mondern lenses: flaring, colour shifts, abberations. Some older lens designs cause less sharpness than we are used from modern lenses. Others are just as sharp, but are less contrasty than we are used to. Every vintage lens is different and has characteristics that you can like or hate. The results you get are not perfect, but that is not the point. An images does not need have the perfect image quality to be a good photograph, as our veneration of the old photography masters proofs. 

A few months ago I bought another vintage lens that is legendary in vintage photography circles: the Helios 44M-4. This lens is a 58 mm f/2 lens that, together with its brother, the Helios 44M-2, was produced with an M42 mount in the Sovjet Union from 1958 to 1992 on a massive scale. It is one of the most widespread lenses in the world today, and because of this, it is quite affordable. The main attraction for many is the ‘swirly bokeh’ effect that this lens offers (instead of perfect round bokeh balls in the out of focus areas, the bokeh has a circular pattern to it, with squashed ‘cats eye’  bokeh). On modern lenses, an inexcuseable effect, in vintage lenses hightly sought after. I was curious what the fuss was about and got one. And hated it..

The lens itself is ugly. I used it a few times, got other projects, and put it in my lens drawer with the intention to sell it again. Not helping was the fact that the 50-ish focal length is the most found focal length in my lens drawer. Nor did I really manage to create the ‘swirly bokeh’ effect that I expected (a full frame sensor would probably help in that regard). Recently I was looking for something different and gave it a second chance. I put it on the Fujifilm X-T4 for a few walks in the neighbourhood, and this time I did fall in love. I have the suspicion that the M42-Fx adapter that I use has a slightly wrong thickness, as the lens is very good at close focusing, but does not reach infinity unless you stop down to f8. This allows you to photograph quite close up, giving you smooth and beautiful bokeh (not necessarily of the swirly type). As I love close focusing lenses, this one has just climbed my favorites ladder and has surpassed the Voigtlander 50 mm f/1.5 Nokton, which is stunning to look at and delivers excellent image quality, but can not focus as close, and was 10 times its price. Also surprising was the resolution this lens delivers, details are clear even at high magnification.

I will continue to put the lens trough its paces, and will also check the drawer for other forgotten gems (like the 50 mm Meyer-Optik Oreston f/1.8 that I haven’t used in ages but has the same close focusing strengths and is razor sharp). Some results from this lens are below.

And here it is: the Helios 44M-4 on my trusty Fujifilm X-T2. The lens itself is quite compact, but with the M42 to FujiX adapter makes the lens a bit longer.
A Jpeg image, straight from the camera and decreased in size. I liked the contrast and sharpness of this image. Taken at f/2 with the X-T4 with film simulation Acros + green.
Taken with the X-T4 at f/2, film simulation Eterna. I’ve never really used Eterna except for video. The muted colours really made this image for me though.
A bokeh test. Taken with the X-T4 at f/2. Not sure of the film simulation.
Another bokeh test. Straight from the camera and resized, Fujifilm X-T4 at f/2 with film simulation Acros + green.
I liked the symmetry of this image with the striped poles flanking the winding path and the dogs flanking the biker. Fujifilm X-T4, probably taken at f/8. Not sure of the film simulation.
Fujifilm X-T4 at f/4 in Acros + green. When I walked past the goat had a magpie on its back. I liked the black and white combination of the goat and the magpie, but the magpie flew off and didn’t return. Still liked the image of the goat..
A resized close-up of the goat, showing the amount of resolution this lens has!
Another bokeh and resolution test: Fujifilm X-T4 at f/2. Based on Classic Chrome, but edited.

It is all about stuff

In our current society there is an odd, but perhaps understandable, obsession with stuff. Especially new stuff. And nowhere is this more apparent than in the world of electronics. Every so often a new iteration of the iPhone, or any other smartphone for that matter, is launched, with ever more new features that we are told we absolutely need. It is the same in camera-land. Every other year (or more often) camera manufacturers launch a new camera, a new lens, a new feature. Users start reading reviews (or viewing them, in this youtube-fueled age), and it is often easy enough to convince yourself you need this new camera, these new features. I am, by no means, immune to this. 

