Fujifilm

Fuji on the go

/ mikeosbornphoto / 13 Comments

My family of cameras has expanded again. This time I’ve invested in a little sibling for my trusty compact system workhorse, the Fuji X-E1.

Little is the crucial world. The Fuji x100T has a fixed 23mm lens and is much lighter than its big brother. My regular camera takes up an entire backpack and doesn’t go with my everywhere.

One evening returning late from work, I got off the tram and was greeted with a stunning sunset pierced with cranes and high rises of urban Manchester. My phone camera is substandard at the best of times and couldn’t cope. I had to leave the sunset to melt away, uncaptured. 

I thought it was high time to have a decent camera to slip into my work bag and be ready for those moments. Fuji has greatly pleased me for nearly six years, so I turned to them and settled on an X100T. This was a cheaper option as it’s already been succeeded by the X100F but there’s still new stock to be had.

I expected a lot of familiarity and wasn’t disappointed, but things have moved on from my X-E1 and the menus and functions took some exploration. I also had trouble getting the electronic viewfinder properly calibrated so preview and finished shot matched up.

Teething troubles aside, working with this little one is fairly simple in my preferred manual mode. The aperture control on the lens can be a bit fiddly, as I’m more used to a chunky lens to adjust. The complete absence of zoom capability is at times an issue, but you have to adapt your photography.

But it’s a nifty little operator and the initial results prove that it has Fuji pedigree that I’ve grown to love a great deal, while having a camera close by much of the time is a huge advantage.

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The orchid show

/ mikeosbornphoto / 4 Comments

This was an unexpected bonus of a Sunday afternoon visit to Tatton Park, a Cheshire stately home and grounds. One of its buildings was crammed with the delicious fragrance and stunning colours of orchids. These flowers came in all beguilingly delicate varieties, almost overwhelming the space. I swiftly shifted to my 60mm macro and tried to make the best of a tricky subdued light… 

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Come closer

/ mikeosbornphoto / 10 Comments

My Fuji family has just expanded with the addition of a new lens, the Fujifilm XF 18-135mm zoom. This sits aside the 18-55mm kit lens that came as standard with my Fuji X-E1 back in 2012, and the 60mm macro lens.

There is a comprehensive array of lenses for the Fuji compact system, with this zoom one of the more heavyweight offerings. Its substantially greater focal range offers the chance to bring distant objects and views closer, and hang back in street photography situations.

My first observations with this piece of glass is that it feels quite weighty attached to the light body of my camera. The instinct is to cradle it with one hand while carrying it around my neck. The manual zoom ring gives quite a lot of resistance, but it needs time to loosen up. Another practicality is that my camera bag has become heavier, there’s less space in it and will have to be replaced if the family expands any further.

I went into central London and conducted a simple test using the BT Tower – a prominent city landmark – to prove the lens’ zooming prowess. The left-hand image (below) is at 55mm, the extent of my usual kit lens. The right-hand one was taken at the full 135mm, and the difference is obvious.

BT Tower

As a photographer who likes capturing tall structures and landscapes, this should be worth its weight in gold. Whether the 18-135mm lens will become my standard remains to be seen. And it’s weather resistant, but I have a phobia of exposing my camera to wet weather which is not likely to change. These are just initial impressions and a full review with technical specifications can be found on Ken Rockwell’s site.

Macro baby

/ mikeosbornphoto / 22 Comments

This is like announcing a new birth to the world, with all the pride and excitement of a new father.

The new member of my camera family is the Fuji XF60mm macro lens, intended to widen the scope of my photography, and bring with it new possibilities.

It was quite an investment at £465, but a £100 cashback deal offered by Fuji UK – which runs until 16 January – helped lessen the blow.

Macro baby (FujiXFf60mm) monoThis new acquisition is a secondary lens for my Fuji X-E1, the camera I use for most of my work. It should prove a useful addition, as the principal lens really struggles to do any meaningful close-up shots.

Ironically, it put up a fight when taking the photographs of the XF60mm shown here. I used to revert to my little compact Lumix TZ-20 for close-ups, including a collection of winter shots when London was blanketed in show last year.

The little Lumix is likely to sit on the shelf now, although it’s still a handy little camera you can slip into your pocket. And now with an extra member of the family, I’ve invested in a new kit bag, but the load is still quite light.

Macro baby (Fuji XF60mm)The next job is to attach the new lens and take it out for a spin. Favourable reviews promise very good performance on detailed nature shots, while I’d like to use it to create macro abstracts using texture. It’s also an effective portrait lens – an area I must venture into this coming year.

If any of you have any experience of the Fuji XF60mm, please let me know. And any other general tips for getting the most out of a macro lens would be greatly appreciated.

I’ll share my first results with you as soon as they are created.