I’ve done this often enough. I’ve bought enough cameras, lenses, bags or accessories in the past few years to finance a few expensive holidays. Partly I can excuse myself. I’m a professional photographer, I need stuff to work. And I would be right. But as Kevin Mullins, a professional wedding photographer from the UK, writes on his blog: ’there is stuff that you need. And there is stuff that you want.’ The line between those two things is easily blurred. Recently I’ve been trying to ‘unblur’ the line, and have started to get rid of some of the things I thought I needed (and it is surprising to see how many things you find out in hindsight to be unnecessary). In recent months, cameras, lenses, and accessories, have been flowing out of the house in a steady flow. It is not just that I find that I don’t use some of those things, it is also that by reducing the number of choices I have, I make my photographical life much simpler. I’m not a minimalist, and probably never will be (I still have 2 choices for a 35 mm lens, not to mention the 5 50-ish lenses I have in my drawer), but I am slowly reducing my quite extensive collection (because that is basically what it is).

‘New gear doesn’t help you take better photographs, but the right gear does!’

Now you might think that reducing my photographical clutter would also involve not getting new stuff into the house. And that is correct, up to a point. However, with the motto ‘New gear doesn’t help you take better photographs, but the right gear does!’, I decided, that for my professional work, I needed one more thing. Replacing the sold X100, X-E3, X-Pro2 and second X-T2…, is the new Fujifilm X-T4. A brandspaninking new camera. I have been testing it for several days now, and must admit I’m not yet over the moon about it. It is an electronic powerhouse, don’t get me wrong. The menu mentions items I’ve never even heard of. The autofocus is so fast I’m not even seeing it lock on. It shoots fifteen frames per second. And maybe that is one of the things that feels wrong about it. It is just a bit too glib, too silent, too subtle. I liked my X-T2 better. Then again, I don’t need to be over the moon about it. I just need to use it for assignments, and in that field the X-T4 will probably deliver in spades. So here I am, back to ‘just’ 4 cameras.

I’ll keep my Fujifilm X-T2 as a weather sealed back-up, and I will keep using the old X-Pro1 and X70 for personal photography or projects. And that is it. There are still a drawer of lenses and a cupboard of bags to slowly empty (to a non-photographer, they will probably still look ridiculously filled). For now I think I’m on the right path, and I will be content with the stuff I have (speak to me again in a year).

In all this there is the unusual situation that I now own Fujifilms first X-mount interchangeable lens camera, and their latest. It is an odd comibation to have next to each other, and a testament to how far the camera world has come in just eight short years. On the one hand the (in modern sense, it was launched in 2012) ancient X-Pro1, with it’s slow minimum shutter speed of 1/4000 seconds, it’s limited amount of AF points, its sometimes hunting or slow autofocus, its clunky shutter sound. And on the other hand the recent, top of its class, X-T4. With lightning AF speed, a fully articulating screen (I need to get used to that by the way), a focus joystick, more AF points that my fruit tree has lice, and soo soo many more functions. The coming days and weeks will show which of these – the dinosaur or the tesla – I will enjoy shooting with more.

My apologies if I seem to be rambling a bit. I’ve been wanting to post something on the update cycle of electronic products, the cleaning up of my photography clutter, the rediscovery of the X-Pro1, and the purchase of the X-T4, and somehow all of these things wound up in the same post. Maybe I’ll try to do separate posts on these topics later! Hope you are well and happy photography.

To not leave you with no photographs at all, above one of the testshots with the new X-T4. One thing I do like very much is the classic negative film simulation that this photo was taken in. I like the somewhat muted, not very contrasty look. Taken with the X-T4 and XF 23 mm f/2 at f/2.

The Fujifilm X70

Several months ago I bought a secondhand Fujifilm X70. This little brother to the X100 had been on my radar when it was announced in January 2016, but back than I decided it was not something I could genuinly use. If you would categorise stuff into things I need for my photography job and things for fun, this would mostly fall in the fun category. Fast forward a bit: September last year we were hiking in the hills around lake Lugano, Italy, when we encountered a German hiker using the X70. Curiosity piqued, I asked to try it and got a chance to play with it a bit. Back on the radar it was. It took a few months to wait for a great deal on Marktplaats, but in January 2019, 3 years after it was announced, and 2 years after it was discontinued by Fujifilm, it entered my photography bag. As a ‘fun’ camera, but also as a great backup professional option for events (it shares the same 16 megapixel sensor of my old Fujifilm X-T1).

Some specs of the camera
The X70 features the same 16 megapixels APS-C sized sensor of the X-T1 and X-E2s. The lens is a wide-angle 18.5 mm lens that is newly designed for this camera. There is no viewfinder, but the screen is a flip-up screen that can tilt 180 degrees and is therefore selfie-friendly. While the 18.5 mm lens can be argued to be somewhat restrictive, digital teleconvertors to 35 and 50 mm are available in camera.

Fast forward a month, and we’re in Löf, Germany. My girlfriend and I decided to take a long weekend away from work in a hotel in this small town on the bank of the river Mosel. As I didn’t want to be bothered by a big camera bag and the need to change lenses all the time, it was a great opportunity of testing this newest acquisition.  I had with me the X70 with hood, a few spare batteries and a gorillapod tripod, carried in an old Billingham f4.5 bag.

My experience using the camera
Keep in mind that when I use a camera I tend to remember things that I find annoying, and take the great things for granted. This is also not a technical review, just a sum-up of the things I noticed on this camera that I consider to be good, or in need of improvement.

So, what was it like to use it? Well, it has its foibles, but in general, this little camera is quite nice to use. Its small size is definitely a plus on this kind of outings. It fits in a small pocket of the Billingham, it’s quick to take out and quick to use. During hikes I generally left it in my jacket pocket to keep it protected from the rain and keep my hands free. Taking it out and turning it on is a matter of seconds. As it is a fixed lens camera, an advantage is that you don’t need to think about focal length. It’s 18.5 mm, and that’s it! Autofocus is quick, but not superquick. Mostly it was accurate in finding focus, with maybe 10% miss (unscientific guess).

The Fuji X70 is the first camera that I use that has a touch screen (not counting a week with the OM-D E-M5 a few years back). I set it to ‘touch-to-focus’, and this works great. I was surprised how quick I got used to this, and how often I would try it on my X-T2 before realizing it didn’t work on that camera! This ‘touch-to-focus’ is unfortunately one of the few things that does not work in single-hand operation, as the left side of the screen cannot be reached by your fingers. Using one of the buttons for AF point selection as backup solves this, however.

One of the things I found I missed was a built-in ND filter. While of all the camera’s that I have owned, only the X100 has it, it’s really great for creating longer exposures of things like waterfalls. I didn’t have an ND-filter with me, and there were times I really would have liked a built-in one. No deal-breaker, but it would have been great!

Another thing that I really found annoying, is that when using the built-in electronic telecovertors (aside from image quility using this feature, which is not great), is that you first have to switch to Jpeg, than dive into menu’s to switch to the teleconvertor. All this takes a lot of time, and is an annoying process. I would rather see that you can select this function using a function button, and that the camera switches to Jpeg automatically. Now, the function is not available if you shoot RAW.

My first impression of the lens hood was that is was ugly. However, it is extremele functional and protected the lens from water droplets perfectly. I’ve grown used to it, and now I find it quite ok!

No separate charger for the batteries came with the camera, but you can charge the batteries in camera. I decided to try this, and left my own charger at home. A decision I regretted after the first day. I had to juggle charging all the USB powered electronic devices (phone, watch, camera) with just one USB charger, and an external charger for the camera would have been very useful. Mind you, had I thought about this a bit more I could also have taken with me more USB chargers. I still think, though, that it is more useful to charge batteries outside of the camera (which also allows you to keep the camera safe on a tabletop, instead of dangling from a USB cable near a power outlet).

Macro capabilities are ok. With 18.5 mm is not a focal length usually associated with macro, and with reason. I’ve used the camera for several close-up photos of mushrooms and leaves, and while the images are decent, it is difficult to get great separation between the subject and the background. Focusing can be acchieved as close as 10 cm away from the lens, but unfortunately Fuji haven’t given the camera a macro button/focus limiter. You just have to find the closest distance that works.

Image quality
While it was a joy to use during the weekend, the results on my computer were a bit disappointing. Maybe I’m just pixel peeping and overly critical, but I would have expected more from this image sensor. The images were somewhat flat, and when zoomed in sometimes not very sharp. It goes to show that image quality is definitely not related to the sensor alone, but to the sensor and the lens combined. Maybe this lens is just not on par with what I’ve come to expect of Fujifilm. Sure, it is almost certain, beforehand, that the XF 18 mm f/2.0 lens, which I love, would give me better image quality, but that the difference would be this large I didn’t expect. As Fujifilm tried to jam as much quality in a very small camera and lens, it should perhaps not have been surprising that they had to compromise some.

Conclusion
I had hoped that maybe I could take the Fujifilm X70, together with it’s wide-angle adapter, with me on our planned hike of the West Highland Way (8 days of hiking through the Scottish Highlands). It would have been ideal, considering its low weight and size. So the real question would be: do I still consider this camera good enough in image quality to take it on this trip? The answer, I’m afraid, is no. While this camera is very suitable for a weekend off with little hassle, seeing the images from the X70 before me on my computer screen convinces me that the image quality is not good enough to take with me on a journey from which I would like to take home stunning landscapes en great astrophotos. To do that, I will have to take with me more weight and choose for the X-T2, 12 mm samyang and 18-135 mm lens.

So, it is a bit of a mixed bag. A joy to use but a slight disappointment in image quality. Will I keep it? For the moment I’ll let it earn its place in my photographybag. It’s size, weight, and portablity make it an ideal camera to bring when you just want to do some casual photography or when you don’t want to bring a bag along. Image quality may be just a bit disappointing, but is good enough for these kind of occasions.

Some images below:

Taken during one of our hikes near the Mosel. Burg Eltz is one of the few remaining castles on the left bank of the Mosel, and is still in the hands of the original family that built it.
Taken on a hike to Ehrenburg. I had to decrease the aperture to f/16 and lower the ISO to 200 to get a shutter speed long enough to get movement in the waters. I could have used a built-in ND filter here!
This castle is located high above the town of Cochem and has a commanding view of the river below! Taken with the digital tele-convertor at 50 mm.
An attempt at macro-photography. The mushroom season was mostly gone, but in some wet areas they were still to be found. Taken from a distance of about 10 cm away from the mushroom at f/2.8.

A budding relationship: the Fujinon XF 18-135 mm

Although I have owned the Fujinon XF 18-135 mm f/3.5-5.6 ‘superzoom’ for almost a year now, in my mind it never really found its place in my camerabag. While I have used it frequently for my watersports photography, I usually left it at home when I went out for fun or for other – non water related – assignments.

Recently however, it has begun to grow on me a bit. In the past I have stated often that I would rather take my three small primes on holiday than the one big heavy (relatively speaking, that is) superzoom. And the three small primes (18, 35 and 60 mm) were a perfect combination during our trip to Sicily last year. This year, however, our annual holiday was to Curacao, a much more humid climate than Italy. As a result, I somewhat dreaded changing lenses and the 18-135 mm stayed on my XT-1 for most of the time  to protect the sensor that is otherwise exposed during lens changes. In addition, the weather sealing of the 18-135 was extra protection.

How did this turn out? Well, to be honest, quite well! While the images of this lens are not as sharp or clean as those obtained from my primes, for most subjects (non-moving, landscapes, portraits, etc.) the image quality was quite acceptable. Having gotten used to the large apertures of the primes (the 60 mm is ‘slow’ at f/2.4), where the 18-135 has to make do with f/3.5-5.6, I had to get used to cranking up the ISO to get the shutter speeds that I desired. On the other hand, the more than excellent image stabilization made sure much longer shutter speeds could be used than would be the case with the primes.

In the evening, when light faded, I still had to grab my primes to get some decent shots, but on the whole, almost 80% of my shots were done with the 18-135 mm. Using this lens reduced the amount of camera gear I had to carry during the day (after two day’s I didn’t even take my primes with me out in the field any more), reducing the weight of, and space in, my camera bag. It also meant less time wasted changing lenses, which certainly came in handy during our exhaustive climb to  the top of the Christoffelmountain.

Two other things to mention that I noticed are the excellent macro capabilities and the sometimes rather ugly bokeh of the lens. During our trips on Curacao we often stumbled upon dozens of lizards (and sometimes larger specimens like the Iguana). These sometimes posed for us and we could get quite close. At 135 mm the closest focus distance was less than a meter, which I would consider quite good for general photography. On the other hand, the bokeh obtained (greatest at 135 mm f/5.6) was (not unexpectedly) much less pleasing than I was used to with the primes. It is not a reason not to use this lens, but something to consider when using it.

Will it be on my camera more than before?

Maybe. While the image quality may be good enough for holiday ‘snapshots’, for more serious photography that doesn’t require the weather sealing I’d still use the primes. It’s also quite a heavy beast, and much larger than for instance the 23 mm f/1.4 that is usually attached to my XT-1. It is a bit of a workhorse compared to the refined primes. For another holiday like this one, I might take only the 18-135 and the 23 mm f/1.4 and leave the rest at home (but then again, I might lug it all with me again).

Some photographs from last week:

An Iguana at the Christoffelpark
An Iguana at the Christoffelpark

At the northwest side of Curacao, Boca Table
At the northwest side of Curacao, Boca Table

This little fellow posed for us for quite some time
This little fellow posed for us for quite some time

Groupshot at the top of the Christoffelmountain
Groupshot at the top of the Christoffelmountain

Butterfly at the Christoffelmountain; an example of the bokeh
Butterfly at the Christoffelmountain; an example of the bokeh

What’s in the bag?

Sinds de switch van Canon naar Fujifilm heb ik geprobeerd mijn fotografieapparatuur zo compact mogelijk te houden. Dat wordt gesteund door mijn keuze van cameratas: een Billingham Hadley Small. Het ‘small’ zegt het al: het is een redelijk compacte tas, en grote spullen kunnen er niet in. Maar hij is wel ideaal voor de kit die ik er nu in heb zitten.

Standaard neem ik de volgende spullen mee wanneer ik ga fotograferen:

  •  Fujifilm XE-1 (body)
  • Fujinon XF 18 mm F2.0
  • Fujinon XF 35 mm F1.4
  • Fujinon XF 60 mm F2.4
  • Fujifilm EF-20 flitser
  • Cullmann Magnesit Copter tafelstatief + CB2 ballhead
  • ND4 grijsfilter (52 mm voor 18 & 35 mm lenzen)
  • Klassieke draadontspanner
  • Reserve accu & kaartjes
  • Schoonmaakdoekje

Deze set laat nog ruimte over voor een zakmes, mijn portemonnee, mijn iPad mini, en bijvoorbeeld een zonnebril of een flesje water.

Ik heb bewust gekozen voor 3 primes, waar één zoomlens ditzelfde bereik had bestreken. Ondanks dat dit meer gewicht inhoudt, past het in dezelfde hoeveelheid ruimte (de lenzen zijn compacter) en heb ik in totaal een veel lichtsterkere groep lenzen. Het enige wat ik nog ter aanvulling een keer wil aanschaffen is een circulair polarisatiefilter (52 mm).

Apparatuur-2